CHAPTER 15
"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving." ― Albert Einstein
YVANNE
What did just happen? Val didn't recognize me. Was he just acting, or he had amnesia or something? I really have to know what happened to him when they went to Switzerland.
I kept on thinking about how Val forgot everything about me. I better schedule an appointment with Divine as soon as I can.
As I was thinking too much about my best friend, I didn't notice that Xander and I were holding hands while walking. Oh, this is so embarrassing. I saw Xander looking at me and gave me a smirk. Wait, what was that about? Did I do something? I was just holding -
Great, I was holding his hand. What could I do? I was too preoccupied about the incident a while ago. My brain demands details. Because of it, I wasn't able to argue about him holding my hand. We stayed that way until we arrived at my favorite Ice cream Parlor. He even knew about this? Is he my stalker? Haha! Funny.
Xander was the one who lined up to give our order. We were eating like kids. Xander had drops of Ice cream on his shirt. I started to laugh at him. He stared at me as if I committed a crime and he's the victim. What did I do wrong now? Xander pulled a handkerchief and slowly wiped something from my cheeks. After he wiped it all off, he chuckled.
He kept on chuckling as if he didn't have drips of ice cream on his shirt. Because his shirt was such a mess, I decided to drag him to the nearest fashion boutique and used my card to buy him one.
While we were on our way home, everyone stared at us. I even heard some say that "Hey! They' look good together. The guy's so handsome and the girl's stunning. A couple matched from heaven."
Xander leveled his head to mine and whispered. "Babe, you heard that?"
I replied with a nod and smiled at him.
"I told you so. We do look good together and we're gonna be a perfect couple."
It was just a few blocks away before we reached my pad when I heard my phone ring.
"Who is it?" Xander asked.
"It's an unregistered number."
"You want me to get it for you?"
"Your call."
Xander took my phone and answered the phone call.
"Hello? Who's this?"
"Xandie! It's me, Divine. Please give the phone to Yvanne. We have something to talk about."
"What about?"
"It's girl talk. Just give it to her."
Xander let out a sigh, looked at me and handed me the phone while saying. "Yvanne, it's Divine."
"Jinja?" (진 자? )
"Yoboseyo? Divine-shi Unni?" (여보세요 ? Divine-시언니 ?)
(Hello? Divine?)
"Annyeong Hasimnikka, nui."(안녕하십니까, 늬 )
(Good Evening Yvanne!)
"Waeyo?" (왜요?)
(Why?)
"I'm going to ask when the most convenient time for us to meet is."
"Oh, I'm kind of busy right now. Maybe Monday next week?"
"Okay, I'll call you by then. Annyeong nui!" (안녕늬 !)
"Okay."
"Get home safely with my best friend, Arasso?" (아라쏘 ?)
"Arassoyo." (아라쏘요)
I ended the call and faced Xander. His facial expression was blank. I can't interpret if he's even feeling something. What's with him so suddenly?
"What was that girl talk about?"
"Nothing. She was asking when we'll meet again. She said she misses me. What's with the straight face?"
"I thought that you were talking about boys."
"Haha! Jinja, Oppa?" (하하! 진 자오빠? )
(Haha! Really now Xander?)
"What?"
"Oh, actually we were talking about a guy she said she'll be giving my number to. Wait, yes! She said that the guy's such a hottie."
After I said those words, his face became scary. Uh-oh! Wrong move Yvanne.
"Oh come on, give me your phone I'll call Divine."
"Ani, I was just kidding around. You should've seen your face a while ago. It's like you were really gonna kill me."
"What face?"
"The face of a jealous guy. Haha! Priceless."
And there we went, laughing to our hearts' content while walking to my house. This day was so much fun. I wish it'll be like this everyday.
"You want to go ahead? I'll be fine here. I'm just a few blocks away."
Phew, that was close. I can't tell her about this now. What if she misunderstands? I can't even take the thought of her turning away from me.
YVANNE
While walking, I decided to tell everything to Xander. The reason why I kept looking at the window every night before I slept, why I tend to cry every time I see a Mother and a daughter happily walking across the park while holding hands - The reason why I was crying the day we met.
"I have to tell you something." I said as I faced him.
"What about?" He replied, but I can see the difference in his expression.
"Promise me that you'll understand no matter what?" I asked him for assurance that he would try to internalize it as normally as he could.
"I promise that I'll understand your thoughts and opinions. So, what is it about?"
Then I told him everything. While muttering my story, I felt like memories of the past were haunting me. I had flashbacks of Mom and I eating pancakes together, we even made a pancake tower topped with a multitude of strawberries with a hint of our favorite chocolate syrup. The day when Mom baked me a birthday cake which almost burned down the whole house; but after it, we laughed to our hearts content. I started to miss mom even more.
While I was going through the details, I saw Xander's face went blank. I had a feeling that either he was shocked as I was, or he's hiding something from me.
I was in the middle of telling him the details when he suddenly pulled a handkerchief from his pants and handed it to me. Oh! Was I crying? Because of too much pain, I didn't realize I did until Xander handed me his hanky.
"Sh*t" Xander mumbled. Though it was more like a whispered sound, I still heard it clearly.
"What? Were you saying something?" I asked.
"Ani, I just remembered that I left my term paper at home. It's due tomorrow." He replied without even looking straight into my eyes.
"You want to go ahead? I'll be fine here. I'm just a few blocks away."
I didn't mind his reply anymore and turned my back against him. I only took me two steps when Xander pulled my arm and hugged me tight.
I thought that all was fine since mom passed away several months ago, but it wasn't. The pain still remains inside my heart. I didn't even notice I was crying my heart out while leaning on Xander's chest. I felt numb. It was like a huge part of me was ripped off and I had to be injected morphine just to neutralize the pain.
We stayed that way until Xander faced me to him and wiped all my tears away. He held me close and wrapped his arms around me. It only lasted a minute, but it felt like forever. When I finally stopped, I looked at Xander and let out a sigh. I was so exasperated due to crying my heart out, but it still wasn't enough to let out all the pain in my heart. I was only pretending that I was strong, that I needed nobody to comfort me. First was Dad, who left me when I was still young; Mom who just died a few months ago; Ryan who doesn't even recognize me now. I thought I could handle it all by myself, but I thought wrong. I can't pretend no more.