Page 55 of Something New

I can’t stop pacing around and it’s making it worse. I have to do something. I need to get out. Coming home was a bad idea.

I want to stay away from Nerissa, but even after everything that happened today, she is all I can think about. I still don’t understand how I was so negligent with my duties. I know better than to piss my father off or draw attention to myself. Nerissa is distracting me from everything. But I love it. I love the way she makes me feel and I love how she makes my life so much more meaningful. The things I neglected are things I don’t care about.

I do need to care though unless I want to deal with constant pressure from my family.

I guess I can see Nerissa without interacting with her.

I can find out what she is doing while she’s been so quiet today. It’ll be like it always was - me watching from a distance, quiet and thoughtful.

The idea relaxes me. I forgot how much I used to love watching her. Yes, that’s what I need to do. That will help me refocus and calm down.

Opening the app on my phone I check to see where she is located.

She’s at home. According to today’s timeline she’s been home all day. I glance at my watch. It’s four o’clock in the afternoon. It’s not common for her to be home all day like this. Not since she finished her studies.

Maybe she needs me.

I rush downstairs to my car and climb in as fast as I can.

There is some traffic through the city which aggravates me to no end. My patience is thin today. I just want to get to her.

I park outside her apartment window, out of sight if she looks out onto the street. Then I open my phone and connect to her phone, turning her microphone on so I can hear what is going on in her apartment.

It’s risky because if she looks at her phone, she will see that it’s turned on, but it’s a risk I’m ok with taking at this point. It’s also something I can only do when I am in a certain radius to her.

I place the phone on my dashboard and lean back in my seat, my eyes on her window. I can see movement inside her apartment.

Hayley’s voice comes through loud and clear on my speaker.

“So, the job fell through. Ok. That’s horrible. But where have you been? What have you been doing? You haven’t just been sitting in this apartment day after day sulking.”

Her friend is being aggressive. I don’t like the way she is talking to her. I clench my jaw, wanting to march up to her apartment and give her friend a piece of my mind. No one speaks to Nerissa like that.

I don’t move though. I just wait. Wondering how Nerissa will handle this.

“I met a guy.”

I didn’t expect that.

Leaning forward in my seat my eyes are on my phone now. I am riveted. Completely invested in this conversation. I knew there was a reason my instincts were telling me to come here.

They continue talking. Nerissa is being interrogated by her friend. But I don’t care anymore. I want to know as well. I have the same questions. I need this insight into Nerissa’s mind.

“Are you in love, Nerissa?” Hayley says, sounding stunned by the realization.

My hands are clenched over the steering wheel. I watch the shadows move in her apartment.

There is a pause. Too long.

My heart is racing.

Nerissa’s voice comes through my phone.

“It’s getting—I—” She sighs, pausing. I am holding my breath, and I can’t seem to let it out. I am desperate to hear her answer.

“I am falling for him.”

My fists unclench and I flop backwards into my seat letting out a loud, heavy breath of relief.

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