The Experiment 2: The Journey

Hot and Cold

"So how are you enjoying your vacation so far, Anne?" Rose asked as she handed each of them a glass of eggnog.

RJ and Dei had already gone back inside the house after their little talk at the yard earlier, and at that moment both the Mendozas and the Faulkersons were already gathered around in the living room, relishing the warmth from the fireplace and listening to some holiday music that was softly playing on the radio.

They were huddled in different groups though, and were engaged in their own conversations: Rose was chatting with Anne, Dei, Coleen and Mike, while Rizza and her boyfriend were being interrogated by Daniel and Clarisse. RJ was stuck with Ted and Ricky who were both enumerating for him the challenges of raising a daughter.

RJ was distracted however, and couldn't focus much on the conversation. He just nodded obligingly and laughed when he thought something funny has been said, but his eyes were on Dei. He couldn't keep himself from glancing at her and he was bothered by how subdued she seemed. She wasn't chatting up with the others, but was just quietly listening, seemingly lost in her own thoughts too.

"... right, RJ?" he heard his dad say and he turned. He found his dad looking at him with a smile.

"Huh?" he asked stupidly.

"I was telling your father-in-law how you used to harass Rizza's would-be suitors when she was in middle school. Are you alright?" Ricky asked, finally noticing how distracted he was.

"Yea, I'm good," he told them, flashing a small smile. "And yes, dad," he said, addressing Ted, "I used to walk around like Rizza's bodyguard when she was in middle school. She was already quite a charmer then so..."

Ted laughed heartily. "Now I can just imagine how you would be when Athena becomes a teenager. You better prepare yourself."

"Yea," he agreed, shaking his head with a smile. He paused when he saw Dei standing up from the couch and kissing Rose and Anne goodnight.

She walked up to them and said goodnight to their fathers too, but pointedly avoided looking at him.

"I'll go ahead dads, my headache's getting worse. I think I need to sleep now," she told them.

"Go ahead, sweetheart," Ted said, hugging her. "You had an exhausting day, we understand."

"Thanks, dad. Good night!" she told him. She nodded politely at Ricky and gave RJ a fleeting glance before turning away and walking towards the staircase.

RJ sighed as he watched her retreating back and gulped down his eggnog. "I think I'll call it a night too. I'm just gonna make sure my wife's alright."

"Okay, son. Kiss our Athena good night for us," Rick said and Ted nodded.

++++++

Dei took a deep breath as she stepped into the shower stall. She lifted her face up and let the needles of warm water hit her face as she closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax.

She felt drained, and a bit depressed actually. She was growing tired of RJ making a huge deal about JC when the guy hasn't even done anything to deserve it. She could understand why RJ would be so wary all the time, he had been cheated on before, but what she couldn't understand was how he couldn't seem to trust her love for him no matter what she told him.