Chapter 36

Chapter 36
I'm not sure how long or how I got there, but when the cold water hit my face, I realised I was sitting on the bed.

"Oh, thank God!” Harvey exclaimed, “I thought you were dead for a second," he placed his palm on his chest with relief. "Let me get you another glass of water." He said, but I did not answer; instead, I rose up and started scanning the room for my phone.

Harvey exited through the door, and I began to move, recalling how it slid from my grasp. Why does that damn phone always disappear when I need it most? It wasn't on the floor, so I checked around the dresser but still didn't spot it.

When I heard the door open, I hurriedly turned to ask Harvey if he had seen my phone.

"Yes, the screen is broken."

"Broken?"

"I picked it from the floor. I am guessing it's your mother again. Lex, how many times do I have to remind you that our parents' problems shouldn't bother us?" Harvey approached and handed me the glass of water, but I shook my head and asked to borrow his phone instead.

"It's Elliott. I... think he's with someone."

"Elliot?"

"We had sex last night. I cannot allow him to do this to me."

"Oh, I remember, my phone's not working."

"You called me earlier."

"It was through the landline." He didn't appear ready to give me a phone. "Lex, why don't you drink some water, calm down and—Lex!" he exclaimed as he followed me out while I dashed to the house line.

"I was just lying. We haven't paid for that thing since we moved here," he remarked as I attempted to use the landline. I did not respond. I noticed it wasn't working and realised he'd duped me.

I glanced around for his car keys—my car was still at Gia's—and when I spotted them, I pushed myself to calm down.

"Could you please get me an aspirin?" I requested. He looked confused for a second before nodding and telling me to have a seat.

I got to the sofa, and he gave me a suspicious look before heading to the bedroom. That's when I sprang up, grabbed the keys, and hurried out.

Outside, I jumped into his car and drove away instantly. As soon as I got on the road, I took out Harvey's phone and tracked Elliot's location.

Yes, Harvey's phone was on the sofa. It was the first thing I grabbed, before the keys.

I swear, when you're angry, a ten-minute drive feels like thirty seconds, because here I was, already parked at one of Los Angeles' elite bachelors apartments.

I rushed inside and told the lady in the lobby that I was Elliot's best friend. She explained that in order to protect their clients' security, he needed to call and notify him.

"Alright, sir," she answered, turning to me and giving me the flat number. I wasted no time and rushed there.

Finding the flat was simple, and when I got to the door, I knocked and he allowed me in.

Wow, maybe I misheard that call. Elliot asked me to calm down as I was breathing heavily.

"Okay, I know I might be mistaken, but you have to understand me," I said as I walked in.

He was lying on the bed in only a bathrobe. "Have a seat, Lex," he said. I turned around and asked who the woman on the phone was. “Oh, Mindy. She's in the bathroom."

"Huh?”

"Just a second, Mindy!" he called out, and I looked at him. My head began pounding as I wondered if he was joking. I had hoped he was, but he wasn't.

A woman appeared from the bathroom—a Korean woman dressed in a bathrobe, her hair wet. "Oh, this is the Alex you were talking about. I mean, she's fine, but I didn't realise she was a psych patient."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, she is not, I suppose? Alex, what has happened to your face?" Elliot asked. I was perplexed at first, until I remembered the water Harvey dumped on me. It probably washed off my mascara and you know the look.

"I'm sorry, what's happening here?" Everything seemed very confusing to me, so I asked. "Is Mindy your business partner or what's going on?” Why was she in his apartment, in a bathrobe?

"Oh, Mindy and I attended summer school together. Yes, she now has a salon, and I am considering investing."

"I see. What is she doing in your flat?" I enquired, my gaze flitting between them.

"Isn't it obvious?" Mindy replied, stepping towards Elliot. I turned back towards the living room, then forward, and saw her now sitting on his lap.

"Okay, is this a joke?"

"What? You still don't get it?" Mindy chuckled, and Elliot shook his head with a smirk. "We were fucking, obviously."

"Fucking?"

"Okay, don't phrase it that way. As already stated, Mindy and I have a long history together. And… why are you here?"

"No! You did not just ask me that! Elliot, what is this? What is going on?”

"Lex, I don't understand you." He pushed Mindy aside, and she grabbed her phone, stating we seemed to need a moment.

"I'll just be at the bar," she said before leaving. I watched Mindy leave before gently returning to Elliot.

The silence between us grew, pressing down like a storm about to break.

As I stood still, a part of me wished it was all a bad joke, some twisted misunderstanding from which I could wake up from. But another part of me realised this was not going to end as I was hoping.

He didn't say anything. Instead, he fixed his sharp, unreadable gaze on mine. Abruptly, he reached out and brushed a stray lock of hair behind my ear, his touch staying longer than necessary.

My throat clenched. I bit the inside of my cheek hard, wanting to stop the stream of tears and the pain in my chest. I could not afford to break apart here, especially now.

"Alex–”