Maine squeezed her eyes shut as she felt sunlight filter in the room through the window.
Goddammit. Was it morning already? Her head was pounding like she just finished a round in the octagon with Rhonda Rousey. Five more minutes she said to herself as she snuggled deeper under the blanket. It feels too comfy to get up right now.
Wait a minute, she thought. Sunlight? My blinds are always down. Who opened them?
She opened one eye and was jarred awake by the unfamiliar surroundings. She took in the room around her noting that she was alone and the door was closed.
Where am I? She stared up at the ceiling, slightly panicking at waking up in a strange place. She shifted on the bed, her face brushing the pillow. And why does this pillow smell like...smell like...RJ?
Then it dawned on her. She had fallen asleep on him during their session last night.
"God," she groaned, "I hope I didn't say anything stupid or embarrassing."
She sat up and looked around. He must have put her in his bed.
She looked down. Ok, she was still fully clothed so nothing unexpected happened last night.
Disappointed? Were you really expecting something to happen? She chided herself for her thoughts.
Of course nothing happened. Didn't she recall telling him that maybe they weren't meant to be together? What she said was like pushing a big stop sign in his face.
And what did he tell her? Ugh! Come on Maine think! Why was it so hard to recall what he said? Was she really that plastered last night?
She covered her face as a thought crossed her mind. Good grief! I hope I didn't try anything on him and he ended up rejecting me. Because that would just be so embarassing!
Wait... she said to herself as she racked her brains, I think I might be remembering something. Wait...oh...yeah...he had...he had told her something about 3 years na syang moving on or something along those lines.
She took a moment to process this new realization. Was that it? Everything tied neatly in a bow?
Pero... Bakit may kirot? Dito sa bandang dibdib. She sighed and closed her eyes. Pati ulo ko parang pinupukpok.
She opened her eyes and shifted to the side of the bed. As she turned, her line of sight fell on the glass of water at the bedside table. She made a move to pick it up and noticed the note with an Advil beside it.
Maine,
Here's something to help you when you wake up. Hindi ko alam bakit nagpalunod ka sa alak kanina but I hope you're feeling better na.
Maine clicked her tongue. Hay ayan na naman. Napakabait mo talaga RJ.
All his actions just made her feel worse... How things didn't work out between the two of them because of her. How sorry she was for how she treated him before. How obvious it was that she didn't deserve a guy like him.
God! If I could go back and change things I would, she thought. But I can't. All I can do is live with the aftermath of my actions and prevent things from getting worse.
She rubbed her forehead and prayed silently. But Lord maybe, just maybe, things could be different. I don't know. Baka pwede naman bigyan mo ako ng sign. Something, anything that would help me figure things out.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a ring tone coming from the side table. She looked over and saw it was coming from the phone beside hers. She peeked at the phone and saw Louise's name appear on the screen.
"Shit!" she hissed looking at the door, half expecting RJ to burst in. She wasn't ready to talk to him just yet.
She heaved a sigh of relief when the ringing stop and no one had entered.
She scrambled to get out of the bed when the text alert tone went off.
Her curiosity got the better of her and she looked at the RJ's phone. She was able to get a glimpse of the message before the screen went back to black.
Louise
Chard? Are you still asleep? Sorry if I bothered you. I'm just too excited about the surprise you were telling me about yesterday. Can't wait to see you tonight. 😘
Maine pursed her lips. She wouldn't be my first choice for you RJ, but what do I know?
She suddenly froze. What if this was the sign? It wasn't the sign she hoped for but maybe that's because she wasn't supposed to get what she wanted.
Ok, she said to herself. I think that's my cue to leave. She hoped she could get past RJ without having to talk with him. She still wasn't sure what she was going to say to him.
She gulped down the Advil to help with her headache and grabbed her phone shoving it into her pocket.
Maine found her shoes beside the bed, placed them on and slowly made her way to the door, opening it carefully. She had just taken a few quiet steps out of the room when the sight of RJ sleeping soundly on the sofa greeted her.
She smiled at the sight of him then turned around, heading back into his room and taking the comforter off the bed.
She cautiously approached the couch and draped the blanket over his sleeping form.
Maine sat herself on the rug nearby and studied his face.
"RJ," she whispered. "What are you doing to me? Last night made me realize that despite what I've been telling myself all this time, I haven't let go of you. I don't think I've gotten over you, over us."
She hugged her knees to her chest, "Hindi ko masabi sa iyo dahil parang ang kapal naman ng mukha ko after all that I've done to you."
"Tingnan mo, parang ang tanga ko. I can only say it to you now. When you're asleep and can't hear me."
"Pero, siguro it's for the best. Because it looks like you've moved on." She mused thinking about the text from Louise.
"I think I got my sign." she said, a sad smile on her face.
Maine got up and scribbled a note on a piece of paper...
RJ,
I'm sorry about Last night.
One of these days we'll look back at things & laugh.
thank you Very much for Everything.
hope you'll Understand why i couldn't wait for you to wake up before leaving.
💛Maine
and left it on Richard's coffee table.
She quietly made her way to the door and showed herself out.
She dug into her pockets as she made her way towards the elevator. Her left hand pulled out her car keys and her right hand busied itself with her phone.
After 5 rings she heard him pick up.
"Maine?" he sounded like he just woke up.
"Hi. I know it's early in the morning and you have to go to work but do you think I can come over?"
"Sure." he said, his voice tired.
"I want to talk about things if it's ok with you."
There was a short pause, then he answered, "Yeah. I've been wanting to hear from you. I've been waiting."
"Sorry it took a while, but I figured things out.", she stepped inside the elevator. "I'll see you soon."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I had to recover after writing the last chapter, that's why the update took a little longer than I wanted.
Plus life got and is still getting in the way. =)
Overwhelmed by your comments on the last chapter. Thank you very much.
Oh and I am putting up my new fic: Of Suitcases and Other Things
Please do check it out. It's an AU fic of maichard. So I get to write about how they meet and stuff. Something new for me. =)
As for this fic, hold on. There's the ending but there's also an epilogue. So anything can happen. =)
Much love for all the reads, votes and comments.