Chapter 8

We haven't talked for about a week, we have barely even looked at each other and she has been avoiding me like the plague.

I feel awful I shouldn't have dropped that on her she is still young…

I've decided to take a couple of 'sick days' to give her space and I have to come back tomorrow otherwise it will look suspicious.

I decide to just come in a day earlier because this is ridiculous. I'm in my office, observing the cafeteria half looking for Beatrice but half just observing. She sees me and gets up straight away.. oh no she is either going somewhere else to be out of my sight or she is coming to see me.

As I respond to the knocking on the door of my office I take a large breath in as Beatrice enters the room. She starts the conversation:

"So you've…uh been…uh sick for a while."

"We both know I haven't been sick Beatrice"

"So you were avoiding me?"

"I was avoiding the situation rather than confronting it because I wanted to protect you"

"Wow, I didn't know you actually cared about me that much."

"Well I do"

After a long pause I was about to continue when she asked to leave.

I have a massive urge to talk to Beatrice every time I see her now and every time I'm about to talk to her I doubt myself. She obviously doesn't like me as much as I liker her and maybe she is feeling pressured into liking me because she feels I'm going to do something to her? Oh god I hope she doesn't think that.

I'm thinking about this too much I need to stop.

I can't stop thinking about her.

This is insane.

I have to prep for a presentation for the whole of erudite later this afternoon. All I can think is that Beatrice will be in the audience while I'm on stage and I'm going to be in her presence for at least an hour and a half. Dammit. I sit in my seat and every minute I look back up over my shoulder at the door to see if she has walked in to the auditorium yet. Finally she did. I give her a smile and nod. I feel a certain comfort that she is here but at the same time I am now tense knowing she is in the auditorium. Half way through the presentation about 10 minutes or so before my speech I hear murmuring from behind me. As I look to see what the fuss was about I see Beatrice getting up out of her seat in a unusual state. So I give her some time and then promptly follow her to see what is wrong. I have a feeling its to do with me. I head to the bathroom, as that is where I expect her to be. As I enter the bathroom there is one cubical locked and I can hear her trying to get her breath back. I have no clue what to say so I just ask what any normal person would ask:

"Beatrice, darling are you alright?"