1 Card Pulled
Queen of Hearts
Alright, I get it. I give up. I have been told more than once about the danger of trusting others, but I didn’t listen. I will listen from now on.
Aleks came by the hospital to visit me earlier today. He claims that he heard this morning that I had been hurt when the elevator at the studio failed yesterday. He says that everyone was really surprised when they heard because no one could remember seeing me in the office all day. I guess that the whole thing with people not recognizing me wore off overnight, so that is good to know after everything. I didn’t tell him that I had been there but was thrown out as a stranger, because let’s face it, I didn’t think he would believe me.
As the nurse came in and told me that I was free to go home, he offered to walk with me home and I saw no reason to be wary of him. I have known him for years, and we are close friends. I trusted him. That was my first mistake of the day. The second was to invite him in for a cup of coffee when we came to my apartment building. At this point I almost wish that he had refused. That he could have allowed me to feel like I had someone on my side for a little longer.
I had completely forgotten about the piece of artwork on my apartment door, but as we reached it I found myself transfixed by it again. I am not sure what it is about it, but I seem to be incapable to ignore it. To my surprise, Aleks didn’t comment on it beyond a throwaway comment about it being pretty. It doesn’t seem to have the same effect on him as it does on me. I am not sure what that means really. But his comment brought me back to myself and I was able to unlock the door, welcoming him inside.
We spent some time talking, just catching up, steering clear of the events at the office over the past week. I suppose that none of us wanted to bring down the mood when I had just gotten out of the hospital. I told him to take a seat as I went to make us some coffee, I was gone for maybe five minutes. When I got back into the room he was gone. I stood there for a moment with two cups of steaming coffee, just staring at the mess in front of me. Somehow, in the time I was in the kitchen, my entire room was turned upside down, and Aleks managed to leave without me hearing a sound. Every drawer and cabinet was open, my bag was turned upside down, and the front door was ajar.
I think that I was in shock, because I remember feeling like I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, for several minutes. I only snapped out of it when the two cups that I was holding shattered on the floor, splashing coffee and shards all over my feet and floor. And even then it took me a moment to realize what had happened. Aleks hadn’t come with me out of kindness, or because we were friends. He had come inside my apartment to search for something.
I glared at the mess on the floor for a moment before turning my attention to the other mess left behind. That was when something caught my eye. On the floor, underneath my desk, was something that didn’t belong there. Quickly stepping over there, I picked up a laminated plastic card and stared at it. It was an ID card, with Aleks’ name and picture, but that wasn’t all that was on it. In the top right corner, just above the printed name, was a purple dragonfly. I took it over to the couch, not even bothering to go close my apartment door. I was completely out of it for a long time.
I know what he was looking for, of course. With the encounter with the men in suits fresh in my mind, how could I not? He was looking for the briefcase. Must have been. I have never been so happy that I was at least somewhat prepared for something like this. Not from him though… It never crossed my mind that he might be involved… Which is stupid, I know, but I suppose that I just wanted to believe that someone, anyone at all, was on my side.
I am not sure how long I sat there, just staring at the card in my hand. But I did eventually get up from the couch and started to move around the apartment, closing drawers and cabinets as I went. Nothing seems to be missing, since he didn’t find what he was looking for. To be fair, the only thing still in the apartment concerning the Game is the flash drive, and I didn’t label that so he shouldn’t have known that. And the drive was on the floor with the rest of the contents from my bag. It’s the small things, I suppose. I took the tiny thing and put it back in the bag where it belongs.
At this point, I really wanted that cup of coffee, but I knew that I needed to clean up the broken cups from the floor before even thinking about that. Only, it turns out that I didn’t. As I turned my eyes to the floor, there was no mess. No coffee, no broken mugs. Instead, there was a steaming hot cup of coffee on the table waiting for me. I can’t be completely sure, but it seems like the power that allowed me to change my hair and eyes has shifted. Grown perhaps, as I was told that it would. I will need to experiment a little in the coming days, but for now, I just want to enjoy my coffee and try to ignore the fact that I am truly alone.
11 9 20, signing off.
[[Ending Roll: 2; Tokens Left: 9]]