key of mind

something new

She drank her drink, pondered, observed the world around her, and returned home calm. Elias was gone. She thought about calling him, but ultimately didn't succumb to the urge. She stayed awake all night. Sleep overtook her on the couch at seven in the morning, and when she woke up at ten, Elias still hadn't returned. She called him, but he didn't pick up any of her calls. She decided to call the company, and when the secretary answered, she told her not to bother coming by because her partner had been absent since morning. Galini asked if she knew where he was because he wasn't answering, and she repeated that she knew nothing since he hadn't informed them of his absence. Galini began to worry that something might have happened to him, and with that thought in mind, she called him again.

"What do you want, Galini?"

"Are you kidding me? Where are you?"

"At the company, where else? Leave me alone and when you calm down and stop nagging, we'll talk."

Galini didn't  understand what had happened. She grabbed her coat, got into her car, and went to find him at the company. Arriving there, she went to the fifth floor without asking at the reception, and upon entering, she called out for Litsa, his secretary, who seemed to be absent from her post at that moment. Without much thought, she approached her partner's office and pushed the two doors open. Her eyes widened, and she yelled, seeing his secretary sitting on his lap, kissing him, her black bra visible through her open shirt.

"Galini," Elias called out. As she left, she threw a vase she found in front of her. And she exclaimed to herself how stupid she had been not to realize it for so long, as if things would go differently after a little argument and they would end up in a hotel bed. What a classic story! She got back into her car and started driving, crying. She stopped at a park with a lawn and after sitting on a bench, she began to wonder what she would do now. After an hour, she arrived home and found Elias there, who got up from the couch as soon as he saw her.

"Now you remember you have a home?"

"I never forgot."

"Do you hear what you're saying, fuck it? I catch you with your secretary, and what you're saying is so stupid? Screw you, seriously."

"It won't happen again."

"Yeah, like it happened only once... And you don't even respond, imagine how long you've been doing this."

"Two months."

"Oh my god, I can't believe I'm hearing this. Get out, I don't want to see you."

"But Galini..."

"Don't talk, just leave." Her voice, it was as if it wasn't hers.

After Elias left slamming the door behind him, Galini started crying on the couch. Hours passed in the same scene, and at some point, her phone rang.

"I've arrived."

"Oh, something happened and I forgot about you, William."

"It's okay then."

"No, since I told you, I'll wear my coat and come pick you up from the airport."

"Don't bother, I'll take a taxi to the city."

"No, you're not bothering me, I'll come now."

After half an hour, Galini had arrived. They put his things in the back seat and drove to the city center. She explained the whole situation to him, and in the end, she told him not to mention anything to Alexandra because she didn't want her to be even slightly upset after her wedding. Time passed, and she suggested hosting him. He refused, telling her that from what he understood, things were already too complicated between her and Elias to get even worse.

"What will you do? Where will you sleep?"

"Don't worry about me. Go get some rest, you're tired enough."

So they said goodbye, and Galini returned home. The next day felt so empty to her. Like it was frozen in time. Essentially, practically, nothing had changed, and she knew it, but in her mind, everything had changed! She had no desire to even turn on her computer, to cook, to take a bath. After a flood of thoughts, devoid of logic, she realized she had completely lost herself. The time was past two, and someone started kissing her cheek, her neck, her hands. She woke up suddenly when she saw Elias above her.

"What do you want, Elias?"

"Forgive me." He pleaded and continued kissing her.

"I don't know. What you did was too much."

"Oh come on, my love, we're made for each other."

As he continued to kiss her, she stopped responding verbally and reciprocated his movements. She didn't know why she was letting go of her pride so easily, but at that moment, she didn't care much.

The next morning, when the phone rang, Galini got up and went to the living room to talk, avoiding to wake him up by seeing that it was Alexandra's number. However, Alexandra already knew everything...

"I can't believe you forgave him."

"I didn't say that."

"Are you kidding me? You slept with him!"

"I don't know, I love him, we've been together for six years."

"Well, Galini, shake your head a bit to come to your senses, you don't know how angry I am right now."

"Forget it, you don't understand me!" She said and abruptly hung up.

She went outside and made another call, as it was obvious.

"Angelos?"

"Yes?"

"How could you dare?"

"Sorry, I know you didn't want this."

"So what then?" She asked him commandingly and without giving him the chance to speak further, she continued:

"Actually, I don't care, I told you something and you didn't respect it." She told him and hung up without waiting for an answer.

Things with Elias seemed to be going well. He still didn't respond even if he was late. Maybe he cheated her, but she didn't dig deeper. She took care of him, didn't leave the house, lost contact with everyone, even with Alexandra. However, on the third week, Elias asked her for a break-up, and she didn't even want to consider it. She told him not to leave, and while he was packing his bag, she kept taking some clothes out, telling him that all those years together had to mean something to him. He didn't pay attention to her until he packed his bag and went to the door.

"But what's gotten into you all of a sudden?" She asked him, but again, he didn't respond. So, at the threshold of the door, as he was leaving, she pulled him back by grabbing his arm. Elias shook his hand with force and after shouting "It's over. We're done!" he left without even looking at her. Galini collapsed behind the door, kneeling and crying.

She stayed locked in the house for five days, until at some point she decided to call a friend to go out for a drink. She didn't tell her anything, just that she was feeling down.