Chapter 44: The Aftermath

BLADE stares blankly outside. He felt he had lost something important. "Something's not right," he said to himself.

With a trembling hand, he took his phone out and started to enter her phone number from his memory. Before he could press the call button, he noticed an item on the passenger seat. It's her second phone. She left it in his car. His brows furrowed, sighed deeply and his grip on the steering wheel tightened. Now there's no way of contacting her. He feels frustrated and confused about why he feels that way.

He stayed in the parking lot hoping that she would return. Wishing she was out there in the dark corner of the street and would write down his plate number, stalk him, and reach out to him again.

*

SIEVE walks to the bus terminal, ignoring the pouring rain and the withering look she's getting from the group of people seeking shelter from the rain. Shortly, she reached Willowbrook station. When she entered the vehicle that was bound for Los Angeles, the bus driver stared at her. Sizing her up from head to foot. Her hair and clothes are drenched. She has bruises on every part of her body. She ignored his scrutinizing gaze and sat at the back, then turned on her primary phone. Soon, texts from her father and cousin arrive asking where she is. She then texts her father and tells him she’ll be staying with Luci as the bruises on her body are visible, and she doesn’t want him to know what she’d been doing.

After sending the text, the bus started moving and finally left the Willowbrook station. She stared at the mist-covered window, trying her best to see what was outside. When the bus was about to pass through the tavern, her heart started pounding. She wanted to know if he was still there.

She closes her eyes, breathes deeply to calm her nerves, then mumbles under her breath, "If you're still there, I'll do my best to find you again." She then opens her eyes and stares at the parking spot where she left him. He's no longer there.

She smiled bitterly, shook her head and slouched on her seat.

The voices in her head chanting in unison, "Everything is fine. Everything will be okay. You’re okay."

Unbeknownst to her, he had just got out of the parking lot and was driving behind the bus she was on. Still hoping to catch a glimpse of her.

-The next day-

John went to Lucian’s office to give him a summary of the business trip he attended for him. Lucian was surprised to see him since the trip was set to take a week. John then explains with an assuring tone, "The suppliers ended the meeting early, but there's nothing to be worried about. I swept them off their feet, and they gave us favorable terms."

Lucian nods in perfunctory.

"For a person who took a long vacation, you look exhausted and gloomy," John remarked while taking a seat on the sofa. "You owe me a lot." He added as he cross his arms and slouched on the couch.

He noticed that Lucian was not listening to him. "What had he even done these past 4 days? Has he spoken to Malena?" He asked himself.

After a few awkward silences, John finally asks in a low sympathetic tone, "I know this is none of my business, but your actions are a bit concerning. Have you spoken to Malena regarding the guy?"

"No!" He replies with a hint of sorrow in his voice.

"Then why are you acting like you are grieving?" John asked with a curious tone.

"I ended things with..." he did not finish his sentence as he couldn’t say her name. He still remembers what he felt when she left his car yesterday.

John felt his friend's demeanor towards the issue and did not push through the topic, he just sat and stayed quiet.

A knock from the outside interrupted their awkward silence; it was Jenny holding a document that showed the progress of the Sierra Project. He took the document, and it shows that the project is at a 90% completion rate with 4 more months to spare. He then asks, "Have you shown this to my father?"

She shook her head, then Lucian stood up to personally report it to his father. From that day till the next coming weeks, he buried himself in work, finished the Sierra Project months before the due date, and made sure it was tested multiple times.

After weeks of hard work, his body finally felt exhausted and stressed. He was lying on his bed trying to fall asleep. It'd been a month since he last slept with someone, and he felt that he needed to unload his stress, but he promised himself that Sieve would be his last sidepiece. He stares at his phone and sees it's already October 20 Friday 10:30 PM Pacific time when he checks the time in Turkey, it's Oct 21 8:30 AM. "She’s getting married in Turkey today." He said to himself.

He sighs deeply and feels frustrated. He opened an adult website and was about to touch himself but then realized he needed to find something else to do to release his stress.

He opens a browser and searches for the best hobbies that can relieve stress. The search shows meditation, breathing exercises, connecting with others and physical exercise or sports. On the list, only sports caught his attention.

He kept on searching for a sport he could enjoy till he went down to a rabbit hole of searches, then he came across underground grappling where you can watch people fight for money, and you can bet which fighter you think would win. He can see that most of the fights end with both fighters having bloodied faces. As surrendering is not an option, the fight will only stop if one of the fighters is knocked out.

"It’s like the UFC but much more dangerous," he says to himself. From that day, he started watching underground grappling. At first, it was via live broadcast, but since he became a regular, he was invited to the current venue but hasn't decided to go.