Chapter 68

Chapter 68
Arlo didn’t expect that what Kerri meant in repaying him was by doing… ‘Unusual’ things.

And by unusual, it meant the things he never expected he would do in his life of luxury, such as eating stale bread with a local peanut butter spread.

“I eat this all the time, and it helps when I’m feeling sad.” 

Kerri’s voice made Arlo’s scowl drop, his gaze instinctively moved and landed on her face. 

The corner of her eyes were crinkling from smiling too much. Her cheeks moved with each bite she made from her sandwich, and when she noticed that Arlo was not eating, she faced him.

“You don’t want it?” she asked, blinking, anticipating.

Arlo was still in a daze and absentmindedly stared down at the bread in front of him, carefully placed on a porcelain plate.

If he eats this god awful bread, will he become like her? That no matter what life throws at her direction, she’ll face it with a smile?

‘I don’t want to be sad anymore, it weakens me.’ Arlo thought as he stretched his hand towards the plate and grabbed the bread.

From the corner of his eyes, he could see that Kerri was watching him with wide eyes waiting for his reaction.

So he took a bite, a big one, thinking that the bigger, the better. 

He hadn’t even said anything, but Kerri suddenly slammed her fist against his back with a loud laugh.

“There you go! That’s not too hard, is it?” The room was filled with her light laughter that Arlo forgot he absolutely loathes being harmed.

“So, how is it?” Kerri asked with a full mouth after taking another bite from her sandwich.

“It’s…” Arlo’s eyes turned watery, but he was quick to hide them away from Kerri’s gaze. “It’s… good,”

“See? Told ya it helps if you’re feeling down, all your bad mood disappears in every bite.” 

‘She’s right,’ Arlo thought, swallowing. The bread tasted so awful that all he could ever think about was its taste.

Eventually, a small smile made its way to his face, and it caught Kerri’s attention.

“AAAAHHH!” She screamed, everything she does was overly exaggerated when it came to Arlo.

Arlo looked at her with furrowed brows, “What?” 

“You smiled,” she pointed at his face, now devoid of a smile.

“Oh,” he was slightly shocked, never expecting that he would be able to find the time to smile.

“You should smile more, it suits you better, rather than being grumpy all the time,” Kerri snorted, and even though it was just a passing comment, Arlo was already considering her suggestion.

Smile more.

Arlo didn’t realize it, but while he was talking to Kerri — about her days, why she came up here, where she lives — he was slowly eating his sandwich until it was fully finished. Even when his rich palate had a hard time adjusting to the awful taste, he surprisingly ate everything that shocked him when he finally realized.

Even when incredibly skilled chefs prepare his meals, he rarely finishes the entire food. And now, with bread and jam that costs a dollar, he had no problem.

His eyes gravitated towards Kerri, who was occupied with making another sandwich.

The gears in Arlo’s mind began to move, connecting the dots and coming up with possibilities. Perhaps it was the company that made him act out of the ordinary, the gravitational pull towards this loud girl, her voice that distracted him from his loneliness.

“Come on, time for the next activity!” Kerri ate the entire sandwich in one go and slid off her chair to rush towards the door.

“There’s more?” Arlo blinked, confused.

“Just follow me!” Kerri yelled, already outside and into the open grassy field.

It was already dark but the solar lamps surrounding the property illuminated the place, the moonlight above also helped. It was a mixture of gold and silver beams of light which made everything so magical, it was the first time Arlo noticed this when he spent the past nights cooped up inside the villa.

He stood in the middle of the field, arms crossed, waiting to see what Kerri was going to do after rummaging through a crate by the sides.

Arlo had no intentions of joining whatever she was proposing, it’s too much work.

But then comes a ball flying towards him like a missile. 

It was fast, but his instincts took over and he caught it. Even with both hands, the impact of the ball made him step back.

“What the…” he looked back in the direction of Kerri and saw her grinning proudly.

“You nearly took my head off with that throw,” he scoffed. 

“Well, I guess you’re playing now!” Her hands were on his waist as she stared at Arlo holding the ball.

“No, I refuse to partake in childish games.” 

“Ah I get it, you can’t throw as hard as I can, your highness.” 

Arlo stops. The name irritated him, and despite knowing exactly what type of manipulation tactic Kerri was doing, he couldn’t help but give in to her taunts.

So he threw it, hard. A calculated toss to make Kerri wipe off that smug smirk from her face.

However, Kerri easily caught it with one hand, raising a brow at him as if saying ‘that’s all you got?’.

Before Arlo could bark back a reply, Kerri already threw it back at the same speed, once again making Arlo stumble back as he caught it in his hands.

He barely caught it, and the feeling of being a loser flared something in his chest. Annoyance.

Arlo is not one to lose, especially against a country bumpkin girl.

He stepped forward and threw it harder, without restraint. But again, Kerri caught it as if she was born in this world to become an athlete.

She launched the ball, Arlo caught it, threw it back, then repeated. Soon, he was moving without thinking, laughing without noticing.
He ran.

Abandoned his long black coat behind him and felt freer than ever.

Kerri maneuvered across the field like a pro football player that no injury could sustain her vigor. For a more accurate description, she was like chaos in the form of a human, shouting comments at Arlo.

“Hahaha! You’re slow!”

“Shut up!” Arlo hissed back.

“You run like a rich spoiled brat!”

“I am rich!”

Somewhere between their bickering and chasing, Arlo finally realized that he was laughing and that it startled his core. For the first time in weeks, he felt free and alive.

He was alive… and what a blessing it is to chase after a ridiculous girl across a moonlit field.

Eventually, exhaustion came and claimed them both. Arlo collapsed first and laid down on the grass. Kerri followed afterward, lying dramatically beside Arlo as they both stared at the sky.

Arlo turned his head ever so slightly towards her direction. Kerri’s hair was unruly, with blades of grass sticking out of it, her eyes half closed from fatigue, but her lips were frozen in a satisfied smile.

She was fearless, bright and utterly improper of how a girl should behave.

But being near her felt like stepping out into the sun after a long and dreadful winter.

Once again, his mother’s voice echoed in his mind — that he would find someone that would make everything else meaningless.

Arlo Frantz — at the age of nineteen — finally felt the certainty bloom in his chest.

He wanted Kerri.

Not in a casual way.

He ‘wanted’ her that he felt his chest squeeze tightly at the thought of letting her escape him.

“I think we should celebrate,” he sat up, lightly twisted his torso so he could face her.

Kerri looked joyous, she succeeded in repaying him, and making him feel better after she insulted him. 

“Great idea!” She sat up too. Now they are at eye level.

“To celebrate my decision to move forward,” Arlo said, “Red wine would be nice,”

Kerri’s face immediately scrunched.

“No, thanks,”

“No? Why?”

“I can’t drink,” she answered.

“Why not?” 

Kerri huffed as if the answer should be obvious. “Because I’m underage, I’m still fifteen,”

Arlo’s world stopped.

“...fifteen…” he repeated blankly, staring at her.

Kerri furrowed her brows, confused at his reaction. “Uhh, yes. My mom will kill me if she finds out I drank alcohol.”

The rest of her words turned muffled in Arlo’s head, all he could hear now was the shattering of his careful plans of making her his. 

All his strength suddenly vanished all at once, and he laid back onto the grass again, staring at the sky in disbelief.

‘A child.’ he thought. ‘I was crushing on a child.’

Arlo may be cruel, but he knows what is right and wrong.

If he needed to wait, then he would wait as long as Kerri would finally be his.