February 14, 2007
How come I always end up alone on a Valentine’s Day?
“Please don’t tell me she left…again,” Nick said, exasperated.
He took his seat opposite Grace at the table, munched on the burger and fries he had previously bought, then looked straight at the girl he expected to see. From the moment Rachelle called him, he had known something like this would happen…again. His promised interview with Grace Enriquez had happened six days ago, Wednesday. He thought being seen in a public place with Grace had long been over but apparently, his best friend had other thoughts.
Nick did not consider that anything was up the first time Rachelle called him and asked if he could go shopping with her. She did that all the time. The only thing that surprised him was the presence of Grace. It had been rather awkward at first but since it was quite difficult to keep up with Rachelle when she was on a shopping spree, Nick and Grace had ended up stuck walking alongside each other. They did not have a choice but to somehow try having a conversation if they want to stop feeling ill at ease. By dinner time, Rachelle had excused herself and never came back. Nick, being a gentleman, volunteered to walk with Grace at least until she reached the Loop.
The second time was two days ago. Rachelle wanted to visit the Heartlake State Museum. Nick did not know what to feel about that but he still went. The instant he saw Grace, he began getting suspicious. When Rachelle made an excuse to leave the two of them alone again, he was sure of it.
His best friend decided to play matchmaker.
The girl he loved would rather see him with someone else.
And she was definitely happy about it.
Damn.
Grace’s voice interrupted his reverie: “Well…She said her booker just sent her a message asking to meet with her. It seemed important so I said I’d tell you when you come back from the ticket counter.”
The three of them were supposed to watch a movie. And a freakin’ rom-com at that.
He should have strangled his best friend before she could leave. He was in love with her, yes. He would put up with her matchmaking nonsense, no. He started to open his mouth to tell Grace that maybe they ought to go home but before he could even speak, he saw her face. She obviously wanted to watch. That was the look on Rachelle’s face when she wanted something that she couldn’t possibly ask for. He looked at the tickets in his hands and made a decision.
“C’mon. Let’s go,” he told her with a nod as a signal to leave. He saw her disappointment.
They were walking silently but then he turned right towards Cinema 4 that would show the movie they were supposed to watch. Grace pulled a small part of his left shirtsleeve. He turned back to her questioningly.
“The escalator’s the other way,” she said, tilting her head in the opposite direction.
“I know that.”
“Then why’d you go this way? Aren’t we supposed to leave?” She started to look a bit less disappointed.
“We’re here, we have tickets,” Nick said, raising the tickets at eye level. “It would be a waste not to use it. And so, we’ll watch the movie.”
Her eyes widened with disbelief. Then she started to grin with obvious excitement. He smiled as a response then turned towards the cinema again, Grace walking almost beside him.
*****
“Thanks for watching the movie with me. I know it’s not something guys would want to watch,” Grace told Nick without looking at him. They just got out of the cinema and were on their way home.
“No problem,” he answered, not looking at her either.
A few seconds of silence.
“Uhmm…I was just wondering if you want to eat dinner or maybe snacks?”
He stopped to look at her but before he could say his piece, Grace said: “Now don’t get me wrong. I just thought that since Rachelle made you buy our tickets,” she started to fumble with her hands, “then maybe, I ought to give my share. So I want to treat you to something,” she looked around, trying to avoid his eyes, “as a form of thank you.”
Nick did not respond immediately so Grace finally looked at him. “If you’re not hungry, then I guess we could go home,” she said with a small laugh.
“They serve good sandwiches at Bookbound.”
She grinned. “You eat there too?”
“Yeah.” They started towards the small bookstore with an in-house café. It was not located inside the mall but a lot of people still go there to visit. “Sometimes, I’d wait for Rachelle there while she’s out shopping.”
Grace nodded. “I see.”
They reached Bookbound which, at this time of night, was full of people having light dinner. Grace remembered how Nick didn’t want to be seen in public with a girl and she almost stopped him from entering. However, when she saw his face, he didn’t seem so anxious. She decided to drop her concern. They ordered their sandwiches—Grace with a tuna pesto salad wrap and Nick with a chicken bacon pita.
Grace would never consider this a date but combined with their light conversation during dinner, she could say that this was definitely one of her best dine-outs ever.
They just got out of the café when Nick suddenly grabbed her hand to walk away from the restaurant, faster than they would normally have. She didn’t know if she was supposed to feel joy because he was holding her or fear because they might have been running away from danger.
They were almost at Central Park by the time Nick slowed down and released Grace’s hand. She felt a little bereft, which was silly of course.
“What was that?” she asked him when they stopped in front of the park’s gates.
“We can’t be seen together by anyone from St. James. I don’t want any rumors.”
She felt slightly offended that he still thought that she was trying to take advantage of him or Rachelle.
“People could have seen us before so it’s useless to worry about it now. You’re really not gay, are you?”
He looked at her with icicle blue eyes. “Yeah. Maybe. I would’ve dated Matt if he’s not Rachelle’s brother.”
Grace gasped. “Oh my…” Then she saw Nick’s sarcastic expression and realized that he wasn’t serious when he told her about dating Matt.
“Honestly. Why don’t you just tell the truth?” she exclaimed.
He raised an eyebrow. “Why did you think I’m gay?”
“Well…the rumors said so…” She suddenly felt guilty.
“Exactly. Guess who started them?”
“The cheerleader?”
“Lily Truman. Guess who almost saw us together?”
Understanding dawned on her.
“Lily Truman.”
If there was anyone in St. James who could spread and manipulate rumors about anybody, it was the star swimmer.
“Good thing you saw her immediately, then.”
Nick stood straighter, ready to start walking again.
“I’m sorry for calling you gay,” Grace said, falling into step beside him.
“Not your fault. And I’m sorry if you thought I still don’t trust you.”
Grace blinked several times. “How did you know about that?”
He shrugged. “You’re easy to read, Grace. In case you don’t know.”
Her eyes started to widen. She realized what was happening so she forced herself to shrug as well. Oh my god. What did he mean by that? Please don’t tell me he knows I have a crush on him.
“I guess.”
*****
The sound of a ringing cell phone finally pierced through the noise and music that had been playing all night.
“Hello, Trix?”
The girl at the other end of the line hiccupped.
“I can’t take it anymore. He left me. I talked to him and he said he’s never going back,” she said in between sobs.
“Don’t worry about him anymore. He’s not worth it.”
“No! I love him! I want him back!” she cried louder.
“Get over him, Trixie. It won’t do you any good to keep holding onto him.”
“He’s not coming back. That Rachelle girl bewitched him and took him away from me! I’ll never forgive her!” Her sobs were becoming more and more frantic by the second.
“Trix, calm down. Forget about him.”
More cries.
“He doesn’t love me anymore. He wants someone like Rachelle Harlow. I’m not worthy.”
“Trixie…”
“I don’t want to live anymore. I want to die. I want to forget everything and die…”
“No! No, Trix! Don’t think that way. I’ll go home now, you hear me? Wait for me, okay? Let’s talk about it. Don’t do anything rash.”
She hung up.
By the time the door to their home opened, it was too late. Trixie was already lying on the floor by her bed, covered in blood. Her heart was pierced with a kitchen knife.
“No. No, no, no. NO! Trixie! Please! Don’t die on me, sister. Please!”
A burst of bright light penetrated the scene then everything went red then black.
This nightmare again.
I’m sorry, Trix. I shouldn’t have gone to the party. I could have saved you.
“I’m so sorry.”
And it was the first sound that was heard that morning inside a condominium unit overlooking Heart Lake.