I miss you

I miss you
Mirela
Missed voice call at 5:21 PM.
Daughter, please call me or let me know how to reach you. I need to talk to you in person.
Simon
Missed voice call at 11:57 PM.
SUNDAY, JULY 31, 2016
Simon
I miss you.
~~
He massaged his temple, the sharp pain taking him back to the argument at the Perez house. Paulo had a good right hook. All he needed after fighting with Paulina was her father's declared hatred. And then he argued with Guilherme when he showed up at his house to pick up some of Paulina's clothes. This time, the baby's crying prevented him from taking another punch.
He slumped his head back against the couch, censuring himself while at the same time not regretting anything he had said. Either way, Paulo and Guilherme had never been his allies, and after practically stating that his father-in-law was a terrible father, mentioning the pain and trauma he caused by not standing by his daughter in the sexual assault, he doubted he would get any support in the future.
And Guilherme had never once complimented him. In the Perez family, based on the way he looked at him after the conversation he had with Paulo, the only person who didn't seem to want to behead him was Paola.
Simon stood up from the couch when he heard the sound of the lock being unlocked, the hope of seeing Paulina so strong that when he saw his mother walk through the door, it crumbled, throwing himself back into place, an arm falling over his eyes.
"Oh, my baby!"
Simon ignored the nickname, but didn't even react when Mirela pulled him so that he rested his head on her lap, her hands stroking his hair as she did when he was a child.
"Oh, dear! Drinking won't bring her back."
Simon looked at the open whiskey bottle on the coffee table and then raised his black eyes to his mother.
"It was just a glass, less than that."
She didn't seem to believe him, but Simon was being honest.
As soon as the burning liquid went down his throat, the image of Paulina reprimanding him for getting drunk came to his mind, along with the fear that when she appeared, he would be too high to talk, so he left the drink half-empty along with the bottle. He needed to be sober to convince Paulina to stay with him.
"Has she replied to any of your messages, son?"
"No."
Simon didn't know what was worse: her seeing his messages and not responding, or having contacted everyone else but him. The day before, he had even had to endure knowing that Guilherme and Tábata were going to the place where she was while he remained in the dark.
"At some point, the anger will pass and you can ask for forgiveness and say how you feel, son, how you've always felt," his mother said.
"I don't intend to ask for forgiveness," he retorted, surprising the matriarch.
"No?" The affection ceased, and Simon faced his mother's displeased expression. "And what do you intend to say when you talk?"
"I haven't decided yet, but I definitely have nothing to apologize for."
Mirela took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. The Salvatore pride was sometimes exasperating.
"Dear, did you encourage Nathaniel to cheat on Paulina?"
"Who told you that?" Simon sat down.
"That's not important now. Did you or didn't you encourage him?"
"Sleeping with Cherry was his choice, not mine."
"Do you plan to tell Paulina that?" she asked incredulously. The more she listened, the more she held back the urge to shake her son to make him understand that stubbornness wouldn't make Paulina come back.
"I plan to make her understand that she's better off with me than with that jerk," he replied, irritated. "I won't apologize for his mistakes."
"And what about yours?"
From Mirela's look, Simon realized he had lost another ally. Great! He had more people against him than for him, being slowly buried by the sandcastle he had built around him and Paulina. She didn't belong to him, she never would, and it was a waste of time to fantasize about what he couldn't obtain.
~~
"If this helps at all: I'm sorry for the way things turned out. Please give me a chance to explain everything."
Simon's thumb hovered over the send icon, itching with hope that those words would reach Perez's heart. Then it moved to delete the message, deciding to give Paulina time to think without pressure.
He tossed the phone beside him on the couch. He didn't know why he persisted. She made it clear that she couldn't even stand to respond to one of his messages. It would be best to give up once and for all. It was madness.
Lie. He knew.
Simon just wanted a chance to explain himself, to say that he didn't plan on ruining her engagement. That was what worried him the most. She might think he deliberately wished for all the suffering she had gone through since her relationship with Nathaniel ended, just to take her to bed.
The intercom rang, and despite the unlikelihood, Simon rushed to answer it, hoping it was Paulina. The doorman requested passage for Gabriel Saadi.
He didn't want to talk to anyone, but the partner must have had something important to say since he had only visited him a handful of times in two years. So, he let him come up. He regretted it the moment he opened the door and saw Nathaniel Muller standing right behind Saadi.
"What the hell is he doing here?" Simon asked, advancing towards the blond.
"Easy there, friend!" Gabriel demanded, standing between them. "Calm down..."
"I know I'm the last person you want to see..." Nathaniel began to say.
"You got that right, you miserable..." Simon spat furiously.
Nathaniel may not have organized the event to separate him from Paulina, but he had contributed by not telling the truth about what had really happened. That had made him feel guilty because, just as he wanted to be happy with Cherry, he wished from the bottom of his heart that his ex-fiancée would be truly happy with whoever she chose.
"I came to apologize, Simon," Nathaniel said.
"Shove your apologies up your..."
"This childish and one-sided fight has gone too far!" Gabriel interrupted, annoyed with his friend's behavior. "Listen to us first, then you can kick and scream, Salvatore."