Athena jumped in, started the car, and took off speeding. Half-way home Daniel received a call from Will, telling him to make it to the dorm as fast as he could. Athena stepped on the gas, driving faster than the speed limit. She managed to see a cop car ahead in the distance and slowed down gradually passing him by. “Shit, that was close.” Daniel chuckled. “Tell me about it, I don't have my driver’s license.” Athena laughed hysterically as she witnessed Daniel’s face go from relaxed to worried in a matter of seconds.
“But, I thought, why didn't you tell me?” Daniel gave a loud sarcastic cry. “Because if I did I wouldn't have gotten the chance to drive; Duh!” Athena laughed, putting her hand on his lap. “Baby, relax okay I got this.” She reassured him gently. “I know you got this, but I'm just saying next time tell me.” Daniel held her hand as he sat back sinking into his chair. “I think the sun gave me a headache.”
Athena placed her palm on her forehead frowning at Daniel to do something. Daniel reached into the middle armrest and took out to painkillers. “Here baby take these.” Daniel placed 2 pills in her mouth and opened the bottle of water, and handed it to her. “Thanks baby” Athena shyly smiled to him, making sure at the same time not to lose focus on the dark road towards the city.
Back at the dorms Daniel walked to his room after saying his goodnights to Athena. He opened the door, Will stood up in a panic. “Dude where were you!” Will seemed agitated more than anything. “I was at the beach, why what’s wrong?” Daniel closed the door and walked over to Will. “Melissa called me man! She told me to tell you to check your email because you weren't answering her.” Will couldn't stop breathing at a fast pace from fear of what Melissa might do next. “Look, just calm down okay I’m sure it’s nothing major, she always overreacts.”
Daniel sat down on his bed and pulled his laptop from under his pillow. “Why do you keep your laptop there?” Will stood, in a shaky motion, disoriented by the thought of Melissa. “Can you sit down, you're making me nervous.” Daniel pointed to Will’s side of the bed. “Okay, yeah I’ll do that.” From a distance you could see Will’s palms starting to sweat, he opened the window for fresh air to enter into the room. Daniel switched on his laptop and signed into his Gmail account only to find the email Will was ranting about. Daniel looked up at Will with concerned eyes. “The subject says urgent.” He said. “Okay, open it!” Will yelled.
Will stood up once more walking around the room like a maniac holding his head. “Can you sit the fuck down? I don't feel like opening it man.” Daniel yelled, pushing the laptop to the side. “Just open the damn email Daniel! How much worse can our situation get?” Will convinced Daniel otherwise into opening the email.
“Fuck! Why did she have to say that it’s fucking urgent! Fuck!” Daniel scratched his head, as Will sat next to him placing his hand on his shoulder. “Just open the fucking email.” Will spoke quietly, trying to calm him down in an unorthodox way. “Fine.” Daniel picked the laptop back up, setting it neatly on his lap. “Whatever happens; happens.” Will stated breathing in Daniel’s ear. “Here goes nothing.” Daniel clicked the email, as silence followed.
This has to take effect immediately. I’ll get straight to the point; I hope Will is reading this email with you. Over the past few days we have monitored Athena’s behavior which has met our requirements for this experiment. Giving me the permission to release you from EA as it stated in our agreement.
The following terms have to be met for a successful departure from EA. Attached to this email is a release contract, which you and Will must sign for this to take effect.
1-You must leave with no questions asked, if not, the money that has been piling up in both Will and your name will be disregarded and be used for further experimentation use.
2-If Will chooses to stay, an apartment will be provided as no contact can be established with the subject. If you break this rule, any money left will be stripped from your name. You will be charged with espionage within the governmental agencies. However, if the time period has ended of 5 years, then you can only make contact.
3-Theres a safe located in a Swiss bank in Geneva, Switzerland. It requires a passcode which is Wald9202 and fingerprint identification. In the safe there are 3 different passports for each of you with the needed documentation to support your wellbeing after leaving EA. A sum of 8.4Million US dollars have been kept in the safe, which accumulated over the past 12 years you served in EA.
Regards,
MW
Daniel stood up and walked to the fridge after throwing the laptop on Will’s lap. “Why does it have to be so soon?” Daniel yelled from the top of his lungs, startling Will. “Dude, relax okay? This is what we worked for and it’s called freedom Daniel.” Will stood beside him, leaning on the kitchen counter. “Yeah, I know. 5 fucking years Will! I won’t see her for 5 fucking years.” Daniel punched the fridge a couple of times before calming down. “If you want me to come with you just say so bro, our friendship means more than anything to me.” Will patted him on the back.
“No, I won’t let you do that. You're not getting any younger Will, and I won’t let you leave Allison the same way I’m leaving Athena right now; it’s not right. I want you to fucking take your girl and get out of here Will.” Daniel returned the pat and took out his red bag, throwing in all the clothes he brought with him. “It would've been great to get notified maybe a week or 2 before this shit.”
