Georgina Blom to Axel Henson is the whole world, how cheeky of me, but that's just the reality. They both met at a fight off while combat training, since Axel isn't the greatest person in the ring, Gina is. She beat his ass, it was an embarrassment to everyone who cheered for him including me but all through the match, I caught Axel being mindless.

At first, I thought he was going easy on her but that wide grin from him after the match said no, he's fallen hard, luckily for him Gina felt the same, their story continued there. As expected, Gina and I started as enemies, she'd always call me a softie because she believes our tutors are taking it easy on me for being the Don's son until I challenged her to a fight and proved the Rolando blood in me. Axel didn't go easy on me, I gave his girlfriend a good beating, her face got bruised. Well, that does it, the beginning of me and Gina's foundation of long-term hatred.

After Axel left, I cleared the boxes, did everything I've been setting off for later, the arrangement of the apartment had me occupied that I didn't know it was midnight already. If I weren't a soon-to-be manager, I'd probably go into cleanup, cause if someone sees my cleaning skills they'd hire me on the spot.

In the perfect position to rest; the windows open to usher fresh air to ventilate the room, keeping work worries at work, I still couldn't sleep, Eleanor keeps popping intermittently in my head.
It's weird...no, it's crazy.
My brain wouldn't let me rest, I've done much worse to my sisters considering how I've pranked them almost to death and with Gina, I've said foul words, but I haven't been so bugged out like I am now. In five minutes, I found myself searching for the doorstep of Eleanor at the third floor.
I decided to start with the last door from the three doors on the right side, I've seen her going right before, so it has to be one of these three. The first knock I made was smooth, then second knock louder which eventually created awareness cause the footsteps are approaching, not before a huge bangs rings out from inside there.
Could it be her?
The more reason they should open up.

"Eleanor" I gasp in relief as I see her face, the face that has a mouth scrunched up, and the brown eyes narrowed, a blind person can see she's angry at me.
"I really want to slam this door in your face" she seethes.
How clever, using my words against me.
"I was so angry at that moment you came" I start, but she leaves her doorpost heading straight into her apartment, the door hanging wide open.
Should I come in? I contemplate
"Come in incredible hulk".
Hulk?
I shut the door behind.
With what she's done in her apartment, she is one young woman who doesn't only have taste in food, but in interior design too. While she is nowhere in sight, I let my eyes wander from the white petite sofas, to the colorful flower pots I believe she's growing. What catches my eye, I can't believe her apartment has a balcony and mine doesn't, what is this?, preferential treatment?

Its transparent door isn't closed and with the way, an overturned chair is lying helplessly on the floor, she was just in there. My eyes leave the patio to the mini glass table just below where her TV is hung, there's a picture frame of two people but as I move closer to get a better sight, she appears from nowhere which gives me a slight shock. "What are you doing?" She asks.
"Admiring your apartment" I declare after recovering my stamina.

She gives me that I-don't-believe-you look then further conclude, "If you say so. Here's your glass", her hand stretched forward with a red plastic cup in it.
As I reach to get it, not knowing what's going on, the stench of the liquid hits me, she's been drinking.
"Eleanor-"
"-You call my name too often" she interjects before moving closer to me at an undesirable pace then surprisingly leaves just as fast to the balcony. Eleanor walks past the overturned chair, to the other side of the open space. I follow in step with her and did justice to the chair which I ended up sitting on by the left side of the balcony.

The sight of the city from this angle is something to enjoy in solitude because of its incredible beauty. In the middle of the balcony is a wooden table with a half empty bottle of wine and three red cups like the one she has offered me. I glance at where she seated, her eyes savoring the scenery in front of her, I leave her a moment of serenity before breaking it and put my wandering mind to ease.

