After Astra was done bathing that night, she dried her body and walked into her room. She put on a simple flirty gown and poured herself a glass of wine. It had been a while since she took alcohol but she could not help herself. The events of that day brought some memories, they were mostly not pleasant ones.
Astra played some classical music as she sipped the rich red wine. The tangy taste rested on her tongue and she savored it. She was turning around and dancing to the music, all in a bid to get intoxicated faster. Astra didn't want to think anymore, she just wanted to be free.
Before long, she began to feel the lightheadedness that came with alcohol. Her vision was now fuzzy. She still continued to pour and drink. She could barely stop. In the haze of the drink, she fell to her bed and slept off. It was back to base.
When Astra woke up the next morning, she was not alone in her room. She was warm, exceptionally too. It was not the type of heat that she could generate alone. It was the type of heat that was shared.
She was still half asleep but her mind went back to when she was still with Nicholas. Her mornings always began like this.
They slept together and they were still together in the mornings. Nicholas was an early riser unlike Astra and was usually awake and doing wonders to Astra's body before she would be able to rise.
He usually had an early morning treat for her. It was either he was using his talented to tongue to service her, or he was slowly fucking her to orgasm. After wards, they would cuddle for a while again which would make them very late for what ever they were attending.
It was a good and beautiful time for her. Astra would admit that she was so blissfully happy back then. They were not actively trying to get pregnant, but they didn't use birth control either. They both wanted the baby to come when he or she was ready.
Astra slowly opened her eyes as she snuggled closer to the warmth. She was still sleepy but she could tell that it was Nicholas' arm around her. He hadn't come to her room in a while and so, she was almost forgetting that he came at all.
Astra considered getting a restraining order from him once but she knew that he would find his way around it. If she would admit it, she actually enjoyed his presence. He also didn't do anything other than cuddle. He was usually gone before she woke up though. Astra knew that he was usually drunk when he came to her apartment. She wondered who let him in but she did not really care that much to find out.
She removed his arm from her body and stood up. Her legs were wobbly and she needed to hold on the bed stand to stand up properly. The head ache that hit her was enough to make her fall back to the bed, but Astra struggled to make it to the bathroom. She wanted to pee, but nausea started to come up. She faced the toilet bowl and proceeded to puke out her intestines. Astra was trying and trying and the vomit still didn't stop. She barely registered someone holding her hair and rubbing her back.
"Let it go," Nicholas said, and Astra kept on vomiting. It seemed like forever before she was able to raise up her head. Nicholas helped her to her feet, while still holding her head, and walked her to the sink where she washed her face and rinsed her mouth.
"Thank you," Astra muttered before closing the toilet seat and flushing the toilet.
"I would like to have my bath," Astra said when she noticed that Nicholas was still standing there.
"Oh, I should go," he said. Astra looked at him then. He looked as hung over as she was. With the scattered hair and red eyes. He even seemed like he was having a banging headache, but he stood and held her hair while she vomited. It was not something she expected of him. Where had they gone wrong?
It seemed like getting married had ruined their relationship. Maybe they were married too quickly, to fast. Maybe they should have taken more time to get to know each other. They might have not had this issue of divorce.
"I will fix you a cup of coffee before you leave," Astra said. She needed to thank him in some way.
Nicholas was already out of the bathing room by then. Astra stripped her sexy nightie and stood under the shower. The water washed out the smell of sweat, vomit and alcohol that she had In her skin. She shampooed her hair and washed her entire body. She was remembering last night and the declaration that she made, that she would not let him hurt her again. And here she was, offering him coffee in her kitchen. It was contradictory to say the least.
Astra towel dried her body as she thought about herself. Maybe she was attracted to the pain that Nicholas meted out on her. Or maybe she could not seem to forget the good times they had shared. She clearly still loved him, it was something that she could not deny.
It seemed like no matter how much she tried to move on, she would still keep on coming back to Nicholas. It was crazy.
Astra walked out of the bathroom and her room was empty. She changed into a nude gown, her work clothes and walked into the kitchen. She was expecting to see Nicholas there. She even had a vision in her head. Nicholas sitting and making some business calls as he did early in the mornings when they got married. It was either that or he was preparing breakfast for her.
