Cross Over

Chapter 1

She looked at the entire room. It is indeed big, but it feels so empty. Her bed feels so huge, and soft, very comfortable but it makes her feel so lonely. She has a huge closet full of dresses, shirts, blouses, shorts and a huge rack full of several pairs of shoes. She has several gadgets, more than what she need, actually, and a car and driver. Right now, by the looks of it, you might say that her life looks so complete now. She has more than anything she has ever wanted and yet, she feels very lonely.

She stared at the ceiling for quite a while before she heard a soft knock on her door.

"Miss Sophie, ready na po yung dinner" the maid said.

"Okay then, I'll be there in a bit" she answered politely.

She has been living in this house for almost a month now and yet she still hasn't gotten used to the routines here. She's not used to having maids who would do everything for her. She's not used to eat on a very huge table with only three people and sometimes alone. She's not used to living on a very big house that only has very few people who lives in it.
It may sound weird but she misses her old life. She misses her old room, which only contains a single bed which she shares with her sister (or thought to be her sister), a small study table, two small closets and a small space for their electric fan. She missed doing the dishes and doing the laundry. She missed that small house, but full of people and full of warmth. And most of all, she misses her family, the family that she grew up with.

A soft beep from the bedside clock cut her out from her trance of thought. She checked it and it is just a notification that it is already 7pm. She stood up, fixed her hair and then walked out of her room and down to the dining room, where her parents are waiting for her.

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On the other side of the court, Jeric is panting heavily, his head is still pounding heavily from lack of sleep but he'a trying his best not to mind it.

He still has a photo shoot and a fan meet after his training but he doesn't know if he can still make it there.

"One more round of the cone drills!" Coach Yeng shouted.

Jeric straightened up, composed himself and did what he is told to do.

He is now one of the most sought athletes for commercials, and advertisements, mainly because of his very wide fan base. Jeric has always been very thankful for this. This is one of those blessings he never expected, to be loved by people and to have them support him in everything that he does. This has also become one of his inspirations to do better and to give his fans something to hold on to. He will continue to grow and improve not only for himself and to achieve his dreams but to all those people that have dreamed with him.

He continued to do the drills and upon hearing coach Yeng’s voice telling them to call it a day, he was the first one to get to the bench and grab some water.

“Ayos ka lang?” Jeff Chan,one of his teammates asked him.

“Opo kuya, medyo napagod lang sa fan meet ko kagabi sa Cebu the diretso dito sa training kaninang umaga” Jeric responded.

“ Naku, mukhang busy na busy ka a. Anyway, I just wanna tell you that you should try giving some time to yourself, could be some kindof reward or something, but yeah, bottomline is, you should get a rest.” Jeff said.

“Yes ahia, I will definitely do that once I have the chance to” Jeric answered and smiled at his teammate.

“And also Jeric, try dating again. I heard it’s been quite a while since you last dated. Go ahead, enjoy your youth. Haha.” Jeff teased him.

Jeff then left him alone so that he can catch his breath. Jeric then thought about what Jeff has said. The truth is, most of the times, he already feels very suffocated of everything. He is so busy that he doesn’t even have the time to catch up with his old friends. It’s a good thing his family is really very supportive but still, he can’t help but to wish for a normal life sometimes. However, about the dating part, he’s really not sure about that. The truth is, he never thought about dating again. Honestly, he doesn’t even know if he can still be back to that normal self again. Maybe. Maybe not.

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Sophie was busily muching on his pesto when her mother started speaking.

“Sophie, anak, bukas aayusin na natin yung papers mo papuntang States a. Naaayos ko na yung appointment sa University of Florida, bibigyan ka daw nila ng exam para madetermine kung anong year level mo dun” her mom said.

“Okay” she responded politely.

“Are you alright anak?” her father asked worriedly.

“Yeah, why? Do I look like I’m messed up?” she said with a bit of annoyance in her voice.

“No. It’s not like that sweetie. We just think that you’re not usually like that” her mother said.

I am not usually like this? Who are they to say that? They don’t even know me, they don’t even know what kind of person I am and whether I am like this or like that. Sophie thought to herself, but didn’t say it out loud to avoid any longer arguments.

It has always been like this since she moved with her biological parents. She must admit it, she’s still not getting used to living with them, living this kind of life. She sometime wish she could go back, to that time when everything was just so simple, when everything can be explained  by a simple look from her mom and dad’s face. To that time when she can be reassured just by holding their hand and their whispers of “everything’s gonna be alright anak”. But she bet she can’t do that. She can’t bring that life back. She is now Sophie de la Paz, daughter of two of the richest entrepreneurs in the country, who happen to be the major shareholders of several companies whether it be multinational or transnational. She is now Sophie de la Paz, the lost and the newly found daughter of Terry and Mark de la Paz. She was cut in her train of thoughts when her mother spoke.

“Sweetie, ready na palang i-publish sa magazines yung tungkol sa 20th birthday mo. Ready na din lahat, may gusto ka pa bang idagdag?”

“Wala na po” she said uninterested with the topic.

“Okay then, may escort ka na ba?” her father inquired.

That is it. That hit the bomb. She just felt it exploded inside her, and now, she can feel the pain shooting all over her body, taking over her.

“Are you alright baby?” her mother asked.

It took her quite a few minutes before she can respond.

“Yes po, I think I have to go to the bathroom, I’m done eating na din po.” She responded. She attempted to stand up and that’s when she realized she was shaking, but she still managed to get up and go to her room.

She immediately locked the door and threw her body to her bed and then she started staring at the ceiling again.

How can you do this? It’s been a month but the pain that I am feeling is still the same. It’s not getting any better. I’m not getting any better. Will I be able to do this? She closed her eyes then sighed, as the pain of the past began to spread inside her again, taking over her.