Simone looked at the text and felt her heart jump into her throat.
How had he gotten her number? Had he looked through her phone? Did that mean he'd gone through her purse as well?
Again she felt a flicker of unease. Her emotions were in constant conflict. One minute she was gushing over the way he'd fucked her and the next she was feeling nervous.
What if he'd recorded her? What if she was on Pornhub right now? What if everyone at the school saw it?
She took a deep breath and forced herself to relax. Good grief woman, chill! He said he loved you. I may not know the who and the why but there's no reason to assume the worst. He drove me home, got me glass of water, carried me to my bed and massaged my feet.
He even washed me up after cumming on my stomach. No scoundrel would be that caring.
She felt her phone buzz again as she left the library and headed to the bathroom. The hallways were packed with students and she had to shift around quite a few clusters before she made it to the staff bathroom.
Locking the door, she lowered the toilet seat and sat on the lid.
Now she could read through the messages more clearly. She didn't have to worry that she'd make an expression that would draw Mrs.Veela's attention.
She already felt embarrassed that she had cried in front of her. Again. How many times had it been? Mrs.Veela was someone she felt very safe with and her emotions always got the best of her when she talked to her.
She did not even weep like that in front of her own mother. Safe to say she was closer with the tenured librarian then she was with the woman who birthed her.
After her parents divorce, though it had been her father who was at fault, she and her mother had also grown a bit distant.
And with each passing year, they communicated on logic alone rather than emotion.
Simone wondered at times if she and her mother still loved one another. Had they ever? Or had they only been close because the father and husband figure had been so cold that they had no choice but to cling to each other?
So why hadn't they clung after the divorce?
Simone knew she had withdrawn in many ways because of her insomnia and subsequent heartbreak. But it shouldn't have caused such a rift. She had only wished to not add to her mother's pain.
It would appear they had decided to heal on their own rather than together and through that had fractured their once close bond.
Simone rubbed her face. It's not as though we hate each other. We're just at a place where the bond has dwindled. It's not such a terrible thing. She will never treat me as my father did. And I will never be harsh towards her.
So what's happening?
Simone forced her thoughts away when she felt a sob build in her throat. No way. No way in hell was she crying twice in one day. Especially not after she spent so much of yesterday crying.
Besides she was at work. She had to be professional. She would not allow herself to be seen as a meek and wimpy woman who weeps.
Simone suddenly realized that her phone was flooded with text messages which she had failed to notice cause she had been thinking so deeply.
It appeared the stranger really wanted her attention.
Blinking her tears away, she put her parents out of her mind. Each time she thought too long on either one; she was filled with pain.
Only Mina was a safe middle ground. She should try to only think about her sister from now on.
Instantly, she felt guilty. How could it only be Mina? What about her poor mother? The woman had suffered so much.
First the traitorous husband.
And then the sick daughter.
Simone was marginally better now, but in the early days of her sickness, she had been hospitalized. The two clusters headaches, numerous fainting spells and...there had been something else, but she couldn't remember.
Simone knew her mother had hidden the true nature of one of her hospital visits from her. She had asked when she had woken up, but then, it was all a blur.
Your brain wasn't as sharp when you lost sleep. It was a scientifically proven fact that constant bouts of sleeplessness caused the brain to literally start devouring itself.
Simone felt that she should have been devoured a dozen times over by now. And unless she found a permanent solution, she was setting herself up for other health problems in the latter stage of her life.
Or maybe even sooner.
Simone lost the entire lunch period in the staff bathroom. She was ruminating so intensely, even the buzzing phone and the mystery of the stranger wasn't enough to draw her attention anymore.
Finally emerging, she turned off her phone and went back to the library, briefly stopping at a vending machine to get a chocolate bar and a can of cola.
She smiled politely at Mrs.Veela before resuming her work. The rest of the day went by in a blur as she finished cataloging all the delivered books. After that, she did all the returns with a cannister of Lysol wet wipes tucked under her arm. She cleaned every dusty surface she could find and adjusted every book that was sticking too far out of its slot.
Simone was determined to keep busy so she wouldn't fall back into her thoughts.
----------
The time was 4pm when Simone reached her apartment. She had turned her phone back on, but apart from the initial message which had told her that she looked stunning in a pencil skirt, she did not look through the 30+ other messages.
She felt so deeply unhappy now that she was off work and her mind had the freedom to wander about in the abyss. She worried that she might cry herself to sleep once more and could feel an emerging headache. One that made her worry that sleep may not come at all and she would lay awake all hours of the night and return to work the next day, needing her eyedrops, her Tylenol and dressed to hide once more.
Turning the key, she opened the door to her apartment and entered gracelessly. Her feet were hurting from wearing heels all day and she nearly lost her balance as she took them off. Once she was back on her own feet, she nearly smiled from how much of an improvement it was.
Heels were stupid. What had she been thinking?
Tossing her purse aside, she went to her bathroom and immediately scrubbed her face clean of makeup. Her mascara laden eyelashes were the hardest part. Why had she put on so much?
Mascara was so stupid. It was essentially just gunk on her eyelashes.
As much as Simone tried not to, she knew she was falling back into her pessimistic ways. Negative self-talk was a habit she couldn't shake off.
And to think she had started the day with such optimism.
That was the thing about depression; it never seized to pop its head up and remind you that you're supposed to be miserable.
Brushing her teeth, she tried not to look too much at her reflection. The way her pencil skirt hugged her curves made her smile a bit, then she felt her belly and her smile dropped.
Still a fat slob. Unless I lose weight I won't ever feel beautiful the way I used to.
She headed back to her living room and grabbed her phone. She was contemplating between ordering fresh takeout or heating up the takeout that was already in the fridge when she heard a noise behind her.
She was about to turn around when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her entire torso and she was pulled back into a bear hug.
She stiffened, eyes wide, when she caught scent of the same perfume.
Intoxicating and inviting.
It was him.
"Mione, I've missed you." His voice was nothing more than a husky whisper.
The man was so large he was able to rest his chin on top of her head. She heard him smell her hair.
She could see his shoes were twice the size of her feet.
And right now, her feet were slightly dangling off the floor as he had lifted her into an embrace.
"Who are you?" Her voice came out breathless instead of stern.
He pressed a kiss to her hair. "I think the more important question is, why did you not respond to any of my messages? Did you turn your phone off? I was worried something had happened to you, but no, you were just ignoring me."
He released a long sign. "That hurts, you know? To be ignored by the woman I love."