Chapter 3: Just Sex

It may have only been a one night stand to him, but for me it was a lifetime of memories.

I wasn’t sure whether to let the tears fall or to get up and leave. I didn’t have much of a choice any way because as soon as the door shut, the tears fell on their own and my feet took control. With trembling fingers, I slid my tote on my back and faced the door. Something shot across my peripheral vision and so; I spun around, coming in contact with a full-length mirror.       A girl stared back at me. Her sunken eyes cried out. With patchy skin and thin hair, she seemed saddened. And then, she called out to me as she slowly ascended above me.                     I woke up to pitch black, enveloped by silk sheets. My head seemed to weigh a thousand pounds as I sat up. It was silent.       For almost a minute, I figured I was in the homeless shelter, but this room smelled familiar and so, getting up, I slid to the door and turned on the lights, only to realize I was still under the same roof as Carissa and Ryan.       Why was I still here? I wasn’t welcomed, yet someone had taken the time to tuck me in. I was filled to the brim with mixed emotions and I felt that if anything else were to be added, I would simply vanish.       Hesitantly, I opened the door and slid out. The hallway lights were dimmed and shadows were walking across the opposite wall. I could hear a soft hum and as I descended down the staircase, voices could be distinguished.       Ryan and Carissa were talking.       Softly, I slid down against the wall, next to the open doorway, and held my breath.       “You can’t do this to her!” I heard Carissa say, her voice steadily rising.       “I can do what ever the hell I want. What do you expect me to do?” Ryan bit back.       “Let her stay, Ryan,” she begged.       “You want me to let a girl, who I haven’t seen, or for that matter, talked to in 9 years, stay with us?” Ryan asked in disbelief.  “You’re out of your mind.”       “Am I?” Carissa asked. “Last time I recall, weren’t you the one without a home?”       The room became silent. I peeked around the corner; Ryan slumped down on a chair while Carissa stood proud.       “I don’t know how to approach this,” he confessed, placing his head in his hands. “It was one night. We were drunk. How could have she remembered me after all this time?”       “The same way you remembered her. You left an impression on her.”       “But it was just sex!” he argued. I bit my lip at the tone of his voice.       Just sex.       Did he have to say it so “matter of fact?”       “I don’t think it was ‘Just sex’ for Sam.”       “I—       “—Ryan, I can’t speak for Sam, but I’m betting she’s hurt. Instead of jumping to conclusions, why don’t you try to talk to her?”       “She probably hates me now,” Ryan replied.       “I sincerely doubt that,” she laughed.       “I wouldn’t know what to say.”       “What would you usually say to a lady?”       I scrambled up off my knees and ran back to my room, hopping into the comforting bed and pulling the sheets up over my body. There came a slight tap at the door.       “Sam?” Ryan hesitantly asked at the door.       “Yes?” I mumbled, trying to appear sleepy.       “Can I come in?” he asked, his body half way in.       I remained silent, turning my back to him.       “Sam, what I said earlier—       “—You did the most rational thing,” I interrupted him.       “No, actually, it was very childish of me. I shouldn’t have cornered you like that. I apologize.”       I felt the bed move as he took a seat.       Continuing, he said:       “It would do me an honor if you stayed with us.”       Surprised, I rolled over. Ryan’s eyes met mine.       “I don’t expect anything from you,” he finished. Then he stood up.       “Neither do I.” I sat up. “I was stupid for coming here and interrupting your life…but, if I’m allowed, I’ll take you up on your offer.”       Ryan’s figure shifted.       “Of course,” he replied, shutting the door behind him.

Author's Note

Rough draft.