"Here." Kris passes me a mug. We are sitting at his kitchen table. It's morning I think, my head hurts and my eyelids still feel a bit heavy. How did I get here? Last I remember, I was face down in Diane's house with Mia. How come I'm here now?
I take the mug and look at him surprised. "For me?"
"Yeah."
Wow! He actually shared his precious Ugandan coffee with me. I shall enjoy every drop. I pull the mug to my mouth and take a sip. "Ughh! It's cold." I put it on the table with a thud, Kris looks at me and says, "Of course, it's yesterday's." like it's the most natural thing in the world.
"Phaw!" I stick my tongue out, "You mean it stayed in the mug the whole night and you give it to me now?"
"No, not the whole night......the whole day." He says sitting beside me, "I brewed it for April, but she didn't like it so." I just glare at him trying to control my anger. "Speaking of which where is April?"
"She went to visit her friends." He cooly replies sipping his coffee. It looks so delicious.
"So.....you...and April....are...dating? How long has it been?"
"About 9 years." He answers and then looks at me, "Why? You're jealous?"
"Why would I be jealous?" I look at him sarcastically.
"Because your hope is gone. You like me but I'm dating." He says with a smile to which I just roll my eyes, get off the chair and walk out the kitchen.
"Oh come on! Don't be too sad. You had no chance from the beginning." He says following me. How I wish he would shut up! Kris stop before I punch you in the face.
"How did I get here by the way?" I change the topic.
"Oh Mia brought you here. You were so drunk. Didn't even open your eyes when I threw you on the couch." He says laughing to himself.
Drunk? But I didn't- oh that's what she told him. Obviously she couldn't say that my lesbian friend drugged me to commit God knows what.
"Are you going to stay there all day?"
"Huh?"
"Go clean yourself up! You look like crap." He orders me and I run upstairs to his bathroom. I wanna see how bad I look. It can't be that bad right? I look at the mirror.
-------
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!"
Somewhere in a prestigious car.
"So did you look into her?" A woman asks.
"Yes Ma'am, but I didn't find much."
"Clive. How many times I told you to call me Rachel?" The woman asks looking at the person sitting beside her.
"Her name's David Cole. Age 25. Works as the assistant to the CEO of TBS. Lives in a tiny apartment on ****** street."
"Parents?"
"No information regarding that, but one of the records says they died long ago."
"Education?"
"Graduated from Exid University of Business and Commerce, with exemplary recommendations."
"How about before that?"
"No record."
"How come?"
"I don't know Ma'am. But that's the interesting thing, I spoke to the University, they don't remember ever having a student by the name David Cole. There's no record. Not even in the archives."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying it's like she just appeared out of nowhere."
Rachel looks out the window, tapping her index finger on her chin, in deep thought.
"Hmmm.....interesting."
Back at Kris's house.
"I am NOT wearing that!" I protest running behind the sofa.
"Oh come on! It's not that bad." Kris shoves an old tattered jumpsuit that constructors use at me.
"NO! Where's all my clothes?"
"April threw them out."
"What?" I look at him in disbelief.
"She thought it was garbage."
"They were IN A SUITCASE!" I scream.
"The suitcase was old....now wonder she thought it was garbage."
"All of my clothes were in it!" The clothes...you bought me.....were in it.
"Just wear this?"
"No! I don't know why you have this, but I am not wearing it. Where are the clothes I gave you?"
"What clothes?" He asks confused.
"The time you slept in my house, I gave you my green sweat pants and a white sweater. Remember?"
"Oh that! I don't know where it is." He cooly replies.
I am speechless.
"Just give me something else." I tell him.
"What?"
"How about...those clothes you gave me once. Your oversized shirt with the grey sweat pants."
He looks at me like I'm an alien.
"The ones that fell off me!" I point to my legs.
"Oh......hahahha!" He starts laughing, "I don't know where those are either."
"What do you know Kris!" I burst in anger. At that moment the door opens and April comes in with a smile.
"What's going on?" She asks approaching us.
"This idiot won't wear what I'm giving her." Kris complains as if to his mother. April takes one look at that jumpsuit and "I don't know why you have this. But you can't expect her to wear that. Don't you have your own clothes?" She asks me, "Kris told me you live here with him, surely you must have a couple of things with you."
