CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

Adonia didn't really think she wanted to go anywhere today but she didn't want to be feel left out in the group, she didn't want everybody to look at her as if she didn't care about other people because she did, she just didn't feel like going along with them to console Jordan but oh well! It wouldn't hurt to go with, he needed the shoulders to lean on, even if it included hers. she understood that everybody was going to express their condolences and it was going to be befitting if she did the same too, she didn't even know who died and why they were going but she wasn't doing any major thing here and Maxine already told her that her schedule was cleared, there was no need of staying at home when she really needed to start going out more often, this was not what she had in mind when she told her mystery man that she needed to start going out more often though.
Adonia met every other person on set and they decided to go together, that was the plan, she would have loved to go on her own in a private vehicle because she didn't want to be cramped in a bus with people that she barely spoke to, she knew that most of them knew who she was but what she didn't know was maybe they knew her through her mother's image or they knew her as Quincy's Ex that his toxic fans were always dragging, harassing and writing hate comments about her online. It was killing her inside at first but with time, she got to get herself altogether and was back on her feet. There were just comments, not daggers or knives slicing into her skin. she didn't even want to know about that anymore, she just wanted to get over with this condolence greeting and get some rest because she knew she was going to be having a busy day the next day, she needed to gather her strength and energy for the next shoot.
Her Mystery Man has been awfully quiet all this time and she had gotten too used to him being available all the time for her that she began to think that maybe she did something wrong that caused the poor communication between the both of them. They had not spoken to each other for a week now and she was worried, even doubting herself... that maybe he was just done with her. She already made a decision that she was going to talk to Athena about it. Se knew her best friend was always there ready to advise her and share her thoughts. It was one of the reasons why she was her best friend and she was always comfortable with telling her anything that bothered her, she was more like her backbone that made her feel stronger, bolder and confident whenever she was losing it and it was vice versa too.
She remembered the last conversation she had with her mystery man before he started being unavailable, he sent a message to her inbox, it read "I don't think I will be much of a speak to you for a while because I am going through things that I'm not ready or comfortable to disclose yet but I hope you will understand and take care of yourself this period while I'm away" Adonia had read that message a thousand time and she still couldn't decipher what he meant and what message he was trying to pass along because she didn't understand what the message meant in the first instance, was he ghosting her? Or did he really have a reason for not being available? She wished she asked for a reason when he sent that message.
She wanted to reach out to him and help him out of these trying times, he
They finally got to Jordan's apartment and she came down from the tour bus. She was in complete awe of the neighborhood that Jordan lived in, it was a quiet one, the kind of neighborhood that the American Movie Narrator called the "Peaceful kind of neighborhood where nobody knew each other" and she was quite sure this place was the same. She kept on standing there, admiring the mansion and it's surrounding. It was really big, decorated with flowers around there were about three cars parked to the right hand side of the house surrounding under a shade. She figured it would be perfect for early morning work outs, it was like a beautiful secret haven to her "aren't you coming in?" Someone from the set that followed in the bus asked and she got herself back "oh yes, I'll come in with you" she replied and together they joined the others as they filed in through the huge double doors of the building.
Adonia was the last person to enter into the house and she was offered a drink by one of the help in the house, she smiled and told her to thank you before taking the last glass from the tray and the help retreated with a smile and a bow. The mansion looked bigger and more beautiful on the inside and Adonia suddenly got the strong urge to take a tour and admire the place before she left with the other set members. She was surprised when she saw the paintings on the wall, they were all works of art and captivating but a particular painting caught her eye as she went around admiring the paintings that were hung and she couldn't help but stare at this particular painting on the wall that caught her attention longer than she should stare since she was in someone else's house, she just ignored the thought and kept on looking. She knew
She knew she had seen these paintings before, she couldn't place where she had seen them but she knew herself, she was not one to forget things like this easily, she kept on looking at that one particular painting and it felt like she had talked about this particular painting with somebody, she knew she didn't talk about paintings or this kind of art with her mother or Maxine or even Athena, so why does this painting keep on looking so familiar to her? She kept on thinking and the only person that kept on coming up in her mind was her Mystery Man.
She knew she had once told him about this painting in the numerous interesting conversation they had had in the past, but why was it so detailed? It was exactly the way she described it to him, just the same things she told him that was here, what was going on? Who exactly was Jordan? She didn't like being confused about anything but this was looking like she was going to need to sit down and place all the puzzles together because a myriad of thoughts and questions were running through her mind. She went into the main house and passed a quick greeting to Jordan with a nod and gave her a sad smile, she smiled back and walked away from where he sat in the middle of the other set members then took a sit before a million questions threatening to explode in her chest would make her dizzy.
She still felt sorry for his loss though, no one would miss the hurt and pain that clogged in his eyes. His eyes were swollen from all the tears she guessed he had shed when he was alone after getting the bad news of his daughter's death, no normal parent wouldn't grieve over their child's loss because that space would be there forever, they'd just learn to live with it over time till remembering them won't make them teary anymore.
