19 Face to face

19 Face to face

CELESTE

I could force myself to forget him for all these years, I could try to forget him with someone physically similar to him, but they just weren't him. They were not the person who stirred everything inside me and made me feel alive.

We separated and I cleaned my wet legs a little with a napkin that Angelo handed me, I started to get dressed just like him; Well, just the pants, because they were the only thing I took off. When I was ready, I looked at him. He was putting on his bulletproof vest. When he fixed his gray eyes on me, he smiled a little, hollowing out the dimples on his cheeks.

I still couldn't believe that something had really changed tonight from one moment to the next, but I think it was after William's video call, he did something inside Angelo, it made him open his eyes and reconsider, it was the only logical explanation that I found him.

"I think it was the strangest day of the day," I asked, "right?"

"Why you said so?" He asked, finishing buttoning his bulletproof vest, seeing him in the uniform was always very attractive to me, it made him look... sexy.

"Well," I said, straightening my hair, "starting with the murderer running away and fleeing, then us treating each other well and... returning to what once brought us together; a church."

It even seemed somewhat ironic to be in a tremor again.

He let out a light laugh, and I was shocked to see him laugh, I thought... I would never hear him laugh again. His face even changed, he seemed relaxed, none of that frown, nor that clenched jaw that made him look bitter and old, in fact he looked very young.

"This day is quite strange."He admitted and thought about it for a moment to say: "Don't tell anyone I cried, I have a reputation to maintain."

I laughed a little and said:

"Me too." I winked at him, he maintained that smile that illuminated his face and made him look like that man I once knew, slightly carefree and mysterious.

Angelo hesitated for a moment but then he looked at me to say:

"What will happen to Freddy?"

Oh fuck, Freddy, I hadn't even remembered him, I felt my face blush as I remembered his face of complete shock at seeing us in the act.

"I guess there's nothing else," I whispered, "I think he caught us in the furniture."

He raised both eyebrows.

"Oh, wow." said Angelo, he thought about it for a moment and then murmured: "Did you play with him?"

With Freddy it wasn't a game, I liked how he treated me and possibly... I felt very alone.

"I didn't play with him," I said, "I think I just wanted to find a place where I felt safe, but... in the end I found him where I least expected."

I saw him smile a little and he approached me, I had to look up to look into his gray eyes sometimes I forgot how tall he was.

"It's strange, having so much peace with someone I tried hard to hate." He murmured.

"I'm wondering the same." I confirmed.

We both focused on destroying and hating each other, but... now it was different; It felt very different.

"I'll go see how the investigation is going." Angelo murmured and raised a hand to caress my cheek, his touch shook my body and made me smile.

"I'll go get something to eat." I murmured.

He leaned down and kissed me on the lips, before smiling at me and leaving the office. It felt so strange that he didn't yell at me or pout at me, like I had definitely now found myself facing someone else.

I went to the kitchen feeling like I was floating, away from all the chaos, I had my personal peace while I prepared a sandwich and toasted it in the pan.

I heard the door and when I turned, I found myself face to face with Freddy, he had a long face, no smiles or a friendly face, he was serious and slightly annoyed.

"Hello," I murmured, swallowing heavily, knowing that I couldn't skip this awkward conversation, but that he was disappointed in me; He could see it in his face.

"Hello," he answered and didn't say anything else, as if he wanted to say so many things that in the end he couldn't find anything to say, but his icy, humorless face was enough for me.

"I know you saw us," I blurted out, wanting to get this over with.

"Yes, I saw them," he stated and there was pain in his eyes.

I swallowed heavily, I felt terrible for him, because I really did want to be with him, but... Angelo would always be first.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"I shouldn't be surprised," he laughed unamusedly, "I should have known you were playing with us to see who would fall first."

I looked at him shaking my head.

"I wasn't playing, Freddy."

"What did you do then?" He said and then I finally saw him get the annoyance out of him when his face began to turn red, "Because I saw you fucking him after this morning you gave me signs of wanting to be with me!"

I took a deep breath, nodding my head.

"You're not going to understand," I murmured.

"Let's see..." he said, waiting for an explanation.

"My son," I blurted out.

"What does your son have to do with it?"

I swallowed heavily and, unable to contain it any longer, I blurted out:

"He is his father."

Freddy seemed to process what I told him and blinked a couple of times, as if he didn't understand me at all until suddenly he did and I saw him pale, his mouth opened almost out of place.

"Is Angelo the father of your child?" He asked, startled.

I nodded my head slowly.

"We've known each other for a long time," I explained, "but we never managed to hit it off."

Freddy still seemed in shock, whistling through his teeth as he crossed his arms and began to walk in circles.

"And you still messed with me?" He said, finally stopping and looking at me to murmur: "I never believed you could fall so low as to play with the feelings of someone who was really willing to love you."

Without another word, he left the kitchen, leaving me there in the kitchen feeling worse than shit. I took the bread out of the pan feeling the tips of my fingers burn and left it on my plate, I wasn't even hungry anymore, I heard the kitchen door open again, I thought it was Freddy, I prepared myself to put up with his comments again but when I turned to him and was paralyzed when I saw that it wasn't Freddy.

It was Georgette dressed in a dirty nun's uniform, her dirt-stained face with a cynical smile and a knife swinging from her hand.