"You threw them out." Kris cuts in not letting me reply.
"I am so sorry about that." She apologizes holding my hands, "Please forgive me. I know! I'll make it up to you." She tell me with a smile.
"H...how?" I ask her to which her smile gets even wider.
"We go shopping."
And so the three of us ended up going to a mall. Kris and April looking beautiful and me looking like a vampire. We enter a shop chosen by Kris's girlfriend. She immediately walks to one of the racks and starts picking things out, leaving me and that jerk standing there like two idiots.
"Let's go check something." Kris pushes my shoulder and we walk around the shop.
"How about this?" He shows me a sweater.
"No. It's orange."
"What you don't like that color?" Kris hangs the sweater back.
"This?" He shows me a black shirt with a bunny on it.
"Oooh!" My eyes widen, placing it against my body Kris gives a disgusted look saying It doesn't suit me. Darn! I really liked that shirt.
"Maybe this?" He puts a green cardigan next to me. "No. Doesn't suit you." He says hanging it back and going through the racks.
"This!" He takes out another sweater, "Definitely suits you." He shows it to me. There's a sheep right in the middle of it.
"Why? Because of the sheep?" I ask recalling the time at the farm.
"Yeah hahah!" He says through laughter. I throw the sweater in his face and walk to another rack. I see a Mexican hat, sombrero, it's so colorful. I wear it and look at Kris who bursts laughing. "Wear this too." He gives me huge sunglasses.
"And this!" I say wearing winter gloves on my hands.
"This too." He hands me maracas.
"And you wear this." I give him a winter scarf, which he matches with a surf board, boots and a yellow skirt which he wore over his pants. Then we both start making a photoshoot. The staff looking at us like we're some mental patients. Seeing them react this way sparked an idea in my head. I run to the glass display window. "Where are you going?" Kris asks following me.
"Are you serious?" He looks at me posing with the mannequins.
I don't reply but remain my pose. Seconds later I see Kris joining me, we both stand frozen like wax dolls waiting for our first victims.
A woman stops by the window looking at us in confusion when suddenly we start moving and she screams, dropping her bag and running away. I get out picking up her bag and calling her to come back, "Excuse me! Your bag!" She doesn't come back and so I run after her.
"Your bag! Miss!" I run behind her but she just runs farther from me. What is wrong with her?
"Miss! Bag!"
"Miss!"
"Your bag!" I keep running after her and she keeps running from me.
"Miss!" I give up and throw the bag at her, it hits her back and she slightly trips. I apologize and run back to the shop.
"So did you catch her?" Kris asks removing the skirt.
"Not exactly. I threw the bag at her."
"You what?" We both stare at each other wide eyed before bursting into laughter.
"You two seem like you're having fun." April walks over to us holding a couple of bags. "This is yours." She hands me like five bags and I thank her, "It's okay. I'm the one who threw out your clothes anyway. Now go change into something." She pushes me into the changing room.
Wow! She has nice taste, everything here is so pretty. Since it's almost winter I wear black jeans, with a green shirt and a light blue coat. It looks so pretty.
"You look beautiful." April praises me as I come out, unlike Kris who said "I don't even look pretty."
"Come with us." April tells me to come along and puts her hand through Kris's. I want to but I'd rather not, seeing them like this. It hurts my heart.
"It's okay." I tell her, "I have somewhere to go."
"Too bad." April says with a pout and Kris drags her after him.
"Bye David." She waves to me, "Have fun."
"I will!" I wave back at her. Then I take out my phone and dial Diane's number.
What should I do now? Diane is busy with work and Mia is on a date with her husband, I can't call Ted to talk to him about Kris. But I can't stay alone. When I'm alone.....all I think about is him. I then look through my contact list again and call Alex.
"So what's the event?" Alex meets me at a café 30 minutes later, with a small suit case, "Birthday? Date? Engagement party? Work?"
"What are you talking about?" I ask him.
"Makeup. What kind of makeup do you want? You need to tell me the event so I can choose the best one for you."
"There's no event."
"No event? Then why did you call me? I almost brought my entire team along." He tells me.
"Just to hang out." I smile at him.
"......okay." He looks at me weirdly.
1 hour later.
"Hahhahaha! Chicken?"
"Yes the haha..chi-chicken."
