CHAPTER 18
Tonight was even worse for Parker than the one before.
A heavy silence filled the bedroom.
He lay curled into a ball beneath the blankets, pulling them all the way up to his shoulders until only his face remained uncovered. Anything to get warm. But the warmth never came. His hands and feet stayed as cold as the feeling burning its way through him from the inside.
His hand reached for his phone on its own.
The screen lit up the darkness, briefly pulling the room into view.
Wednesday. 2:47 a.m.Rick stared at the numbers for several seconds, as though trying to remember how much sleep he'd actually gotten today. An hour? Two? Or had he not slept at all?
His thumb automatically opened his contacts.
Aaron L.He hovered over the name, unable either to press the call button or simply turn off the screen.
Something twisted painfully beneath his ribs. Rick swallowed hard.
Today would be the busiest day of that damned conference. There would probably be presentations, meetings, endless conversations from early morning onward. Maybe Aaron would even have to give a speech.
Rick remembered the award sitting in Aaron's office.
The corners of his mouth lifted on their own. He caught himself trying to picture it.
The conversation opened by itself. His fingers hovered above the keyboard. The cursor blinked silently, but not a single letter appeared.
He closed the chat before he even realized what he was doing. He shut off the screen, tossed the phone aside, buried his face in his hands, and let out a muffled groan.
Three days left.
Just three.
Then everything would go back to normal.
It had to.
Had he really gotten so used to Aaron's presence in that short time they'd spent together that now he kept dragging Billy around with him at every opportunity, just so he wouldn't have to come home to an empty apartment at night?
It somehow felt even colder.
Rick pulled the blanket tighter around himself, but it didn't help. His body still refused to warm up. Somewhere beneath his ribs, that same feeling ached on, stubborn and relentless, untouched by work or exhaustion.
He rolled onto his other side and closed his eyes.
Five minutes passed. Then ten. Sleep still refused to come.
Cooper's face drifted before his eyes. Then fragments of the conversation.
Morning Star.Thursday.
Nine o'clock.
His thoughts tried to cling to one another, but after only a few seconds they wandered somewhere else entirely.
"Aaron would've already figured out what to do."Rick opened his eyes.
No.Not now.
He shoved the blanket aside with a weary sigh and sat up in bed. Resting his elbows on his knees, he buried his face in his hands.
He stayed that way for several more seconds before slowly getting to his feet.
If sleep wasn't coming, he might as well occupy his mind with something else.
He wandered into the living room, automatically detoured through the kitchen, and switched on the coffee machine. While it hummed quietly, he took out his new mug. A minute later, he stood by the window, warming his hands against the hot porcelain. The first sip burned his tongue, but he didn't even flinch. His gaze slowly swept across the room.
The apartment was so quiet it made him shiver.
Quiet enough that he could clearly hear the pipes creak inside the walls, while the old refrigerator in the kitchen gave a soft hum, as though reminding him that there was no one else here.
His eyes settled on the painting above the couch.
A strange abstract piece left behind by the apartment's previous owner. Usually it only amused him with its ridiculousness. Today all he saw was the wall behind it.
He stood there for another moment, then set his mug on the table, walked over, and lifted the painting off the wall.
Rick stepped back, thoughtfully studying the empty space it left behind.
Then, without a word, he shoved the couch aside, followed by the armchair, clearing even more room.
He still hadn't admitted to himself why he was doing any of this.
But his hands had already begun working long before his thoughts could catch up.
***
Hong pulled up outside the Mitchells' house and switched off the engine.
But he couldn't bring himself to get out.
He simply sat there with both hands still resting on the steering wheel, glancing toward the house every so often. His heart pounded as though he were about to take the most important exam of his life.
He was almost absurdly grateful to Rick. That morning, Parker had been carrying a stack of printouts and photographs. Without asking a single unnecessary question, he'd simply tossed Billy the keys to his car. To Billy, that gesture meant far more than the car itself.
It was as though, in his own strange silence, Parker had said:
I trust you. Go.Lowering the sun visor, Billy caught sight of his own reflection.
God...What a disaster.
His face looked lost. His eyes were anxious. His hair was sticking up in every direction again.
He hurriedly smoothed it down with his palm, straightened his shirt collar, then, for some reason, adjusted it once more before looking back into the mirror.
