Hey Stranger Ch.8

A thought ran through my head and without a second it was already in motion. I quickly grabbed water, a bag of chips, and my charger. I don't belong to Lorenzo and I never will so if he wants me to stay with him, it's not gonna be how he wanted. 

“Khloe I'm going to sleep at the guest house tonight,” I whispered down the hall and she gave me a thumbs up from the bathroom door. I left our main house and locked the door behind me. It was a good walk to our guest house, but the path was lit up by bright lanterns that hung from the top of a tunnel made of vines. The moon glistened through the leaves and the warm fall winds brushed the hair out of my face. 

Once I reached the guest house I pulled out the key from my pocket and unlocked the door. I loved our guest house. It was a small but luxurious one-bedroom, one-bathroom with a huge kitchen that took up half the square feet area. everything was a glassy texture. The main colors were black and white, green was spotted in every window seal from the assortment of plants. 

I placed my stuff on the counter but didn't bother to turn on the lights, The moon was already lighting up the kitchen. I walked to the couch and plopped down right in the middle. pulling a pillow to my chest I opened my phone to Anthony's contact. I would normally be a lot more nervous to do something like this but right now I was acting on impulse. There was a big chance I would regret this in the morning but that was the least of my worries. 

I watched my phone ring in my hand and counted how long it would take for him to answer.

“1…”

“2…”

“Mariana?” he answered. It was silent for a second.

“uh..” I had no plan of what to say. Maybe I should have thought about that before looking like a complete idiot.

“Are you okay? it’s 10 pm at night.” he pressed, there was worry in his voice.

“yeah… yes! I'm okay”.

“what’s up?” 

“Well I had a really bad night, and I'm stressed… I dont think I can sleep! and there are so many things going on… I have a migraine and I really just need someone-.." I blurted out. well shit. The call line was quiet for a second.

“send me your address,” he said flatly. It was quiet again.

“oh uh okay hold on.'' I fumbled my phone in my hand and sent a screenshot of my address. “you don’t have to do anything-“ 

“I'll be there in 20 minutes, Mariana.”

“Anthony…” I felt like I was forcing him to do this, but if I was being honest a little turned on by his quick decision and his concern.

“make it 35 minutes i’m getting you food from McDonald’s.” he cut me off. “I'll see you soon Querida.”

Anthony hung up, I stared at my phone in silence. my heart was beating fast and my headache soon went away. I laid my phone on my lap and placed a finger over my smile.

“querida..'' I repeated to myself. “35  minutes…I have 35 minutes!” I pulled myself up and ran to the bathroom, I turned on the shower and pulled my hair into a bun. While I pulled the shower cap over my hair and took off my clothes I saw my phone light up. It was him again. 

“Mariana,” he answered. I loved how he said my name instead of hey.

“yes?” I put my phone on speaker.

“What do you want to drink?” he asked. “one second,” he told the person taking his order.

“oh uh, coke?” 

“Great, okay, be there soon.” 

he hung up again, he was serious about showing up. my heart was fluttering again and I hopped in the shower. I'm pretty sure I made a record time for shaving. It took me 13 minutes to shave the majority of my body.

Once I got out I lathered up in my peach strawberry-scented lotion, and sprayed mango body mist all over. I wanted to smell tropical and delicious. I slipped on my shorts and a tank top I had stored away at the guest house. my heart kept racing, I couldn’t sit still. I got up and went outside to the pool. no one had been here in two weeks so the pool was looking like a soup with all the leaves and branches. Once I found the cleaning net I went to work. This took 15 minutes, and though I was trying to speed up the wait, it was not working.

I pulled my hair out of my bun and examined the crinkled hair. 

“yikes..” 

There was a straightener that an old guest left a long time ago. I grabbed it from under the cabinet and plugged it in. I leaned forward over the small half-bath counter, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. The blush tent on my cheeks was very obvious. Even though he was a stranger to me, I've never felt more happy to see someone in my life. Lorenzo would never leave at 11 pm to comfort me. Quickly the happiness in my heart and the blush on my cheeks disappeared.

I turned off the straightener and wrapped the cord back up. A similar feeling filled me, technically it left me. This was a dark numb feeling. My eyes drifted to the shower shelf in the mirror reflection. My eyes stopped scanning on the shaver. I turned around and pressed my back to the counter. I hated how quickly this emptiness took over me. From happiness to numbness. Looking over my shoulder I watched my eyes, maybe I could find some emotion in them again. I even looked numb. I felt nothing. 

I turned back to the mirror and began to braid my damp hair. Ignoring my problems always helped me feel better. I know that's unhealthy but who wants to think about not having emotions? I don't, especially not at the moment. My ignoring skills weren't working very well when my attention was drawn back to the shaver.

I tied my braid and took the shaver from the shelf.  I took a seat at the edge of the pool and put my feet in. The razor shined in the moonlight, I took apart the shaver and achieved the 3 blades attached to it. Pain hurts, but it hurts worse when you feel nothing. I placed two blades on the concrete beside me. When I held it up in front of my face a shimmer of moonlight blinded my eye. I put it back in my lap, this time I placed it on the side of my wrist. Pressing it lightly on my skin, I want to feel something.

A knock came on the door.

“Shit!” I wiped the small drop of blood from my wrist and jumped up. I managed to fix my hair in a matter of seconds once pacing the bathroom. “I'm coming!”. I unlocked the two locks and opened the door.

“Hey there.” 

I stood there in shock

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