Page 49 of Strings

“Guess I’m slumming it today.” We hear her voice before we see her. She’s quiet as a mouse coming up the stairs. I prefer Cherese’s way better. A warning thump would have been nice.

Just as she gets to the top, the elevator doors open and Sebastian glares at me from inside. “Looks like the gang’s all here,” I mumble under my breath.

He seems annoyed. My apartment is directly in front of him. “Did you block me on your phone?” He steps out of the elevator and pauses when he sees Cherese and Bella.

“Aww, did you two have a fight?” Bella fakes concern.

“Cherese? You live here, too?”

Cherese crosses her arms and sighs. “Yep.”

“This is cozy,” I say. The girl you used to date, the girl who wants to date you, and me all on the same floor. Lucky you.”

Bella points at Cherese. “Youdated Sebastian?” Her mouth hangs open a little too wide. “Her? Really?”

“Every time you open your mouth, you get a little uglier,” Cherese says. “Yes, we dated, but it was a lifetime ago. Guess you’re the only one who hasn’t had him yet. How’s that feel?”

“Just think, Bash, if you get Three-D and Three-E, you could claim the entire floor.” I snicker and he scowls.

“Talia, I need to speak to you. Alone.” Sebastian steps past me and into my apartment. I hear Bella say something. It sounds like,“So I’ll see you...”I close the door before I hear the rest.

“Why are you here and who said you could walk into my apartment any time you feel like it?”

“Why are all of your texts turning green? I’ve been texting you for three hours.”

Pulling my phone from my purse, I realize I powered it down and never turned it back on. “I turned it off because you were irritating me.”

As soon as it fully powers up, I see ten missed texts and three calls. “Oh, look, it’s on and you’re still doing it. What’s the emergency? Why did you have to come all the way here?”

He lowers the frames of his glasses and rubs his eyes. He looks tired. I remember back on the plane I wondered if he had insomnia.

“Bella called my best friend Michael, and now he wants to have dinner tonight to meet you.”

“I can’t. I have plans.”

“What plans?”

“I don’t need to tell you. I said I had plans. That’s all you need to know.”

“Can you change them?”

“No.”

“Do you mind if I sit for a moment?” he asks, extending his hand toward the couch.

“Are you okay?”

He slowly sits down and takes off his glasses. He places them on the table and leans back. “I’m fine. Just a little stressed.”

I walk around the couch and sit on the arm of the chair facing him. “Can I ask you a question?”

“What is it?”

“Do you sleep?”

He scratches his temple. “Yes, I sleep. Why do you ask?”

“How many hours a night?”