Bear | ✔

Chapter One

Chapter One

"Ouch!" Leila groaned and quickly pulled her hand away from the red button on the microwave. The meal she had been anticipating for so long now had obviously burnt out, while she was busy getting distracted on the phone with Marissa.

She rubbed the burnt spot on her hand, flexing her wrist a couple of times. She turned around to grab a kitchen towel from the door handle and walked back to the counter. She tried to open the microwave again after the safety of the fabric separated her hand from the metal. A mist of white steam flooded the room, clouding her eyes.

Leila's skin stung as she backed away. Hell, Marissa was going to kill her if she knew. She had been there for only a week and she had already sent the microwave into flames. Grabbing the tray out of the broken down appliance, she dropped it straight in the sink. Then, she turned on the water tap. The water drained over the steam, rinsing the effects of the damage she has done.

Sighing, Leila wiped away the sweat from her forehead using a napkin, then she stood there panting, her hands firmly gripping the edges of the metallic sink. She needed to be more careful next time. Her usual clumsy self had to be blurred if she was going to be staying here for a while longer.

Since that accident on David's welcome-home party, Marissa had willingly let Leila spend days and nights with her. Leila objected, as always, as she didn't want to distract her. She was getting married in the matter of weeks and she didn't need any more responsibilities to care for, but Marissa's nerve didn't die out that easily. She insisted on taking care of Leila as she went through her trauma, emphasizing on the fact that seeing David at the moment wasn't a really pretty thought in itself. In the end, Leila couldn't find any more excuses and had to agree. She just hoped that she wasn't such a burden on her friend. The girl deserved to have her own life, not to waste her days on looking after someone like her.

As the optimistic she was, Leila went on with the habit of pretending that nothing ever happened. She wanted to believe that everything was okay, like it always was. She just needed to take a little break at her friend's condo, and one day or the other, she will be coming back home to her usual routine; to a complaining Emily, a busy, yet skillful, Harper, an annoying Zoe and a barely-there David.

Whenever the thoughts - or talks - about the past few days went up, Leila often dodged the questions or changed the subject. She was glad that Marissa respected her wish and refrained from bringing it up anymore. She didn't feel like she was ready to admit it yet. She didn't want to think. Thinking would lead to concluding and concluding would lead to realization, utterly heart-shattering realizations. She didn't look back at what happened. She didn't yet calculate the consequences, which was quite unlike her. She was always well-organized and planned. She was here to be distracted, from anything whatsoever that required using that rational part of her mind.

David didn't call, text or show any signs of acknowledging her ever since. Her phone lay did on the bed-side table, covered with a thin layer of dust. Apart from those few calls regarding her father's conditions, she rarely touched the device. She tried to think that David didn't know about it, that the whole party thing was a way of Marissa's to show off the extent of her power, and maybe even get back a little revenge. Yet, David didn't say anything about it. He didn't even try to deny the fact that they just had a party at their house front lobby. Leila's fingers itched to hold her phone and type his name in the search bar. She wanted to dial that number she had whole-heartedly memorized, and ask him why he ignored her all those weeks. She wanted to tell him about everything that has happened and watch his reaction. Would he even care? Would he pity her - if even a little -, or would he just shrug it off as if nothing ever happened, like he used to do?