"But, tell me, do you have a special someone?" Alex leans closer to me. I look at my coffee and then at him, "No."
"Don't lie! I know that look. Who is he?" He asks curiously.
".....my boss."
"Woah."
"Kris from TBS."
"That big shot!" Alex exclaims while clapping his hands.
"Yeah him."
"So why aren't you dating? Did you confess? Did he confess?"
"I confessed but....it turns out he has a girlfriend. She's his first live and they've been dating for 9 years." I tell him stuffing my face with a muffin.
"Ouch! It's okay girl. He'll fall for you eventually. I believe in you." He says tapping my shoulder.
"Thanks." I smile at him.
After many more hours of hanging out with Alex, Diane and Mia join us. Then we all got to know each other better and Mia explained the whole story about Kris and their family's gifts to Alex. Not just because me and him became friends, but because Mia and Alex have known each other for years now.
"God its so late. I'll be going now. Bye!" We all say our goodnights and go our separate ways. Should I go back to Kris's house? Wouldn't that be rude? His girlfriend is there. Ughhhh how I wish he didn't have one. How I wish she wasn't so nice so I wouldn't feel that bad about loving her boyfriend. As I'm walking down the dark road looking at the stars my phone rings. I don't want to answer. I don't care who it is. I just wanna stare at the night sky, the bright sparkling stars, they seem so close but out of reach, just like Kris. After my phone stops ringing, I get a text.
Kris
How long will it take you to get your ass home? Huh? Idiot! 🤔😠😤!!!
I guess that answers my question about where I should go. Back to Kris's place.
"What the hell where you doing out all this time?" He attacks me as soon as I enter his house.
"I was with friends. Why do you care?"
"I don't. April did. She's been calling me every five minutes asking whether you came or no." He shows his phone to me, which contains a lot of received calls from her.
"Sorry." I tell him and place my bags of clothes at one corner of the room, "Where's April? Isn't she staying here?"
"She's staying at a hotel, it's closer to her seminar that she has tomorrow."
"Oh!" I exclaim looking pleased.
"Why are you smiling?" He frowns at me, "Ughh! Don't get your spirits up. I told you, there's no hope for you. Even after seeing that I have a girlfriend you still think there's a chance for you?"
"I told you. The only hope I need is my own. I won't give up on you. Not now, not ever." I tell him earnestly, and he looks straight back at me biting his lip.
"Why do you even like me? Because I'm handsome? Rich? Why?" He yells at me and I ignore him getting into bed (the couch is her bed)
"Goodnight Kris." I tell him and he angrily storms upstairs. I hope you have sweet dreams, I won't give up on you, as long as there's a chance of you ending up with me. I will wait.
In the morning we quickly get ready and drive off to work. "You know R&C?" Kris randomly asks me.
"Yeah. The hotel I used to work in."
"Today there's a meeting with the owner. We have been trying to make a deal with her for a year now but she's been refusing, yet she recently agreed to listen to the plan."
"I hope she agrees." I tell him.
"You hope for many things David." He looks through the window.
"I know." I hope for you. Kris....I wish you would smile more often and laugh just like yesterday. I see you laughing only when I get hurt or embarrass myself. Am I that amusing to you? I guess so. But at least we laugh together.
D: Now?
M(mia): yes! It's an emergency.
D: I can't. I'm working. Besides I have a meeting in an hour.
M: I already sent the car. Don't worry I will give Kris an excuse.
Their chauffeur silently drove me to their house. Their butler let's me in, and I cheerfully walk into the room he directed me to.
"Hello." I enter the room. Mia and her mother Jae both look at me with unstable eyes and I can sense something is wrong.
"What's going on?" I ask to which Jae urges me to sit. Doing as she says I ask again, "So?"
"David." Her mother begins, "I know we made you promise not to give up on Kris. We made you promise to fight until the end."
"Yes. And I will. I love your son." I tell Jae, "I don't know what I'd do without him in my life. So don't worry, I will never give up on him as long as there's hope." I reassure them.
"Give up." Mia tells me.
"What?" Did I hear correct?
"I'm sorry David....but you have to let Kris go." Jae clasps my hands.
"....why? I'm confused. Didn't you say I have to fight for him. I have to do my best. I won't give up. Don't worr-"
"I had a vision David!" Mia finally speaks, "I had a vision. Kris and April would get married."