The puzzles about her Mystery Man were kind of adding up if she really thought about the situation and the timing of everything that had happened so far... Except it was just a coincidence but it was too perfect to be a coincidence. She remembered when he told her that he lost his best friend, she wasn't really paying attention to what the other set members were talking about in the bus but she remembered hearing something about him losing his best friend some time ago and now his daughter again. She was getting somewhere with this, she also remembered the message he sent about him not going to be available to talk to her as he usually did and she knew it was that period that Jordan's Daughter died because it was announced after they finished a scene, she knew that she was convinced about this but she wasn't sure, she didn't want to jump into conclusions or sound like she was desperate if she met him and told him he was her mystery man without proof, moreover she didn't think this was the time or place for this, she wasn't going to rush into conclusion, she was going to try and get evidence that was going to show beyond any doubts that he was her Mystery Man or maybe she'd find another way to find out if he's the one or not.
Adonia couldn't take her eyes off the painting from where she sat and she knew she might look too inquisitive doing so but she wanted to be really sure that it was the same painting that she was talking about and not the figment of her thoughts, if anyone asked her why she was starring so hard at the painting because some of her set members or fellow actors weren't good at minding their businesses, she'd just simply reply and say she loved art and was appreciating the masterpiece on the wall because who wouldn't? It was too beautiful to be ignored.
Her mind went back to when she was having the conversation about the painting with her Mystery Man and how he told her that she was definitely going to influence him to get the painting because of how she had described it to be beautiful. Everything she had heard about Jordan and everything the Mystery Man had said about himself kept coming to her mind and they sounded somewhat similar, she still wanted to be very certain that she was not having things mixed up on her mind because of how she had been longing to meet him for a long time but he kept on telling her that he was waiting for the perfect time to arrange a meeting between them, she liked to think of it more as a date with her mystery man though... Anytime they finally met, a dozen scenarios had run through her mind ever since her mystery man had promised to meet her at the right time. What if they went to a fancy restaurant? What if he plans a trip? What would she wear? What would she do? All these thoughts and questions always made her ecstatic anytime she thought of finally meeting her mystery man that had taken space in her heart. She didn't have any need to think about it anymore, or any more clues to put two and two together because she was certain Jordan was her mystery man and she was so sure of it like she was certain of the next meal she was going to eat.
Although a little part of her was doubting a bit, it felt rather strange to think that Jordan was her mystery man, she never considered him to be her type even though he was breathtakingly handsome and had a beautiful smile, she was intrigued at how people that were anonymous to each other bonded faster with their hearts than when they knew each other. There could also be a possibility he would deny her if she told him face to face that she was the lady he'd been talking to but she knew deep in her that she wanted to confirm these doubts before leaving Jordan's place because she wouldn't be able to sleep facing the fact that she missed the opportunity to be sure he was her mystery man.
Adonis didn't like taking risks but she knew she had to do this, she needed to know and be certain that she was either right or wrong about this feelings she had about Jordan being her mystery man or not, she had to be sure if he was the one or she was going to keep thinking about it till she probably loses her mind in her pool of thoughts. She didn't want to tell anybody about him... Not yet, she wanted to keep him as her Mystery man and protect his identity for now, she didn't want him out in the open for now because she had never seen him or even met physically and she knew telling her Mother or her best friend about him was going to make them to question her sanity and then they'll jump into conclusions that she's been speaking to a ghost and she was probably never going to meet him, she didn't know what she was going to do, she felt really confused. She needed to find out but she needed to do it discreetly in case Jordan was not the Mystery Man she assumed him to be, she knew he was not cool headed and could be passive aggressive at times. She also didn't want him thinking she was weird or desperate for his attention when he came back on set after his break so she decided, she had to awaken the poetic side of her; when she'd be able to write a letter as simple as she could put her thoughts down but it would also carry a message only her mystery man could understand. She was going to write a letter to him and see how he was going to respond or react to it, body language always gave one away, of course she wasn't going to use her name, she would use the name she likes and told to only him, if she gets any reaction from him, she was going to know that he was her Mystery man and all the myriads of questions and doubts running through her mind would finally get an answer.
Adonia knew she needed to do this before she left his house, she was determined. She didn't have anything she could use to write, not a notepad, a booklet or even a paper. She didn't really leave the house with the intention of writing or putting anything down, she always used her phone for that. This time though, she was going to write to him on a paper to be as discreet as possibly be. Since she didn't bring with her any writing material with her, she had to search his house and make do with anything she could get, the others were busy consoling him and trying to strike up random conversations with him so it would distract him a bit and take his mind off June for a while. She was going to do her own part of consoling him in her letter, though she knew deep inside she was writing this letter because she wanted to find out the truth about Jordan being her mystery man or not as quickly as possible before she would loose her mind but she was also doing this because she kind of knew what it felt like to lose somebody so close to you, she didn't really have a first hand experience of ever loosing anyone close to her but Athena had and she saw how devastated she had been during that period of her loss, so she could try and understand and relate to what he was going through in the best way she could by trying to make him feel better with she was about to write to him. It was with double intentions, but they would both serve their purpose perfectly.
Adonia finally found a library with it's doors wide open. She looked around to be sure no one was looking before she quickly dashed into the library and saw pencils, documents and some books littered around but she didn't have any degrading thought about Jordan or jump into any conclusion about him keeping his library in that condition, he didn't seem like the kind of person to litter his library because even on set, everything had to be his way or nothing else and it always went smoothly by his own way. She knew how a grieving person could be, sadness before anger and then acceptance. It seemed this happened when he got angry and lost control of his emotions while grieving June's death before he finally accepted she was never coming back.