Let's Talk About Murder

53 | take me back to this night

22ND FEBRUARY.
ORION ACADEMY:
LEX AND KARAN'S DORM ROOM.

APHRODITE opened the door of the bathroom and her eyes caught Lex staring at her from up and down. The tuxedo hugged his body tightly and the red flower in his chest pocket matched the long elegant dress she was wearing. She smiled at him and he returned it back.

He had a rose in his hand. "I know you don't wanna go to this stupid charity dance but Karan set me up for this," He whispered softly--as if the slightest raise in his voice would break the invisible glass between them.

"No, it's fine. It's our last formal dance before we move away. I want this."

Lex pressed his lips and handed the flower to her. She accepted it before hooking her arm around his. She slipped into her high heels and he ushered her out of the room. Karan and Baz along with Josh and West were going to join them at the charity event in the Grand Room tonight. Aphrodite didn't want to go but Karan had been gushing about this dance ever since he danced with Baz at Sofia's wedding so Aphrodite convinced Lex and West to do this for him. Karan is openly gay now and while his parents are still bitter about this, the uncle he was living with has his blessings and full support.

Aphrodite and Lex neared her and Yumi's room and she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. She looked at Lex and glanced back at the door. She released her arm from Lex's arm and reached to the handle of the door. She swallowed and twisted it open.

Her eyes traveled around and stopped at Yumi's desk. She took small steps and paused to look at her most recent sketch. She picked up her sketchbook and analysed it. It was a long dress with a bow on the waist. The sketch was incomplete. The dress that was sketched was only coloured half-way.

Aphrodite pulled the chair and picked a pink coloured pencil as Lex towered behind her. He watched her as she coloured the dress. Once she was done--she kept the pencil away and was about to turn the page when her eyes found a small scribbling in the bottom right. She leaned closer and narrowed her eyes to read those words.

For Aphy.

Her eyes began to pool with water. Her voice cracked as she said, "She was going to make this for me."

Lex placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. Aphrodite sniffed and rested her cheek on his hand. She put the sketch book down and looked over her shoulders to gaze into Lex's brown eyes. "I don't want to be alone."

"I will apply for NYU straight away."

She stood up from her chair and faced him. "No, I want to stay here with Karan and hopefully you too. And once West is back from his getaway, he can be with us too."

Lex embraced her and whispered, "I'll follow wherever you go. Even to Hell, or worse--back to my hometown." Aphrodite chuckled as she pulled apart. He added, "We should go. Everyone must be waiting."

"This was about our last dance together, right?" She asked. When Lex nodded, she continued. "Now, let this night be one of our many dances. Come with me." And he did. He followed her wherever she went. Aphrodite led him to the open grounds near The Grand Quarter where the faint sound of the music coming from the Grand Room could be heard.

"Would you like to dance with me, Mr Rivera?" She said she extended his hand.

"It will always be my honour to dance with you, Ms. Rose." He put his hands in hers and pulled her closer. She circled her arms around him and his hands wrapped around her waist. They moved softly on the grass and no sooner were they joined with Karan and Baz as well as West and Josh. More students and teachers joined them and in less than an hour, the event seemed to move from the Grand Room to the outside--under the moonlight.

The moon was beautiful today as well. It was there. It wasn't hiding. It was watching them and smiling widely. Yumi must have been too.

Karan and Baz moved closer to Lex and Aphrodite. Karan nodded at Baz and whispered something in his ear. Baz smiled and left Karan's waist. Karan joined Lex and Aphrodite by draping his one arm around her and the other around him. West saw him and asked Josh to excuse him as well. The music played softly and the four best friends that loved each other more by each passing moment found themselves smiling.

"Lex and I want to tell you something," She mumbled.

Lex nodded. "Yeah. We have decided to stay here at Orion Academy. We are not transferring anywhere."

Karan grinned. "What? Seriously? That makes me so happy! College won't be terrible, after all."

"What made you change your mind? I thought you were doing this to help you move on," West asked.

"I was." Aphrodite sighed. "But I don't want to move on by running away. A friend of mine had said that I never ran away from anything and by transferring to NYU, I was doing exactly that. And plus, I don't want any random strangers to mess our room. Yumi is here. With us. She always will be."

They smiled at each other.

"Hey, guys," West spoke. "Some stories are written just to end. Do you think ours was too?"

"I don't know but a thousand of years from now," Karan began. "When we'll be at some old age home, knitting clothes in the memory of Yumi and watching an old classic movie--we'll look back to this time. Maybe then, I'll have an answer."

"You think you'll live for thousands of years?" Aphrodite laughed.

"Each minute with you guys is worth a thousand of months with someone else. So as long as all of your dumbasses are with me." Karan chuckled. "It won't be a problem."

header image by Thomas AE.

I hope you consider reading acknowledgements before removing Let's Talk About Murder from your library.

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