ONE HOUSE

THIRTY : Chances

THE ANGEL's POV

After about an hour, James was brought to his room. There, Ann and Lauren were waiting for him. He was sleeping so they didn't bother waking him up. They just let him rest. He was badly hurt. For the fourth time, he was confined in that same hospital. He was never sick, but he always got himself into trouble.

It was a good thing that even though both James and Joaquin were harmed, they went stable after the treatment. "Joaquin will pay for this. I swear," she commented as she saw James with his shoulder bandaged again and his face full of bruises. She was just the same when James cursed Joaquin. He was so mad at him because he hurt Ann. Now, she was so mad at him for hurting James. And there's no way she was not going to file against him.

***

After an hour and a half, the door opened. "Ann!" she heard a desperate voice of a man. She stood up from her seat and learned that it was Joaquin, going frantic.

He walked toward her. "Are you mad at me? I'm sorry, Ann," he apologized. But Ann felt that it was not right. He was not Joaquin. She was talking to a different man.

"Can I talk to you, please? I have to explain everything..." she was right. Joaquin appeared to be someone who lost- who lost his sanity?

Maxine entered the room as well. She didn't have to say anything but her stare was enough for Ann to understand. She should talk to Joaquin. Else he'd be making a commotion that could wake James up.

Joaquin was still weak but he was persistent. He wanted to talk to Ann alone at the rooftop. The moment he entered the room, Ann got scared. She was scared about Joaquin's acting. It was like he didn't know what just happened. She was sure that he was mad at James- maybe for confronting him. But what was he up to?

When they had reached the top of the building, Joaquin was just silent. Ann was observing him, waiting for him to talk. "Maxine told me you are mad..." he started. His hands were sweating. He couldn't sit still. He didn't know how to organize his thoughts. It was like he was having a very hard time talking and delivering things.

But in the end, Joaquin made it. It took him forever but he was able to tell Ann his story- his side of things.

From Joaquin himself, Ann learned that he and Maxine were past lovers. That he went to the Philippines because of her. He wanted to be with her so badly that he did everything just to get her back. But Maxine never gave him a chance. She told him that she wanted to pursue his career.

"Fuck that. I always get what I want," he commented as he told their story. He was an only child and he was aware how spoiled he was. Maxine knew it and he hated him for that.

When he was already in the Philippines, he stalked Maxine. He used different cars to get inside their village. He admitted it. He talked to the guard and bribed them with his money so that they would never talk about him- especially when he hit her.

"I was going after Maxine.... I was in a hurry that's why I didn't get the chance to help you," he explained. He didn't care about others that time. He just wanted to talk to Maxine.

"I didn't get to talk to her still though. My karma came... But I didn't have any intention of hurting you Ann. Or anyone," the way he spoke those lines, Ann saw his ignorance. He was like a child talking about how he unintentionally stepped on an ant- a living thing.

He didn't want to get caught. So, as he was pursuing Maxine, he also took time to check on her. From that day, he told himself that he would look after her until she gets well.

But it didn't stop from there. Even if she was already well, Joaquin didn't stop paying her a visit- even he was just watching from afar. With his own ways, he was able to know things about her, her family- especially James. He didn't know why but he felt like he needed to be there- all the time.