She had sensed it. From the moment that William picked her up until the very same one they were in now. There was something that had been bothering, though before, most of the time he simply stayed quiet. Leyla wasn’t above those to pry mindlessly, she knew when a person needed their time and their space.
However, from the moment they had entered the place, her date’s mood seemed to have gotten worse with each second. It was as if some sort of mask had been slipping away or over - she had no idea which one it was. The words that he offered to her, the first ones all evening, were cold and sent shivers down her spine. Suddenly, the surgeon didn’t feel so confident, suddenly she felt a weird feeling in her stomach.
Every few people they passed, Leyla heard the same name being repeated over and over again, Harrison. Party sure none of them were talking about Ford, the actor. “Is it something to do with Harrison?” She asked, after his cold agreement, in a small, whispered tone.
But it was his dismissal that really struck her. Never had Leyla been ordered around, in this case dismissed like she was some subject, someone who had, no matter, like a damn dog. Stopping, her eyes glanced at him as he continued to walk away from her. “I am certain I can do what I like, William.” No matter how much she may have liked him, she wasn’t going to be spoken to like a subordinate. “Thank you for brining me here.”
The artistic voyeur of other people’s emotions was experiencing one of his own, and it wasn’t something he wanted to have a witness to. William continued to walk down the hallway with an unnerving sense of coldness, he may have been one of these marbled walls when it come to listening to Leyla’s concerns in this moment.
He took a deep breath, subtle, eyes still not finding their eye to the woman walking next to him. “Was the music too loud, Leyla? I believe I said, you can find Nora if you like, do whatever you want, I don’t care. I just need a moment alone. It’s not too much to ask, no?”
The question which she posed, the only question really, that could invoke a surge of emotions in William was met with utter dismissal. He pretended it hadn’t even been voiced into existence - no one, including the people who’ve also lost Harrison, had the right to talk to William about him. No, who he was with Harrison was in too much contrast to who he was now. The two Williams couldn’t exist in the same universe. It was better to dismiss it, avoid, like some sort of glitch in the matrix.
“I’ll come find you later.”
He hissed through the gritted teeth.
