**ROSEANA**
Ric, as the gentleman that he is, opened the door for me. I don't know where he will take me. This is supposed to be a trio-friend date, but Macy ditched us.
"Should we reschedule the date?" I asked him. I watched him gently close the car door. He looked at me after. His expression turned sour.
"Today is the premiere of the movie I want to watch," he said. His fingers deftly danced through the strands of his slightly growing hair.
"I love your hair." It was too late when I realized that I had said what should have been only in my mind. A huge smile stretched across his face. He sassily rolled his eyes at me. He even pushed me slightly, which earned me a laugh.
Ric bought our movie tickets. He also brought hotdogs and drinks for me. When his purchases were complete, we entered the cinema. I didn't ask what kind of movie we were going to watch. I trusted him, which I regretted afterward when I saw the title of the movie we were going to watch.
I hastily looked at him; my eyes were throwing daggers at him. The culprit is relaxingly eating his popcorn while sitting next to me.
"What?" he innocently asked when he noticed me murdering him in my mind. His mouth was so full of food when he spoke that it nearly spilled on me.
I pointed my index finger at the cinema screen where the movie was starting. I looked at him hard. My annoyance was fueled when he reluctantly stared at me as if I were losing my mind. He followed where I was pointing my hand, and he returned his bored eyes to me again.
"What?"
I took a deep breath. Did Macy know that the movie we were going to watch was a horror? Is that the reason she didn't go with us? Why didn't she tell me? We both hate watching horror movies, as we often don't sleep well after.
"You didn't tell me we were going to watch horror." I stretched my patience. I shouldn't be angry with him. He didn't know that I get scared easily by horror movies. It is my fault because I didn't even inquire about what movie he wanted us to watch. I thought we were going to watch action movies. That's what men often like, right? I didn't expect this!
"You didn't ask," he reasoned out.
I glared at him.
"You can watch it by yourself. I'll just wait for you outside," I announced. I was about to get up to leave the cinema before the movie started, but he didn't let me.
He grabbed my arms. "Stay," he muttered. His gaze is not on me but on the screen. "It's starting."
I couldn't do anything but sit down again. I gasped violently. I just hope I can survive this movie. The show is unimaginably scary. I want to choke Ricardo for this. I feel like Macy and him united to play a prank on me.
My face is drained with color, and I'm almost out of breath while the person next to me is seriously focused on the screen. My eyes are squeezed tightly. I didn't try to open my eyes. If possible, I don't want to hear the sound effects from the movie.
When the movie ended, Ric was constantly laughing. He laughed at me. He finds my situation funny, but I find it so annoying. He invited me to watch a movie to reduce my stress, but it seemed that the stress I felt only got worse.
"Where do you want to eat?" he asked me. He is looking down at me. Why am I even associating myself with tall people?
Ric is tall, just like that person I knew. I needed to crook my head on the side so that I wouldn't have difficulty talking to him.
I shrug my shoulders. "I don't know." I sipped on my juice.
I felt his stare on me. My brows furrowed in annoyance when I saw a grin plastered on his face. I mouthed him what.
"Why don't we eat at Jollibee? I missed eating in that place.” He suggested. I stopped myself from smiling after hearing the name of my favorite fast-food restaurant. If you think about it, there is nothing special about the said restaurant. The foods aren't unique. However, it is the place, and it is the food that brings nostalgia. The said restaurant is part of the childhood of Filipinos.
I felt Ric's arm that he placed on my shoulder. My face scrunched up when I felt the weight of his arm.
"What is your arm, metal? Your arm is so heavy!" I complained to him. I tried to remove his arm from my shoulder, but he wouldn't even budge.
My lips protruded into a pout. Maybe he was burdened by his arm, so he passed its weight to me.
I was happily walking, with Ric beside me, when I felt like someone was watching me again. I can feel the stare of that person piercing into me.
I wandered my eyes around. There are many people in the mall, probably because it is Sunday and many are strolling.
I was stunned when I saw from a distance the familiar stance of a man. He was staring straight at me. His blazing orbs, which can be compared to the color of the night, are flaring with anger. I can't read his thoughts, but I am sure he is angry. Even from this distance, I can see him gritting his teeth. His sharp jaw can cut me into pieces.
Our eyes met. I froze in my spot. What is he doing here? As far as I can remember, it is not his habit to leave the house every weekend. He would rather choose to stay in the house and lock himself in his room while finishing his work.
Longing—that is what I am feeling right now. I know for myself that I miss him for a few days when I'm away from him, but I didn't expect it to be this much when I saw him. I miss him so much that all I want to do is run into his arms.
I bit the insides of my cheeks. No matter how much I miss him, no matter how much I crave to be with him again, I cannot. Although I feel my longing for him, I still can't forget the words he said.
I don't know where my desire to prove myself to him comes from. I want to prove that I can live without depending on anyone. That's also the reason why I didn't bring the black card he gave me before I left. I slid it inside the paper bag together with the watch that I was supposedly about to give him as a gift if only we didn't fight.
My brain only returned to the present when Ric shook me slightly. "Are you okay?" he asked me.
I broke Damon's gaze and turned my gaze to my side. Ric’s eyes were questioning as he stared at me.
"Nothing." I simply answered.
"Let us go," he asked me. I was forced to nod at him. I just let him take me wherever he takes me.
I tried to look back at where Damon was. I saw him still looking at me. His expression did not change. He is angry. He is so mad that I am starting to doubt if I made the right decision.