C of Cinderella

by Kris Buendía

  Without looking back I ran out of there, crying like an idiot and furious with myself same and with Gideon. I could not had expected less from Paris. I knew that she would discover it sooner or later. But what I can not get out of my head is that Gideon stood idly by.

  And who do I want to lie? I knew from the beginning that when Gideon knew the truth, nothing would change and my fear had become real in the end.

  I looked for it myself, I am the only one to blame.

  I have stayed the last hours telling myself to continue. If Gideon does it, What is stopping me? He was a damn coward and I am not going to shed another tear for him. So I will go look for him and I will finish this for him once and for al .

  In front of his big skyscraper, I clean my face, I am still in my dirty overalls and I do not care. I did not have time to change and neither is that I need to dress etiquette to do what I am going to do.

  Mona did not do anything either, whoch gives me to understand that she chose him.

  Gideon can not show himself as a victim for not telling him I was the fucking girl who cleaned floors in his office. Damn can not!

  My best friend did nothing either.

  The man I fell in love with did not do anything either.

  I must have a problem with myself for expecting too much from people.

  Without further ado, I enter the lobby and the elevator is clear, the guy at the reception does not hesitate at all about my presence and I press the button that goes directly to Gideon's luxurious apparent.

  1…2…3…4…12.

  The doors open, and although I am not directly inside his apartment, I am in front of his door. The gold does colour number makes a mockery of my face. I do not hear any noise from the other side.

  I bring my index finger to the bell button and wait. The seconds are hours until I hear a noise coming from the inside.

  High heels shoes.

  The door opens and it is Mona who appears in front of me, with a bathrobe, damp hair and not makeup on her face.

  My mind travels to the unknown, painful and cruel, but I refrain from thinking about the obvious. But when I see Gideon behind Mona wearing a towel around his waist, I feel like I am going to faint.

  “Cinder.” The face of my friend hurts in front of me. My first reaction is to run out of that scene.

  “Cinder, no!” Mona’s scream makes me faster until I reach the elevator, but when I enter, a hand interrupts the doors closing.

  Gideon.

  Agitated to run after me, wearying only denim pants stops me and takes me out of the elevator.

  “No, Gideon!” I scream, hitting him at the same time.

  “Fuck, damn it!” He takes me in his arms, carries me on his back and walks back to his apartment. I do not see Mona anywhere when we both enter.

  “Drop me, Gideon!” I hit his back until he puts me back on the floor.

  “Stop screaming, Ella.”

  “Go to hell!” I push him, but I barely move him. I already feel my voice heavy with the desire to mourn, I have to see the betrayal in front of me.

  Mona is present, now she is wearing clothes and her face does not look good at all.

  she is crying and is afraid of my words.

  It breaks my heart.

  “Since when, Gideon?” I look at Mona.

  “Since when?”

  “No, Cinder, it is not what you are thinking.”

  Mona lets herself cry, she looks at Gideon and I do the same. He’d better start talking for the first time in his fucking life. I am tired of secrets and his evasions.

  “Gideon.” I say in a choke voice. “Please, tell me…”

  “Ella.” His hand comes to my face and clears a tear from my cheek. “My sweet girl.”

  It fills me with rage for him to cal me that.

  The palm of my hand will hit his cheek directly.

  Mona stifles a cry of surprise and Gideon holds my hands so I do not keep hitting him.

  “You have been sleeping with her al this time!”

  “Enough, Ella!” He holds my face tightly for me to look at him. “Look at me!”

  “No!” I shout at him.

  “Look at my fucking face!” I do not know this man that I have in front of me. Everything begins to spin around me. My heart beats so hard that it makes my ears hurt. Maybe if I close them all this is a nightmare.

  One more nightmare. So this is what I do and when everything turns black, a peace invades my whole body and I let myself fall into Gideon's arms.

  “Ella.” His voice is heard as a soft whisper.

  He kisses my lips barely open and I am aware that he carries me in his arms somewhere. I also feel Mona's hand on my face. I thought her touch would burn me, but it does not do anything to me.

  I do not feel anything.

  “I think it has been too much for her.” That is Mona's voice. “Is she conscious?”

  I do not know why I can not move.

  “Yes, she is just week.” Gideon says. How does he know? “I will have Arsen bring some food. She will need it, now I will let her sleep a little. While we take care of something.”

  “Yes, when she wakes up we will tel her everything.”

  Everything? How much is everything? And why I can not move? I am so tired. Gideon is right, I could use a little sleep. If I have to run again, I will need the necessary strength.

  17

  A body.

  There is a body next to me, but I know it is not Gideon. It does not smel like him.

  I see just his short hair. He does not look like him either.

  Who is this boy? I am sure he is my age, or he is younger then me, although I am not so sure.

  I am afraid to touch him and be another joke from Paris and Pippa, but then I remember that I am not a teenager and I do not love with them anymore.

  Why did I said Gideon's name? I do not know who is he.

  The body does not move and now I feel vey cold. I watch my clothes, I am wearing the same blue dress that I wore at the party where Mona invited me.

  I do not like the dress.

