The Right Side of the Wrong Bed || Bruno Mars

Chapter 18

Faye

Silence was humming deafeningly in the air around us. In front of his office desk were two one-seat sofas and a low glass center table. Kyle and I were sitting opposite each other, still and mouth-zipped. He had his elbows leaning against his knees and his head tipped down. He was staring at the floor whilst rubbing his palms together. It was hard to predict what was going through his mind. Meanwhile, I was a mess of nerves in front of him. My eyes were already dry but still puffy. I had so many questions in my mind that it could explode any minute.

The doors flew open and came in Ella with a tray of two glasses of iced tea in hand. Kyle whipped his head up to watch her place the glasses down the center table. "Thank you, Ella," he said, his voice steady and a little deep like how I remembered it.

I looked up at Ella as well and flashed her a friendly smile once she met my gaze. She smiled back, a weak one. I observed that she wasn't very pleased to see me which was unusual. Ella had always been friendly to me, and very approachable. Whatever happened?

The knot of tension in my stomach tightened.

Kyle grabbed his glass from the table as soon as Ella was gone, and finally steadied his blue-ocean eyes on me. He took a sip and smiled toothlessly; I felt my heart swept. "So..." he started, setting his glass back down on the table."How are you?" He beamed.

"I'm—I'm fine," I answered, adjusting the beanie on my head. A nervous gesture.

He leaned backward on his seat and stared at me quizzically, pursing his lips and narrowing his eyes. I hoped my cheeks weren't coloring themselves pink. His lips then curled into a smile again when he said, "What brings you here?"

You.

My eyes found the floor. For some reason, my heart suddenly weighed less light.

Of course, he wasn't expecting me.

So many things may have happened in five years.

So many things.

Five years.

I hoped he hadn't changed.

"I was on my way to Mom and Dad's house," I said. "I figured I should stop here first to see you." My eyelids were fluttering a million times every five seconds. I lifted my eyes up to check his face.

His mouth twitched at one side. "You came to visit me?" he said with a soft breath of laughter.

I nodded slowly.

He looked away and knitted his eyebrows as if he was concentrating on something.

Silence joined in the conversation. I decided to compete in a staring contest with the floor again, my nerves dancing.

"How's Bruno?" he asked after a moment and I darted my eyes back to him in a jolt of surprise. He knows.

"He's all right," I replied in a soft thread of a voice.

He bobbed his head a couple of times and refused to make eye contacts. I watched as his mouth curved up at the sides again, and suddenly he was heaving a soft chuckle.

"What? What is it?" I asked, curious and baffled.

He shook his head. "It's just... It's been five years," he said with a whisper of disbelief in his voice. A dawning realization lit his eyes when they burned into mine. "It's been five years since I saw you."

I couldn't believe how many times I could blink in just seconds. My heart was levitating. A whirlwind of anxiety and excitement was forming in my stomach. A hasty smile was all I managed to show.