Chapter 17: Chapter Sixteen

Athena ''Rome?!'' My eyes widened when he said the destination. Alex furrows his eyebrows, but he quickly covers it up with a smirk and ends up being a grin. I inhale as much as I can, preventing myself from bursting out in anger. Oh wait, should I be angry or should I be happy? 

He rubs the back of his neck, biting his lower lip, ''Well... it's only for three days because I'm busy with training.'' He ends up shrugging.

''But why Italy?'' I point out with my index finger. I look down, massaging my temples. This isn't calming me down. From all the places in the world, he chose Italy. Freaking Italy.

''It's just an eight-hour flight,'' Alex mutters under his breath. 

''Exactly.'' I bite my lower lip, holding my chin, ''When are we going?'' I raise an eyebrow at him. 

Alex's grin went wide instantly, ''Actually—'' He lifts his hand, looking down at his wristwatch, ''Now.'' 

My eyes went wide once more, ''Now?'' I repeat. He is pushing me by the waist, slowly making me head toward his car. I try my best to stop walking, but my legs obey his order, ''What do you mean now?'' 

''It means now.'' He rolls his eyes, opening the door for me. 

''B—but, clothes?'' I step inside, hitting my head in the process. I groan, ''Fuc—'' He closes the door before I could finish cursing. Rubbing my head slowly. God, it took me a while to realize that I hit hard on the door. 

Alex steps in afterward, starting the engine.

''Alex,'' I call out his name.

He starts to drive away, ''What?'' He answers after staring at him for like ten seconds. 

''How about clothes? I didn't even pack anything.'' I say, still rubbing the pain on my forehead. My head is hurting like a bitch from the pain, but I'm sure it'll soothe down in a few, ''Oi,'' I slap onto his chest, after finding out that he's ignoring me, ''I'm asking you so answer me.'' 

Clenching his jaw, he slaps my chest back before glancing in my direction—slapping my chest, which means slapping my breasts. My eyes widen at the sudden contact, and I end up staring at him longer than I thought, ''Y—you didn't just do that.'' 

''Oh, I just did that.'' I see a taunting smirk appearing on his lips. 

I groan before throwing my head back, hitting my head on the window instead, ''Damn it, what the hell!'' I shout to myself, ''It hurts!'' I end up rubbing the back of my head and my forehead. 

Alex is laughing at me, but he isn't paying any attention to me at all. He's such a bipolar. One moment he acts all nice, and the next, he acts like a pain in the ass, ''Oh yeah, which one? Your boobs or your head?'' He spats.

My mouth hangs open as I lay my back on the seat. 

''Close your mouth, princess. It's unattractive.'' He adds. 

I close my mouth in an instant, pressing them hard against each other into a thin line. Gripping hard onto the seat, trying my best not to let my palm slaps across him in the face. That would have been perfect. I smile to myself, imagining me slapping him and kicking him in the groin. 

Pleasures.

My head turns to glare at him, and I find him playing with his fingers on the steering wheel according to the beat on the radio. I breathe in, pulling the seat belt tightly before locking it. Not really wanting to die. Not until I manage to kick his groin. 

She's Gone by Steelheart is on the radio, which causes him to move his head side by side, enjoying the rhythm. His right hand then moves up to slowly mess with his hair. 

''I feel like killing someone,'' I say bluntly through my gritted teeth. My eyes never leaving his profile. 

Alex furrows his eyebrow, turning to look at me for a few seconds before looking back at the road, ''How so?'' His hand then moves down to slowly rub his lower lip using his index finger. I find everything he does as attractive.

''I would love to slice his balls and serve it for dinner.'' I smile evilly before turning to look at the road.

He laughs, ''You would actually eat my balls?'' I know he's smirking at me, and I can feel that he wants to keep on teasing me. I grip harder onto the seat, forcing myself to turn and look back at him.

''Oh baby, it's not for me. It's for you.'' I put a hand on my heart, nodding my head. 

His smirk fell, and he immediately turns around to look the other way. The chorus starts to play just in time, which causes him to grip harder onto the steering wheel. Alex just drives faster, but I'm not complaining. I have always love fast drives. It makes me feel like we are rushing through everything. 

