This chapter is shorter than usual, but I decided to post is since it gives a good insight in some experiences Petra had in her life before joining the Parlor.
Next chapter will probably be way longer than usual tho ;)A soft sound of rain tapping on the windows made her mind calmer. It was nice, soothing. Nifa was caressing her long blonde hair making a braid out of them. A lot of people said they looked peachy in the sunlight, but now they just seemed grayish to her.
Petra was sitting on the couch, resting her chin on her knees. She sighed and opened her eyes. She loved staying the night at her place. It felt safe.
"Everything's okay?" she heard Nifa ask and turned her head a little but didn't respond right away.
"You look like you lost some weight…" she noticed, visibly concerned.
She looked at her arms. Maybe she was right.
"I don't know." she lied. "Maybe I'm overworking myself. This internship is exhausting."
Her light laughter didn't seem to convince Nifa there was nothing to worry about.
"Then maybe you should drop it? I'm sure there are other options."
"Hm...I was thinking, Dieter said he might help me find something at his company."
"Really? Wow, you would be inseparable."
"You and Rico work together too." she pointed out.
"Well, yes. I guess I thought it's different since we met there."
"It would be nice to work with him, I'm sure. He keeps an eye on me, so no mobbing at work is guaranteed." she smiled to herself.
"Or you could look for something else, too."
Petra turned herself to face her.
"But why?"
Nifa was smiling but furrowed her brows a little.
"Don't you think he is a bit too...possessive of you?"
"What? He cares about me, this is why he pays attention to me." she assured but couldn't hide the defensiveness in her voice.
"Listen, what I mean is that, when you're with him, it's impossible to even talk to you because he will start distracting you."
"This is how love works." Petra shrugged." I can't help it. But I care about you, I do. I would never make anyone come between us."
"I hope so. Remember you can tell me anything. Just in case." she added quickly when the long-haired woman sent her a resentful look.
"She's like my best friend since forever! What is your problem?!" Petra screamed, going out of her mind.
She just entered their place and was still standing at the door frame. Dieter was sitting in front of his laptop, not even looking at her.
"Shut up, you always send me this fucking weird look when you come back from your meetings." he said in a harsh tone.
"What look? What do you mean?"
"You tell me." he stood up, and she shuddered. "What does she say to you? Or are you cheating on me?"
She gasped and threw her backpack on the floor when he approached her. He wasn't very muscular, but she knew how much strength he had in himself.
"Are you crazy!?"
"I'm worried! Do you think I'd want that?"
She held her breath looking up at him and then away to breathe out.
"I'm sorry. I understand, but you need to know, I'd never cheat on you."
He pulled her to his chest and caressed her back.
"I just love you so much. I'd go crazy without you."
"I know." she responded and hugged him, closing her eyes tightly.
"Don't touch me!"
The bed above her shook when Dieter kicked it. He crouched down to look under it. She moved back, even further in case he would want to grab her.
"Do you even see how you act? And you call ME crazy?" he asked. "Get out of there. Right now."
"No." she said fast and after a moment, he left.
She relaxed a bit. The floor was dusty and uncomfortable but at this moment, she couldn't care less. Her breath slowly calmed down as she dissociated back to the safety of her mind. She wanted to be a famous actress when she was a child. It was a fond memory, showing off different impressions in front of her parents. She wondered if her skills of hiding her problems from people around her came from that.
A fear flooded her when she saw his boots coming back. He raised the bed frame and after a moment, without any other option, she slowly got out. She was shaking, looking down, not at him. She felt his big hands grabbing her arms, as he forced her to walk to their living room and sat her at the armchair.
"You need to act normal, Petra! This isn't normal!"
She could barely see anything through her tears, and now she was trying to stop them to respond like a "normal" person.
"Y-you're scaring me…"
"You blame me? It's you who lied, and now you're playing a victim?" he laughed at her while she wiped her eyes with her sleeves.
"I wasn't lying. I thought it wasn't 9PM yet. I swear."
"You don't even care enough to check the time for me. I was worried sick."
