A Work of Fiction - Chapter III
One more chapter! Do you still remember Lawrence and Marina?
If you missed the first two chapters, click below:
Chapter I
Chapter II
So the story is unfolding and there's a meeting in the horizon... Are you curious? ;)
Chapter III
He ran to the house and pressed the button to listen
to her voice, he just had to. “Hi Lawrence, it’s Marina. I thought I would find
you there, at least Nick told me you have been living there, but I guess you’re
not in. Well…I guess I’ll call you tomorrow or maybe you can call me when you
hear this…I need to talk to you. Bye.” After listening to it one more time,
Lawrence picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number. Nick, his agent
and best friend, picked up only to ask Lawrence to wait. “Sorry man, it’s just
so crowded in here I could hardly hear you. So how are you?”. “How am I? –
Lawrence asked – Well I'm trying to understand why Marina called you to ask for
me and you didn't tell me”. “Oh I see – Nick said – She asked me not to tell you
Lawrence. I wanted to, but she told me she was afraid you wouldn't talk to her
if you knew she was looking for you. I’m sorry; I just thought it was the best
thing to do. So did you talk to her?”. “I don’t care what she told you, I mean…I
care and I want to know it word by word, but you should have told me!”. “I’m
really sorry, man. Why don’t we meet tomorrow and talk about it? Why don’t you
come down to the city and we’ll have lunch?”. “Alright – Lawrence said, there
was really no other option – I’ll meet you at 1 p.m.”.
He had successfully avoided coming to the city
during the last six months. Just driving those familiar streets made him shiver
with fear and excitement. He kept thinking: What if she crosses the street when
he’s stopped at the red light? What if she is in the car right next to him?
What would he do? And more than that, what would she do? He kept thinking of
all the reasons that could explain her phone call, her eagerness to speak to
him. He was curious and, worse than that, he was hopeful. Hopeful that she had
realized she had made a huge mistake by leaving him. But he knew, as well as he
knew the sun always rises in the morning, that filling his heart with hope
was a trap, most probably a deathly one. There was only one way to find out,
but he was willing to start with Nick, at least to know what her tone was when
they spoke.
Nick was waiting for him and for the first time
in years he wasn't on the phone making him wait at least 15 minutes before he
could pay him attention. There was only one person who knew how bad it had
been, how bad it still was for him, and it was with this knowledge and respect
that Nick had made sure all his calls were held during their lunch. The great
thing about good friends is that you can go straight to the point avoiding all the
polite chit chat about the weather and last night’s game. He dove into it
without even looking at the menu of his favorite restaurant: “What exactly did
she say?”. Nick held the menu in his hands and knowing his friend put it down
and told word by word what had happened: “ She called me 2 days ago asking for
you. She only said she needed to speak with you and that it was very important.
Nothing else. Well, besides «please don’t tell Lawrence I called». She was upset
Lawrence, really upset.” Lawrence considered his words for a moment. “Upset
how?” he asked. “Upset like upset, man. She sounded nervous. But I can’t really
say more and if you want to find out you have to call her.” Nick faced his
friend and asked the question that was on both their minds: “Are you?”. Lawrence
sighted. He couldn't say. He was so torn between knowing and speaking to her
again and the pain that could so easily follow that same conversation... There
were too many possibilities, too many “ifs” in this equation and although the
answer was a simple yes or no, nothing, specially in this case, is as simple as it seems. He finally
spoke: “I figure I have two choices. Either I call and find out once and for all
what she wants or I keep guessing and try to forget it. I think we both know
what I have to do, but we also know what I’m going to do...” he said honestly.
Without a warning, he took his cell phone and dialed her number.
What was the worst thing that could happen?
What was the worst thing that could happen?
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