Please forgive me for not answering your comments. I'm in a hurry today. Aalis ako. At may lalakarin din ako bukas. So, ayun. But I'm keeping true to my promise. I typed the next few chapters, guys! I decided to make Take the risk a three-part story. Soundtracks are on the first page.
Nine: Part IIPrince Charming and the wicked Witch.
The witch.
“I-I’m sorry. I don’t feel that way with you.” I mumbled under my breath. Trying hard to make it look as if I meant it. As if I was really sorry.
“Are you sure Nate because I—”“Very sure.” never been sure… Richie’s face blanched. I winced. I guess my tone was a bit blunt. But there was no easier way to break a man’s heart. Especially when this was the third time of breaking his heart.
“Richie I—” I swallowed a lump in my throat. His head was bowed down. My eyes rolling, I gritted my teeth.
“W-why?” it was barely out of his mouth but I heard all the same.
Goodness, I was running out of excuses. It was probably wrong to tell him that first time, ’let’s just be friends Richie, maybe… just maybe err, love will grow out of time,’—it was as good as saying ‘No, Richie, I could never ever love you.’
But I didn’t know that his interpretation of let’s just be friends were as different as black and white. Well, I should have left the second phrase out. But dammit, I was just being polite! The first time I was being conscientious in my whole life and this!
When he asked me the second time around I told him the lamest excuse ever, ‘I wasn’t ready yet.’ And well, I didn’t know he would wait until I was freaking ready.
And that would be in a million years when he was probably dead.
“W-why?” I whispered. My voice was on the edge of impatience now. My cell phone kept ringing.
“It’s me, Richie. Not you.” I nodded appreciatively. His eyes slowly met mine. Truth was nothing was wrong with him.
Perhaps it was the truth. It was me.
His eyes were huge,
“Y-you… you don’t like me?”For the umpteenth time, yes.
I just nodded.
“Is there some guy—?”“No. Not a guy. Never.” I nodded without thought and read the text message. He gasped. My head snapped at him.
“Y-you… you like girls?”I opened my mouth to say anything. Anything at all. But Richie was already walking out on me. Shaking his head. He looked back as if I’d grown two heads before going away.
“Bravo, Nate…” I whispered wonderingly. I couldn't believe I had broken a guy’s heart in a parking lot. And not to mention the reason behind it. I rolled my eyes heavenward.
In my frantic moments, I caught a glimpse of a guy on the dimly-lit section of the parking lot. He was leaning against his trunk. His face was covered with one hand. Probably drunk.
“Riiing… riiing… riiing…” I rolled my eyes heavenward and gritted my teeth.
“It’s just ringing! Mia’s eighteen! Not eight, Nat!” I hissed under my breath.
“She’s not answering her phone, Nat.” I irritably brushed my short hair roughly.
“Hey Nate! Got Richie busted, didn’t you?” Leon came out from the door.
“He would be the only guy who’d take you on.”“Shut up!” I shouted back at Leon. He was the vocalist of our band. And my friend. I was the drummer of the group.
I swore my eyes were going out of their sockets by now. God, I would have wanted nothing but to put my phone down and get back there.
“Natasha. You have to fetch Mia.” My sister’s frantic voice cut to my irritation. She seemed genuinely serious. Had I ever told you that she was a year older than I am?
“I’m not your servant Nat. And please, stop calling me that disgusting name!” I was counting my fingers. Five more to go and I would really cut the line. She could go running to daddy for all I care. I would even come with her if she wanted.
Natalie’s end of the line went silent. I gnawed my lower lip. Even though we were only a year apart Natalie and I were so different. Like the sun and the moon.
“Oh-kay.” I froze. Something must have happened. She had this mothering instinct like she could take care of everyone and everybody.
Which wasn’t really true.
“Nat? Is there something wrong?” I asked seriously. My body tensed.
“Are you crying?”“I… I… j-just have get Mia out of there. Please… Nate.” Her voice broke into a sob.
Even if I wanted to refuse my sister I couldn’t. She never called me Nate unless it was a matter of life and death.
And heart problems. I knew she shouldn’t have gone to that affair! To that wedding!
If only I could bump her head into the wall. Or… or make her drink some potion to forget that person! I sighed. It was irrational of me to hate him for my sister’s epic failure.
“Nat I—” the line went dead. Great. I started to run out of the bar. Leon lifted one brow impatiently and shouted again above the noisy crowd,
“What? You’re running away coward?” I muttered a silent curse. I slowly turned around and raised my middle finger in the air. He grinned.
“Mia, pick-up, pick-up! Pick up the phone please!” I chanted while squeezing myself into the crowd. It was only past nine. But the people were starting to come by. I went to the round table to get my body bag.
“H-Hello?”“Oh, thank God Mia!” I breathed a sigh of relief. Though Mia was never on the top list of my most favorite persons on earth at least we had mutual respect for each other.
“Where are you?” I shouted through the mouthpiece of my headset. I pulled the house duplicate key out of my jacket.
“I-I’m… f-fine.” “When people tell me they're fine it fuucking means they're not! Mia, are you, oh my God, you’re also crying!” I gritted my teeth. What the hell was happening? I could have asked that if the line hadn’t gone dead. The second time!
Natalie and Mia were crying. At the same time!
It could be coincidence. So much for coincidence. Goodness, there was only one person in the whole universe that would make them both cry at the same moment. I was halfway out of the door when I turned into a solid—shiit, wall. Because really, it hurt!
“Awww. My chest! You stupid—” I covered my front with both hands. Of course, I had bodily bumped into something—
no, someone. My breath whooshed out of my lungs. His hazelnut eyes pinned me against the ground. His head tilted to the side.
I couldn’t have careless about hazelnut eyes. The guy walked past me. His elbows brushed mine. My eyes grew wide as realization set in. Not even a ‘hello, how do you do?’ or ‘hey, I’m fu—cking sorry, it’s your fault.’
“Go to hell, Ethan,” I muttered under my breath. I felt him tensed behind me.
Craning my neck, there was no sign of him anymore. Before I could step forward my feet on its own accord turn back inside. An overwhelming anger was rising in my chest. I scanned the crowd for that one person. And he was there, lounging as if he owned the world.
The only reason why my sister and her best friend would be tearing each other’s throat by now.
That jackass. Who did he think he was? The king of the world? That he could get anything he wanted in just a snap of his finger? Why, was he everybody’s Prince Charming now?
My stride was getting faster. His eyes slowly, ever so slowly darted to me. Just as a panther to his stalking prey. He lazily tipped the bottle as if in salute—
at me!
“Hell-o, Ethan.” I smiled widely.
He didn’t smile. He never ever smiled at me.
“Remember me?” his low, off-key husky voice floated in the air. He could have seduced some spineless woman with that voice. Including my sensible sister.
“`Course. How could I not?” I tilted my head to the side.
“You fu—cking made my sister cry!” I screamed, slamming my hand on the table. In a flash my right hook had jammed into his almost perfect face.
It was short of killing Prince Charming.
Poll
