the not so romantic / simon minter

16 - republished

Maggie's heels tap against the sidewalk, bouncing and echoing of the small business sector before she turned off and headed to what was left of her work day. She had stopped by one of Dominic's favourite places to get coffee and ordered his favourite drink; hoping she would get in his good graces by surprising him.

As the days passed, the weather in London had started getting cooler, and so had both Dominic and Simon. It had been a week since her 'night' out with said boy, and she doesn't entirely remember how she got home. But all she knows is that neither one of them are talking to her. Which is..., not ideal. In any case.

Not having said two words to her, and working extra late, only to return home later and later each night -- makes her heart worry with contempt. Dominic was barely looking at her.

Simon should be a different story. It shouldn't bother her as much as it does with Dominic. But it does. And it feels like she's being pulled in two different directions, and she's frightened she will tear into two.

She tried to think of any reasonable explanations, though. Despite her best efforts, none of them seem to be logical enough. Although Maggie won't allow herself to talk about it; she couldn't allow herself to be ignorant about it: she had tried to kiss Simon, and even though it didn't happen -- she was boiling over with guilt.

When she gets into the building, she's hit with a cold air conditioned room. The blinds that cover the big windows have been shut, so the room is darker than normal. It feels less inviting, more intimidating. The room was quiet. Especially since there should have been someone in the desk opposite of hers answering calls.

Maggie walks further into the building, putting her keys and phone into her coat pocket, and goes down the corridor. Still, there was silence, and it was starting to make her skin prick.

Had something happened?

"Dom?" She calls out, looking into one of the vacant rooms; even peers into his office. She spots something from the corner of her eye, sitting on a computer chair in the corner.

It had her name messily written on it.

Her skin pricked again, her fingers pulsing, and every inch of her was rejecting the idea of seeing what was inside it. And even though she didn't want to see, the curiosity got the best of her. Both her feet and her mind betrayed her.

The box's sides are tucked in together messily, and it seems so out of touch compared to how neatly organized and compact Dominic's office was. When she carries the box back to her desk, she sits down in her chair and sighs heavily.

Opening it she pulls out her name tag that was sitting at the same desk she was at now. Confused, she digs into it more and finds more of her belongings tucked away. She even finds a picture of her and Dominic just thrown in there like it's nothing.

Her body vibrates -- from anger, from sadness, from contempt. She hates him. She hates him. She grabs the box angrily, hitting the coffee she had brought for her boyfriend, her lovely lovely lovely boyfriend and doesn't care that it stains the carpet in a brown pool of a mess.

She doesn't smile at the people she's worked with, doesn't give one ounce of care in the world. At least to pretend that she's okay with what he's doing.

But stops dead in her tracks when she gets out of the building and onto the sidewalk; and sees Simon and Ethan looking like they're waiting for more people to arrive. They catch each other staring, and she's the first to breakaway and start walking the other direction.

"Miss Maggie Mayhem!" Ethan sing-songs, and she looks back at them, giving them a small smile.

Simon's eyes feel almost overbearing. Like he knows something she doesn't.