  I am afraid to touch him, he does not move and he does not breathe either, his chest does not rise and fal like a normal person in that position.

  He has a hand on his face, I can not see him wel , but I know he is handsome.

  There is a yel owish colour on his skin, he does not look normal. Nor do I feel normal and I do not recognise the room, I can only feel the cold and the night.

  “Hel o?”

  He does not answer, it is when I go to the other side of the bed and be by his side. I approach little by little, placing a knee on the bed and raising my hand to remove his from his face.

  “Nooooo!” I cry when I realise who is it.

  No one responds to my screams. When I shouted, my father ran to my room. But this time nobody does it. I do not know where I am, I do not know what Thomas's body does in my bed either. I know it is my bed.

  Thomas, Thomas, Thomas.

  Thomas's eyes are open even though he is dead. He does not scare me, I know he is not real.

  “Cinder.” Whispers, the hairs of my arms stand on end like the ones of my neck when I hear his voice. It does not sound the same, it is heavy and almost sick.

  “Thomas.”

  He closes his eyes but his mouth keeps moving when he says:

  “It is time to wake up, sweet girl.”

  I open my eyes and find Gideon's face next to me.

  He smiles at me again. My chest hurts when I see that smile on his face and then I remember what happened. My eyes fil with tears and Gideon once pits his mouth on my cheek and licks my tears.

  “Don't cry, my sweet girl. I woke you up?”

  Does he have nightmares too? I see him sweaty and a little nervous.

  Oh, Gideon.

  “I wish I could,” I say without looking into his eyes. “I wish I could turn back time.”

  He swal ow an air bal that forms in his throat by my words.

  “U
ntil what time?”

  I look at him.

  “Do you real y want to know?” I mutter with coldness. “I can be very cruel when they a person breaks my heart.”

  His hand touches my chest. He can feel it because the moment he does, he looks at me and smiles again, this time he looks sad.

  “I can not believe that I have broken the first heart that I have come to love.”

  I bring my hand to my mouth to sob in it. Is that true? Or it is another dream. Now it is Gideon who wil say that it is time to wake up surely.

  “Do not say that.” O reject. “Don't you dare to have compassion for me. You do not have to pretend anymore. I am the girl who cleans the floors in your company, you and me…”

  “You and me and what we have is perfect, El a Mattis.” He interrupts me, kissing my lips softly. On that moment Mona enters the room. I did not even realised I was in Gideon's room. She carries a tray with a hamburger and french fries, plus doughnuts.

  It is my favourite food when I am sad, in fact, both.

  “Good thing you woke up.”

  She place the tray near me. She gets close enough to do and walks away a little. When she sees that her presence is not to my liking, she wants to go, but Gideon stops her.

  “Stay, Mona.”

  Does he dare to have both of us in the same room? We are, we were best friends, we have shared everything, but I wil not share him with anyone, in fact, she can stay with him.

  “Gideon, it is not a good time.”

  Gideon looks at me, sits next to me and I do the same, but to get out of here as soon as possible.

  “I am leaving.”

  “You are staying, El a.” He takes my hand this time. “You are going to listen to me and if you want to leave at the end, I wil let you go, but I wil look for you the next day and if you reject me I will domit again the next day and the fol owing. Have you understood?

  I do not say anything. More I move my head indicating a yes.

  He looks nervous, Mona is sad and I am confused. I take aside what I feel and wait for what he has to say.

  “After you left because of Paris,” I remember that moment and I want to cry. “She went crazy when she realised that you were mine. She attacked us with drinks.”

  I open my eyes like saucers. I can not imagine Paris going crazy. Wel , yes.

  Mona laughs at the memory of that moment. I thought Gideon had not put her in her place but I was wrong.

  “Mona, you have acted a bit odd these days.” I say dryly. “You told Gracie that you left work late, when I know it is not like that, I have looked for you in your office when you left and you are never there. I thought you were evading me and…

  “Mona accompanies me twice a week to a place, El a.” Gideon defends her and Mona’s face is sad.

  “What place?” I ask the question for both.

  Now who seems embarrassed is Gideon. I have no idea what they are hiding, but clearly it is hard to trust me and can understand it.

  Then she takes his hand as if it would somehow help him.

  “I am in AA.”

  “Alcoholics anonymous?”

  “Yes.” Mona replies when she sees that Gideon is having difficult time finding the words

  “I don't drink since I know you, El a. But the thought is always there, Mona thought it would be a good idea.”

  I do not know why, but that makes me cry.

  Now I understand why he asked again and again why I drank. Everything makes sense and I feel like an idiot, as for Gideon and Mona, I was wrong with them and I feel twice as idiotic.

  “That is perfect, Gideon.” I squeeze his hand and look at Mona. “I had no idea.”

  I get up and throw myself into Gideon's arms, I hug him and he hugs me tightly. He always does it that way, he likes it the most and that's fine.

  “I am proud of you.” I whisper in his ear.

  Then I go with my friend and hug her too.

  “I'm so sorry, I had no idea. Please forgive me I should not doubt you, neither of you.”

