Our Dance // Wolfstar & Jegulus

Chapter 14

Regulus first noticed that his room in his mother's house in London was just as bland as, if not worse, than his room in America. It was hard to think of how it would be different had he just left with his mother when she first asked. It was even harder to think of how he would be different.

Walburga told him that he had the rest of the week to himself due to her not having a break until the next week. He seriously doubted she'd take a break. If anything he speculated that she'd take him to her work and show him around like she does every year. But for the time being, Regulus was perfectly content with not forcing a smile for his mother or talking about things he pretended to agree with her on. However, by the third day of not doing anything but reading, forcing his eyes to move across the pages and making himself read the words, he started to get bored. When Regulus would wake up in the middle of the night from a nightmare or just lay awake, unable to fall asleep in the first place, he found himself wanting to grab his phone and call the one person he knew who could always put him to sleep. Who would just talk until Regulus was calm enough to sleep. 

Many times, Regulus found himself holding his phone and hovering his thumb over the name but before he could press the button he was putting his phone back on his nightstand. Sometimes he would fall asleep, most times he wouldn't. But no matter what situation he found himself in, his thoughts were always plagued by the same boy. It felt stupid to Regulus. To miss him. It felt worse when James would call him every day and he would stare at the green accept button, contemplating on answering or not, until it would disappear and he would get the missed call notification. 

It was the last day of the week to himself and Regulus was sitting at the kitchen table, eating half of a bagel. His phone was laying face up on the table next to his plate and Regulus prepared himself for a phone call. The one that always came in the morning and when he didn't answer was accompanied by a voicemail. Regulus couldn't bring himself to listen to them until a particularly bad night where his mind kept racing. He listened to them all from the first one to the most recent one.  So every day at eight in the morning he waited for that call and while he waited he could picture James in his mind. It was three in the morning for James when it was eight for him. James stayed up late every night just so he could say good morning to Regulus. Knowing that made Regulus feel guilty for not picking up but even with the guilt in his mind, he couldn't bring himself to hit that ever so daunting green button. 

But on that day, when the clock hit eight, there was no call. There was no call five minutes later, ten, twenty, thirty. There was no call. Regulus sat at the table until nine-thirty, watching his phone intensely. A half-eaten bagel sitting on a plate in front of him that Regulus no longer wanted to eat. When the clock chimed at the top of the hour at ten, there was still no call. Regulus realized he was the one that wasn't picking up and that he shouldn't feel sad about not receiving a call. But he did. 

If not for his mother coming from her office and pulling him away to talk about something unimportant to him, Regulus would have continued to sit at that table and wait. Walburga grabbed his arm and abruptly dragged him towards her office. His phone was left at the table. Regulus stood in front of her desk as she rambled on about current company issues and how she was going to solve them. He didn't care. Regulus's eyes remained on the table he could see through the doorway of Walburga's office, watching as his phone lay still and unbothered on the table. 

"Regulus!" His mother scolded, snapping Regulus from his thoughts.

"Yes, mother?" 

"Are you listening to me?"

"Of course I am. Please continue," Regulus said even though he really didn't want her to. He wanted to go back to the table, grab his phone and go to his room. Walburga sighed before continuing to speak. Reluctantly, Regulus paid attention to her words. It seemed like forever before she finally concluded her story.