Without me knowing, we have arrived at the airport. Alex found a parking spot, and he immediately parks his car. Turning off his engine, he locks the steering and steps out of the car in an instant. He slams the door behind him. 

I step out to find him stretching his muscles, but his back is facing me. He turns to peek before walking ahead toward the entrance. I narrow my eyes and quickly run to catch up with him. 

''You know, a short person here.'' I wave unknowingly beside him, ''So slow down the pace.'' 

Alex stops, and I stop after finding that he is not beside me. I turn to him, ''What now?'' I raise an eyebrow before crossing my arm. 

From his serious expression, a smile instantly curves upon his lips. I look at him as if he has lost his mind, but he just smiles and walks toward me. He grabs me by the hand, our fingers entwined. I let him do it because it feels nice. I love how his hands are always warm. 

''Alex, you bipolar?'' I keep one of my eyebrows raised. 

He chuckles, ''Don't make me slap that—'' A voice was heard from behind, and he stops talking. We both turn around to see a little girl falls to the ground. She had slipped her backpack with her. She fell headfirst. Nobody came to her, and just as Alex is reading my mind, we both look at each other. 

The little girl starts to cry as she tries to stand up. I look at Alex, who just stares at the little girl. I roll my eyes before making my way toward her. She looks up at me—her eyes red and buffy. I pick her up by the waist so that she would be standing on her feet.

''Hey, you alright?'' I ask her as I slowly check her elbows, ''Hurt anywhere? Where are your mommy and daddy?'' 

I feel a presence beside me, and when I look up, I see Alex looking down at me. I ignore him as I keep on looking at the little girl. She has blonde hair with light blue eyes. She sniffs before looking up at Alex, ''I lost them.'' She replies, her voice was so little that it breaks my heart.

''What do you mean you lost them?'' Alex questions this time. 

I am down on my knees so that I am the same height as her.

''I can't find mommy.'' She starts to cry again, rubbing her eyes as tears start to fall. I glare at Alex, but he just gives me a-what-did-I-do-wrong look. I pull the girl slowly for a hug, and she holds tightly onto my neck. I didn't mind if her tears would wet my shirt. 

''What's your name, baby?'' I ask her. 

She sniffs, ''Giselle.'' 

''Giselle?'' I smile as I fix her hair, ''That's a very beautiful name.'' My hands move up to wipe her tears, and she smiles a little, ''How old are you?'' 

''Four.'' Giselle bite onto her lower lip, her eyes open wide. 

''Well, my name's Athena, and I'm going to help you find your mommy, okay?'' She nods, and I stand up, holding onto her hand. 

Alex is looking at me as he puckers his lip, ''How are we going to find her mommy?'' He crosses his arm, looking around, ''How can she even leave her daughter walking all by herself?'' I hear him complain, but I just ignore him.

''Come on, Giselle.'' I mutter, and she follows me when we start walking toward the departure gate, ''You came here only with mommy?'' I look down and see that she is playing with her necklace, ''What's that?'' I ask.

''Daddy gave me this.'' She mutters lightly.

I bend down once more, ''That's beautiful.'' I say lightly as I touch the necklace. She is smiling at me, showing off her lovely white teeth. When I look up, Alex is standing with his arms crossed. He is looking at me in... some sort of expression. I clear my throat, avoiding his eye. 

''Let's go to the information counter, we'll make a report.'' We walk side by side. I hear Alex following us from behind, and it doesn't matter if he doesn't want to come along. I'll just help this little girl. Then I'll come to find him. I turn around, ''Alex, you can just stay if you don't want to come along.'' 

''Whatever.'' He shrugs.

I roll my eyes as we keep on walking to the information counter. People passing by all look at Alex and me, but they look away afterward, not really paying much attention. A group of girls seems to pay more attention toward Alex as they whisper something. 

When we reach the information counter, there's nobody there. I furrow my eyebrows, ''Where could they be?'' I mutter to myself before looking around. 

Giselle is already yawning beside me as she holds onto my hand tightly. Her small fingers nicely fit in mine, ''It's okay, let's wait for a while.'' I say. 

Twenty minutes have passed, but nobody came. Alex is now playing with his phone, standing near the wall quite far from us. I sigh as I look down at Giselle. She is zoning out, still holding tightly onto her necklace. 

