I didn’t see the humor.
Angry as I mentally relived last night’s scene, I jumped from my stool and stomped over beside Megan. Pushing her aside, I grabbed the door. “What do you want, Marcus?” I made it a point to sound stern.
His scent hit me like a ton of bricks. My most favorite smell in the world lingered between us. The scent of his bath soap from his freshly taken shower mixed with his cologne. He smelled so good it was sickening. “I wanted to apologize for last night. I didn’t want it to end like that.”
Slapping my hand on my hip, I tilted my head. “Marcus, we ended a month ago, so last night was not an end to anything.”
Looking down, he shoved his hands into his front pockets. “I don’t want to argue, Mia.” Glancing back at me, his face was unreadable.
“Neither do I, so that’s why you should go.”
“Come on, Mia, can we please talk?” he begged.
“No, I’m done, Marcus I’m so done.” I closed the door, pressing my back against it so that I slid down to the floor exhaling. My eyes closed as I buried my hands into my face.
There was one soft knock against the door, a sliding sound, and then his voice pierced through at a lower level as if he was on the floor as well. “I’m not giving up, Mia. I’m not going anywhere. I won’t go. I refuse to not fight for us this time.”
Shifting my body so that my mouth neared the crack of the door, I whispered. “Marcus please just go … I’m trying so hard … It’s difficult already ... It’s bad enough that I think I can’t let you go.”
“Then don’t, Mia, don’t, please just give me another chance.”
Tears stung my eyes. “I can’t.”
“I’m not leaving. I don’t care if it takes you a lifetime. I’m not giving up.”
Sighing I stood and walked away and headed to my room. I threw myself in bed. He’d eventually go. He couldn’t stay there forever. Why was he making it so hard for me? I hated him for that.
****
Taking the longest nap ever, I woke to the smell of cheesy pizza. I was starving since I skipped breakfast and lunch. I washed up in the bathroom before going to the kitchen. When I entered, Jeremy and Megan were whispering to one another; they seemed to be in a serious discussion. They both looked up at me as I entered. The fresh box of pizza was still closed. I opened it. Ah, it smelled so good. Grabbing a few plates out the cupboard, I placed them on the kitchen counter.
When I glanced back up they were both staring at me. “What?” Their eyes fixed on each other and back on me. “What?” I asked again, irritated.
Megan pressed her lips together before speaking. “Marcus is still out there. He paid for the pizza. He refuses to go.” She bit her lip.
“So?” I tried to act as if I didn’t care. Deep down, I did care; though I wouldn’t show them that.
“So, he’s been sitting out there all day and hasn’t eaten a thing. I’m not sure if he’s even used the bathroom, Mia,” Jeremy chimed in. I glared at him, annoyed by his sympathy for Marcus. Whose side was he on, anyway?
“There’s a gas station down the block; he can use the bathroom there.” Both of them widened their eyes, surprised by my lack of compassion. “What!”
Tearing their eyes away from me, they dug into the pizza. I grabbed my slice, and slumped onto a kitchen stool and began to munch into the warm cheesy bread. They sat in silence eyeing each other. I watched them as they gave slight shrugs and sympathetic expressions to one another. Oh! Come on! Since when was Marcus DeLuca a saint! Did he magically win them over during my eight-hour nap? So what if he’d been sitting outside this entire time, without food, water, and a restroom. He deserves it … I hope he starves!
Alright, that was mean even for me … ugh. I jumped off the stool and grabbed another plate from the cabinet. Placing two slices onto the plate, I looked at their pathetic faces as they stared at me with hopeful eyes. Rolling my eyes, I stormed toward the front door. When I swung it open, Marcus was sitting across from me. His head leaned against the wall. Arching my eyebrow, I walked over and shoved the plate onto his lap. He smiled. I said nothing but turned on my heels and stormed back into my apartment. Slamming the door behind me, I went back to eating my pizza. Jeremy and Megan both with crooked grins continued to munch on their slices as well. We ate in silence.
****
After dinner we stayed up for a while, watching re-runs of a comedy series. I laughed at certain scenes, but it was the fakest laugh I’d ever heard. Jeremy even raised his eyebrows at me a few times; I was caught. I wanted to enjoy the show; I really did … though my mind drifted to Marcus sitting out on the hallway on the uncomfortable hardwood floors. An ounce of me began to feel sorry for him, but then my mind would drift off to last night’s scene, and the sorrow I felt would be overcome with anger.
It was beginning to get late, so Megan left for home. Jeremy stayed in the living room watching TV, and I went to my room to prepare my things for my first day of school. As I laid out my clothes, laptop and textbooks, I started to wonder if Jeremy took out the trash. Maybe I should take out the trash … No it wasn’t an excuse to see if he was still out there … maybe a small one.
Deciding to check anyway, I walked over to the kitchen. The trash wasn’t full. Hmm. Pulling the bag out of the can, I began to walk through the apartment trying to find trash anywhere in sight, emptying both bathroom trashcans into the bag, also the bin in my bedroom. There, that was full enough to take out. After I donned my slippers, Jeremy walked out of his bedroom as I was getting ready to exit the door.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
Startled, I lifted the trash bag I held in my hands. “Oh, uh, trash was full,” I said.
He stared at me questioningly. “Yeah, I emptied it this morning.”
Shrugging, I smiled. “Really? Huh, oh well … I’ll go dump this one.”
Smirking, he said. “I’ll do it.”
Quickly turning around, I brought my arms up to stop him. “No, no, you got it last time. I don’t mind.”
Chuckling, he shook his head and entered the kitchen. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door. Sure enough DeLuca was sitting in the same spot. His eyes were worn, but grew hopeful at the sight of me. With my best stern expression, I swiftly passed him and made my way down the stairs. Once I exited the door, I breathed in the fresh cool air. This was getting ridiculous; he couldn’t possibly keep this up every night. Dumping the trash into the dumpster, I made my way back in.