Chapter Eleven
Suddenly, my body seems like a massive amount of crystal being crushed by a larger truck. My leg involuntary moved and tried to follow Adrian inside.
“Adrian, wait!” I called after him.
He pretended not to hear me. He continued on his track upstairs. I, being an inane person, followed him. Even though I knew that he is sulking about something, I still chose to go after him.
“Hey,” I said when he finally stopped walking. I was trying to catch my breath because Adrian, being the usual him, walked too fast using his long and skinny legs that even a girl’s jean would fit. My eyes roamed around the place where he stopped; my room.
“What?” He asked, raising his voice. But I chose to ignore it.
“Well, I just want to tell you that I ranked second.” I said, finally flashing my smile.
Adrian went quiet and shot me a serious look.
“Who the hell cares?” He said as he shifted his gaze away from me. My smile immediately dropped.
Have your bellybutton accidentally hit a corner of a table? The pain was unbearable that you feel like dying, right?
Right now, I can feel that pain. But I’m feeling it inside my chest. I’ve always thought that he would be proud of me, like when we were just kids. It pains me because his face was the one that flashed in my mind when Miss Mitchell announced the rankings.
“Um,” I muttered, not able to find the words to say, and at the same time, not able to look at his eyes that suddenly looked like an alien to me.
“Do you expect me to do a pirouette?” I can sense his smirk even though his back was facing me. Those sentences he added made my heart break more. Is he being sarcastic? He used to do pirouettes when I was feeling down, just to make me smile.
He set the duvet on the side of the bed and lay there. He covered his eyes with his uninjured arm. I can see that his breathing started to get deep by the movement of his chest. I can’t determine if he’s really asleep, or he’s just pretending. Besides, he’s good with it.
“What a motherfucker,” I say as I glare at him. I know he can sense my fierce gaze even though his eyes are covered. “You say harsh things to me, and then the next minute you sleep on my bed?”
“Oh yeah,” he spoke. “I’ve been sleeping here for a couple of days. Why do you care just now?”
“Because you’re an ass,” I said.
“I know.” He said simply. His arm is still.
“You know?” I chuckled sarcastically. “Then why don’t you find a decent job right now, to buy your own apartment and leave here. And when you find your girlfriend, you’re gonna bring her there and you’ll live happily ever after like Little Mermaid did.”
Once those words slipped out of my mouth, I instantly regretted them. Why am I kicking him out of my house? No, I don’t mean it because I can’t live without him. Stupid mouth.
He tore his arms away from his face, and stared at me. His gaze was challenging. The corners of his lips went up as he plastered his trademark smirk on his mouth.
“Little Mermaid and happily ever after don’t get along well,” he finally said. “Didn’t you know that she vanished into thin air?”
Now, I felt really dumb realizing that happy endings only exist if Walt Disney wrote the script. Of course, that stupid mermaid just vanished like a bubble in the sea.
I remained silent.
“And your very own Sleeping Beauty,” he continued as his tongue flicked across his lips. “Poor Aurora, when she finally woke up from a very long nap, she’s already a mother.”
I stared at him in disbelief. What is he talking about?
“You didn’t know that, did you? Originally, Princess Aurora was raped by his beloved prince when she was fast asleep. Disney did an amazing job for making it suitable for children. Tsk tsk.”
My whole body felt like ice. The way he narrated the story made me shiver. I don’t know if I should believe him, but my mind says so.
I fearfully stared into his eyes, searching for the warm Adrian. He’s too cold right now that I can feel an imaginary chilly air inside my room. “Do you think I would believe you?” I asked him.
“Don’t you worry; I’m already waiting for an e-mail to come. I applied for a job few weeks ago before I got here,” he explained with a cold voice, ignoring my question. “Sooner or later, I will definitely leave.”
I caught my breath once he said that. My heart stopped beating, and I’m suddenly feeling numb.
He got off my bed and walked past me. At this moment, I don’t feel like breathing or running after him. My legs were jelly.
“Where are you going?” I breathed out. I am not sure if he heard me.
“To get a girlfriend and live happily ever after,” He answered.
Two hours later, mom’s finally home. I felt like a mute for not having someone to talk to. I know I could open my laptop and surf the internet or watch a movie, but I don’t feel like doing anything.
“Hey mom,” I greeted her as removed her shoes.
“How was your day?” She asked and my gaze fell on the floor.
“Not really fine,” I said, frowning. “Except that I ranked second in our class.” I added, finally able to smile genuinely.
She smiled sweetly and walked close to me, then squished me between her arms. “Oh Darling, I am so proud of you!”
“Thanks.”
She untangled her arms around me and ordered me to sit with her on the couch. “Well, where is Adrian?” she asked, changing the subject. The smile on my lips instantly fell.
“Um, he went out.” I answered. Mom just nodded her head.
“Oh, maybe he’s finally searching for a girlfriend. That playboy.” I feel like I’m on the verge of crying when my mom muttered those words. I officially hate myself for being a fool, and I hate Adrian for being my cousin. I don’t know.
“Yeah, maybe.” I said but it sounded like a choke. I’m going to puke like crazy.
“What about you? Have you gotten a boyfriend now? You can tell mom, I won’t get mad.” She smiled at me. Then I remembered Kale. Should I tell her that he’s courting me?
After a few minutes of deciding, I finally admitted it. “I’m pretty sure that you already know what Kale looks like,” I said.
“Oh yeah,” she said, nodding. “Is he your boyfriend now?” she asked again, giggling like a teenage girl. I love mom for that. The smile was back on my lips again.
“Not really,” I said. “But he said he’s going to court me.” I wiggled my eyebrows at her.
Mom squealed. “Wow! Well, what is his full name? You haven’t told me yet.”
“Kale Andrews,” Soon as I said his name, mom’s face hardened. I shot her a confused look.
She gasped for air and looked at me like I was a prey. She’s definitely raging. “I changed my mind. Stay away from that boy.”
“What?” I asked, shocked.
“You heard me,” She spoke.
“You can’t make me do what you said! I actually liked him,” I said, not realizing what I said. As soon as those words sink in my heard, my heart went raging.
I like him?
I feel like going to a rehab. Earlier, I was mourning because of the thought of Adrian having a girlfriend. And now I said that I like Kale? Fuck, what is wrong with me?
“No!” she shouted at me. I knotted my eyebrows. What is with her?
I was about to say something when a knock on the door interrupted us.
Is she expecting a visitor? I just shrugged. “I’m going to get it.”
Mom just nodded, and I can hear her breathing slowly went normal. Oh, thank God. Mom’s blood pressure increases when she’s mad or something, and she can’t breathe well. I don’t know what to do with myself if something happened to her.
I slowly opened the door; my heart went racing as I twisted the knob and carefully pull it.
The door was fully opened; a blonde girl with an awfully red lips beside Adrian.
“Hi,” she said. I immediately hated her voice. “I’m Selene. Adrian and I are dating.”
Did I ask her if she and Adrian were dating? What a bitch.
Oh, who am I kidding with my own sarcasm?
It fucking hurts.