Aka. "Destination Anywhere", "The Boy and Girl from County Bavaria"... After a very intense year in Würzburg (Germany), I'm back in Salamanca. I probably won't have that many experiences to write, but there's always an excuse to post a new entry!

7.

His arms were wrapped protectively around her body. She was lying on her side, half-asleep, sensing his calm breaths - and some soft snoring - on the back of her neck. It felt so comfortable and intimate... That was one of the moments in the day she enjoyed most - their naps. Resting together after making love, drifting to the world of slumber surrounded by his warmth.
Marco hadn't lied when he said that nothing would change between them in spite of their new roommate's arrival. The girl seemed to be pretty busy all the time, so that left them a good amount of privacy. Besides, she would usually leave for work after lunch, which was their favourite time of the day to spend together. With those thoughts circling around her mind, Johanna came to a simple, yet powerful realization - she was happy. She couldn't think of a single thing she would like to change about her life.
Her lips curled into a smile as her eyelids began to feel heavier. She made herself more comfortable, careful not to wake her boyfriend up. The way he'd fall asleep so easily was adorable - that's when he looked most like the gigantic teddy bear he truly was.
Yet something had to disturb the peace of the moment. She was about to ultimately fall asleep when the doorbell rang furiously. Marco groaned and stirred gently as she almost jumped out of bed, startled.
"I'll be right back, honey" she whispered before kissing his cheek tenderly.
They weren't expecting any visitors, especially not at that time, but the way that person had rung hinted that they wanted to be received soon. Johanna threw on a robe, as all she was wearing was her underwear, and headed for the door quickly. Before leaving the room, she glanced at Marco once more, who was already snoring again. It made her smile to think that he had only been awoken for a couple of seconds.
She was halfway there when the doorbell rang again. Whoever was there was not quite the most patient person in the world.
"I'm coming!" she called.
It was probably the other girl, who had forgotten the keys or something. The few seconds she had slept made her lose track of time, so she didn't process that it was too early for her to be back. Yet when she got there, she blinked, unsure whether she was still sleeping or not.
"Tarja?"
"We need to talk" the Finn responded, pushing her aside to let herself in.
Johanna sighed and rubbed her eyes gently. She was still too asleep to notice that Tarja wasn't exactly in a cheerful mood - she had never found her particularly friendly, anyway. Tying the belt in her robe more tightly, she sat down next to the other woman.
"I know what you did."
"What did I do?"
"You were the one who broke me and Sharon up!" Tarja exclaimed "You dug up dirt on me!"
That phrase woke her up immediately. She knew about that?! Had Martin given her away?! Definitely guys are hopeless at keeping secrets, she thought. Yet she was ready to stand behind what she had done. It had been for a good cause, after all.
"Well, if there hadn't been any dirt, we wouldn't have had a chance to dig it up on you, don't you think?" she spoke bluntly.
"What have I done to you?! Why the bloody hell did you need to destroy what I had with Sharon?"
"Frankly, Tarja, I don't think I destroyed anything. I'm not the one who double-dealt."
"What?!"
"See, I care about Sharon. She's been one of my best friends for a long time, so I feel that it was my duty to tell her that she was being cheated on."
"She wasn't being cheated on!" the Nordic raised her voice.
"Just drop it" the way Johanna's lips were curled showed profound disgust "I was the one who searched the information, remember? I know about you and that guy."
"If you're talking about Jim, you don't even know half the story. A story that, by the way, ended years ago."
"Really? Didn't seem over to me. Especially knowing that you're still married."
"I'm not!"
"Yeah, right" the redhead rolled her eyes, her arms crossed in front of her chest "Lie as much as you like, but I didn't find a divorce certificate, so... no matter how much you ran away from him, you're still technically married to that Jim guy."
"You idiot, you don't understand!"
The Finn was already losing her patience. Sighing harshly, she opened her bag and took a paper out. Johanna leaned forward to look at it, but Tarja protected it from her sight.
"You guys didn't look in the right places. And as I know how much you love having written evidence of everything, here it is" she threw it on the coffee table "He's dead."
Muted by the shock, Johanna blinked as she held the paper in her hands. She studied it, and it looked absolutely real. The stamp, the big capital letters which read "DEATH CERTIFICATE", the information on it... It all made sense and fitted perfectly with everything she and Martin had found out. She moved her eyes from the document to Tarja, her mind still trying to process it. How could they possibly not have considered that possibility? Could her wish to find a flaw in Tarja's past have blinded her? Was there really so much more to that story than she thought? If it was true, then she had made a horrible mistake... she had indeed ruined a relationship for the wrong reasons.
"What happened?"