vexed

Eric had to face the fact. He hated the cat. And all he seemed to have in his life now was the cat someone had left behind that he'd never met.

Actually, there was this Swedish girl he'd had class with. It looked like it could be pretty sweet, too. She was so talkative. He loved her accent. He couldn't help but smile all over when he made her smile. Yes, maybe laughter was the best medicine. And it was going so well. They'd had coffee. Went to a couple of lectures, accidentally. It was like this dream he'd been waiting for. Such a natural beauty, he couldn't wait to be with. He thought she might be it. The one. His college fling.

Maddie was allergic to cats. Terribly. So that ended with a sneeze.

And there was cat hair everywhere. How could a simple black cat shed so much? In his futon. The laptop. All over his clothes. He had plenty of time now to notice. He and the cat. And a lot of time to ponder. About Amanda.

How could Olivia have been so cold and said the thing she'd said? He guessed she knew about Amanda. It wasn't like he'd forgotten meeting Amanda in Italy. He was there when it happened. It wasn't like he thought or had planned on it. He hadn't. It just happened. There was wine involved. And the fact, they were grown up. Why not? Why couldn't they? It was Italy.

OK, when he thought about it when he was in bed, or doing the dishes or trying to study, it hit him.... he'd been with Amanda. He'd cringe first. Then his eyes would light up as if he remembered the texture of her milky skin and her chestnut hair and..and, yeah, she was a whole lot sexier than he thought she would be and in the end, he thought of her as being home. A place he wanted to be. Well, at least when he was in Italy.

Just the thought she might have his baby made him quite happy and sad in the same instance. She was with Elliot. God, why hadn't she said anything then. Even now. About Elliot. About what was going on.

This was what kept him up at night. This made him more lonely than he'd ever felt before. What was he supposed to do? He didn't even know how to contact her. So in the middle of the night he called the only person he knew who could possibly tell him how to get a hold of Amanda.