And because I am insane, I am posting a second chapter today!
Thank you for the reviews, girls. ;]
Disclaimer: I don't own Lie To Me.
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There is time for silence.
There are moments in life when you wish that silence was the music playing on repeat.
There are moments in life when you wish the world would just stop and let you be on your own for a few minutes.
There are moments in life when you wish that you could hear your own thoughts inside your head.
But then there are moments when you wish you were surrounded by a busy crowd.
There are moments when you wish that someone stole your attention against your will.
There are moments when you wish your thoughts were just whispers running against the loudness of a family.
There is time for silence.
But then there is Christmas.
And they shouldn't come together.
But sometimes… they just do.
… … … …
Gillian Foster had gotten home that day and had found herself studying her surroundings as she stood by the door, her back resting against it, her jacket still in place. She hadn't moved, not even an inch, since the moment she had walked in.
They had left work earlier because it was Christmas Eve and everyone seemed to have loads of things to do before following their plans and getting ready to assume their roles as daughters and sons, as wives and husbands, as mothers and fathers, as aunts and uncles… as people who had a life besides work.
Some still had to pack to go meet their families that lived in another state or another city, some still had to buy some gifts, some still had to go grocery shopping and bake the famous cake that the whole family seemed to adore… and some had another thousand reasons that would take ages to enumerate and as much time to get done and that would perfectly justify the need for those few hours before the madness began.
There was really no space for discussion but Cal and Gillian had actually gotten together that morning before announcing to their employees that they would close at midday so that everyone would have time to get ready to the holidays without having to rush.
That had been the last time she had spoken to Cal that day. I mean, they had walked by each other on the hall and Gillian had actually gone to his office so that he would sign a paper but he had been on the phone so there hadn't been any time to talk about what their plans for Christmas were and what not.
She didn't feel that bad after that quick and silent visit to his office because she knew that she would probably run into him as they both left the office because he always seemed to wait for her. Well, maybe he just had a fantastic timing but she liked to think that he actually sat on his office with his door open so that he could jump off of his chair as soon as he watched her turning off the lights.
A smile had taken over her lips as she turned her computer off and stood up so that she could get her jacket and her purse, but as she closed her office door, she noticed that the building seemed to be deserted. Her heart had skipped a beat as she stood motionless on the hall for a moment before taking a deep breath and walking towards his office.
It was empty.
She felt a tear tickling the corner of her eye and sighed deeply as the adventurous drop of salty water rolled down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away before running a hand through her hair while she tried to convince herself that he had probably gotten an urgent call from Emily asking him to pick her up somewhere.
He hadn't forgotten her.
Of course not.
She had then turned around to leave.
As she opened the doors of the Lightman Group so that she could abandon the building, she noticed that the doors felt a bit heavier than what they had felt that morning.
She had been happier that morning; she had been happier that morning because she hadn't been walking into her work place, she had been walking into her home. And now… now she was going to the cold apartment where she lived all by herself.
Only when she closed her apartment's door behind her and rested her back against it did she realize that this was the first time in years that she was going to spend her favorite holiday on her own.
She had no one to talk to, no one to cook to, no one to look good to… she was all alone and no one seemed to have noticed it, no one seemed to care… not even Cal.
She rolled her eyes at her own thoughts.
She was being selfish.
Cal was just a friend and he had a daughter… he had a family.
He had to look after his family, right? After all, that would be exactly what she would do if she was in his shoes.
And she had been… she had been there once… she had had a daughter once… her Sophie. And for the few days that she had had her, the little baby girl had been her world, her life.
But that was part of her past, a past that had been long gone but far from being forgotten.
She finally moved once her knees regained their strength and made her way towards the bathroom, praying that the shower of feelings that had come upon her would disappear with the help of a warm bath and a glass of wine.
She had dropped her jacket, her purse and her shoes in the living room, had grabbed a glass and a bottle of wine from the kitchen and had made a final stop at her bedroom to grab a nightgown before going to the bathroom.
She couldn't quite recall for how long she had stayed under water but when she left the bathtub, her skin was soft but looked slightly wrinkled.
She grabbed the peach lotion which had ironically been an early Christmas gift that she had gotten from her mother by mail, and slowly massaged her skin with it. She felt her muscles relaxing under her touch and closed her eyes as she allowed herself to dive into that feeling of safeness and quietness.
Her mind seemed to be empty and her soul at ease.
But then her cell phone rang and she jumped slightly and awkwardly, hurting her leg in the process. She bit on her lower lip as she put a hand over the piece of skin right above her ankle that seemed to be getting redder by the second while reaching out with the other hand to see if she could grab her cell.
"Hello?" She said on the phone, trying to hide the pain that kept poking her leg.
She raised an eyebrow as she heard Cal's voice coming from the other side of the line.
Wasn't he supposed to be with Emily? And if so, why was he calling her?
He didn't give her time to answer him. Well, he didn't actually make any questions before he hang up. He had just said that it was an emergency and that he needed her to come to his house as soon as possible.
She stared at her phone for a second before deciding that she should better hurry and go check if he was alright as there had been something on his voice… urgency… a plea…
She had to go see him.
If she had already forgotten her pain, she was well reminded of it as she tried to take her first step. She cursed under her breath as she tried to make her way towards her bedroom without collapsing.
As soon as she found herself there, she grabbed a robe and put it on. She then used her phone to call a cab and made her way to the living room, grabbing her purse and looking for her keys inside it.
She left her house on a nightgown, her feet were bare and her hair was still yet.
The cab driver sent her a look but she ignored it, giving him the address and saying that it was an emergency.
… … … …
I just adore Gillian.
Can you tell? :P
R&R, if you feel like it.
See you very very VERY soon,
Tess.