"Adrian, can I ask for a favor?"
Though mildly surprised, Adrian nodded. "Yes, sir."
Mr. Vazquez pulled out a card from his wallet and handed it to the young man. "Just in case there's a problem, will you let me know?"
Adrian stared at the older man, a dozen questions running through his mind. Unwittingly, he was now caught in the middle of this father-daughter controversy. But he didn't want to mislead Joey's dad into believing that he had a thing going with his daughter.
"Ah sir, Joey and I ....we're not.....we're not an item. I'm just a friend. Uncle Laom asked me to watch over her while he's away."
"Is that so?" Mr. Vazquez frowned, seemingly disappointed. "Well....anyway, I trust that you'll take care of my daughter?" He reached out and firmly patted the young man's shoulder.
Adrian nodded as it suddenly occurred to him why Mr. Vazquez looked so familiar. Joey was a female version of her dad. He let out a smile. "Of course....I will."
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After Mr. Vazquez left, Adrian found Joey brooding inside the Kenji room which was right next to his bedroom. She was seated, with her back against the wall and a fluffy throwpillow on her lap, on a large futon spread out on the floor. The three other walls of the spacious room were stacked with numerous paintings of all sizes.
He hesitated at the doorway, gazing at her stoic profile. "You okay?", he gently asked.
"No." She replied without looking at him.
"Do you want me to leave you alone?"
She gave him a sad look and shook her head. "No."
Quietly, he stepped into the room and sat beside her on the futon, leaving a respectable gap between them. Joey kept on staring ahead of her, trying to calm the turmoil in her mind. Adrian waited for her to speak.
"Adrian......have you ever felt like an outsider....like you don't belong anywhere?"
He nodded. "Sometimes."
"For me, lots of times.....which is really weird. Even with my own family."
"Is that why you live away from them?"
"There's only one reason I chose to get away."
Adrian gave her a knowing look. "You know.....I think he really cares for you."
She arched her eyebrows. "Oh please Adrian, don't get me started....that he cares for me and all that drama. You don't know the half of it."
"I may not know anything but he did go all the way here just to see you." Adrian was tempted to tell her what her dad told him but decided against it. She wasn't exactly in a receptive mood.
She smiled bitterly, seemingly lost in some dark place in her mind. "After Mama left.....he burned all my drawings....all my art materials. Everything. I thought I had a good hiding place in my room...but he found them all." She swallowed hard, fighting the hard lump in her throat. "I cried for days."
Adrian watched her, sadness and anger written all over her face. He couldn't imagine what she must have gone through. If it were him, if someone took him away from his music, he just couldn't imagine the pain. It would've been just like taking away the very air he breathed.
Chapter 8
Start from the beginning
