Beautiful Monster 2(33)

 
 
 
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My reward came at noon, when we finished the workshop early, and I let them head out to their normal Saturday afternoon activities. Waiting until everyone was gone, I kicked the mask box in a corner, and locked the room behind me, stopping in my office for a bottle of whiskey and a box of chocolates I had brought yesterday.
 
Where are you? I texted Amy, and the response came immediately.
 
Room. Come here?
 
Yep. I slipped my phone into my pocket and took the back passage way through the dorms. Just because the whole world knew we were dating didn’t mean they actually had to see it happen.
 
I knocked on her door four times, our code, and she opened up, looking absolutely adorable in a baggy tee-shirt over spandex shorts. Given that the lights were on in her living room, I assumed she had been rehearsing.
 
“Hey.” I wrapped her in my arms, my muscles immediately relaxing as soon as I did. Amy was like a muscle relaxant, a good massage, fine wine and a hot tub all at once. I was quite sure, if anything ever did ail me, she would be my cure. “How’s Sarah?”
 
“I don’t know,” Amy said, sitting down on her couch and patting the seat beside her.
 
I held up the whiskey bottle and she shook her head. Not afraid of drinking alone, I poured some into a coffee mug she had left lying around, and took a sip, sitting down beside her.
 
“I took her to the nurse’s office, but they wanted to keep her, run some tests, and told me they would call me.”
 
“Do they think it’s poison?” I asked.
 
“You think it’s Selene?” Amy reached for the chocolate box, undoing the ribbon and opening the top. “I asked that.”
 
I nearly spit out my drink. “You asked the nurse if it was Selene?”
 
“No.” She hit me, giggling. “I asked the nurse if she thought it was something Sarah ate.”
 
“Oh.” I grinned back at her, as she bit into a chocolate. The drink was seeping through my insides, warming me up and lightening the weight I felt on my chest.
 
“What is this?” She grabbed the box lid and read about the different types of chocolate. We sat in silence a few moments, until she finished nibbling and moved it aside. She slipped under my arm and sighed.
 
“Are you alright?”
 
“I’m fine,” she replied, twisting so she was looking up at me. “I just was thinking about how much is going on.”
 
I brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes, trailing my finger gently over her face.
 
“I know. It’s a lot. And it’s not something you have to be involved with, Amy…”
 
Her face darkened. “What are you talking about? Of course I do.”
 
“Not technically.” I finished the whiskey and poured a second cup, larger than the first. It had been a dry few weeks, and I had forgotten how easy it was to slip into the oblivion of alcohol. A wave of happiness rushed over me as I shifted, making Amy more comfortable. “If you wanted to wait, to bow out, and work on your thesis elsewhere, maybe abroad, I could arrange that. And then after Selene is dead…”#p#分页标题#e#
 
“Liam, don’t be stupid,” she replied, grabbing my hand and squeezing. “I’m not going anywhere. Except to an audition tomorrow.”
 
“Hmm?” That caught my interest. “For what?”
 
“For Ranger?” she named a popular period TV show that was now in its 4th season. “One of my friends told me about it, from Gatsby. Although I don’t know how I’m going to fit it into my schedule.”
 
"Should have known you’d be in demand." I leaned down to kiss her and she arched her back in response, making her shirt ride up. My body responded to the sight of her toned stomach, now solid from months of performing. Being on stage was the best workout that I knew.
 
I closed my eyes, losing myself in the world of Amy, when her cell phone beeped, jerking us out of the mood.
 
"Could be Sarah," she said, scrambling up to go for it.
 
Groaning, I poured myself another drink. "Do you have any plans for today?" I asked.
 
She glanced up at me with a smile, scrolling through her messages. "Nope, go ahead and get smashed on my couch."
 
"If you stayed for the rest of the mask workshop, you would too," I responded but Amy wasn't listening.
 
She leapt to her TV, turning it on and flicking the channels lightning quick.
 
"What?"
 
"This." She sat back on her haunches as the Sites final credits began to roll. The TV began flashing familiar images of the school as the credits minimized.