A Duet of the Soul

Chapter 6: A Dark Room

*Maria's POV*

The rest of the afternoon passed by quick enough. Returning to my apartment, I spent the following few hours cleaning and doing laundry. It was only a one bedroom apartment that was sparsely decorated, but I cleaned it daily nonetheless. The main living area was an open concept kitchen and living room, with space in between for a small dining table with four chairs set around it. Too many for the life I now lived.

To the left of the unit was a bathroom and my bedroom. The bedroom itself only kept my bed, dresser, bookshelf, and computer table. On the table I kept my laptop and a couple of notebooks and pens. A couple of framed photos of my parents and Ciara rested on the dresser. Otherwise, very few personal items could be found in my room.

The living room held only a sofa, coffee table, and a stand for my television to sit on. I had once thought about buying art for the walls to liven up the space, but nothing had ever caught my eye. Therefore, the walls remained bare, and the apartment overall was not reflective of who I really am, even after living here for the past two years. Or was it?

I myself had felt hollow and bare over this past month. Even before the murders, I barely spent time in the apartment. Typically, I would work as many hours as I could get, then spend the majority of my free time hanging out with Ciara. There never seemed to be a need to furnish the apartment in my own style if I was rarely there.

Folding laundry, my thoughts drifted once again to the handsome man who had bought me lunch today. No matter what I tried to distract myself with, I just couldn't get my mind off of my conversation with Justin.

Things were going so smoothly until Adam showed up. I know he just wanted to apologize, like Greg and Justin did, but there was just something off about him. Frustratingly, I couldn't quite place my finger on it, but I knew there was something about him that got under my skin.

After putting away the last load of folded laundry, I microwaved a bowl of soup for dinner and sat at my kitchen counter to eat. For the past month I really hadn't eaten much during the days, and it wasn't until today that I realized how much weight I've actually lost.

If I'm going to get my life back on track, I decided I needed to get back into a proper eating routine. That meant eating three meals a day, even if they were smaller meals. After eating half the bowl of soup, I found that my stomach was too full and the rest would go to waste.

Ding!

My phone caught my attention as I poured the remainder down the kitchen sink. I rinsed out my bowl, when I heard the notification again.

Ding!

I quickly snatched my phone off the counter and unlocked the screen. The first notification was a friend request from Justin. Should I immediately accept it? Or should I wait a bit? I worried about seeming too eager and desperate, but then again why delay what I wanted?

Accepting the request, I quickly switched over to the second notification: a text message from Justin himself.

Justin: Hey Maria, I'm sorry our conversation was cut short today. I appreciate you meeting with us today.

Maria: Hey Justin! I'm glad I had the chance to meet with you guys today. It definitely helped.

Justin: I'm really glad to hear that. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to reach out. Have a good night.

Maria: Thank you, you too.

I wanted to say more than that, but I wasn't sure what to say to continue the conversation. I hoped he would message me again, but after another thirty minutes passed without word from him, I gave up that hope.