A Chance at Love (completed)

Chapter 10

                His face changed. I can see the frown in his face and his eyes is like burning with anger.

                “Hey. Relax, okay? I’m just kidding. I know you can’t trust me with your car. You’re afraid that I might damage it.”

                He shook his head and his eyes looked at me with concern. “It’s not that, Ara…”

                 “It’s Belle.”

                “Okay, it’s not that, Belle.” He corrected himself and put an emphasis while saying my name. I like Belle better than Ara. Ara kind of reminds me of my past. The name seemed weak like I was years ago. Moreover, my colleagues call me Belle. They said that it suits me better. “Belle, are you listening? Hey, Belle?”

                “What?” I was drowned in my thoughts awhile ago. I forgot about Carlos.

                “There you are again. Stop daydreaming, will you? And please listen. It’s not about my car. It’s about you. I’m just wasn’t sure if you’re ready. I know you’ve been trying to overcome your trauma with cars but you don’t need to push yourself.”

                “Who are you? Where did you hide my friend?” I asked jokingly. I hate it when Carlos does that. He always takes things seriously.

                He shook his head again and didn’t bother to talk to me again. He just opened the door of the passenger seat. I immediately climbed in without arguing. I know he’s mad at me and he’s giving me a silent treatment. When he finished loading my suitcases, he went to the driver’s seat. He just placed the seatbelt around me and checked if it’s intact. Then he drove with 60 kph as his speed.

                “You’re over reacting, Carlos. You’re too slow. C’mon. Hit the accelerator to a hundred. I was just kidding a while ago.”

                He didn’t respond.

                “Carlos, don’t worry about me. I’m okay. I don’t have trauma as long I’m not the one driving, okay? C’mon. I want to see my family as soon as possible”

                I know Carlos can’t ignore me any longer. So, he said, “Okay. I’ll go at 80, but you need to promise me that you’ll drive only if you’re really, really ready.”

                “That won’t be a problem. I still have to renew my license and I think I’m going to have difficulty having one because of the accident.”

                “Don’t worry. I’ll help you and it has already been five years since that happened. Everything will be okay.” I hope so. I can’t help but blame everything on that accident. Everything should not be this complicated if it wasn’t for my stupidity.

                It took us an hour and a half to reach home. I was very excited when I can finally have a glimpse of our house. It has been a long time since I’ve been here. Everything is just the way they are. When the car stopped, I immediately went out of the car without waiting for Carlos. I just want to see my Mom, my Dad, and everyone I left behind. I still owe an explanation to my friends. I left without saying goodbye. When I reached the front door, it was very quiet. I know they will be waiting for me at the other side of the door. I just have to pretend to be surprised. I don’t want to disappoint them. I took a deep breath and open the door slowly. The living room was dark and the lights suddenly opened.

                “Surprise! Welcome home.” They all shouted and hugged me one by one.

                “We missed you, honey.” My Mom hugged me and then my Dad. “We thought you’re never coming home. Wait, where’s Carlos?” My dad asked.

                I looked around and try to find him. He was just behind me a while ago.

                “Here I am!” I looked at the doorway and he was there struggling to carry all my things.

                “That’s what you get for making me wait.” I just laughed at him.

The supposed to be surprise party was really fun. I got to spend some time with my family and friends. My friends didn’t ask me for further explanation. I was glad they didn’t ask any more questions about the past. Carlos had already explained to them why I didn’t have contact with any of them for the past four years. They just wanted to know what happened to me while I was in New York. At ten, they all went home. We’ll just have to meet another day. I know there’s plenty of time to talk. I don’t even know how long will I stay here. I guess it will not hurt to stay here for a couple of months or even a year. I think I still need to wait for Carlos to pass his board exam. I know he can do it because he already passed the one abroad. There’s no reason to fail. As for me, I still need to update my points so that I will not have any problem renewing my license next year. I also need to get as many points as possible while I’m here. Because of that, I decided to attend a seminar. I guess staying here is not bad after all. I just have to be careful not to bump into some familiar faces.