Chapter 44

Mia groaned. It was the first time in a long while that she’d finally fallen asleep and now some noise was interrupting her. She rolled off her bed, her knees and palms taking the brunt of the force. She inhaled sharply, she couldn’t make too much noise to wake Amiyah but if she didn’t move quickly, the sound reverberating throughout the room would.

It took Mia a few seconds to realise the noise was her ringing tone. She followed the beam of light emanating from her cell phone. It was across the room on her table. She stumbled a bit, catching herself on the edge of the table. She pulled the cell phone forward, her vision blurry, who could be calling?
Harvey hadn’t known what came over him to call her. But the longer it took for the call to be answered, the greater his regret. Should he just hang up? He had to remind himself that she probably couldn’t answer. Perhaps, she was in bed…with him.

Harvey’s grip tightened on his cell phone. His stomach churning like a ship caught in a storm at sea. He had to hang up.

“Hello?” her voice came through softly. It was clear he’d woken her. He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was midnight.

“Can you talk?” what were the proper words to ask whether one’s husband was in the room? God, he was losing his fucking mind. Sneaking around with someone in private was fun, there was a certain adrenaline rush that made secret meetings alluring. That only applied to situations were both parties were single and keeping things private. This was another situation all together.

“Harvey.” She breathed his name in a sigh of relief.

“Brave of you to say my name out loud.” He said somewhat surprised. Was her husband not at home?

“Is your name supernaturally cursed or something?” she asked sleepily. Her heart was fluttering in a wild motion. She placed her palm to her chest to steady her body. She’d sent him countless messages and he’d never replied.

“Can’t be sure.” He muttered, momentarily getting captured by a silent spell making him forget why he’d called in the first place.

“Harvey?” she called out his name, dragging him back to the present.

“Can we meet tomorrow?” he’s paused, listening to her breathing, the sound comforting him. “To discuss everything,” he finished.

“I’d like that.” She’s responded lightly.

****

Harvey had taken the day off. A rare occurrence that resulted in his inbox becoming flooded by get well messages from some of his employees. He’d scrolled through the list of unopened emails and frowned. The entire company seemed to presume illness upon him. He closed his laptop down without logging out of his email.

“Imbeciles.” He muttered. Then again, he was missing work because he was attached to a married woman. Who was the true imbecile?

Tomorrow, if he turned up suffering from some generic cold and fever, he would know who manifested it into existence. He reached his arm into his closet and pulled out the first T-shirt his fingers touched. It was red. He frowned at the colour, too bright for his taste and he was almost certain this was a gift from either his mother or sister. They were always trying to make him expand his preferred colour range. He shook his head, unwilling to find something else; he pulled it over his body. He grabbed a pair of jeans, dragging it over his body as the sound of his door bell ran to his ear drums.

He grabbed a pair of shoes and socks, holding them in his hand as he made his way to the door. He never got unannounced visitors. He pulled it open and Angela eased past him and entered into his apartment without a word.

“Come in.” the words a delayed invitation to an empty corridor. An invitation his mother didn’t think she needed. He closed the door and turned around. Angela was already making her way into his living room, Harvey followed her lead. He plopped down in a chair directly opposite her.

“Is something wrong?” He probed, pulling on his socks one foot at a time. He had a penchant for unusual, colourful socks. Ironic since he preferred darker, sombre tones. These particular socks were a fusion of different shades of grey irregular shapes. He didn’t opt for actual colourful socks, the colours were sure to clash with his t-shirt.
He flashed his mother a raised brow, he knew when something was on her mind. His first clue was her lack of greeting when she barged into his apartment.

“Are you heading out?” her eyes trained on him as he shoved his feet into his shoes and began lacing them up. Harvey nodded, “That colour looks good on you.” She complemented him. Harvey rose to his feet, now he knew who picked the t-shirt for certain.

