My Little Secret

(Ivan Radcliffe)

When someone is intimidated by your presence, they get nervous around you. There are small signs you got to pick up, signs they don't even realize they're showing.

Sofia Malitz was pretty easy to read. When she was surprised, her eyes widened and her cheeks rose, her eyebrows move up as well. But that expression of hers is not something that one would come by rarely.

Intimidation, on the other hand, is rare. It really is something if you manage to intimidate Ms. Malitz. She is one hard girl to please and from what I noticed; her instincts are pretty strong. She's always defensive about things. It was very difficult to get through her but me coming close to her, caught her by surprise. For a while, I began to doubt myself. If she even thought I looked good. Nobody had ever made me feel this way, like I was normal. It did feel good, to be myself with her. It felt good to be with someone who wasn't trying to impress me but things were about to change now. I had gotten her trust and it was time to make my move.

Despite being drunk, she hardly spoke about herself. She was a very curious person and her questions were something you'd never expect; it makes me think and sometimes question myself. But hanging out with her, I hadn't felt this in ages. She knew how to have a good time if she let loose. I made mental notes of all this. It would help make the story more real.

We enter her apartment that's on the fourth floor. Her dog comes running to us once we enter in. Adorable.

"What's his name?" I ask as I try to pet him.

"Poirot" she says as she goes in.

She comes out with a glass of water, "Sorry the house is a mess right now" she says sheepishly.

Wrong. It was sparkling clean, except for a few books lying around. My eyes tour the room as I see a small tent, something that looks like a blanket fort. Wow, this girl was creative.

"Is that a blanket fort?" I ask as I walk towards it. I was impressed with the details.

"Um, yeah. Sort of" she says.

I take the glass off her hands and drink water. I place the glass on the table and look at her. She looked distracted. Had my charms not worked?

"Um, where's the bathroom?" I ask.

"Oh yes, of course, there" she points towards her room.

"Sof. Where were you?" I hear a guy's voice and turn behind. He was standing at the door.

"Victor, hey" Sofia says as she approaches. What was he doing here?

"You didn't respond to my texts or calls, I wasn't sure if you had made it home. You weren't at Absolem either" he says eyeing me.

"You went to Absolem?" Sofia asks him, looking shocked.

"Yeah! I was worried about you" he says sounding concerned.

"Thanks Victor. I'm home now. We'll talk tomorrow." Sofia smiles at him. I hoped he had got the hint that she was safe and that I wanted him to leave.

"Who is he, Sof? What is he doing here?" Victor asks her looking suspicious.

"He's a friend, Victor" she says sternly, "Let me escort you downstairs" she adds and throws a look towards me, that said, 'be right back.'

'She could take as long as she wanted', I thought as she closed the door.

I quickly go to her room and go through the books on her table. Simon had asked her to keep a journal, explaining what she was going through. I just needed to take pictures of it. Things from her perspective would be way better than me imagining it and writing it on my own. All her books were neatly arranged, her diary wouldn't just be lying around. It had to be more discrete, maybe a pen beside it. I would usually keep a pen near mine. I found a book on her bed, beside her laptop. It looked old and was made out of something that looked like recycled paper. Sofia Malitz continued to surprise me even when she wasn't here.

Click, click, click. I take pictures of her journal from the last few days. This felt so wrong. 'For the story' I kept telling myself. I hear footsteps when I close the book and quickly get into the bathroom.

Sofia opens the door and gets in. I come out of the room and look at her. She was looking outside the window, she looked tired and sad. It didn't feel good, to see her that way.

"Thanks for tonight, Ivan. I'm sorry you had to see that." She says.

"Oh no worries." I assure her. "If anything, I'm sorry to impose." I add.

"Are you alright though?" I ask.

"Yeah, yeah, of course." she nods.

"See you at the book launch" I say and look at her. Had she been crying? Her face looked a little puffy.

"See you" she smiles.

I walk down and dial Catherine's number.

I wanted to tell her about my progress, but she doesn't pick the call. I walk towards my car, slowly.

Sofia's face kept flashing in my mind. I somehow couldn't take her being sad, what was I doing?

I quickly take out my phone and delete all the photographs. They weren't mine to see. I look up, towards her apartment. Her lights were still on.

I walked back to the car thinking to myself. I had a wonderful night in a long time. That girl was something.