Chapter 17
An insistent knock on the door woke me. I looked at my phone to check for the time.
11:00 AM?! My lock screen was full of notifications – texts and missed calls from Hailey.
Axel sleepily stood by my door, rubbing his eyes. "Someone's at the door."
"Yeah, I'll get it." I stood a little too fast but kept on walking to the front door, ignoring the bout of blinding faintness.
I looked through the peephole and saw Hailey tapping her foot in annoyance, "Lauren!" she grunted then knocked again.
Oh God, I'm in trouble. I exhaled deeply then opened the door.
"What took you so long?" she stormed inside my apartment with her arms crossed against her chest.
"Hi?" guilt spreading across my face, I chuckled nervously, "I'm sorry, I was asleep."
She stopped in her tracks when she saw Axel walk out of my bedroom.
Well, he hasn't really been inside my bedroom, he was just by the door, but he's walking from the bedroom door and I know what it must've looked like for Hailey.
She turned back to look at me, eyes wide in shock, speechless.
I rubbed my right eyebrow and exhaled noisily. Another drama, here we go.
"It's not what it looks like," I explained.
"Mm-hm?" She nodded; mischief sprawled across her face.
"Hey!" Axel walked over to us. "Hailey, right?" he offered her his hand, which Hailey shook eagerly.
She smiled in gritted teeth, "Hi, Axel! Good to see you. In here... at Lauren's apartment..."
"Uh... I'm getting the feeling you don't want me here..."
"No! No... silly." She waved her hand as if it's nothing then raised her brow suggestively at me.
"For the love of God, Hailey. Nothing happened!" I waved over them, going to the kitchen.
Hailey followed me and Axel beelined.
"Alright, what are you doing here?" I said, taking the pitcher out of the fridge.
"Is that how you treat your best friend?"
I shrugged, pouring water into a glass.
She looked at Axel, "Do you hear this girl? What am I doing here?"
I put the pitcher down then massaged my temples, "Hailey, please."
"You know what? I don't care. I'm an open-minded person. Your hook-ups are your business. I just want you to tell me about them, no judgment. But today? Really? Not even a warning?"
"I would warn you if I knew you were coming. And for the record, this is not a hook-up!"
"It's true. Nothing happened." Axel interjected.
Hailey ignored him, "You forgot I'd be here?" she scoffed, "I'm here because Lola's coming. Do you not remember that?"
"What?" I said, stunned.
"Uh-huh!"
"Oh my God, is it the 26th?" I fumbled through my phone to check the calendar.
"No, it's not." She replied in a sarcastic tone. "And for someone who's very meticulous about planning, I'm sorry to say this, but this is very uncharacteristic of you." she sighed, "I don't know what is happening between the two of you," she waved her index finger side to side, pointing at me and Axel, "but do you really want Lola to meet him? What would she say?" she chuckled breathily, "No offense, Axel."
"Hey! What is wrong with me?" Axel asked rhetorically.
She scoffed in amusement, "Oh, absolutely nothing." Hailey rolled her eyes then looked back to me, awaiting my response.
"Yeah, you're right, I wouldn't want her to meet Axel." I murmured.
"Wow, I've never felt so unwanted." He said then pursed his lips.
A knock on the door made all of us freeze.
I looked at Hailey with wide eyes, holding my breath. She looked over the door. I walked quietly over the peephole.
"It's Lola," I whispered.
Hailey made an I-told-you-so face. I ran my hands through my hair in frustration.
"Who's Lola?" Axel whispered, clueless.
I smoothed my hair, exhaled a breath then opened the door. "Hi, Lola!" I greeted.
She greeted back with a hug, "Oh, I've missed you, apo!"
She released me, "And Hailey!"
"Hi, Lola!" Hailey greeted, walking over and bringing Lola to a hug then took Lola's hand and put it on her forehead. A bless. I almost forgot. I did the same.
"And..." Lola's forehead creased. "Uh... I'm pretty sure my memory's still intact." She nodded at both Hailey and me with a light chuckle.
