Fall Away

As the door shut behind him, I let out a sight. I wasn’t sure what it was about him – a charisma or something – but I found myself drawn to him, even though he had just insulted me. It wasn’t a physical attraction…. I mean, I’d be the first to agree he was handsome, in a dark mysterious way… but I didn’t get the fluttery butterflies around him or anything like that.

It was something simpler – maybe just his personality? I’d met a few people like that before – people who could talk to anybody, people who got along with everybody. Still, none of them were quite like him.

I felt like I could relate to him. Like he might understand me. Like maybe, just maybe, we could be friends.

And that scared me.

I didn’t make friends. I probably could, if I put some effort into it, but I didn’t. Having friends meant answering questions, or telling lies – neither of which really appealed to me.

I sighed again as I finished cleaning up. I grabbed my bag and locked the door before heading back to my apartment.

It seemed darker, more depressing than usual. As if the bare rooms were screaming at me, reminding me why I didn’t make friends. I wasn’t good at the whole social thing.

You’d think I would be. I mean, my job involved working with people all day – well, night. I could handle the surface things – smiling on cue, laughing when someone was attempting to say something funny. But going much deeper – like having meaningful conversations seemed beyond my ability.

Except with Soren. I’d accidentally told him more than I’d planned – but then, he already knew the basic facts told most people. I don’t think he noticed my ramblings – or maybe he didn’t really care. But there was something about him that made me feel comfortable, more relaxed. I almost trusted this guy, and I didn’t even know him.

Clearly, something was wrong. I shook my head, trying to erase the feelings I’d come up with. Of course I didn’t trust the guy. He was just… what’s the word… charismatic. That’s it. He was just a nice guy who liked people.

I rolled my eyes at my own internal conversation. I was clearly out of it. “I just need sleep,” I muttered to myself.

I changed into my PJs and crawled into my bed, refusing to let my thoughts wander back to Soren. Still, no matter how much I tried, all my thoughts seemed to wander back to him. He was the constant theme, threading throughout my head. I forced myself to stop - I obviously wasn't thinking straight. At this rate, who knew what crazy theories I’d come up with?