BORROWED INTIMACY

With his hands on the collar of my bathrobe, he brought his face closer to mine. He then delivered a wet and uncomfortable kiss on the cheek before reminding me, “It will be in your greatest interest not to reveal anything about the previous night to your sister if you don’t wish to get thrown out of your house.”

Having been reminded of the repercussions that would follow the revelation of this borrowed intimacy, I couldn’t argue with him anymore. Instead, I pushed him away with all my might and rushed towards the door to get away from the rich and spoiled heir, who I knew had nothing but perverted intentions regarding me, something that was clarified by his lascivious gaze.

Fortunately, the guy didn’t order anybody to follow me or stop me from leaving the premises, which was why I wasn’t interrupted on my way out of the property. Since the mansion was surrounded by huge patches of grassy land, it took me almost twenty minutes to get to the exit. The discomfort of my journey was multiplied by the people I encountered on my way out of the mansion. Everyone who noticed me rushing out of their master’s mansion seemed to be staring at me.

Even when I was certain how everyone’s eyes seemed to be stuck on me, or rather on my disheveled appearance, I tried not to be affected by it. I pretended to be blind to their repulsive gazes and deaf to their critical murmurs.

Once I was at the exit, I heaved a sigh of relief, pushed the unguarded door open to my freedom, and swore to forget everything that had happened the previous night. With dark clouds covering the entire sky, I knew I needed to hurry to my home to protect myself from the wrath of the unpredictable weather, a Herculean task indeed when you’re not wearing any shoes.

“I wish I had my wallet, as I would’ve opted for a cab then,” I muttered to myself while nervously walking alongside the periphery of a river, regretting all the decisions I had made so far. “If only I had had the courage to reveal the truth of my relationship with Noah to my sister, she then wouldn’t have gotten stuck with him or become the sacrificial goat.”

Even when I wanted to blame my devious ex-boyfriend for my own predicament, I knew I was at fault too. If I had been transparent about my relationship with him, my sister wouldn’t have accepted his marriage proposal. The solitary rumination convinced me that I was mostly the source of all of my troubles.

Guilty and rueful, I stopped moving, turned towards the river and began contemplating taking my own life to rid myself of the burden of having cheated on my sister with her husband. As long as I was alive, there was nothing that could change the fact that I had betrayed my sister. It seemed to be the only available option until my attention was diverted by the honking of the car behind me.

Startled, I turned around to find my friend, Seth Grayson, my childhood friend. I was more embarrassed than surprised to run into him at such an unpleasant time. I, therefore, struggled to greet the man and hoped the thunder would strike me and help me disappear.

Unfortunately, nothing of that sort happened. The man instead sprung out of his car, too agog to find out about my reasons for standing in the middle of nowhere in a bathrobe. Accordingly, he asked me, “What are you doing here? Why are you outside in just a bathrobe?”

I didn’t want to tell him the truth about my situation, but the tears still seemed to stir in my eyes. Even then, I didn’t mention anything about the previous night. This reluctance to speak helped him understand that I didn’t want to discuss my predicament with him. Consequently, he asked me no more questions related to it.

“Would you at least let me drive you home?” questioned the compassionate man, wishing to help me out.

Hesitatingly, I nodded. I didn’t seem to have any other options. After that, I held his hand and allowed him to help me settle in the front passenger seat. He sat in the driving seat, adjacent to me.

Just when I began tying the seat belt, he said, “I am thinking about taking you to my place first to change.”

Obviously, I didn’t know if it was the right thing to do after what I had been through. If anything, I wanted to be alone. My unwillingness to join him was visible on my face. So, he further argued, “I’m sure your parents would be worried to see you like this.”

I was convinced that they would rather be pissed than worried, so I felt that the smartest thing to do was to make myself presentable before returning home. Since my mother had been severely critical of me all my life, I knew I would be making a huge mistake by appearing in front of her in just a bathrobe.

“I would be really grateful for your help,” I answered with my hands resting on my thighs and my gaze fixated on the ground. “If my parents were to find out that I had been roaming in the city like this, they would not think twice before disowning me."

"Your parents have always been too hard on you," agreed Seth with a pitiful gaze and grabbing my hand. "If you want, you could live with me for a few days. Since my brother is out of town, his room is unoccupied."

Unlike before, how he had held my hand made me uncomfortable enough to ask him to release it with visible panic on my face. Dumbfounded, he asked me, "Are you really alright, Christie?"

"I just don't want to discuss it at the moment," I announced, crossing my hands and resting them on my chest.