Deal With It

fifty one

"I'm sure Daniel will show you where it is, right, Dan?" I said.

"Hell, yes. Anything to get another slice," he winked at her. Then, he leaned in closer and lowered his voice so it was just me who could hear him. "Last chance to back out," he smiled kindly. "I mean, you don't really have to do this if you don't want. I don't want you to think you're obligated to."

I found that a little strange of him to say, deciding that this wasn't a necessary thing for me to do when in fact, it was. It was what I wanted to do and what I needed to do. "I want to do this," I said, "but thanks. For the pie," I smiled warmly. He nodded at me once and backed away, joining Heidi and my parents. I waved again and winded my window back up, driving away.

-

With the traffic, it took me almost three hours to get to London. The slice of pie had been devoured and I had informed my worrisome mother of my safe arrival. For at least twenty minutes, I sat in my parked car outside his apartment building, thinking of what to say when I saw him.

Turned out, it was a waste of time. No amount of preparation would have stopped my mind from blanking or my mouth from drying up when he opened that door, pure shock on his face.

He was wearing grey joggers and no t-shirt, his hair a little messy and nothing on his feet. This was him at home. "Hi," I quietly spoke, not knowing how to start this.

"Hey," he said. Good. He seemed to have calmed, at least. I missed his voice. "Why are you here?"

"I... I had to talk to you. You weren't picking up any of my calls so I came myself."

"Surely, if I wasn't picking up it meant I didn't want to talk," he said matter-of-factly. Ouch.

Already, I felt like crying. I gulped and held back my tears. Stop being so emotional, idiot. "Can I come in?" I felt a little braver.

"It's a bad time," he said with a vacant stare. His eyes looked so emotionless. Was he pretending or was there really no emotion?

When I didn't budge, he sighed and moved away from the door, allowing me to enter.

The apartment was nice; it was roomy, contemporary. The walls were all white and they made the place look more spacious. It was completely furnished, with the major furniture like sofas and cupboards down to the plants and frames on the walls. I stopped next to one of the canvases, surprised and confused to see beautiful pink peonies painted on it. I didn't picture Tyler selecting a flowery frame for his home. It made me smile.

I walked straight into his living room, which had an open-plan kitchen to the right. "Take a seat," he said, and I was about to when I saw another woman already there. I froze in my track. "Oh, this is Valerie," he quickly introduced her when he saw my hesitation. "Val, this is—"

"Arissa, I bet," she stood up, holding out her hand. I didn't take it. "Hm," she placed her hands on hips, almost jumping as she did it. "Tyler, you didn't tell me she was this gorgeous," she spoke with more expression than ten people could together. My cheeks burned brightly and Tyler looked equally as uncomfortable. "Please sit, I want to talk to you! Do you want anything to drink?" She asked as if it was her place.

"No, thanks. I just need to talk to Tyler— alone— and then I'll be on my way," I stated, glancing at her and then him.

"Okay! I was just about to make some tea, anyway. Want some, babe?" Oh. Babe.