"Marco?"
He was silent for a moment. He always had this mysterious look. I swear he looked at my exposed waist for two seconds, then back at my face.
"Leandra ...." His voice floats in the air.
I smile. He remembered me this time. My subconscious had the idea of getting into the elevator, but before my feet had even taken a step, Marco reached over and grabbed my hand. He pulled me out onto the balcony, out of the way of the partying crowd.
"Hi...," I greeted awkwardly. "I didn't expect to see you again."
What a lie. I spent three days just thinking about when I would see her again.
"How on earth did you get here?" he asked without looking at me. Both of his hands were holding the bars of the balcony. His gaze wandered far into the unknown.
I followed the position of his body. My face was hit by the cold night breeze. "It's Kim's coworker
I made it through the sex well, at least for Fred, and was lucky that I didn't screw up by mispronouncing Fred's name as Marco. If I had, I don't know how would Fred have felt.My reflection in the bathroom mirror portrayed someone more confident, more refreshed, and happier. Being in touch with Fred helped me a lot not to be sad about what Marco had done to me. I also felt less pathetic, I proved myself that I could kiss (and have sex) right after Marco thought that he kissed me just to pay a debt, just to give him an advantage. And it wasn't an emotional advantage.My cell phone rang from inside my bag. Of course it was Kim."Leanne, where are you?" I could hear her lowering her voice.I leaned against the edge of the bathroom counter. "I'm with someone, no need to worry.""Someone...? Oh...," I was one hundred percent sure she was holding back a giggle. "Alright, have fun!" And Kim immediately hung up, very hurriedly, not like she would normally ask a lot of questions. Maybe she wa
At nine in the morning, I packed my bag, preparing to fly back to Chicago. Kim wasn't coming home with me, she'd be back in about three weeks to take care of her official move to Missouri. She'll haul all her stuff here once she finds a permanent place to live. Yes, Kim will be settling in Missouri, we'll be living apart. I know it's hard for both of us. But no matter what, life must go on. My education in Chicago is also coming to an end. Maybe I'll find a job in Missouri, meet Kim again and it's possible that we'll live under the same roof again. "Make sure you don't leave anything behind," she said as she picked up her car keys. I rolled my eyes. "I'm not Kimberly Zhao Chan." The girl groaned a little in annoyance, but also chuckled. I don't know how she'll fare now that I'm not around to bring her things that she left behind. I hope her clumsy nature disappears soon so that she won't trouble herself and others. I followed Kim to her car. "By the way, sorry about Fred. I still
Kim knew. She found out that I had that dream again last night. For the past ten years, ever since my father left me alone with my mother, I've been dreaming of him a lot. The truth is that he wasn't that good of a person until I dreamed of him after he left. These weren't dreams of missing him, but rather because even after he left, he didn't take our bad memories with him. Dante wasn't a good father. He wasn't a good man. In fact, he wasn't even a good person. Every chance he got, he beat Mom, forced me to hide under the bed, smothered my own mouth, and listened to the noise and screams out there. Every time he came home drunk, Mom (and I) wouldn't survive. The next morning I would find my mother's entire body covered in wounds. One day I saw blood pouring out of Mom's head, and on the floor was a broken liquor bottle. I cried hysterically, but Mom hugged me and told me not to wake my father who was now asleep. That violent man fell asleep after cracking the head of the woman he'
Pedro noticed me immediately that evening. He knocked on my bedroom window, calling my name over and over again, as if he would break the glass if I didn't answer his call immediately.I got out of bed, walked lazily to the window and pulled back the curtains. "Are you crazy?!" I said.Although it was fleeting, I could catch the look of relief on her face. "Let me in, hurry!" Without waiting for my approval, Pedro was already getting ready to pull up his pants a little.I opened the window and Pedro immediately climbed through it until he managed to set his bare feet in my room. "Don't you remember that there's something called a door in this house?""I know!" he said."I hope you haven't forgotten what it's for." I walked back to the bed, looking at him lazily."It's not that," she shrugged. "It means I know what's going on with you."My body stiffened instantly. Kim and Pedro, the two people closest to me, instantly realized that something was happening to me. Something bad. "What d
"Do you want to come to my house?" Marco smiled, then nodded. He picked up my tote bag on the ground that I had forgotten even existed. He then took me by the hand, walking towards the end of the alley that I had almost reached. I frowned in confusion. "Do you know the way to my house?" "I know where your house is." "How could you...?" I then realized something. "You were spying on me?" "For two days." He raised his eyebrows twice. "You seem to be really out of your mind." "I told you it was because of you." I deliberately just followed his steps. And he really did take the path to where my house should be. He still held my hand until he reached the door. "Only up to this point. I didn't find out the password number." Then I punched in the password sequence, deliberately not covering it from his sight. When it opened, I turned to him and he grinned. I let him in first and told him to sit on the couch. "I'll keep this inside." I reached for my tote bag that he was still holdi
Marco disappeared again.In the morning; after we'd had such a long hot night, after he'd made me cum three times; I couldn't find Marco anywhere. I'd slept so well last night that I didn't know when he'd left my bed. It was the first time I had slept so well since returning from Missouri. Marco had improved the quality of my sleep, but he also surprised me again in the morning. By disappearing.I searched every corner of the house, but couldn't find him, not even a single trace of him. If there weren't red spots and soreness all over my body, I would have assumed that our night of lovemaking was just a beautiful dream.My doorbell rang, and I rushed to open the door. My smile faded when the person standing in front of me was not Marco, instead it was Pedro. I had forgotten that Pedro had always come in the morning for the past four days. And during that time he was always nagging me about my eating habits."You must have expected someone else to come." Pedro noticed my expression. I
"So, where are you going to start?" I finally asked. Just staying silent while next to him would only make me more nervous. Marco is the kind of person that just looking at him will make you feel small, feel inferior, feel ready to be his servant whenever he asks."What is it?" Even though I didn't see him, I was pretty sure that Marco said it without looking at me either."I don't think we're just here for a picnic.""Neither did I. I was thinking of many ways to make you scream."I turned to him instantly. My cheeks were flushed, but I tried to cover it up. "I'm talking seriously."Marco sighed as he raised his sunglasses to his head, then looked at me. "It's complex. You'll get mixed up."I got up from my lying position and sat cross-legged on a beach bench. My hand-woven hat, which I got as a souvenir from Bali, was very useful in blocking out the sun. "The only thing that confuses me is your mysterious demeanor, Marco. I don't even know your last name.He froze."Let's start from
"Were you here this morning?" I asked as Marco turned the car into a hotel not too far from my house.Marco gave a subtle nod. "Showered and took the car.""Don't do that again.""Shower?" He laughed as I punched his arm in annoyance. His hand caught my fist, loosening the tension in my body. "You were sleeping peacefully. I thought I'd be back before you woke up."I gave up again when he kissed my hand gently. His body leaned in slightly to unbuckle my seatbelt. With his guidance, I got out of the car, following wherever Marco's hand took me.The two of us enter the elevator, and there's no one else around. I rest my head on his upper arm. He was so tall that my head couldn't reach his shoulder. "I thought you disappeared again.""The last thing I wanted to show you would be my back, Leandra."I popped my head up, saw his face and smiled mischievously. "Then what's the first one?""Once we get there, you'll have an answer."I smiled in a silly way. I almost stole a kiss if I didn't h