"Who are you, Hijo?"
"Hi, um..." Axel started, unsure of what to call Lola. "I'm Axel." He offered her his hand but retracted it swiftly as he shook his head slightly. He took the back of her hand and placed it on his forehead, just like what Hailey and I did.
"You look familiar, Axel. Did you go to High School with Lauren and Hailey?"
"Sadly, no."
"I could've sworn I already saw you somewhere."
"That you may have."
Hailey and I looked at each other, watching Lola and Axel in their own little bubble. "Uh, Lola meet Axel, Axel meet my Lola Ginny. Lola is Tagalog for Grandmother if you don't know."
"Yes, but she can never pronounce it right. It's Lola." Lola said, enunciating the word properly.
Axel's brows shot upwards, "Your Grandmother? But she doesn't look old enough to have grandkids!"
"Oh," Lola chuckled in delight then swatted Hailey's arm, "This kid's such a bolero! I like him already." She giggled.
I felt my eyes roll to the back of my head.
"Hi, Mrs. Ginny." He beamed, charming his way into my Lola's heart.
"Oh please, call me Lola. Are you Lauren's boyfriend, by the way?"
My eyes widened in surprise. "No!" I said in a surprisingly loud tone.
They all looked at me in question.
"Axel is just a boy." I continued.
"And a friend." Axel smiled.
I glared at him.
"And he was just leaving," I said grabbing Axel by the arm.
"Oh? But why? Do you have somewhere to be, Axel?"
"Yes!"
"No."
We said in unison.
"What? Yes." I insisted.
Lola stared at us, confused.
"No. Actually, my schedule's clear for today." He grinned, showing off his bright teeth. I squeezed his arm in warning. He smiled, masking his little wince.
"Well, stay! Any friend of my granddaughter is welcome. We're going to have lunch somewhere, I'm sure you'd like to come with us."
"Oh, definitely! I would love to." He replied immediately.
"Uh... I don't think that's a good idea, Lola." I said, keeping my stance.
"Lauren, when did I ever teach you to be impolite?" Lola snapped.
What? I laughed nervously, "Never." my voice quivering.
She nodded approvingly but not without distaste.
"Thanks, Lola." Axel said with a smile then turned to me, "You still have my clothes from last time, yeah?" he smiled innocently to me.
Hailey's mouth opened in shock.
I closed my eyes to try and suppress my anger. I swear I'm gonna kill him.
I looked over at Lola who's clearly waiting for my answer.
"Yeah." I forced a smile. "I'll give them to you. I just need to find it in my room."
Lola nodded approvingly. Since when did Axel have the power to turn my own grandmother against me? I mean, Lola's not even questioning why I have his clothes!
"Actually, I need Axel to help me look for it. Would you excuse us for a moment?" I grabbed him by the wrist and whisked him away to my room.
Hailey assisted Lola to the living room.
"Before anything, I want to thank you for letting me stay."
"Save it. We need to talk." I said closing the door behind us.
He raised his brows in curiosity, "Okay. Closed doors." a smirk formed on his lips.
"Oh, come on, get your mind off the gutter! What are you doing?"
"Apparently not helping you look for my clothes."
I rolled my eyes, "Not that. I mean what are you doing with my Lola? You can't spend the day with us."
"Why not? She practically invited me and I don't have anything to do."
"There's a difference, Axel. She invited you because you said you don't have anything to do."
"Well, it's the truth!"
"Well, that's just it. Just because you don't have anything to do, doesn't mean you can just barge in into my life like that. We agreed on 5 dates, just that. Just me. Not with my family. I don't want any of them to be attached to you because that's all there is. That's all we have. 5 dates."
His resolve faded, "Wow, you make it sound so bad." his eyes never reaching mine.
"Hey, I'm sorry if that hurt but you have to understand..."
He paused for a while then looked at me in a straight-face, "Alright, I'll leave. But can I at least have a quick shower first? I don't want to be seen, just in case, in public in last night's clothes."
