IS THIS ANOTHER LESSON LEARN?

CHAPTER XXII

As usual, Trevor woke up at 6am, his internal clock unforgiving. But today, there was something different.

Sam's side of the bed was empty.

He sat up, running a hand through his hair. She was usually an early riser, but not this early. It was barely seven-most people weren't even awake yet.

He frowned, his thoughts already starting to spiral. Was she avoiding him?

He pushed back the covers and got out of bed, heading to the kitchen to see if she'd left a note.

Sure enough, a piece of paper was taped to the coffee machine-Sam's messy scrawl visible even from a distance.

He crossed the room, tearing off the note and unfolding it.

His eyes scanned the words, his brow furrowing as he read:

Went to my father's house.

Back in evening.

Just a words. No apology for leaving early, no explanation.

Trevor frowned, crumpling the note in his hand. He knew she was stubborn, but damn...

He threw the note into the trash, frustration building. Her father's house? She never mentioned visiting him this weekdays.

He ran a hand through his hair, feeling restless and annoyed.

Part of him was pissed that she'd slipped out so early without a word. Another part of him was concerned-she usually told him when she was going out of town.

He glanced at the clock-it was barely 7:10 am. Damn it. He was going to be going crazy all day.

He spent the next few hours restlessly pacing around the condo. He tried to distract himself with work, but his mind kept wandering. Where the hell was she? What was she doing at her father's house?

He'd tried calling her, but her phone went straight to voicemail. Damn it. She was definitely avoiding him.

By noon, he was a bundle of frustrated energy. He'd read the same paragraph in his book at least five times without retaining anything.

He slammed the book down, cursing mentally. This was ridiculous. He was losing his damn mind.

Meanwhile the doorbell rings, and you find out it's Sandra, who just got home from work.
"Asan si ate? Pumasok na ba?.

Trevor opened the door, irritation still etched on his face at the interruption.

"No," he said tersely. "She left earlier, went to her dad's place."

He leaned against the doorframe, folding his arms. "You just got back?"

"Hindi ba obvious?"she went inside and sat down on the couch." Wala man lang siyang message sakin."

Trevor followed her into the living room, collapsing into the chair across from her.

"Yeah, no message," he said with a scowl. "Just a damn note stuck to the coffee pot. Didn't say when she'd be back, either."

His irritation was palpable. "You got any idea what she's doing at her dad's place?"

She just shrug. "ang aga mo naman mag sungit." she closing her eyes and rest on the couch.

Trevor glared at her. "I'm not being sungit," he snapped, though his voice lacked its usual bite. "I'm just... concerned."

He stood up abruptly, pacing the room like a caged animal. Concern? Since when did he do concern? He wasn't supposed to care this much.