At No Time || Bruno Mars

64

Use the front door key. I'll be in the sunroom.

Peter received the text on his way to Trystan's home. If she were that comfortable enough around him to allow him in without permission, he did not know how to let her know that he was not comfortable around her.

He saw her in ways he never did and never thought he would have to. After learning all he did the day before, about her depression, about her wishing she had not had Raina, how long it took for her to even love her, it was a lot to take in. He did not know Trystan in that way, he loathed that the conditions of their lives had led him to seeing her in such a distasteful light. But, no matter how much he cringed when thinking about it all, he did not want to go without hearing the rest.

Derek's car, yet again, was not in the driveway when Peter arrived to the home. Fallen leaves and dead flower petals invaded the spot where his car would usually be if Peter was there at the time he was, and he did his best to prepare himself for the new things he was to learn. He tried not to guess what could possibly be hidden in Trystan's mind, because as he was shown time and time again, it was never what he presumed.

Peter entered her home, feeling awkward doing so, and walked through the foyer and kitchen to the sunroom. It still felt odd being inside, what once was a tranquil entity, then felt ominous.

As he stood outside the glass, he saw she was there as she said she would be, donned in a black tube-top with loose fitting pants and a headscarf. Her back was facing him as she kneeled on a rug, the same rug where they made the love they had desperately wanted and needed.

An incense was burning in a small bowl beside her, and when Peter knocked on the glass window to get her attention, she moved and he saw before her a black crystal hooked onto a wooded bead necklace. The accessory lied between pages of an old book.

When Trystan saw and gestured for him to come inside, Peter did his best to ignore how nice he thought she looked, safe and relaxed in her element. He slid the door closed behind him as she picked the equipment from off the floor and placed them onto the table beside a porcelain tea kettle and teacups.

"Sorry, I was having a spiritual session," she explained calmly as she placed the necklace around her neck. When Peter neared her, she smelled of rose oils, and her skin seemed to gleam with it.

"You don't have to apologize," he responded as he took a seat onto one of the chairs with her offering, she doing the same. "You okay?"

One foot tucked beneath her, Trystan shrugged. "Nothing about any of this is easy but . . . it's hard talking about losing one of my best friends and a man that never really loved me."

Peter did not know what to say as Trystan plopped a peppermint leaf into the kettle and poured them both some without asking if he wanted any.

She went on to explain, "The crystal I'm wearing is called a Black Tourmaline. It's used to protect from negative energies, and I have on rose oil for anxiety." A mocking smirk played along her lips. "I used both of them a lot when Derek was here."

Peter looked at her face through the steam of the tea, the darkness of her eyes disturbed. But she gazed at him and asked, "What do you wanna know?"

"Huh?"

"What do you wanna know, Bruno?"

"Aren't you just gonna tell me?"

The corner of Trystan's lips quirked up a bit, and she leaned forward to explain, "Bruno, I know you're wondering why me and Lique hardly speak anymore, and I know you never really liked Derek; I could tell. I know I didn't write much about them in my journal, but you've got to have some questions; specific ones about them. And honestly, answering things that way will help me to navigate my thoughts better. It won't overwhelm me as much. So please, specifically, what's something you want to know?"