“There is something you need to know.” Angela’s eyes traced his movement. She was in such a state of agitation when she learned of the truth earlier today. She’d grabbed her purse and ran out of the house; she didn’t even take the seconds it needed to inform her husband.

“Can it wait?” Harvey began pacing around the apartment picking up his wallet and cell phone. He shoved them into his jeans pockets, “I have to meet someone in…” he paused his movements to check his watch, “twenty minutes.” He declared. It was difficult for him to wait around. Since making arrangements to meet Mia last night, he’d been counting the seconds.

“Is it the woman you’ve been seeing?” Angela was on her feet now. It was paining her that she would be souring his mood. She hated having to be the one to destroy the illusion he had, especially since she’d seen the happiness in his face the other night.
Harvey made eye contact with his mother. The wheels in his head generating a cloud of white smoke. Should he even answer? The situation was altered drastically from the point he’d revealed to his family. None of it was the same.
No answer was answer enough for Angela. She crossed her arms, planted her feet firmly on the floor, tilted her head slightly upwards, “I don’t think you should see her anymore.”

“Mother…” he was caught off guard, raising his eyebrows in response. His mother had never involved herself in any of his relationships.

“Listen, your sister wasn’t mistaken,” she’s covered the distance between them, pulling his hands into hers and squeezed tightly. “She is married, darling.” Her voice was low.

And the truth was out. Harvey huffed out the air in his lungs and cleared his throat. He didn’t want to know how she found out. The less he was reminded about Mia’s husband, the easier it was to ignore his existence until he met her.

“I know.” He gave her hands a tiny pat and rewarded her with a smile.

“You know?” She echoed in disbelief. “ and you’re still leaving?” he’d pulled his hands out of her grasp and grabbed his keys. His back was turned to her, “To see her?” she finished, shifting from cautious to furious. She’d ran over to him, racking her brain of the best way to let him know the truth. She driven herself to tears in her car thinking of the hurt her son was about to face and all the while he knew.

Harvey knew the truth and kept it from them. Worst of all, he was about to meet up with the woman who’d deceived him. As a woman, she wouldn’t have sympathy for a person who perpetrated their hurt but as a mother, she hated caring despite her son lack of outrage regarding the situation.

“The situation is complicated.” Harvey checked his watch again. He really had to leave.

“Seems pretty black and white to me.” Angela pursed her lips. A married person cannot be in a relationship with a third party. Did he not see that?

“You are speaking from a place of emotional thought.” He chuckled, attempting to lighten the mood. He understood her concerns but he’d made up his mind to talk to Mia. He hadn’t told his family of the developments because the situation wasn’t resolved.

“And your actions are not guided by emotion?” she scoffed. “Do I have the word ‘foolish’ tattooed on my forehead?” she interrogated.

“Don’t you worry, it’s barely visible.” He gave her a teasing wink and kissed her forehead. He’d grown taller than her compared to when they first met. He turned away from her, “I’m leaving, you can stay how long you want.” He said.

“Harvey!” she called out to him, “Do not walk out this apartment,” she’d blocked his path, outstretching both arms as a barrier, “not for that reason.” Her head shaking profusely. She’d moved too fast for him to notice, mostly because he wasn’t expecting this much resistance.

“I have to.” He pulled her arms down to her sides.

“This is not the right decision, becoming involved with someone who is married.” She said, her eyes beseeching him to listen to her, to change his mind.

“I have no intentions of becoming involved further.” He assured her, even though he had no clue about his intentions. “I have questions that I need answered.” He said, moving past her.

“Nothing you hear will make you feel better.” She spun around and threw the words at his back.

“But it can help me put this whole mess behind me a lot sooner.” He responded over his shoulder, pausing in his steps. “Let me satisfy my curiosity.” He implored her to consider his perception.

“Are you asking my permission?” she doubted it very much.

“More like giving you the illusion of it.” He cocked his head from side to side to settle on the thought. He made his way out of the apartment without another glance at his mother.