Our Hearts Entwined (6 page)

“Yeah, she said she’s got a bunch of school stuff to do,” he called out in answer.

“Is that Halo one?” Josh asked upon his return as he sat down next to him on the black leather couch, placing a beer for each of them on the coffee table in front of them.

“Thanks mate, and yeah, it’s an oldie, but a goodie,” Eric replied, hitting pause and picking up the bottle of beer. “Where’s Louise?”

“She wanted to go home,” he replied, picking at the corner of the label with his nail. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” Eric said, restarting the game in co-op mode so Josh could join in.

Placing his beer on the table, Josh picked up the controller and started. “What’s with Mia coming over every night lately?”

“I don’t know, is it a problem for you? I didn’t think you’d care since you always have Lou here.”

“It doesn’t bother me, it’s just that… I don’t know – she’s different, and it’s upsetting Louise. Has she said anything to you at all? I mean, have they had a fight or something?”

“I don’t know man. I’ve noticed it too. Mia is certainly different. With me, it’s in a good way, but I have noticed that she isn’t talking to Louise when she’s here, and she’s not signing to her which is a bit weird. I asked her if something was going on and she said that she was just giving you and Louise some space.”

“So you think she has a problem with me?”

“No, why would she have a problem with you.”

“I don’t know, she doesn’t talk to me either. She only talks to you these days.”

“I guess….ah shit,” he commented as his character was killed and he was taken back to the last check point.

“So, what happened with Mia last week. Did she go see a doctor?” Josh asked.

“Yeah, she said that she’s just been under a lot of stress at school. She just needs a bit more sleep and maybe a holiday. Plus, she’s been having these weird nightmares. She reckons they seemed so real that she was getting all disoriented.”

“Is that why she never stays the night?”

“I don’t know. Why does it matter?”

“It’s just that you guys have suddenly started to hang out every night and then she goes home before midnight.”

“Yeah I guess. But, she’s always liked her space. It’s why we don’t live together.”

“But she stayed over last weekend.”

“Yeah, and then she lost her shit.”

“Has she been fine since?”

“Yeah, well she saw the doctor…”

“Maybe she’s on drugs?”

“Mia? On drugs? Yeah right,” Eric laughed, Mia barely drank, there was no way she’d take drugs. “No, I think she just needs to wake up in her own bed.”

“Are you staying at hers this weekend?”

“Nope,” he said, taking another swig of his beer.

“Why not? You always stay there.”

“She doesn’t want to,” he shrugged, tapping at his buttons as an Elite tried to attack his character. “Doesn’t bother me, she just wants to go out, maybe come back here for a bit and then go home.”

“Alright…”

“I don’t mind, I’m happy if she’s happy. I’ve never been that great at sharing a bed anyway,” he admitted, bouncing his shoulders before placing his controller on the table. “I’m going to bed. Baz is picking me up at five thirty in the morning,” he said, picking up the two empty beer bottles and taking them to the kitchen to drop them in their recycling tub. As he passed Josh on his way to his room, Eric told him that he’d see what he could do about getting Mia to talk to Louise. They’d all known each other for so long that Eric would hate it if they suddenly weren’t getting along.

As Josh heard the door to Eric’s room click closed, he sat and thought about Louise wanting him to take her to Mia’s tonight. It was a strange thing to ask for when they’d just seen Mia with Eric. He wondered if maybe there was some sort of sickness going around, first Mia was acting strangely and now Louise. He decided that he should get an early night too, lest he come down with something as well… just in case.

The next day, Louise made her way over to Mia’s flat and knocked firmly on the door, calling out to her friend in the hopes that she was home this time.

The door flew open and a very tired looking Mia stood in the doorway. She gestured for Louise to enter and started to move about the kitchen to prepare coffee for them both.

“
No,”
Louise said and signed. “
Get dressed, I’m going to take you for a late breakfast. You look like you need a good dose of sunshine.”

I’m just so tired. All I do is sleep at the moment.

What were you doing last night?

Sleeping, I woke up on the couch this morning.

I saw you with Eric last night. I didn’t think it was you, but I came here to look for you and there was no one here.

What?

I can’t explain it,
Louise said,
I was so sure it wasn’t you. Maybe you’re getting abducted by aliens every night - there has to be some kind of explanation. What’s the last thing you remember doing last night?

Mia chose to ignore the comment about aliens and continue on with the conversation in a more serious tone.
Coming home from work, having some dinner. I worked on and then emailed an updated report on one of my students to his psychiatrist. Then I made a coffee and sat down to read. Then it was morning. I didn’t go anywhere. But Louise, that’s been happening a lot.

What has?

Me, passing out on the couch. It’s happened almost every night this week – what if there’s something wrong. What if I’m not actually sleeping?

What? You think you have an alter ego or something?

I don’t know, how many times have you seen me with Eric this week?

I don’t know. You’re there pretty much every time I am. So I’ve seen you maybe three or four times. Only briefly though – your doppelganger doesn’t like talking to me very much.

“This isn’t a joke Louise,” Mia said out loud, a sick feeling overtaking her limbs and forcing her to sit down.
I’m worried something really bad is happening with me. I’m worried I’m losing my mind.

***

Later that evening, a tall, lean man, with light brown hair, slighty damp with sweat could be seen entering Mia’s block of flats. He bounded up the stairs, eager to see his girlfriend after his football game had concluded.

Normally he went to the pub afterwards and had a beer with his team mates, but after reconnecting with her over the last couple of weeks, Eric wanted to surprise her, to be near her again. Using his key, he entered Mia’s flat and called out her name.

“Mia! Are you home?”