"You know, I didn't mean to talk to you in that manner" I whisper as I feel her gaze on me.
She looks away, then replies after a few minutes.
"And you should know, I bring out the worse in people" she deadpans. My turn to be the questionnaire,
"The worse in people? How?
Eleanor, you didn't do anything wrong" I convince her with the actual truth.
She takes a sip from the content of her glass cup, uninterested in what I'm saying.
"Trying to justify the situation?"
In the dark, I can see her left eyebrow shot up to match her question.

"What makes you say that?" I ignore her question with mine.
"I don't know, Leo. The incident that happened earlier with you also occurred with my boss on that Friday you found me at Guy's. His was much more horrible, and you know what?, life has been tough on me, well, it isn't fair to anyone either, but it's treating me much worse" she explains in a solemn tone I haven't heard from her.

If only she knew how everyone is fucked up in their special way and just keep on the charade that everything is going well whereas they choose to uphold how, beautifully terrifying, life is tearing them apart.
"If life has been tough for you, then it has been tougher on me. I just buried someone important to me" I reveal my circumstance too.
As expected, Eleanor gasps, her facial expression taken aback and repeating "I'm sorry Leo". I shake my head and speak to stop her, "You don't have to be Eleanor, these things are inevitable, that's the essence of life, but you should know what's more fucked up, I made a promise to them on their deathbed, and it's just been mere days after, it all has started crumbling under my very watch".

Eleanor responds,
"Since we're letting each other in on all our struggles, even though we're still strangers to each other, I need to tell you this", she adjusts from her position, hunkering down on her seat and clearing her throat before saying,
"I've been an ignored child while growing up, my mother left my dad because he was being a workaholic and wasn't paying attention to her nor to me, I hated her for it, but I never thought I'll admit to myself that I did the same thing she did while I was in a relationship with this person."

Now we're going into problems of the heart, who have I been around her that she doesn't know I don't do well nor have anything to offer in relation to this tragic topic.

"Malone was my first love, we were still young, and he was over ambitious, looking forward to a great future while I was being an attention demanding ninny, so without thinking, I left the relationship expecting him to come after me, but he didn't, I waited and waited, but there wasn't any sign of Malone. Although I didn't mean to leave, I regretted my decisions immediately, although what I regretted most is that I knew I couldn't go back. Apart from my pride not allowing me, I discovered he didn't even love me. I mean, if they love you, aren't they meant to come back?".

Once again there's a moment of silence, this time longer cause how I should say this or better still answer her question, what do I need to say to a girl who just told me about her first love and how it ended in shambles.
Think Leonard even though you've not had anything compared to a first love yourself.
What I can remember is, at a young age, I had declared Mama as my first love and will take no other until I meet someone who loves me more than she does.
Little did I know my younger self really saw my future because, no one came along to prove that I could feel. Amelia made her mark, but she was all for the money, Celine became too nosy which irritated me and Rita whom papa had handpicked later turned out to be from our competitors.
None of them came close to how much I cherished Mama.

Honestly, if not for Gina and Axel's presence in my life, I wouldn't know what love actually means or looks like.
Everything has gone down the drain after my first love and I became distant, Mama and I have a huge drift, I don't know her anymore, and it's all because of my decisions likewise papa, I was born into this world, into this family, it's just right I participate in what it has handed to me.

"Eleanor—," I start off
She hums in response,
"Malone doesn't deserve you—" she gives me her full attention after that first sentence.
"— It's his loss if he didn't go after you. Hell, you got rid of him in the best way, and you should be proud you realized early that you were the only one in the relationship. A fellow like that doesn't deserve someone...no, a jewel like you"
I thought I was only saying those words to cheer her up but as I do, as the words flow from my mouth, I discover they're the truth. Eleanor isn't like every other lady out there, she's one beautiful jewel, and it's unfortunate for blind Malone not to see the treasure he got in his life. Ambitious or not, the worst thing to do is to make a woman feel how unloved she is by you.

With the wide smile on her face, the squint of her brown eyes, Eleanor had to ask,
"Even a drunk jewel?"
I crack a smile,
"Even a drunk jewel".

========

Thank you for reading this far.
~Darasimiwrites.