It hadn't helped.
The same guy was still staring back at him. A guy who looked completely unprepared for this exam.
He let out a quiet breath, patted both cheeks several times as though trying to pull himself together, and finally opened the car door. His legs suddenly felt heavy. But it was too late to back out now.
The front door finally opened.
Billy instinctively straightened, not even realizing he'd squared his shoulders.
Renata stepped onto the porch.
Her light-colored coat softly emphasized her slender figure. Her dark hair was gathered into a loose braid, with several familiar wavy strands escaping it as always.
She paused by the door for a second, adjusted the strap of her small purse, answered someone inside the house, then lightly skipped down the steps into the yard.
The moment she saw him, she smiled. Openly. Warmly. As though she was genuinely happy to see him.
Billy smiled back before he even realized he was doing it.
Only then did it occur to him that in just a few seconds she'd be standing right beside him.
And he'd have to say something...
He hurriedly wiped his damp palms on his jeans, subtly tugged at his shirt sleeves, and tried to remember at least one of the lines that had seemed so perfect that morning.
His mind was blank.
Completely.
It was as though someone had carefully erased every prepared sentence.
Meanwhile, Renata was already close.
With every step she took, Billy became less certain he could string together even two words.
His heart hammered somewhere in his throat. And yet, at the same time, a strange, almost childlike happiness slowly spread through him.
She had come.
They really were going to the movies.
Together.
"Hi," Renata greeted him shyly.
"Hi," Billy replied.
His own voice sounded unexpectedly hoarse.
"Ready?"
"Yeah." Renata nodded with a faint smile. "We can go."
Billy hurriedly opened the passenger door for her. She was already leaning down to get into the car when Mrs. Mitchell's cheerful voice rang out from the porch.
"Have her home by eight!"
"Of course! Absolutely!" Billy immediately turned around. "Don't worry, I... we'll only be gone a little while. I'll make sure she's home on time."
"And no funny business!" Mr. Mitchell added much more sternly as he appeared in the doorway.
"Daaad..." Renata groaned, covering her face with both hands.
Billy became so flustered that he nodded several times in quick succession.
"Oh, no, of course not. Nothing like that ever crossed my mind."
The moment the words left his mouth, he realized how strange they sounded.
Renata slowly peeked out from behind her hands. Their eyes met. Then she laughed quietly.
Billy smiled back awkwardly, gently closed the passenger door, and walked around the car, still feeling the heat in his cheeks. On the second try, he managed to get the key into the ignition. The engine started, and he carefully pulled out of the driveway.
For the first few minutes, they drove in silence.
He still couldn't bring himself to look at Renata. Only now and then would he steal a quick glance in her direction before immediately returning his attention to the road.
"You look really beautiful," Billy blurted out at last.
Renata turned toward him so unexpectedly that he instantly regretted saying it.
"Thank you..." she replied with an embarrassed smile. "You do too."
"Me?"
Billy looked genuinely astonished.
"No... I just ironed my shirt."
He thought for a second before honestly adding,
"At first I was going to wear the blue one. Then I thought blue was too formal for the movies. After that I decided I hadn't worn the white one in a while. But now I think maybe that was the wrong choice."
Renata absently ran her fingers along the end of her braid.
"Why the wrong choice?"
"Well..." He shrugged. "Because now I keep thinking I'm definitely going to spill something on it."
She laughed softly.
"I don't think the shirt is really the problem."
"No?"
"No."
She tilted her head slightly, studying him.
"You've been making excuses for yourself for the last five minutes."
Billy blinked.
"I have not."
"You have."
He fell silent for a second.
"Damn..."
"See?"
"No, wait... I'm not making excuses."
"You are."
"I'm not..." He stopped himself, then quietly snorted. "Okay... maybe you're right."
Renata's smile widened.
"You're cute when you're nervous."
"I'm not nervous."
She raised an eyebrow.
Billy lasted exactly three seconds.
"Well... just a little."
"Just a little?"
"A tiny bit."
He paused.
"Okay... a lot."
When Renata couldn't hold back her laughter any longer, Billy rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment and fixed his eyes on the road as though whatever was happening beyond the windshield had suddenly become the most fascinating thing in the world.