Giselle and I walk toward Alex. He looks up, raising an eyebrow at us, ''What happened?'' He asks.

''Nobody's there. We waited for twenty minutes already.'' I let out a deep sigh. 

Alex looks down at Giselle before bending down, ''She looks tired.'' He says to me. I look down, and I can't deny that she isn't. Her eyes has been wet and red, but it isn't from the crying, ''Do you want to get some ice cream, princess?'' He smiles at her. 

I look at him in surprise but when Giselle looks up at me, I smile at her, ''Yeah, it's okay, do you want ice cream?'' 

She nods lightly. 

Alex stands up, ''Let's go.'' He picks her up, which surprised me even more. Giselle let him but her hand are still holding tightly onto mine. Alex sees that she doesn't want to let go of my hand, so he adjusts her position on his arm. 

We walk toward the ice cream shop. When we arrive, Alex turns to ask Giselle what flavor she wants, but she has fallen asleep without me even realizing it. Her grip on my hand had loosened as she breathes calmly. I let go of her hand and wrap it around Alex's neck. 

A few people inside watch us as they say something.

''Do you think they recognize you?'' I whisper into Alex's ear, tiptoeing a little trying to reach his ear.

''I don't know, I don't think so. I don't know.'' He furrows his eyebrows. 

We walk out of the ice cream shop, looking around. 

''How are we going to find the mother?'' I sigh. I end up staring at Alex who is soothingly rubbing his hand on Giselle's back when she starts to move. I wanted to smile at the sight in front of me. He is holding her protectively—like how a father should be holding their child—he doesn't seem to realize it, but I do. 

With the same eye color, they look adorable.

Giselle's hands wrap around Alex's neck and her head falling onto Alex's shoulders, facing his neck. 

''Let's recheck the information counter.'' He replies. 

I nod and we walk to the information counter once more. There are actually two women right now. One of them is taking calls and just typing something on the computer. My eyes widen, and I immediately rush toward them. 

''Hi, um—'' I turn to find Alex standing beside me, ''We want to make a report.'' I continue.

''Alright, what kind of report?'' She looks at me and then at Alex before looking back at me once more.

''Her name is Giselle.'' I point at her, ''We found her—'' I look down at my wristwatch, ''Around forty minutes ago and she said that she lost her mother.'' 

The woman nods at me, ''Do you perhaps know her age?'' 

''She's four,'' I reply as quickly as possible.

She nods before taking up the microphone, ''A four-year-old girl named Giselle. She's wearing a pink dress with a pink flower pin on her hair—'' She goes on, and on that I don't even bother listening anymore. 

''Miss...'' She calls out for me, and I turn to look at her, ''That's all I can do; we just have to wait now.'' 

I nod at her. Alex and I end up waiting for Giselle's mother. I turn to look at Alex who is slowly patting onto Giselle's back. He is looking everywhere but me. Giselle seems to tug tightly onto his shirt and his neck. 

''Oh my god!'' We both hear a voice, and I turn around to see a woman with dark blonde hair running toward us. She is covering her mouth, and she immediately starts to cry, ''My baby.'' Her eyes locked on Giselle's figure.

Then came a man who I assume Giselle's father.

Giselle stirs in Alex's arm and she starts to open her eyes. She looks around and sees her mother's figure, ''Mommy.'' She says and her mother starts to cry even more. 

''My baby.'' She repeats before pulling me in for a hug, ''Thank you. Thank you so much, how can I repay you?'' 

We pull away, ''It's fine. She's safe now; that's all that matters.'' I smile at her and she nods before wiping her tears that had fallen on her cheeks. 

Alex puts Giselle down, and she quickly runs toward her mother. Giselle hugs her tightly and she returns the same. The father bends down to kiss her daughter on the head. 

I smile at both of them. 

''Thank you so much.'' She repeats, and I just reply with a smile.

They both walk away toward the departure gate.

Giselle suddenly turns around, looking at me. She walked toward me and bent down. She quickly gave me a peck on the kiss before smiling shyly at me. I smile at her and touches her chin. She starts to run toward her parents, waving at me. 

I wave back at her, still smiling.

Until she is out of my sight.

''I miss her already,'' I mutter as I let out a sigh. I turn to look at Alex, who is rubbing the back of his neck, but he looks at me when he notices me staring, ''She's quite heavy, aye?'' I chuckle.