Astra could not help but feel disappointment when she realized that Nicholas was gone. She walked into her kitchen and she saw that he had made coffee and even made her some eggs. Scrambled as she liked it. The gesture almost made her cry. Astra could see pills beside the coffee, she guessed they were for her headache. Astra sat musing as she ate her breakfast.
She was still in a good mood when she got to the office. There were no flowers at her desk as she realized how much more lively they made her desk. For a moment, she regretted telling both Jared and Nicholas to stop sending her flowers. She thought that Nicholas would not take her seriously though. She almost expected to see yellow roses at her desk.
Astra frowned as she saw paperwork on her desk. She was pretty much free when her boss said she should work on Nicholas' case only, but it seemed like they wanted her to divert her interest to other things.
Nicholas case was feeling abortive. There was no solid evidence to prove that it was Thompson that did all that. It meant that Thompson covered his clues and he did it good.
She needed to talk to Nicholas about the case, but first she had to deal with the massive paperwork in front of her. Astra worked until it seemed like her hands went to sleep. She sorted, and typed and typed cases back from 2000. She was helping to organize the company's records. It was not her job, but the work was on her table so they expected her to do it.
Time seemed to fly as she stood up only when it was time to close. Her colleague and bought her lunch so that she didn't starve while working for the company, and she had a few pee breaks. Other than that, she was on her chair till the end of the day.
"Arrggh!" She sounded as she stretched. Her back felt like it had gone through hard labor.
"Are you okay?" One of her coworkers asked.
"Yes, thank you, I am good," she replied. Astra was not still done with the job yet, but at the very least she had gone far. Astra stared at the pile of work at her desk. We go again tomorrow, she thought.
She was picking up her things and getting ready to go when she heard Jared call her name.
Astra figured she pushed him away after she said what happened between her and Nicholas was none of his business. It seemed like he was not easily deterred though.
"Hey, Jared. Good evening," Astra said.
"Good evening, Astra," he said. He was panting a bit, it seemed like he had rushed so that he could at least see her before she left.
Astra stared at him as he said nothing more.
"Is something wrong?" She asked. He seemed like he had something to say, but he wasn't saying anything.
"Oh, no," Jared said, shaking his head. Over time, it seemed as though he became more confident talking to her, but at that moment, he looked as though he was scared of her again.
"Uhmm, I was thinking if you would be free on Saturday," he said.
"I am not sure, depends on what you want to do," Astra said. This did not seem to make the young man stop sweating.
"My friend is having an art exhibition.
I think you like art, everyone likes art," he said nervously. Astra's mind went back to the sketches she saw. It made sense that he would have artist friends.
"Is any of your work going to be there?" Astra asked.
"Me? No, no, not yet. I am not a professional you see. I don't plan on taking art to the professional level either. That would take a lot of time and patience. It is rather an hobby of mine," Jared explained and she nodded.
"Okay. I would like to go the art exhibition with you. I guess it's a date?" Astra asked, even if there was a nagging feeling inside her telling her not to string Jared along, when she was not sure she wanted to be with him.
He knew what he got himself into when he said he wanted to date me, she tried to convince herself. It didn't do much work.
"It's a date," Jared said. Enthusiasm shined on his face as he broke out into her smile.
"I guess I will see you Saturday? I will come pick you up," Jared said and she nodded.
"Sounds like a plan," Astra agreed.
"Good bye then," she said.
"I will walk you to your car," Jared replied. Astra nodded as they both walked to the parking lot.
"Good night," she said again as she got into her car.
"Good night, Astra," Jared replied.
Astra drove home while planning to soak herself in a bath tub, her waist, her back and her neck hurt, even her wrists and fingers from typing.
All she wanted was her soft bed. She greeted the door man as she walked into her apartment building and got to her flat. Astra brought out the scented candles she bought a while ago. She needed the full baby girl treatment. She then started to prepare her bath.
She lit the scented candles and slid into the soapy bath. The warm water did wonders to her body. Astra noted that she needed to visit the spa and soon.
Astra was still lounging in the bath when she heard her ringtone. It was a particular one that brought her dread. Something must be wrong.
The relaxation that had come with the water all but disappeared as she almost slipped coming out of the bathtub.
"Hello," Astra said as she picked up the call. The news that she heard was not in any way pleasant to her ears.
"Again? I will come as soon as possible," Astra said and dropped the call. She dried her body as she began to pack.