Exotic

~ pregnant pause ~

The silence was my fault; it was only fair that I was the one to break it.

"Come right in," I said with a laboured sigh, glare fixed on Caleb. "Make yourself at home."

He remained stationary by the door, eyes blown wide and chest heaving, as Aaron peeled himself off the bed to stand defensively with his arms crossed. I watched for the moment Caleb's eyes settled on Zsa Zsa. He thawed out of his frozen state immediately, falling forwards with his mouth in a slack, horrified O.

"Are you alright?"

Zsa Zsa looked to me for help, leaning back on the bed in obvious discomfort. We'd promised him some semblance of privacy despite the party raging outside, and Caleb's presence directly contradicted that.

"Who are you?" his question was in reference to Caleb but directed at me.

My first instinct was to shove at Caleb's side until he left the room, but I put that out of my mind quickly. I glanced across to Aaron, who was still standing vigil with his arms crossed and answered carefully, "This is Caleb. He's leaving."

I turned expectantly, but Caleb didn't take my easy excuse to leave. He stepped forward again, patting down his pockets for god knew what. "What happened? Did you call the police?"

"Caleb..." I started desperately, but surprisingly, Zsa Zsa interrupted me. There was a bead of blood sitting on the crest of his split lip, which burst as he spoke.

"Ran into some trouble with an old flame," he said simply. "We were just about to head to the hospital."

"You knew the person who did this to you?" When Zsa Zsa nodded, he looked crestfallen. "Fuck. I'm so sorry."

Zsa Zsa warily accepted his sympathy. "Do I know you?"

Caleb shook his head fervently. His vehemence made his lying more obvious to me, but his overacting could have easily been blamed on his blood-alcohol levels. Evidently, Zsa Zsa didn't buy it either.

"I swear, I've seen you around somewhere," he sustained. "Your face... isn't that forgettable."

Caleb raised his fingers to his cheek immediately, as if he was preparing to tear chunks out of it for betraying his identity. Alternatively, he could have been struggling to stay on his feet. He was swaying dangerously. "I don't think so."

Zsa Zsa looked baffled. "But I know you. Oh fuck, we haven't slept together, have we?"

"Zsa!" I yelped, horrified.

Zsa Zsa shrugged innocuously. The cogs in Caleb's brain were visibly turning, and I saw the moment something clicked.

"Zsa," he echoed. "Zsa Zsa? That guy... Miles, that guy's boyfriend. Peter?"

I hissed at him to stay quiet, but Zsa Zsa didn't miss anything. "You know Peter?"

I fought the urge to curl into a ball with my head in my hands, but Caleb, whether it was the alcohol or just his own outrage at Zsa Zsa's physical state, continued. "Did he hurt you? Was it my fault?"

I exhaled forcefully. Zsa Zsa looked baffled. "No. No, why would it be..."

Realisation dawned on him at the same time Caleb seemed to recognise he'd said too much. Aaron stood off to the side, catching my eye occasionally. He mouthed to me, What the fuck is going on? Or maybe it was, What the fuck is taking so long? My focus was split, to say the least.

"Did you sleep with him?" Zsa Zsa asked harshly.

Caleb startled, but didn't immediately rush to his own defence; he stood with his back against the door, eye drifting in and out of focus.