My Angel

CHAPTER 26

FREEN

"Haaa!" I let go of a long sigh the moment I finished and closed the folder of the last file I had to review for the day.

Checking the time on my wrist watch let me know that it's not only past work hours but also already past dinner time. It's already half past ten in the evening and I'm probably the only person left in the office, well, except for the guards I guess. Not that that's any consolation.

"Haaa!" I let out another sigh as I slumped back on my chair and rested my head on it, making me look almost straight up the ceiling.

The day has been chaotic, or maybe it's more precise to say that it's my mind that is chaotic. I had such a hard time focusing on work that I took more than enough time to actually get my work done. My mind keeps going back to that certain moment this morning that Bec once again ran away from me, that I had to exert twice the effort to keep myself focused on work. I kept hearing her voice like a broken recording whenever I became idle that it breaks my heart again and again knowing that I once again broke my promise and made her cry once more.

My emotional rollercoaster is making me feel confused that I no longer know what to do. I was feeling rather dejected last night after my failed attempt to talk it out with Becky that my night was practically sleepless. Then, I was super happy but anxious at the same time when I found Becky here in my office this morning. I was ecstatic to know that she came here to initiate the talk, and I can't believe how I ruined this chance and caused her pain again. She must have been shocked by the sudden appearance of him. How am I supposed to talk to Becky now?

I was lost in thoughts when my phone suddenly started beeping, indicating a new message that was received. Half hoping that it was Becky, I quickly opened the phone, only to see that it was not her but him instead.

'Are you still not done with work?'

That was what he asked.

Our last message was five hours ago when he asked me to join him for dinner but I declined. I was still stuck with so much work that I had to finish today after all.

It is only now that I remember telling him that I would call him once I finish work. If he hadn't texted me, then I probably would have forgotten completely.

'Yeah, I finished just now'

Was my reply to him. I can't really tell him that I forgot what I said, right?

'Perfect timing then'

'I'm downstairs'

His reply caught me off guard that I ended up sitting up right abruptly. What is he doing here at this hour? Shouldn't he be at home and taking a rest?

I sent him a quick reply, telling him that I'd be done once I finish cleaning up my things, and proceeded to do so. I switched off my computer and started organizing my table swiftly before finally taking my bag and left the office.

Now that I think about it, how come he's here so early in the morning when he was supposed to arrive tomorrow? Why didn't he tell me that he was going to come today, I would have arranged my plans better. That way, I would have told Becky sooner; if so, then we wouldn't be in this situation. I thought I still had a few days to fix my mistake with Becky, but I don't even have that now. I wonder, when will I ever learn?

In a blink of an eye, my trip down the office was over, and I was already out of the building, where he greeted me with a wave and a wide smile.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him "It's already late" I added.

"I was worried" he answered "You told me that you'd call after you finish your work, but it's already this late and I still haven't heard from you, so I took a chance knowing that you're not the type to break promises" he explained. There was nothing wrong with what he said, nor did the way he said it but somehow hurt me. Not that I was hurt because of what he said to me but more like I suddenly felt guilty that I actually forgot about that.

"You could have just stayed home and rested" I said to him as we started walking towards my car. He doesn't really live here, so he doesn't own a car, and even if he did, he might simply get lost since he is not familiar with the place. "I could just drive myself home, you didn't have to go out of your way to accompany me home" I added, truly appreciating his effort.

"Maybe" he replied "but I wanted to, so here I am" he explained, showing a sweet smile that I like.

Soon, we reached my car, and he offered, more like insisted, to drive me home. I didn't have the heart to reject it, so I gave him the key and sat in the passenger seat. The car was mostly silent throughout the drive, he did ask me something a couple of times but I only managed to answer briefly since my mind was still pretty much preoccupied with thoughts of how I would be able to make up with Becky.

"You must be really tired" he said, breaking the silence once more and making me snap my head towards him "Huh?" was all I was able to say "I know you're usually quiet but you're more silent right now" he explained "Your work must have been tiring" he commented, and I once again felt guilty. It wasn't really work that's making me silent but something else. "Ah, yeah" I uttered guiltily "there were quite a few things to deal with today" Technically, it's not a lie, but it doesn't really make me feel any less guilty.

"How did it go with your friend anyway?" He asked, and I was kind of lost with his question. "Friend?" I asked him back. "Yeah" he said as he took a peek in my direction "You know, the girl from this morning" he added "She seemed quite upset when I arrived, I didn't interrupt something important, did I?" he inquired guiltily, but his guilt is actually making me feel even more guilty. How am I supposed to explain to him the situation? Where do I start?

"It's fine" was all I managed to say to him. Just then, we took the last turn into our street, and as we were approaching my house, I was able to make out a silhouette up front, standing there as if waiting for something or someone. As we got closer, the lights from the car slowly revealed the identity of that person, and it turned out to be Becky.

"What is she doing out here at this hour?" I thought to myself.

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