He smirks, ''She is.'' Alex looks down at his wristwatch, ''You ready?'' He asks me.

''For what?'' I question him back.

''For our flight.'' He smiles widely at me, revealing his white straight teeth. 

I roll my eyes; how could I forget. 

We both walk side by side, bumping our arms together. He chuckled when I bumped too hard, and I avoid it when he tries to bump harder. We both walk toward the other gate. I don't even have to ask to know that we are riding his private jet. 

''Alexander.'' The pilot greets him as soon as we are out at the terminal. He shakes hand with Alex before smiling at me. I return the smile before we both follow behind him and head inside Alex's private jet. 

When I step inside, my eyes widen at the luxurious. Alex walk ahead in front of me, leading me inside. We walk until we reach the other side at the back, where Alex chose to sit. 

A woman with dark brown hair and light blue eyes smiles at Alex. Alex smiles back, ''How may I serve you today, Mr. Herrera?'' She then looks at me, ''Mrs. Herrera.'' 

Mrs. Herrera. I feel like I'm sinking in my seat. 

I grip awkwardly on the seat. 

Alex is turning his head to look at me, ''Water, for both of us.'' And the stewardess walks away to the back, leaving us alone.

''What's wrong?'' He raises an eyebrow at me.

I shake my head and I turn to look at the window, resting my chin on my hand.

''This is your captain speaking. We will be expecting to arrive in Rome in eight hours—'' The speaker starts to come to life, but I just sit back and close my eyes, ignoring all the noise. Without me realizing, I had fallen asleep. 

I move around, but my eyes shot open immediately when I feel something wrap around my waist. My eyes widen when I find Alex in front of me. His eyes closed tight—his chest rising up and down calmly. I blink a few times before looking around. 

We are on a bed and we both are in a room. I sigh before slowly removing Alex's hand away from my waist. I sit up straight, removing the duvet that was covering our body. I turn around to see that Alex hasn't moved a bit so I walk out toward the door. 

I look around to see that we are still in the private jet. All of the lights are on, and I can see that it's dark outside. I walk out, looking around before sitting down on one of the leather seats. I am still wearing the same clothing from before which is good, insert the sarcasm. 

I close my eyes once more, breathing out.

''Mrs. Herrera, do you need anything?'' The same stewardess from before walk toward me, a smile appear on her face.

''Oh—'' I sit up straight, biting my lower lip, ''Can I have soup and bread?'' 

''Sure.'' She replies before disappearing. 

My head turns to look out at the sky. It's beautiful outside. It's breathtaking. Even though it's dark and I can't really see anything. I turn my head, and in my surprise, I am greeted with Alex's lips on mine. He is kissing me softly. One of his hands moves up to my neck, pulling me closer. 

My eyes closed and I kiss him back.

Wait, why do I always kiss him back?! 

I open my eyes and pull away slowly. Alex opens his eyes, looking down at my lips, ''Did you have a great sleep?'' He suddenly asks. Say what.

''Um—'' I breathe in his scent as soon as he sits beside me, ''Yeah. How about you?'' 

''Sure.'' He cracks his neck. Seconds after, the stewardess came back with my soup and bread. She left quickly after asking if Alex wanted anything. He said no.

I take a bite of my bread but I started to feel uncomfortable when I see Alex is staring at me.

''Stop it, Alex,'' I mutter.

''Stop what?'' He furrows his eyebrows.

I turn to look at him, ''That.'' I point at his face.

''What? This?'' He raises an eyebrow at me, pretending to be confused.

''Yes, that!'' I groan in frustration.

Alex looks behind him, ''Wait, what? Which one?'' 

''For—'' I breathe in.

Alex cuts me off, ''Fuck's sake.'' And he smirks at me, ''That's your trademark. You always say that. You need to learn how to stop swearing.'' Then he quickly takes my bread before I could even protest; the bread has disappeared in his mouth.

''Alex!'' I shout at him.

''Shh, princess, don't shout. I'd love to hear that when you're underneath me but not now.'' Alex and I are inches apart from each other when he says that right in front of my face. He starts to chew the bread when he gives me a peck on the lip. 

I wipe my lips before crossing my arms and turn to look the other side.

Pig.