From the bathroom he could hear the sound of the shower running. Grinning to himself, he went to open the door so he could join her. At first he was going to jump in the shower and surprise her, but then he remembered that she wasn’t expecting him, so he announced himself as he opened the bathroom door.

“Hey it’s me,” he called out as he entered the small bathroom.

“Eric?” Mia said, pulling the shower curtain aside just enough so she could see him. “Um, did we have plans?”

“No, I just missed you,” he said, as he removed his clothing and stepped in the shower with her, his arms immediately wrapping around her waist and pulling her to him.

“Wow, um, well… this is definitely a surprise,” she said nervously. The way Eric was behaving around her had her even more worried about what she was doing while she thought she was sleeping. As he dipped his head and started to kiss her neck, she felt his want for her growing, pressing hard against her body.

“God Mia, I’ve been thinking about you all day,” he groaned, his hands sliding over her slick wet skin while her mind raced with worry. The last memory she had of Eric was when he brought her home from his place and he was looking at her like she might be crazy...

“Wait, stop,” she said, pushing lightly on his chest so she could look in his face. “I’m just so tired tonight Eric. Do you think we could maybe talk? I want to talk about how things have been between us lately,” she said, trying not to let on that she had no idea what was actually going on. She wasn’t prepared for another round of ‘Has Mia Lost her Mind?’ and she didn’t want to alarm him over her memory loss, but she thought that if she could get him talking, maybe he’d fill in some of the blanks.

“Alright,” Eric said, smoothing his hand down the side of her face as he looked into her eyes. “You do look pretty worn out actually. Tell you what, I’ll rinse off and then make you a coffee. Have you eaten yet?”

“I have, there’s left overs in the fridge if you’re hungry. It’s just some pasta and sauce – nothing special.”

“Thanks,” he said giving her a quick kiss before stepping out of the shower and grabbing a towel to dry off. Eric walked naked through the flat to get some clothes out of Mia’s wardrobe. He always left a couple of things in there for when he stayed weekends.

Cursing the swollen wood, he heaved the door open, promising mentally for the millionth time that he was going to take that door off the hinges, and sand it down so it would stop jamming.

Grabbing a pair of tracksuit pants and a t-shirt from his small pile of clothes, he couldn’t help but smile to himself as his eyes drifted to the dress that Mia had been wearing when she’d seduced him on the chair at his house. Since then, he’d seen her almost every night – it was like she’d become his drug.

He padded barefoot out into the kitchen and set Mia’s espresso machine up. He had bought it for her for Christmas one year, but she didn’t use it often, claiming to have trouble frothing the milk properly.

She loved fresh coffee though, so whenever he was at her flat, he would always make her a cappuccino.

Mia could hear the sound of the coffee grinder from the bathroom while she towel dried her hair. Smiling to herself, despite feeling a little sad, she thought about how she was going to approach this evening without letting Eric know that she didn’t remember being with him again.

After putting on a pair of black lounging pants and a red cotton shirt, she stepped out in to the living area, just as Eric placed two mugs on the table.

“Hey, you feeling better after the shower?” he asked as he took a seat and spooned a teaspoon of raw sugar from the bowl on top of his coffee, watching as it slowly slipped down through the firm chocolate sprinkled froth.

Nodding, Mia sat across from him, tucking her leg underneath herself as she picked up her teaspoon, preparing to stir the chocolate sprinkle through. She didn’t add sugar to her cappuccinos as she felt the chocolate made it sweet enough.

“Thank you for this. I love your coffees,” she said as she took a sip.

“I made it a little stronger than normal. I thought you could do with the extra caffeine.”

“Definitely. Thank you,” she said, taking another sip.

“Did you have a hard day today? You look pretty wrecked.” Eric commented, noticing the dark circles under her eyes. She looked different today, she even felt different today when he’d held her. He was worried that she was working too hard again.

“I’ve had a hard couple of weeks actually. I don’t think I’m sleeping properly.”

“Are you still having strange dreams? They must have been really vivid if they made you think days had actually passed.”

Mia pressed her lips together in some sort of a smile as she listened to the explanation she’d unknowingly given him.

“No, no dreams. I don’t remember much from closing my eyes to waking up most days. Listen, I wanted to ask you how you feel about my change in behaviour lately – I mean, I know I’ve been different around you and that I worried you when I couldn’t remember spending time with you…” she ventured.

“Mia,” he said, his mouth pulling into a grin as he reached across the table and took her hand in his. “You know I have loved this past couple of weeks with you. I like the change between you and me. Things have been amazing. You’ve never been so…” he paused as he thought of the right word. “Free with yourself before. I feel like I’m falling in love with you all over again.

“My only worry though, is what’s going on between you and Louise. I mean, she’s your best friend and all of a sudden you aren’t really talking. Josh said she was upset last night and went home – what’s going on?” he asked.

“Nothing’s going on with Louise. I spent most of today with her actually. She’s just a bit worried about me – which is why I’m checking to see if you’re worried as well.”

“No Mia, everything is awesome on my end. I just don’t want to see you and Lou have a falling out. That’s all.”

“Never,” she smiled looking into her cup. “So um… what exactly is it that you like about me lately – what’s so different?”

Eric frowned for a moment, finding the question a little confronting – he was worried that if he answered too honestly she might get upset with him.

“Um… well, I like how you’re just…I don’t know – easy going?”

“Easy going?”

“Yeah, you know, like how you wanted to go to the beach last weekend and you actually wore a bikini, which as you know, I thought you looked totally hot in. See, I have your picture as my phone background from that day,” he said, turning on his screen and showing her a photo of herself, laying on the beach and smiling, wearing the purple string bikini she had never been brave enough to put on in public.