  “It is al right.” Mona cries. “I would have reacted the same if I was in your place.”

  I look at her in the face and she smiles shyly.

  “Have you met anyone?”

  “More or less, it is nothing… yet.”

  “Who?” I look at Gideon, he must know. But when I see the expression on his surprised face, tel s me that he does not know it either.

  “It is Sharp” She confesses with a funny blush on her face.

  Sharp? I do not know him, but Gideon sure does.

  “He is so…”

  “Old.” Gideon interrupts her. “How dare you date an old man, Mona?”

  I enjoy watching him react like this. It is as if he was her father or older brother, whatever, and a few hours ago I thought they were something else. I throw that thought away from my mind so I do not feel like like a fool.

  Never again.

  “The only old man is you, Gideon.” Mona starts fighting with him and I take my burger to take the first bite while I have fun watching them discuss.

  I am liking sharing my best friend.

  Gideon hugged me that night. And while I was in his arms, naked after making love for long hours and making clear what we felt for each other, he asked me something I did not know if I could do.

  “I want you to come to England with me.”

  He asks Me. “ I want you to know the other part of me.”

  “I did not know someone like you could have more than they already have.”

  I feel his erection back in my ass.

  “When I made you mine the first time I thought I did not deserve anything else. With you I have learned to accept that good things can happen.”

  “Where is the man who said that no woman spent more than one night with him?”

  He does not find my mockery funny.

  “You still do not get over it, my sweet girl.

  Do not forget that I can make you mine right now and play to be that man again.”

  For me there is no problem.

  I know he can not get over it, nor can I.

  Because the feeling is mutual.

  My mind betrays me leading me to the reality that accompanies us now.

  “How can you be with me, Gideon?”

  “Don’t you dare, Ella.” He orders me. “Do not ruin it. I know everything now. I know that Paris was part of your family and the damage they have done to you. I know you have suffered a lot and I will not be one of those people too. I wil be who makes you happy, you have changed my life, baby. So much that I get scared of the man you have converted me.”

  “Inhuman?”

  “You make me want to believe and leave my rules aside.”

  I do not like that.

  “Maybe it is time to stop fol owing orders and start following your heart, don’t you think?”

  “I know of something better.” His voice sounds heavy, almost like he is about to fall asleep. “That there will be nothing keep me from worshiping you.”

  I smile closing my eyes too and for the first time in a long time, I am not afraid to wake up and be myself.

  18

  We landed at the London airport and then another private plane took us directly to Welsh. In the west of Great Britain.

  I feel overwhelmed, nervous and the fol owing.

  Gideon has not said much about his family. I know he has a sister and a baby niece. But I am afraid to ask about a mother or stepfather, because his father died according of what Mona told me.

  And speaking of her, I said goodbye along with her and my parents. It was the first time I had travel ed far from America and of course, Gideon convinced them to let me go and they were not opposing a at al .

  “You are very quiet.” His hand touches my leg.

  I have struggled not to dress that way. I know he is a reserved man, but I do not know his family or the other part of him, whatever it means.

  Al I could do that is say yes when a stylist arr
ived at his apartment in the company of Mona.

  They cut a my hair a little, but only a little.

  Something that was not in Gideon's plan and certainly was not to his liking.

  “It wil grow again, Gideon.”

  It is him who has been silent because of his anger. I convinced him when he watched me go out in a beautiful lace dress and pompous skirt, also a light blue coat and high heels. He wanted to see me in my converse, but I refused.

  “Your hair was perfect as it was.”

  I put my eye white.

  “You are exaggerating .”

  “Then I will cut my beard as soon as we get home.”

  I react worse him by giving him a warning look.

  “Don’t you dare, Gideon Graysson.”

  His laugh sounds like an echo around me. I like to see him like that and, although his smile intimidates me, I like it.

  “It wil grow again” Strikes back.

  I know what it means.

  “Lesson learned, sir.”

  I am nervous. I am squeezing Gideon's hand too hard. The car has stopped in front of a huge mansion.

  I am not sure that it is the right word to refer to a house like this.

  The road was quite long past some giant gates, which I would swear, were bathed in gold with the initials PG on it.

  I did not ask what those letters meant, but I know that G is for Graysson.

  “You wil be fine, Ella.” He kisses my hand.

  “They will love you.”

  Arsen opens the door for us and Gideon is the first to go out. He takes my hand and I go out. The air feels different or it is me who feels different to be here.

  A rather old man and dressed in a suit is the first to cross the entrance and receive us.

  “Lord Graysson.” He says in the same accent as Gideon and makes a smal bow

  “Hope.” He greets him cordially. “I introduce you to Ella Mattis.

  Hope makes a small bow also to me. I do not know why he called him Lord, it seems funny. I just hope he does not turn that formal way towards me.

  “A pleasure, Hope.”

  “Miss Mattis, welcome.”

  “Ella, Hope is the only one you have to worry about. When you meet mother and sister it wil be easier.”

  “Mother?” I cling more to his arm. “Do you have a mother?”

  We walk inward when he answers:

  “Of course, Ella. I am sure you know how babies are made.”