"I didn't do that on purpose." She said sorrowfully and started crying again.
He grabbed her arms and shook her aggressively. She was so shocked that her tears stopped, and she looked up at him.
"Get your ass together. We have a reservation in 30 minutes. Don't make me regret it."
Petra was laying in bed, alone in her new apartment. It has been about 2 weeks since she moved there, but she didn't have any motivation to decorate the place yet. She felt like a burden. Nifa and Rico were paying her rent after she lost her internship and moved with their help. The insane nightmares were agonizing and didn't let her rest at night.
She reached for her phone and checked the notifications. She was drained from any emotions, but her eyes stopped at the news about a new post from Levi Tattoo's. It wasn't a popular account, which made it more interesting to follow. It felt more real with the not so perfect pictures and drawings made by someone who was definitely still looking for their style. She hid under the sheets and swiped through the pictures of the new post. She left a like and put the phone down, feeling tired.
An alarm woke her up at 7PM.
She barely moved from the bed for the whole day, so it was better to start the day even if it already passed.
After a long shower and a lazy meal she sat in the kitchen with a cup of tea in front of her. She wasn't used to drinking it, but Levi posted on the fan page story that it was good, so she wanted to try it. It was surprisingly good, so she kept buying it.
She was longing for her ex. It had been a few weeks since the last time they saw each other. She didn't really feel better without him. Never in her life she felt so alone. Thinking about what he was doing now was painful. They have been together since high-school, it was crazy to suddenly not have him in her life. Did he miss her like she missed him? It only made sense from what she knew about him. He had problems but no one cared for her like he did. His touch was familiar, and she craved the feeling of safety in somebody else's arms. He was probably mad at himself for losing her. Maybe he understood his mistakes.
Sipping on the tea, she took her phone and held her breath after picking his number and raising it to her ear.
"Petra, come on. You can go in now."
Rico was looking at the helpless woman standing at the backdoor of the bar. Her hair was a mess, and she was visibly freezing. The staff let her hide there when the shit went down.
"They threw him out. Nifa is going to bring you some water." she approached her and took her hand.
Petra looked up and her expression changed from distressed to worried.
"Did he attack you?" the redhead asked in disbelief looking at her broken glasses.
"No. I helped the bouncers put him down."
She sighed and hugged Rico tightly. After that, she let her guide herself inside.
"Oh my god! I love your hair!" Nifa screamed running to her friend.
Petra blushed happily and brushed her new short haircut behind her ear while she approached her on the street.
"You say so? You were my inspiration."
"Absolutely! I love it, you look beautiful!"
Nifa was beaming, not only because she was happy to see her, but because she could see how much healthier her best friend looked like now, after some weeks out of town.
"How was the internship?"
"Amazing! And look." Petra showed her the first tattoo on her leg. "I did it, myself."
Pink-haired women crouched down to see it better.
"Wow, I want to be your next subject. I beg you."
The other woman laughed happily and reached for Nifa's hands to pull her up.
"You will be, don't worry. I need some portfolio for my future fan page."
Petra opened her eyes slowly. It was a quiet morning. Her face was buried in the chest of the man sleeping on her side. She couldn't see his face but the slow, deep breathing made her certain about that.
Levi's smell was lovely. She embraced him with one hand and closed her eyes for a bit longer. If he was still sleeping, it must have been early. She lazily stroked his nape, at the end of his undercut, with her fingers, absolutely absorbed by this peaceful moment.
She didn't quite remember how she ended up here, but she wouldn't change anything about it. When she turned her head, she could hear the beating of his heart. It made her tear up a bit. Such a soothing sound.
Her hand stopped when he moved, making some tired noise.
"Oh, sorry." she said softly. "I didn't mean to wake you. You can go back to sleep."
Levi grunted in a low voice, still not opening his eyes and pulled her closer to him. His hand stayed on her lower back.
"Five more minutes."
Petra smiled hearing his morning voice. She could feel the vibrations going through his chest. He was adorable like always.
She reached her hand to fix the sheets and cover both of them. It wouldn't hurt to sleep some more.
