Madness

Chapter 22

~ My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep;
the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite. ~

The next morning I was woken up by someone who was shaking me violently. I slowly opened my eyes to see that this someone was Steph, who was screaming at me to get out of bed. I looked at the time and when I realized that it was 7 a.m., I pressed the pillow to my face to try to cover myself up.

"Steph, it's 7 a.m. on a Sunday morning. What the hell do you want?"

I barely managed to mumble the words, muffled by the mattress. I gasped as she violently snatched the pillow and pulled it to my head.

"Yes, it is Sunday morning, but it is also, and more importantly, my brother's birthday."

Interested in the topic Steph was discussing, I sat up at these words.

"What do I have to do with all that?"

"You have to get him out of here, make up an excuse."

"And where?"

"Wherever you want! As long as it's far away."

"All right, but don't you think it's a bit extreme to throw him out at 8.00 in the morning?"

"No, everything must be perfect!"

"All right, but..."

"No fuss, just get dressed and get out of here."

"Yes, ma'am."

I dragged myself out of bed and reluctantly pushed my way into the shower and turned on the hot water. In front of the closet I desperately searched for something that would fit. I huffed and puffed as I went through my clothes, constantly changing my mind. I found a pair of black cloth pants and paired them with a red velvet blouse after about an hour. After putting on the stockings and a pair of red pumps, I went to his room. I was looking for something plausible to feed back to him. When I knocked, he opened the door, fully dressed. He surprised me by being early for the hour, since we had returned late.

"Have you come to wish me happy birthday again?"

"No, actually... I came to... ask you something."

"Go on! I'm all ears."

"Mh... if you want to help me with... philosophy of law, I have my exam in a few days, if it's not a problem of course, I know today..."

"Of course, not to worry. I'll meet you in the courtyard in half an hour."

"No!"

He turned to look at me with his eyebrows raised in a look that made me gasp for air more and more.

"I thought maybe we could do something else today, I'd like to have a look at the city."

His smile widened and his eyes were in contact with mine.

"As you wish."

When I still stared at him, he closed the door in my face.

Of course, he didn't go downstairs to breakfast, where I found Steve and Joanne talking on one side and Teresa and Steph on the other. As soon as they saw me, they motioned for me to sit next to them.

"So what? Did you come up with an excuse?"

"We'll be out all day."

"Great! Bring him home by 8:00. Steph and I will have everything taken care of by then."

"Where will you go?"

"I don't know, I just asked him if we could study philosophy somewhere far away from here."