I nodded, "Yeah, sure. Um, you know where the bathroom is. Let me just get your clothes." I walked over to my cabinet and grabbed the garment cover with his clothes inside. "Here."
He took it from me, "Thanks."
We both exited my bedroom and I stood by the door as I watched Axel silently walk straight to the bathroom.
Great, now I feel guilty.
I walk towards the living room where Lola and Hailey are sitting side by side.
"How's Josh, by the way?" Lola asked Hailey.
"He's great but very busy. He's said he's sorry he can't come to see you."
Lola nodded. "It's alright."
"Hey, Lola..." I started.
"Yes, darling?"
"Where's Noelle? I thought she'd come with you."
"Oh, it's nothing. Your sister had to cancel last minute."
"What? Why? She didn't even text me."
"Uh, well, she said Harry was called to the hospital. There's an emergency. You know how doctors are. Apparently, they didn't call for a babysitter because Harry thought the substitute doctor was enough but the patient was insistent that he'll be the one to attend."
"Oh, that sucks. Well, maybe Noelle's just very busy that's why she hasn't called me."
She just nodded, "You know Xanthippe has begun to be a little handful ever since she learned how to walk."
I chuckled, "Yeah, Noelle sent me videos. I can't wait to see her again."
Time flew as Lola, Hailey, and I catch up. We talked about how things were back in North Carolina, my new job, and where to eat for lunch. Grandad Facetimed us, or Lola rather. We just happen to be with her. It's not even 24 hours and he miss her already. Unfortunately, he can't come to New York because all the city-walk can do his hip a number.
"Oh, there you are, Axel," Lola said.
I looked over to Axel and saw him in the silk burgundy shirt and black denim pants with the brown jacket on his left arm. The guy's clearly a liar. I look nowhere better than him when I wore that.
"Yeah, I just took a shower. I thought it would remove Lauren's scent on me, but it turned out I smelled more like her."
My eyes widen in shock.
He sniffed in an attempt to smell his hair, "I have to say, I don't think I've ever encountered a cinnamon-scented shampoo before."
I may have frozen for a second there but I stood from the couch the moment I regained my composure.
"Will you excuse us for a moment?" I said to Hailey and Lola but my eyes are laser-focused on Axel James. If looks can just kill.
Axel raised his brow smugly, knowing full well what he just did. Oh, you're really testing me.
I walked to the bedroom with Axel following suit.
I closed the door slowly, focusing on the doorknob, in an attempt to calm my nerves. But it went haywire when I saw Axel's not-an-ounce-of-remorse face.
"What the hell is that?" I hissed, in fear of my Grandmother hearing me from the other room.
"What? I just said I smelled like you because I slept here."
"But the way you said it! And in front of my Grandmother!" I shook my head in disbelief. "Do you really take pleasure in tormenting me?"
"Of course not, but I think you would take pleasure in me tormenting you."
"Excuse me?"
"You know..." he pouted then wiggled his brows suggestively.
I scoffed and made a face, "You're repulsive!"
He smiled cheekily, "You love it."
"You're unbelievable."
"Oh, believe me, I'm real." He moved closer to me, smelling so much like cinnamons. "Do you remember the game?"
"What?"
"It's still on. I'm gonna make you fall for me, you know."
I snorted in amusement; the ego of this guy is through the roof. "That's never gonna happen."
He just chuckled lightly then smiled at me, moving closer.
"Stop it!"
"Stop what?" he took one more step, acting all innocent.
"Moving closer!"
"Why? Is it doing things to you?" he took another step, placing his hands on the door, trapping me.
"You wish." I turned the doorknob to get away from him. I tried to move under his arms but his weight pushed the door even more.
We both fell out of balance and he toppled over me.
I grunted in pain. My back.
I looked to my right and saw the horror on my Grandmother's face.
Great, I devised my own demise.
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GLOSSARY:
Lola - Grandmother
Apo - Grandchild
Hijo - Boy
Tagalog - one of the major dialects in the Philippines
Bolero - Bluffer, specifically used to someone who you obviously know is just humoring you