THIRTY FIVE: IRENA
I R E N A
Two days later.
Irena was sitting in her faded red chair, staring out the window. It’s drizzling here which is nothing new. Raindrops settled on the glass and then slid away, leaving a long trail behind. She shivered and pulled the blanket around her. Although it had been two days, she still could not shake off the constant bone-chilling cold. It must come from trauma.
“Are you okay?” Lindsay asked, walking behind her. She held a smoking cup in her hand.
Irena slid down, nodding. “I think so.”
Lindsay handed him the cup, then sat down on the equally pale blue flower chair. She clicked her tongue as she stared at Irena . This made Irena uncomfortable, so she changed her position.
“What?” she asked. But she already knew what her roommate was thinking. Lindsay had been trying to convince her to talk about the ordeal since her return, but Irena couldn’t bring herself to speak.
Mrs. Brimone said she had to start talking.” Everything that happens to you affects your aura. It looks like . . . black,” Lindsay said, shaking her head as she glanced over at Irena.
Irena groaned and threw her head back. She doesn’t want Lindsay talking about her to her psychic, and she certainly doesn’t want to talk about Sage and what happened in Greenland . She likes to move on and forget everything she did.Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.
“I’m from… I can’t,” Irena whispered.
Lindsay sat down again. “Okay. When can you?”
Irena shrugged, bringing the cup of tea to her lips. She winced as the hot liquid covered her throat. “I do not know.”
Lindsay opened her mouth to say something, but before words could come out, Irena’s phone rang.
Reaching out her hand, Irena picked it up and groaned. That’s Peter. SHe was lucky enough to give her a few days off, watching her go through a life-threatening ordeal, but she ended the call knowing he still expected her to write, no matter what. go out.
She bit her lip, glancing at Lindsay .
“He won’t leave you alone,” Lindsay said, waving the phone.
Again. Irena doesn’t want to talk to her editor yet. All she wanted was to get under the covers and disappear. Live in a world where she doesn’t hurt people and they don’t hurt her. So she tucked the phone under her feet and listened to its muffled ringtone until it died.
It has been completed. Hopefully Peter will get the message and leave her alone.
Lindsay ‘s phone began to ring. She pulled it out of her back pocket, glanced at the screen, then at Irena.
“Is Peter calling you?”
Lindsay nodded, running her finger across the screen.
“Don’t…”
But Lindsay was already holding the phone to her cheek. “Good morning?”
Irena could hear Peter’s muffled voice from where she sat. Lindsay was still staring at her, nodding.
“Oh, I agree.” She needs to get out of this joke.
Irena narrowed her eyes. Why would her best friend betray her like this?
“Yeah. The story needs to be told so that both can continue.”
Irena pulled the blanket around her shoulders as Sage ‘s face popped into her mind. The memories were too painful to recall, so she pressed them down with all her might.
“Okay. I’ll tell her.” Lindsay took the phone out of her ear and tapped the side. The screen turns black. She put it back in her pocket and turned to Irena . “Stand up,” she said, getting up and gesturing for Irena to do as she did.
Irena buried her face in the blanket. “I don’t want to.”
Lindsay tugged at the blanket, and it slipped from Irena ‘s hand and fell to the floor.
“I’m not going to let you do the whole Brent breakup with me now. You’re going to wake up. You’re going to take a shower. And you’re going to do your job. You’re a strong woman. This story needs to be written for Peter to leave you alone and, more importantly, me.” Lindsay stared at her. Her unceasing gaze.
“But-”
“No. Now.” She pointed towards the bathroom.
Irena ‘s eyes widened as she stared at her frantic roommate. She racked her brains for an excuse, but nothing came up. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. Good. She’ll do what Lindsay says, but when she’s done, she’ll find another place to live.
She got up and went to the bathroom. She closed the door and turned on the water. Steam filled the bathroom as she entered the bathroom. The water hit her back as she turned to stare at the wall.
The memory of Sage being dragged out of the woods by this hunter flashed through his mind. Today, the ringing in her ears was as clear as when she realized he had been shot. But nothing compares to the pain she felt walking behind the stretcher when they took him to Anchorage General, and she told her to go home.
That they were rescued, and that he was done with her.
A sob escaped her lips as she put her face in the water. Her heart broke as the words she wished she had said flashed through her mind. She didn’t have time to fix what she broke. She couldn’t go back and change what she said. What she wrote.
She washes her hair a little harder than usual. Once she was clean, she wrapped a towel around her head and another around her body and walked out. She looked in the mirror. The wound she had in the plane crash has almost healed. She reached out and touched the scar that was forming.
The memory of Sage ‘s fingers brushing over her skin made her shiver.
Why should he hate her so much? Why is she so stupid? As if she was always trying to sabotage herself.
“Are you done yet?” Lindsay called from the other side of the door. She tapped it a few times as if to emphasize her words.
Of course. Slave driver Lindsay wouldn’t give Irena time to hate herself. Irena walked to the door and opened it.
“Good. I’m afraid you’ll drift down the drain.” She grabbed Irena ‘s hand and pulled her into the room.
“Now I have prepared clothes for you.” She nodded to the bed.
Irena groaned. Jeans and t-shirt lay on top of his blanket. “What is this?”
“Just because you don’t tell me what happened in Greenland doesn’t mean you’ll lose your job. Peter needs to finish the Kennedy article tonight, and it’s time to write.” Her Bright Blue Eyes Shining. morning when she smiled at Irena.
Irena wanted to say no. She wants to be a hermit in her house. This entire article forces her to relive every minute, for better or worse, being stranded in the desert. Every minute she spent with Sage . She wasn’t sure if her heart could take the pain. Avoidance became the best policy for her.
“Linds, I don’t know.”
Lindsay shook his head. “You just have to put your clothes on. That’s all I asked for. ”
Irena looked at the clothes. Good. She will. But there is no guarantee that she will write this article. Hopefully her frantic roommate will forget what she’s been up to and that Irena will be able to put her pajamas back on and escape the world. Avoid responsibility. Get rid of Sage .