Daniel began to tear up from both of his eyes; his emotions for Athena grew so strong in the last couple of months he forgot he was doing an experiment in the first place. She made him forget about all the bad that happened in his life. As much as he didn't want to admit it he was being the subject in her world. The world he wanted to lay in for the rest of his life, but unfortunately that world is being bulldozed down; crashing down with no help to be found ever again. “Need help?” Will stood still, resembling a statue as heart ache filled his body from head to toe.
“No, I'm fine.” Daniel threw in the picture of Alaska he kept on his bedside table ever since he moved into the dorm. Frustration at its best, Daniel found it hard to cope, hard to breathe for he’s about to leave the only woman he ever loved. His first love as a matter of fact. Stumped to the ground, Daniel had no choice but to comply with the terms that have been set out for them. “Can you print out these forms that we need to sign?” Daniel spoke in a trembling tone, unable to stop his tears from falling. Will took the laptop and connected the printer to it, printing out 2 identical forms. Will took a pen and slowly moved to Daniel, feeling half guilty for not going with him. “Here man.” He handed the piece of paper and pen to him. Daniel got up and walked to the kitchen counter.
I’m going to fucking regret this decision.
Daniel touched the paper with the pen, with no motion coming from his wrist to proceed. “You know exactly where to find me.” Daniel stated. Signing the paper and giving it back to Will. “I suggest you get packing too, you have a new apartment waiting for you bro.” Daniel whipped his tears with his shirt, heavily exhaling to calm down. “Yeah, I will when she sends me the info of the apartment.” Will frowned, as guilt crept up to him slowly. 10 minutes later Daniel sat down on the bed to catch his breath after packing like a maniac. “You want some juice?” Will stood with a glass in hand; ready to give him some of his favorite juice. Daniel broke down, crying his eyes out after hearing the last words that uttered out of Will’s mouth. Sad to be leaving his best friend of 12 long years, a friendship that never meant to be broken. Will sat down next to him, rubbing his back. “After 12 long years, this is what it has come up to.” Will silently spoke; “It’s not the end I can tell you that for sure.” Daniel chuckled, wiping off his tears. Emotions couldn't escape Daniel like it used to; Will was a brother to Daniel and vice versa.
“Don’t worry man, we will be okay, and I know that.” Will stood up furiously. “See this face! You haven't seen enough of it just yet my brother.” Will laughed hard; making Daniel laugh too even though he
didn't want to.
“I guess you're right, it’s not the end of the world just yet man.” Daniel got up and hugged Will. “Going to miss you man.” He gripped on to Daniel tightly. “I’m going to miss you too.” Daniel let go, fixing his hair trying to act manly once again. Daniel walked to his bag, digging around for a little red box. “Here man I want you to have this.” Daniel showed Will the red box, Will took a step back. “Wait a minute. If you want me to give that to Athena you're out of your mind. The time to propose has already come and flew the fuck out the window man.” Will kept waving his hands in front of it, rejecting it every second.
“It’s not for her you idiot, it’s for you.” Daniel set it aside on Will’s side of the bed. “I had it on when I first arrived at EA, I don't know how I got it but it does have some significance to me, and I want you to keep it safe until we meet again al right. Hopefully you see something in it that I never could.”
Daniel grabbed the keys from the counter top and two bags full of his personal belongings. Daniel stood at the entrance of the door, as he turned to look at Will for the last time. Flashbacks came pouring through the roof. Will nodded his head, and so did Daniel. He grabbed his bags and closed the door behind him, walking down the corridor he had no time to walk slowly. Rushing in case Athena wanted to see him, catching him in the act was not an option for him. At the car Daniel threw his bags in the trunk, as he jumped in the driver’s seat. He took a minute to think of what he's doing, contemplating if this is the right way to go.
With a heavy heart, he started the car and drove off in utter oblivion, as tears rolled down his cheeks Daniel’s heart broke, only to realize the inventible has caught up to him. His world suddenly appeared dark before his eyes; a dull miserable life took him with open arms, not knowing where his life would end up in those 5 years. He stayed firm, believing one day they would meet again, at least that’s what he truly hoped for.
Back at the dorm Will began to panic, as Melissa sent a text message stating his apartment’s location. Will took out a box and threw all his belongings in it, along with the little red box Daniel has given him. Will stepped into the toilet to take his toiletries and noticed Daniel’s painting was nowhere to be found. With a loud bang on the door Will’s soul jumped out of his body in shock, Will walked to the door and opened it slowly, making sure it’s not Athena nor Allison.
“Sir, we are here to help you.” A cleaning service sent 2 of their guys to help him clean and vacate the dorm room; named Magic Carpet. “Did Melissa send you?” Will whispered to the guy “Yes, we don't have much time so please can we do our job and leave.” The guy whispered back in a low tone holding a vacuum cleaner with few detergents in the other hand. With no hesitation Will took his bags and left the dorm to the two strangers he never met before.
Allison woke up from a loud noise that the vacuum was distributing, echoing through the walls of Will and Daniel’s dorm. “Can you go shut your boyfriend up please, I'm trying to sleep.” Bianca moaned furiously, tossing and turning, trying to get a good night’s rest before the final exam commences in the morning. Allison sighed, putting on her flip-flops and robe. Allison opened the door as light from the corridor shined in Bianca’s face. “Close the door!” She yelled from underneath her blanket.
