The Holdupper ✓

章 X: Thank You Treat

Guilt?

I was so confused about his reaction. I didn't mind it anymore, and continued, nonetheless.

"M-my parents told me that I was a victim of a damn crime!" I almost burst out as I can feel the weariness inside me. The new kid absentmindedly handed me a bottle of water, in which I accepted it immediately.

I looked at him. He wasn't surprised at all, yet his eyes speaks that he felt bad for me. And aside from that, it also speaks something different that me myself couldn't  distinguish.

I can see a hint of lament in his eyes. As if his eyes speaks that he's ruing for making a decision that he shouldn't have done in the first place.

His eyes almost lose it's color, when it met mine. "What crime?"

I bit my inner cheeks to conceal my emotions, and prevent from overflowing. "Hold up. I was a victim of hold up last May 2018."

I heard a sound of something that fell on the floor. When I looked down to see, it was Joaquin's bottled water that he was holding a moment ago. It's contents scattered on the floor.

I looked up to see his face. I gasped.

"A-are you okay?" My tone has a glimmer of anxiousness as I sense that he's not comfortable or he's getting uneasy about something.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, jagaimo." He replied with a smile for guarantee saying that he's sure of it. Joaquin calmed down, and faced me. "Care to share what really happened?"

I released an air, and my attention was on him. "Mom said that someone saw me lying on a pool of blood. They concluded that I was been hit by something solid that made my head bleed... and yes! They saw a rock with a touch of blood. My own blood."

"The doctor even said that the scenarios that they had in mind probably made a huge impact and damage in my brain. The fact that I almost died that time...  I still survived... but I'm not as what do I used to be. I lost most of my memories. I believe that I'm slowly gaining them one by one. Still, there's a lot that are missing pieces to build the whole picture."

Tears starting to drop in my cheeks. It was unstoppable, and I didn't even bother to wiped it away. Someone told me that the more I wiped it away, the more tears will be wasted because it will just continue falling. Nonstop.

I suddenly felt a warm palm wiping them away. It was him. Joaquin. He just gave a small nod with a smile. His presence makes me feel a mix of confusion and comfort.

I paused. I shot a glimpse back at Joaquin and he's staring still at me. He is not wiping my tears anymore. "What did the suspect took or should I say... stole away from you?"

"Mom said that I lost... my necklace. It has a rose pendant. Dad said that I was able to wear it only for two months." This time, I didn't stutter.

The way he looks at now me gives off something that I used to see before. We're now talking as if we're familiar with each other. As if we're just normal high school lovers or something.

Joaquin was about to speak as I saw how he was so concerned for me, but then I cut him off.

"They say that everything happens for a reason. So don't felt bad for me mochi. I'm fine, and I'll be fine."

My friends and even my own boyfriend pitied for what happened to me and my past. It was cruel. No lies. Besides, I don't want Park Joaquin to be added in the list.

The Park kid just replied with a smile. Even though his eyes tells the opposite. That he's telling me that there's a different side of the story.

For a moment, I became confounded.