Chapter 27 — Party Crasher

Confusion and utter anger ran through my whole being as I slowly headed back into the restaurant. The phone already inside my pocket, yet the words Mom spoke on the phone continued to ring in my ears. A million things rushed and circled my head, trying to find the answer to my current dilemma.

To stay and be with Aurelius, which is precious time, or to go and fetch my mother at the airport for god knows why.

Why is she even here? Wasn’t she back at that awfully boring place? Why is she here? Is she really being serious right now? Today’s not April 1st and she’s not the type to prank people. For fuck’s sake, WHY is she here?!

“Alex, are you okay?”

Blinking twice, my face went slightly red at the realization that I merely stood behind Aurelius’ seat until he noticed me. Embarrassed beyond relief, I quickly sat down and remained still for a few seconds. Deliberating to go or call my mother again for clarification, I bit my lower lip out of frustration.

But she doesn’t like to be asked to say things twice. She’ll grow annoyed and that’s the last thing I want to happen.

“Alex. Alex, are you all right?"

“I-I’m fine…” I replied softly, tapping my fingers on the table, weighing my options. However, the sound of tapping just irritated me further so I immediately stopped. My mood dropped faster than my grades in a lazy, tiring semester. “Something just came up.”

“Is it that urgent?”

Heaving a sigh, I shrugged and began to ramble. “I-I don’t know! I don’t know what to do. It sounds urgent and all but what if it’s just a joke? But she’s not the type to prank people and does these crazy stunts. Making her angry isn’t the best solution, yet I’m already enjoying my time here—”

“You can go.”

Expecting him to coax me into staying, I blinked a few times before cocking my head to the side in confusion. “W-what? Uh, I thought this date was something…” Catching myself close to complaining and rambling once more, I bit my lip and looked away sheepishly. Despite how fast I caught myself slipping, Aurelius had quicker ears. Which made me think how this man is either eavesdropping on gossip as a pastime of his or just has good hearing.

“You don’t want to go?” He inquired with a cheeky grin that made me want to bury myself and never see a single human being ever again. “Could you repeat that again?”

“N-no.” I rolled my eyes and folded my arms across my chest. “As I said, I don’t know if I should go or not. I don’t want to leave all of a sudden without expressing my gratitude.”

“Gratitude, huh…” he propped his hand under his chin, pretending to look very troubled. “I guess you could, nah… that won’t work. You’ll surely not agree to it.”

“What? What is it?” I protruded, not wanting to leave without giving him compensation for ruining the night that was solely dedicated to us. “I’m sure I can do it… as long as it doesn’t involve donating organs and stuff.” Making sure that he was listening to the last part, I grew quiet and waited for his response, which thankfully came right away.

“W-what? No, that’s not what I want you to do. Why do you think I would need an organ?” Aurelius laughed while shaking his head at my exaggerated thoughts. “I’ll tell you what I want when we see each other again.”

“B-but what about the food we just ordered?”

“I’ll have them pack it up.”

“The payment—”

“I’ll take care of it.”

Just as I was about to add more inquiries on what he wanted me to do, my phone once again rang, and this time I had to go. Mom’s name flashed urgently on my screen, demanding to be answered. Lingering my gaze on his comforting smile, eyes telling me that it was all right, I gathered my things and left.

“He’ll be fine, he’ll be fine, he’ll be fine.” I repeatedly chanted to myself, guilty that I had to turn my back on what was supposed to be a great evening. I would never have thought that this day would actually happen in my whole life. In fact, befriending one of Aiden’s friends was never in my plans. To keep to myself and never fall in love again. That was the plan after Desmond happened.

But here I am, enjoying the company of a man who is far from my usual interests towards people in general.

As they say, when life gives you lemons, you either make lemonade or sell them. Not all lemons are in good shape and not all lemons are disposable. Some can be used for various reasons other than what they were intended for. Whatever you have and whatever is given to you, it is indeed out of our hands.

What’s up to us is how we’re going to use and make the best of it.

“Hello? Mom, I’m on my way to the airport now.”

» — ✣ — «

Taking in a deep breath, I hoisted Mom's last luggage up and panted as if I ran two thousand miles once I reached the door. Peeking in from the front door, I could see her observing every corner of the apartment as she mumbled to herself.

Thank god I decided to clean the apartment… she would raise hell if it were as trashed as it was the other week.

“Alex, when will you go and get groceries? Your fridge is almost empty.” She voiced out her complaints, rummaging through the unopened packed lunch I made last time that would probably go bad in the morning. She must have sniffed the blue cheese sitting on the small plate and took a step back at how foul it was.

“I’ll probably go tomorrow afternoon,” I replied softly as I rolled the suitcase inside before closing the door and locking it. “What do you need other than food? Do you think we need more detergent?”

She shook her head. “There’s no need to buy detergent, but you could buy more meat. You look so thin, are you even eating well here?”

I didn’t bother to answer and head straight to my room. The bag of stuffed toys didn’t catch her attention, yet. Hiding the teddy bears under the bed, I hurriedly went straight to the kitchen and disposed of the paper cups and leftovers after a quick takeout at the nearest Chinese restaurant. My tastebuds didn’t dislike the oriental flavors, but they were craving what Aurelius and I were supposed to eat.

“Alex, is there something wrong?”

I caught myself staring into space and stammered out an answer. “Y-yeah, just a bit sleepy.”

Should I ask her why she’s here? Maybe it would be a bit too rude considering how she just arrived and is obviously looking for the nearest bed to crash on.

“We should sleep. I need to sleep. Where’s Elise’s old room?”

Maybe tomorrow.