I continued to stare at him as if he was some alien from outer space. The guy was really confusing and I had no idea what was going inside his twisted head. He acts like a jerk most of the times, and then there was also this sweet guy everyone adores. Well, excluding me! Undoubtedly, I have never seen the sweet side of Mr. Collins because he never bothered to be civil towards me. But then again, I have seen another side of him that no one has witnessed; the crazy side. There is no doubt he is bipolar.
Mr. Collins cleared his throat to gain my attention. The fury has left his eyes and it was replaced with the cold look again. ‘Here you go again dude,’ I thought to myself.
“Stop staring at me,” he demanded. “And quit ignoring my question,” he said annoyed.
‘Now you are getting on my nerves buddy,’ I thought grumpily. I tried to control my anger. I didn’t want to say anything that I would regret later. He is my boss, and I don’t want to worsen our already troubled relationship.
“Um, what are you talking about Mr. Collins?” I asked him carefully. I even tried to recall all our meetings, but no, I couldn’t remember any incident where I hurt his feelings. All our talks were completely official.
“You are a wonderful actress, Sara,” he snarled. “And you are not what I thought you were!” He let out a wry laugh. “I thought you would be honest with me at least once, but who am I kidding.” His gaze connected with mine for an instant and I looked away. Somehow I couldn’t look at his eyes. My heart started to feel heavy for some unknown reason.
“Look Mr. Collins! I have no idea what you are talking about,” I told him irritated. “You just came to my office and declared that I played with your feelings. Are you out of your mind? You should tell me what exactly I have done.”
Something flashed in his eyes and he took a few steps back. “You don’t remember anything, do you?” he asked quietly, his voice strained. I looked at his face perplexed and our eyes met again. His gaze burned into mine and all I could see there was pain.
I swallowed nervously and shook my head. “No, I don’t know what you are talking about,” I whispered.
His eyes darkened and I trembled a bit when I saw the ferocity there. I had never seen him so angry before. If looks could kill, I would have withered then and there. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Before I could gather the courage to ask him anything more, he murmured a never mind, turned on his heel and walked away. I stood there shocked and stared at his retreating figure with my mouth hanging open.
‘What just happened?’ I asked myself. It was too much for my brain to comprehend. How could he accuse me for something I had no idea about? The nerve of him! I felt so angry and frustrated, and deep inside, hurt. My eyes stung and tears started to roll down my cheeks. I wiped it furiously with the back of my hand and slumped into the chair. ‘No, I am not going to cry, I am not weak’ I thought stubbornly.
I contemplated on confronting Ryan Collins about the drama he pulled, but the logical side of me decided against it. I was not in a state to deal with the guy anymore today. I tried to push all his thoughts to the back of my mind and focused on my work.
A few minutes passed by and I was almost done with my work when the office phone started to ring. I stared at the phone, hesitant to answer. I knew who was calling and I didn’t want to talk to him for another million years. My hands shook when I answered the phone. “Hello?”
“Sarah, send me the report on Monday. You can leave now,” his monotonous voice speaks from the other end.
“Thanks for being so considerate Mr. Collins, but I am almost done with the report,” I grumbled.
“You listen to me, okay? When I say I need the report on Monday, I need it only then. Do you understand?” he retorted.
“Yes,” I muttered.
“Alright, I will leave now. Have a great weekend!” With that, he disconnected the call.
I sat there bewildered. ‘Did he just wish me a great weekend? Did I hear him wrong or he did really say that? How could he expect me to be fine after the drama he pulled? What is happening in my life?’ I let out a humorless chuckle. The guy is driving me insane, no doubt about that.
It took me another ten minutes to leave the office. I felt someone’s eyes on me while walking down the empty hallway. It really started to scare me, and I increased my pace. I exhaled a deep sigh when I stepped outside the building and into the busy street. I walked towards the nearby bus station and boarded the bus. I paid for the ticket and sat in an empty seat. That’s when all the events of the day came rushing back to me. And he was all I could think about. To be more precise, all I could think about was Ryan Collins.
