Give me Meaning 2
Chapter 2
The click of the lock and rattle of the chain was followed by the door opening. A pale forehead poked out from behind the door.
"Hi, Helena." Leon smiled.
"Oh, it's you Leon." Helena breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door wider. Leon frowned at her strange behaviour.
"Were you expecting someone else?" he asked.
She shook her head. "No. I just… never mind. Come in." she welcomed him in. He slowly walked in as he surveyed her apartment. It hadn't changed since the last time he saw it over 3 months ago, but it was messy and things were scattered everywhere. Strange, Helena was an organised person, if not a perfectionist.
"Sorry about the mess. I haven't had a chance to clean up properly." She said as if she was reading his mind. "Sit down; I'll get you a drink. Pop or juice?"
"Juice, please. Apple if you have any." Leon answered as he made himself comfy on the couch. Helena brought it in and sat on the chair opposite him.
"How've you been?" he asked.
"Alright, but just having some trouble sleeping." Her hand went up to rub her eye, and Leon caught sight of the purple eye-bags.
"Night-mares?" he questioned. She looked at the floor. "It's about Deborah, isn't it?"
"So what brings you here after so long?" she changed the subject. Leon frowned at her, but answered anyway. He knew Deborah was still too painful for Helena to talk about, so he left it at that.
"Well, we haven't seen each other since ages, so I thought I'd come down and see how you're doing. You are okay, right?"
Helena nodded. Leon frowned again; he knew it was a lie. He thought meeting Helena would brighten both their spirits, but she seemed so different. This wasn't the Helena he knew. As he waited for her door to open, he imagined lots of different scenarios, with Helena being pleasantly surprised at his visit and maybe they would go out together and have a catch-up, but by the looks of things, nothing of the sort was going to happen. Helena looked even worse than what she sounded like two weeks ago on the phone, and Leon felt like a horrible friend for not visiting her sooner.
"It's getting late Leon, are you okay staying this long?" Helena asked. Leon opened his mouth to ask what on earth she was talking about, since it was 3 in the afternoon, when he realized why she said it. She wanted him to leave. Instead he closed his mouth and stared deep into her orbs. Nothing but pain was reflected back at him. She couldn't hold his gaze for long and kept shifting her eyes.
'If she wants to be alone, then there's nothing I can do.' Leon thought to himself. He stood from his chair and made a swift exit to the front door. "You're right, Helena. I've been spending way too much time with you and I better leave." His voice dripped with sarcasm and Helena winced at his furious tone that he didn't even bother to hold back. He slammed the door on his way out and marched down the hall and stairs with heavy feet. He was fuming. He thought that surprising Helena would make her smile but she made it clear she didn't need his concern. And that he didn't need to care for her either.
End of chapter 2