My Condolences

two

I took ahold of the folder, scanning the words again and again. I decided that talking to the girl's parents would be a great idea, for they must have known something about their daughter's love life.

'Andrea, please search for the girl's parents home address.' With a firm nod and speedy tapping on the computer that barely lasted five seconds, Andrea responded.

'Got it. It's on your cell phone now.'

'Thank you, Andrea. Jane, you're with me. We're gonna pay her parents a quick visit.' I picked my car keys and work bag, headed towards the elevator. I did not wait for Jane. As I stepped into the elevator, I noticed the black hem of his suit. I watched as he buttoned his blazer down to the last button. I scanned his visage. His under-eye bags were growing heavier, and the puffiness around his blue eyes increased. Those were alarming signs of fatigue he had there.

'Hello, Jane.' I smiled at him and received a compact nod and a twitch of the lips.

'How are you today? How was sleep last night?' His suspicious tone hid behind a forged casual one. My eyes snapped to mine at the mention of sleep. His brows formed a small furrow.

'Uh, good.' He cleared his throat repeatedly. Dry throat, I thought. 'I do not think you had a good night sleep, judging by your overload of cosmetics around your eye area and quick sentiment of weariness.' He smiled. My eyebrows furrowed as I brought my hand to my under-eyes, caressing the sensitive skin. It's true, I mean, I did put slightly more concealer than I usually do, just to hide the dark spots better. But how did he notice it so quickly?

'Why do you think I have a quick sentiment of weariness?' I tried to sound as confident as possible. He smiled again.

'You did not take even a mere second to lean against the wall of a ten-seconds drive on the elevator. This means you have a constant need to rest, after the night you've had.' His announcement left me speechless. I looked down at my arm, disappointed to discover I was, in fact, leaning against the wall. I had not even remarked my own movements. I blinked rapidly, refusing to let him win this fight.

'This does not mean anything. I may just like makeup and have a liking towards touching things... and leaning against them.' I reasoned. He let out a forced laugh. His eyes traveled from my eyes to my neck. His smirk deepened.

'You also have a little something here.' His fingers directed towards an area of the neck, referring to mine. I looked down to my neck, embarrassed to find a regular group of red marks with red dots. My eyes widened and I touched the bruise. A tingly feeling traveled all along my spine. I closed my eyes in hopes to tame the mortifying feeling. Jane had just seen my hickey. Damn.

When I looked up again, he had long ago turned around and was walking to my car. I took a deep breath and followed behind.