Allison quickly shut the door behind her and walked to their dorm, knocking curiously to see what they are up to. One of the men opened the door and stood silently waiting for a response from Allison. “Is Will here?” Allison’s voice croaked from the inside. “I don't know who you're talking about. Look lady I'm just here to clean the room.” The man closed the door right in her face and went back to work.
Allison closed her robe as the cold air brushed against her body. Confused about what’s happening Allison went back into her dorm room puzzled at what’s going on. “What are those idiots doing?” Bianca seemed to care for a split-second. “I don't know.” Allison kept it to herself, waiting until the morning to give Will a call to cure her confusion.
In another dorm, Jenny laid in bed going through old pictures of her ex-boyfriend. Mesmerizing about the times they had together, before she figured out it was nothing but fake love in the end. A text message notification popped-up as she navigates the depths of her cellphone.
-Daniel has left, experiment 143 has commenced. MW-
Melissa notified Jenny to put on her best acting skills; She got out of bed and ran into the living room where a big teddy bear resided in the corner.
She picked it up and turned it around, opening the zipper at the back, taking out a cassette that have been recording Athena ever since Daniel came into her life. Jenny replaced it with a new cassette, flipping a switch for the video footage to record and upload to the server owned by EA, directly onto Melissa’s computer screen.
Chapter 14
Part I
Athena woke up in a cold sweat, without being covered by her blanket; her heart began to give septic shocks as she felt broken. She stood up from bed and walked to the bathroom with one eye open, as she scratched her head opening the door. Athena opened the cold water tap and rinsed her face thoroughly trying to wake her up from a deep drowsy state. She walked back into her room to get dressed for the final exam, she opened her wardrobe thinking of the joke Daniel made a day before as she giggled taking her clothes out and setting them neatly on her bed.
“You ready?” Jenny peaked into the door and saw Athena undressing. “Girl, you have a fine body.” Jenny remarked. “Good morning to you too, I'm almost done.” Athena snickered into her pink cotton top.
Before heading out to class Athena picked up her cellphone and dialed Daniel’s number, as she waited for the ringing tone a loud drab voice hit her in the chest. “Sorry, user does not exist.” Athena brushed it off thinking he left his cellphone out of charge. “Jenny let’s go, I'm ready.” She grabbed her painting and head out to class hoping to find Daniel already there, just like the previous days when he didn't answer his cellphone whenever she called.
“Are you al right?” Jenny asked with one raised eyebrow above her eye, checking if she found out about the bad news. “Yeah, I'm fine why?” Athena asked curiously as Jenny never asked her that before. “I’m just checking on my best friend.” Jenny hit her on the arm sarcastically with her elbow as they walked down the hall ways. They took separate paths to their classes. “Good-luck on your exam today!” Jenny yelled while walking away to her class.
“You too Jenny!” Athena waved her off as she felt a cold presence lurking at the entrance of the classroom door. Athena entered the room and stood dead in her tracks, as everyone stood in the middle of the class, surrounding something but Athena couldn't see what it was. The whole class turned, staring at her with big eyes, Athena walked awkwardly to her desk as everyone turned back around, continuing what they were doing. Athena set her painting on a stand next to her, looking over to Daniel’s desk to see he’s not there yet.
“What’s everyone looking at?” Athena spoke in a loud tone, making sure they all heard her. “We are looking at you Ms. White.” Professor Nick remarked.
Looking at me?
Curiosity filled Athena’s mind, she stood up quickly and walked in between the students trying to get to the front. Athena couldn't comprehend the feeling that took over her. A painting of her was there; so unique, the attention to detail so great. Nothing but perfection was created. Athena’s heart kept feeling heavier, as she thought if his painting is here then, where is he? Confusion struck soon after. Athena walked up to the professor. “Sir, did you see him today?” Nick stared at her confused. “Didn’t you hear? He had to leave as soon as possible due to family problems.” Nick opened his desk drawer and took out an envelope. “Here, he wanted you to have this.” Nick handed the envelope to her in hope she might find a piece of him in it. “Thank you.” Athena replied, as tears began to fill her eyes. She sat down and opened the letter.
I’m sorry I had to leave with such short notice; I hope this painting shows promise. I love y
ou.
Daniel Cole.
That’s it! No explanation no nothing! Fuck!
Athena broke down, wondering where he might’ve gone. She stood up from her desk and rushed out for some fresh air. Her chest began to constrict her breathing, pain followed soon after with a terrible headache covering the worst thoughts that could run through her mind. Athena ran to Daniel’s dorm in hopes to find him still there, to open the door for her with only his boxers on. She knocked and knocked on the door with no answer in return. Athena felt helpless, crying her emotions away, disposing them on soft tissue. She walked back to her room, but kept looking back to hear a door open for her. Imagining Daniel’s open arms wait for her one last time.
Students passing through the hallway kept looking at her like she's out of this world, making inside jokes to their friends about a girl crying relentlessly.
Athena walked into her dorm, as she finally realized she's alone with her feelings once again; No one to share her deepest secrets with.
He didn't even say good bye.
Bittersweet Love Page 19