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I push my way through the house. I have abandoned the idea of speaking to Lawrence at this point. He won’t understand what I’m going through. I need to find Zooey first and find out if all of this is worth it. If it’s not, then there is no sense in ruining everything else in my life. Losing my business partner and best friend isn’t out of the question if it means I can have her, but I’d rather have something left after the fallout.
I head into the garden and find that it’s mostly deserted. There is trash everywhere after last night’s party and the only people left to deal with it are Lawrence’s staff. I awkwardly pass them by. I have a sense that Zooey is out here somewhere. I know how much she likes the outdoors, so it seems right that I would find her here.
And then all of a sudden, I spot her. Sitting with a cardigan wrapped around her is Zooey and her friend, Poppy. They’re on a bench, whispering to one another in low voices. I stare at them for a few moments, feeling a surge inside me to storm over and kiss Zooey’s beautiful lips. I want to take her back upstairs and finish what we started. But when she looks up and sees me, she doesn’t smile. She doesn’t look like she wants me the same way. She just looks at me as though I’m a complete stranger. Or like she can’t see me at all.
Except she must see me, because she takes her friend’s hand and stands up, whispering something to her before dragging her away, not looking back at me as she leaves. I can’t believe this. Has she really left on my account? Why is she avoiding me without even giving me the explanation she so clearly owes me?
Part of me wants to follow her. Part of me wants to grab her and give her a reminder of why she let last night happen in the first place. I want to prove to her I’m the man she fell for, the man in the mask she locked eyes with a few days ago. But with her back to me, her figure retreating into the fog-shrouded morning, I can’t even explain my thoughts.
Because it seems all of a sudden she doesn’t want me.
It’s midday now, and I haven’t said a word to anyone. Every time I see someone approaching me to chat, I find a way of escaping before they reach me. I’ve seen Zooey a handful of times, but she seems incapable of even looking at me now. After everything we went through, I can’t believe she would be so cold with me.
I decide to go back outside and help with the cleanup. At least it’ll give me time to think, and an excuse not to speak to anyone. I head out into the coldness, silently seething. I’ve never had a rejection like this before. Even if I had, I don’t think I would ever have cared. No other woman has ever had a hold on me, or a claim to my emotions. I’ve never had a reason to get angry about a woman before. I’ve gone through life not really caring. And now, all of a sudden, one woman has changed everything. How the hell has she done it, and how dare she leave me behind after bringing up all these strange feelings?
“Deep in thought, I see.”
I turn around and see Zooey’s friend looking at me with a smug smile on her face. Poppy is one of those girls who looks like she always gets her way, and right now she is looking at me like I’m a piece of meat. Did Zooey send her here to mess me up even more? Or is this some kind of ridiculous test of my loyalty? Does Zooey think I might stray elsewhere, even though she’s been the only thought on my mind for the past few days?
“Can I help you with something?” I ask coldly, picking up some litter with my plastic pinchers. Poppy is holding her own pair of tongs, but I sense she’s not here to help with the clean up.
“I was just curious what all the hype is about with you,” Poppy purrs. “Zooey seems so interested in you...and when I woke up this morning, she wasn’t in bed. Has she been sleeping somewhere else, Wesley? Perhaps in your bed?”
“Kind of a personal question for someone you don’t know, don’t you think? How about you mind your own business?”
“Zooey is my business,” Poppy says, her smile falling a little. “I’m here because I want to make sure she’s not being messed around. I’ve barely been able to get a word out of her this morning, and it seems like she’s upset about something. If you’re being a heartbreaker right now, I swear you’ll have me to answer to.”
