Tenses | LRH

Don't Set Me Free

THE NEXT days were unproductive yet very exciting - for me, at least. I had made a deal with Ace to freely use his gadgets in exchange of guitar lessons, both much to my delight.

I was getting better at playing FIFA, too. I could already make my player move around, and that was a really great achievement on my side. I yelled as Ace snatched my controller and we fought for it until we were tackling each other on the ground, shouting different slangs and laughing at each other.

I was breathless when I finally got my controller back. "You bastard," I said, laughing. "Hey, should I get some snacks?"

"I got it," Ace said, waving his hand in front of my face to dismiss me. "Wait a sec."

I nodded and wiped my arm on my sweaty forehead. Andi was nowhere to be found, so I decided to look for her. I stretched my arms and headed to the bedrooms. I passed the kitchen and was about to tell Ace to get some candy, but I was surprised to see him and Andi talking. It looked like it was an important matter.

"Please go home with me," Andi said, sounding very desperate.

"I don't know. I have been here for what, fifteen years? It will be hard for me to adjust."

"You have to try," she convinced him more.

It was silent for a moment, and I was afraid that they figured out that I was eavesdropping, so I decided to just go, but Ace suddenly spoke again. "Okay," he said.

"Okay? As in okay, you're coming with me?"

I wanted to see her reaction, but I did not dare to look. I did not want to get caught. Even though it was bad, for some reason I wanted to hear more.

I did not hear any answer from Ace, but I did hear Andi squeaking in giddiness. "Thank you," she repeatedly said. "You made me so happy."

"But," Ace said. "I need you to give me two more days to stay and after that, we're ready to leave."

They were planning to leave? Why so sudden?

"Anything for you, brother," Andi replied in an instant.

"Come on, let us seize this day and the two more days we have," I heard Ace say, and after that I rushed to the living room. I acted like I was boringly staring at the television, when actually I was so anxious of what I heard.

"I'm so bored," I instantly announced once they stepped in the room. "What are we going to do today?"

Ace shrugged and walked past me. "Well, I'll be in my room practicing how to play the guitar," he told me.

"I'll teach you," I offered, already standing up from the sofa.

Ace shook his head. "No need, dude. I will just search for tutorials on YouTube," he told me before heading straight to his room.

My face scrunched in confusion and I turned around to face Andi. "What's a YouTube?"

Andi shrugged and slumped down on the sofa. "I don't know," she tiredly replied.

I, too, collapsed on the sofa and I stared at the side of her head. "Do you want to go somewhere?"

"No, I'm not in the mood," she answered and she tilted her head to give me a small smile.

I nodded. "Alright."

She yawned and moved closer to me. "We're leaving in two days," she told me.

I did not know how exactly to react, but I pretended to be innocent. I acted like I was so excited and started bouncing up and down on my seat. "Where are we going?"

"Uh, Luke. You aren't going with us. We're journeying to home," she awkwardly explained as she timidly looked at me.

I felt so lonely inside. Hearing her talk about leaving me hurt a lot.

"Oh," I mumbled. I almost forgot that I also had to leave soon. I did not want to part ways with them, but I knew I need to, one way or another.

"Yeah. I thought I'd tell you right away so you won't be surprised," she explained.

"I wasn't surprised, but I am sad," I said. I sniffed and pretended to wipe a tear.

She let out a laugh but became serious again. "You have to go back to your family, you know. Are they not worried about you?"

I scratched the back of my neck with my right hand. "I actually called them last night," I said. I hated lying, especially to people important to me, but what else could I do?

Andi nodded. "That's good," she said and smiled.

I stared at her piercing eyes and I admired the little twinkle in them. It had only been five days, but I had already grown so fond of this girl beside me. In such a short period of time, she had made me confused, happy, and most importantly, she had made me feel something that was too foreign yet too fulfilling: affection.

Time is unconquerable, but anyone who was in my situation would surely wish that he could make it stop, because right at the moment, I could only think of one thing. I did not want to leave.