The second floor was already bubbling with guests when Veil and Anders stepped in, hand in hand. Although he was there with her physically, Veil couldn’t feel him anywhere near her. He was far away, lodged in a deep place in his mind where it was hard to get him out.She had tried on their way there. She talked about her parents and how she missed them terribly, tried to bring Sophia into the single conversation she was having with her, and tried to turn it into a joke, but Anders wasn’t even hearing a word of what she was saying.Veil had given up halfway through the ride, staying in her thoughts until they took the lift to the second floor. The minute they arrived, Veil found herself whisked away by Amanda, who wanted her to meet the members of her band. They’d all been asking about her since the scene with Sophia and Amanda had made them come over to the exhibition.It was like killing two birds with a stone.Veil smiled politely at Amanda’s friends, thinking she would have to put
Anders retrieved a glass of sparkling wine from the tray the servers passed around and approached the huge painting at one end of the room. It was the image of death—or at least, that was what Anders interpreted it to be. Lucas was famous for his abstract paintings, relaying the darkest of his thoughts in the way he best knew how to. However, interpretations and perceptions varied. While some people saw light, others saw the darkness he portrayed, but in different degrees. The background of the painting was black, with lightning somewhere near the earth. There were almost translucent apparitions cutting away from the painting, with one visible pair of brown eyes looking back at the earth, with sadness imprinted in that gaze. It was a tad intriguing because both the earth and the top of the painting signified demise to Anders, yet it felt like his eyes preferred the earth. He thought the top of the board offered much more—the possibility of still being present in some way. Call it s
Sophia still had that innocent smile on her face as she turned to face Anders fully, confusion etched in her eyes. He hadn’t expected any different because she would never have conceived the thought, even once, that he was onto her. She thought him the ideal man who never bothered with anything else as long as his woman was hot, made public appearances with him and was filthy rich and well-known to aid his company. Sophia had formed this notion because Anders hadn’t made her think otherwise. What she didn’t know was that he didn’t even see her. From the very beginning, going with her felt like a chore he was being forced to do. Hell! He would have preferred sitting in his bathtub staring up at the plain ceiling rather than going out to some fancy restaurant opening with her. “You have a business with me right now,” the President muttered. ‘Not her, unless you are ready to apologize. And I’ll remind you, gentleman, that you watch your tone with me. My men wouldn’t hesitate to teach
Anders didn’t wait for the President and Sophia to take their leave, before walking off into the crowd. Lucas appeared beside him suddenly and placed a hand over his shoulders, pulling him along to the small section turned into a bar.On their way, they walked past a collection of paintings that got Anders smiling. The wall held Amanda’s face in different expressions and poses, happy, sad, crying, angry, hungry, sexy, hurting, goofy, singing, sleeping…It was beautiful to see.If Lucas ever doubted what they both had, this was confirmation enough. His best friend only did abstract except in certain circumstances, like when he made that painting of Camila in his home. She had been in the hospital at the time, and Lucas knew she didn’t have much time left.He hadn’t given the portrait to Anders until Camila left, and Anders was surprised he had remembered the very words he used to describe her on the first day they met - Camila, red as fire, green as the forest.It was the first time And
Veil and Amanda walked down the stairs, with Veil’s eyes turning to search the spot where Anders had been standing a while ago. A group of unfamiliar faces stood before the portrait in an animated conversation about what each of them thought it connoted.Taking in a deep breath, she craned her neck and searched for him amongst the crowd, coming up empty. She turned to ask Amanda if she had any clue where Lucas was, but the look in Amanda’s eyes had her stopping.Following her gaze, Veil’s eyes landed on the wall partially hidden from view. She walked slowly behind Amanda, her eyes taking in the striking images that seemed to read into her. Every emotion felt so real that Veil almost teared up when her eyes met the painting of Amanda in tears.Sadness washed through her when she took in the other painting, of Amanda totally broken into pieces by something eating away from her.“This was when Camila died,” Amanda whispered, her eyes watering. She sniffed noisily to keep the tears at bay
The night went on, cloaked in silence and twinkles of light, but for the four friends seated on the patterned blanket on the balcony, time remained frozen.“Your turn,” Amanda chirped as she returned the bottle to the floor and turned it. They'd been playing a game of truths, and it had been pretty superficial, not going beneath the surface. The questions that were asked were the usual, name of their schools, favorite color, best childhood memory, and preferred TV show. Amanda smiled when she mentioned the Simpsons. It was so cliche but even after all these years, her love for it never reduced.Anders watched the spinning bottle, heaving a sigh of relief when it stopped at Veil's side of the blanket. She rubbed her hands together and waited for Amanda's question since she was the last person to have a question asked of her.“Have you ever been in love?” The question took everyone by surprise, including Veil. She let out a breath and cast a slow glance at Anders. She swallowed when
Anders pulled out at the gates and tossed his key to his driver who appeared in the corner. Walking around to the passenger's side, he pulled open the door for Veil and took her left hand gingerly in his, walking her up into his house.As always, the lights in the living room were turned off, with the dim rays from the stairs casting a soft glow around. Usually, Anders made good use of the darkness, reaching out to Veil and wrapping a hand around his waist. But not tonight. The living room was flooded with light suddenly and Veil's eyes snapped shut instantly from the brightness. She opened it slowly until her eyes got used to the lights and by that time, Anders was no longer standing before her.But he reappeared a minute later with two glasses of ginger juice. Handing one to Veil, he motioned her over to the double seater. “We've both had enough alcohol to last one week,” he muttered. “This should help it.”“How?” Veil questioned as she took a sip. She grimaced as the liquid swirl
Veil stumbled back, fazed by those words. It didn't matter that she had heard him say it a million times, or that she knew that he believed it as much as he believed that oxygen was what gave life. “Anders,” she whispered, uncertain of what to say next. Different words serenaded her mind but none of them seemed enough for this situation. She wished she could beg him, say something that could get him to change his mind.But with the expression etched on his features, Veil knew there was no way on earth that was going to happen.He watched her with something that looked close to pity, and it made Veil hate herself, hate the situation she had willingly walked into.“I don't want to do this to you,” Anders muttered, sighing. He ran his hand through his hair again, then placed his hands on his waist.“Then don't,” Veil breathed, her hands clutching his t-shirt. “Don't, Anders.”“I can't.” He shook his head. “I've thought about how this conversation would go a million times because I never