"To be honest..." she admitted after the silence settled again, "so was I."
Billy looked at her in surprise.
"Seriously?"
She nodded.
"Of course. I spent the whole morning trying to decide what to wear. I changed three times."
"Really?"
"Mhm. And I still never managed to get my hair to look right."
She smiled shyly.
"Mom said I was acting like I was getting married instead of just going to the movies."
Billy's lips twitched. Her words filled him with an unexpected sense of calm. So he hadn't been the only one worrying all this time.
"Thank you for picking me up," Renata added. "It... really means a lot."
"It was nothing."
He meant it sincerely. Then, before he could stop the thought from escaping, he added lightly,
"I would've driven to the ends of the earth to pick you up."
The words left his mouth before he had a chance to catch them.
The car instantly fell silent.
Only then did Billy realize what he'd just said.
He froze, both hands still gripping the steering wheel.
"God... why... why did I say that?"He stared so intently at the road as though he hoped the asphalt would split open and spare him the humiliation. His face burned.
Several long seconds passed. Then, from beside him, came a quiet laugh.
He cautiously turned his head.
Renata had finally let go of the end of her braid. She was looking at him with such a warm smile that all his panic suddenly seemed completely ridiculous.
"Then it's a good thing the movie theater is far away..." She smiled a little wider. "...That means we get to spend a little more time getting there."
***
There were surprisingly few people in the dim theater.
Billy let Renata go in first, waited until she had settled into her seat, and only then sat down beside her, trying to leave at least a little space between them. Though a second later, he accidentally bumped her elbow.
"Oh... sorry," they both said at the same time.
For a moment, they both froze. Then they laughed quietly.
"I think we're a little too polite," Billy mumbled, feeling the tension gradually begin to fade.
"I think so too," she agreed.
At last, the lights slowly dimmed.
He placed the bucket of popcorn between them and looked at Renata.
"Want some?"
"Of course."
She reached for the popcorn at exactly the same moment Billy did. Their fingers brushed ever so lightly, and both of them immediately pulled their hands back.
"Sorry..."
"No, I'm the one who's sorry..."
They looked at each other again.
"Okay," Renata giggled softly. "Let's try that again."
"Deal."
This time, it worked.
She deliberately waited for Billy to take some popcorn first. He smiled faintly before offering her the bucket.
The movie began, and at first they honestly tried to keep their eyes on the screen.
But without noticing it themselves, they started whispering silly comments to each other, debating whether one bucket of popcorn would be enough, and then, almost at the same time, remembered their phones. Their elbows bumped again. They both laughed quietly.
Before long, Billy realized he wasn't looking at the screen at all.
He noticed every little thing. The way Renata laughed at the jokes, little dimples immediately appearing in her cheeks. The way she absentmindedly played with the end of her braid whenever she was thinking. The way she quietly tucked her legs closer in the seat during the loudest moments.
The glow from the screen washed softly across her face, while her long eyelashes cast delicate shadows over her cheeks.
At one point, she felt him watching her and looked at him questioningly. Billy turned back toward the screen so quickly that he nearly knocked the rest of his cola onto himself.
When the lights finally came up, Renata stood first. She slipped on her coat, then suddenly stopped, stepped toward the young man who was still sitting in his seat, and gently brushed something off his shoulder.
"There."
A tiny feather rested on her fingertips, somehow caught on the fabric. Billy looked at the feather, then at Renata.
"Thanks..."
She simply nodded, flicked the feather onto the floor, and headed for the exit.
Billy watched her for several more seconds before remembering that he still hadn't put on his jacket.
"That was a wonderful movie," Renata said as they stepped together into the spacious theater lobby. "I really loved it. What about you?"
Billy looked away awkwardly.
"I... liked it too."
"Really?"
He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
"To be honest... I don't think I actually understood about half of it."
Renata laughed softly.
"Why not?"
He was just about to answer honestly, but stopped himself in time.
"It's... hard to explain."
She glanced at him.
"Thank you for inviting me. The last time I went to the movies was with... Sarah."
The mention of her friend's name landed like a sharp sting.
Billy swallowed automatically but said nothing.
Renata didn't rush to continue either. They walked slowly down the long corridor with the rest of the audience. Then, all at once, the faintest smile appeared on her face.
