Is this destiny?

After dinner, Robert and Oni went to a local nightclub which Robert recommended. The club was packed, the music was blasting, and the overall mood was good, but Oni didn't feel like dancing and that had nothing to do with her injured feet. Robert was able to get them a booth, and Oni concluded that he frequents this place. One drink later they left the club because it was too noisy to talk.

Robert recommended a scenic walk and they ended up sitting on a bank of The Main river.

Oni didn't want to give Robert any ideas, but she knew that if she stays in the hotel room, it will be suffocating, and she will only think about Jesse and probably cry. A lot.

Oni concluded that Robert is a nice guy. He is an engineering student with interest in painting, who loves to ski, and his summers spends on the terraces of cafés, observing people while getting inspired for his artwork.

She asked him if he is a famous painter, and he laughed it off with: "No, it's just a hobby. Something that keeps me sane by providing a contrast from the hard science I go through in school."

Oni was frustrated that with Robert's every word and every move she was somehow seeing Jesse and his image overlapped with Robert's. And that is silly because they are nothing alike, physically or personality wise.

Robert is smiling and chatting and more than once he complimented her, and he has a way to make her feel special just by talking to her, and Jesse… is none of that.

The reason she exited that hotel room is so that she does NOT think about Jesse, yet his presence still haunted her. More than once Oni could swear that she actually saw Jesse within the groups of tourists, and she was on the verge of checking his location with her lens, but she decided not to. She will only find out that he is out there, doing his important mission. Would she be disappointed? Probably not. After all, those missions are the only thing Jesse talks about.  

Oni confirmed that it will take time for her to erase Jesse from her heart or at least to get used to him being there without the need to break down in sobs.

"What are you thinking?", Robert asked Oni. He noticed that she is absentminded.

"I wonder if my brother's meeting ended.", Oni said a half-truth.

Robert checked the time. It's past 10:30 PM. "He works late."

Oni smiled. "He likes to call it a flexible schedule."

Robert smiled back and asked: "What does he do?"

"Hmm… my brother calls it marketing, and I say that he sells things. Lots of traveling, meetings, handshakes and secret stuff he is not telling me about." Oni has the story ready, and she is a natural.

"Do you travel with him often?"

"It depends on his work and my school schedule. There was a time when I wanted to drop everything and go with him wherever he goes…"

"You like your brother.", Robert said bluntly.

Oni was startled. "What?"

"From this afternoon when you came to my table with a map I am watching you, and this is the biggest smile you showed… while you spoke about him."

Oni was confused. Is it possible that she still smiles when she thinks about Jesse? Even after he broke her heart? It does not make sense. She glanced at Robert and reminded herself that for him, Jesse and Oni are a brother and sister. And she needs to stick to that story. "Of course, I like him. He is my big brother… but he also irritates me."

"How so?"

Oni looked at Robert who was genuinely interested to talk to her. He wanted to know more about her. Oni sighed. Even if they are not on different continents and everything he knows about her is a lie, her heart is not ready to let anyone other than Jesse in. "It's just… older brother things, I guess. It's getting late. I should head back."

11:32 PM

Oni entered her hotel suite and plopped on the sofa in the living room.

The hotel is in the historical district, and just like any other building in the area, it's hundreds of years old. Of course, originally it was not a hotel. The brochure on the table says how it belonged to an Austrian royal and then to an influential banking family before it became a hotel. Since then it went through several remodels and it provides modern day amenities while preserving architecture which reminds a person how special this place is. But Oni's mood is low, and she is unable to enjoy it.

Oni sighed. She was looking forward to this mission more than any other previous one because this is Germany, a country where Jesse spent several years… a place where Jesse can show her around and talk about his experiences and now… it does not matter. She wants to be done with this and go home and just how Aiden and Sarah said, she will work on tasks separate from Jesse and probably not see him much and that will be a good thing.

She looked at the time. It will be midnight soon. Twenty-four hours ago, she was still blissfully in love with Jesse and had that naïve idea that he feels something for her as well.

Oni became aware of her heartache and realized that she was right: the moment she was left by herself in a room, Jesse violently invaded her thoughts. As much as she thought that she is fine, she is not.

She confirmed that it was a good decision to spend the evening with Robert. He was sweet and caring and attentive. He walked her back to the hotel and he offered that they have a drink in the lounge on the main floor, but he didn't complain when she rejected. They parted ways with him saying that he will call her tomorrow and see if their schedules match, and he also said that he hopes to see her again tomorrow. For a moment, Oni thought that he will kiss her for goodnight, but she stepped away and didn't give him a chance to do so because her first kiss was not claimed.

Oni sighed and closed her eyes while trying to suppress her tears at the thought how she imagined more than once that first kiss… with Jesse.

Now that the evening is over and Robert is not here, part of her regrets not kissing him. At least she would be done with this first kiss business. Like it's a big deal. It is not. After all, if she can't have her first kiss with someone she really likes then it can be with anyone else. Even with a guy she met today and whom she will probably not meet again.

Oni realized that her feet are throbbing. She remembered cuts and bandages and that she didn't apply cream since that morning.

She removed her flat sandals slowly, and while walking into the bedroom she regretted not taking care of her feet before going out for the night. She was sitting on the sofa since she returned, and now her feet cooled off and every step is extremely painful, but there is nothing she can do about it. She clenched her teeth and kept on moving. If Sarah can see her now, she would scold her for not re-applying the cream and changing bandages. Oni hopes that it didn't get infected.

Oni went into her bedroom, changed into pajamas, sat on the small sofa next to the bed, and started pulling the bandages off.

Ah, it hurts more than she thought it will. That must be the reason her tears are falling… because of her feet. Not because of her broken heart.

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