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“I’m home!” I said to no one in particular, throwing my bag onto the table. I knew that Lisa was on a date with Zach, and the chances of her coming home tonight are little. We have been best friends since high school and we moved into this apartment last year when she got a job in a publishing firm here in Los Angeles. She is very different from me – she is beautiful, confident, and has a cheerful personality. She never hesitates to show her true emotions. She knows me inside and out, and she is the one person I can always count on, no matter what.
I made my way into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of cold water from the fridge and drank it slowly. I instantly felt better when the coldness ran down my throat. I was in no mood to cook, so I grabbed an apple from the fridge and took a bite. The sound of the door knob turning made me startled, but I relaxed instantly when Lisa came into my view grinning widely.
“Why are you here?” I frowned.
“Last time I checked, I live here,” she replied sarcastically.
“Very funny” I rolled my eyes. “But seriously, why are you here? You said you were going on a date with Zach. Is everything alright, Lis?” I asked her, concerned.
She looked down and mumbled, “I broke up with him.”
“What? Have you gone nuts, Lis?” I shrieked. What is wrong with everyone today?
She suddenly started to laugh. “Relax silly, I was joking. But your expression was priceless,” she said in between laughter. “Zach got a call from the hospital, there was an emergency. So we cancelled our plans.”
I sighed in relief. “You scared me there, woman,” I nudged her playfully. “You shouldn’t make him wait any longer, you know?” I told her sternly.
“I know,” she sighed. “But I just couldn’t make myself forget the fact that he cheated on me with some random girl from a party. He was drunk, but that does not justify his actions.”
Her words made me silent. Though she was talking about a different incident, those words brought back unwanted memories again. I closed my eyes forcefully trying to block the thoughts.
Lisa noticed my silence and a look of guilt crossed her face. She quickly engulfed me in a tight hug. “I am sorry Sarah,” she whispered apologetically.
I tried to smile at her. “It’s okay Lis! I’m alright,” I told her. “But you should let it go. It has been two years. He didn’t hide it from you, instead he apologized and he has been doing everything to win your trust back. Even a blind man could see that you two are madly in love.”
“Okay Mom, I will sleep on it. But now I am hungry,” she whined. “Let’s order pizza, I’m craving for something spicy”. She grabbed her phone and dialed the dominos number. We ordered for a large spicy chicken pizza and garlic bread. Food arrived a few minutes later; we paid for it and started to eat.
“How was your day at office?” She asked taking a bite of her pizza. I groaned inwardly, not this topic.
“It was okay,” I shrugged. Somehow, I did not feel like talking about it.
Lisa narrowed her eyes at me. “I guess the day did not go well then," she stated.
“Well, just that Mr.Collins being the same,” I told her absentmindedly.
“You mean the hot handsome Manager of yours?” she said with a dreamy expression on her face which made me laugh.
“He is hot, but also an arrogant jerk,” I scowled.
“There is a thin line between love and hate, honey. You don’t know what happens next,” she winked at me.
I hit her hand playfully. “Sounds tempting, but you know there is no place for relationships in my life,” I said blankly.
“Says who? The one who asked me to let go of the past?” she retorted. I ignored her comment and an awkward silence filled the living room. It was a touchy subject for me and whenever someone brings it up, I ignore it.
We finished our food in silence and decided to call it a day. I headed to my room, but stopped when I remember something. “Do you have any plans tomorrow?” I asked Liz.
“Not really. Why?”
“I was just wondering if you might want to come with me tomorrow. Adelyn will be happy if you come, you know,” I looked at her expectantly.
She thought for a moment and then grinned. “I guess I will come,” she said eagerly. “It has been a while I spent some quality time with my Goddaughter!”
“Great! We will head out early in the morning, then. I need my beauty sleep, I don’t want to wake up late,” I told her excitedly while walking towards my bedroom.
I closed the bedroom door from inside, changed into my pajamas and walked over to the bed. I set the alarm for five o’ clock in the morning before slipping into bed. My eyes felt heavy and the moment my head hit the pillow, I drifted into a deep sleep.
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A/N : Hey, so whoever is reading this chapter, you don’t know how grateful I am :D Thank you so much for the read, vote and comments on previous chapters… And yes, if you like this chapter, please press that ‘vote’ button and also let me know what you think about this story so far… I wish all is well for you all… Stay happy and blessed <3
And Hazel, thank you for editing my work <3
Picture of Ryan on the right ------>