Chapter 21: Chapter 21

In the hospital,

"Doctor, how is the state of my hand? Is it healed?" While the nurse was putting a splint on my elbow and forearm, I inquired.

The doctor answered, "After observing your hand, it appears that you have given it continual movement. That's why it took longer than it should have to heal..."

Yes, a lot has happened. I couldn't stay at home after finding out my brother had a girlfriend.

Mom inquired of the doctor, "Doctor, can she go to college? She's been bugging me all day to send her to college. Will everything be fine?"

"You are free to send her to college. Her hand is recovering well."

"Then why do I need a splint?" I inquired.

"Because there are some tissues that still need to be healed."

I grumbled and told Mom, "Mom! You must have heard him. I can go to college now, therefore you can cancel the leave extension."

When we arrived at the house,

"Why didn't you come to the hospital?" I inquired of my father.

Dad, "I would have gone to the hospital, but my boss gave me another assignment that required me to work for a longer period of time. What did the doctor say about the splint, by the way?"

"He advised me to rest for another two weeks. And he agreed that I can go to college."

"Did he actually say that?" Dad asks my mother.

Mom, "Yes, he stated that her hand is recovering swiftly."

I asked dad, "Is Ash home?"

He gave a nod and said, "Upstairs."

"All well, I'll go to him."

I headed upstairs after climbing the stairs. I went to Ash's room, which was closed from the inside, so I put my ear to the door and attempted to hear what was going on inside.

"I know you're listening in."

From behind the door, I heard Ash's voice. He added as he opened the door, "I know what you're going to do and how you're going to react since you're my sister. So, what are you doing in my room?"

"Nothing. I was only passing by."

"Do passers-by stick their ears to another person's door? I had never heard that before. Didn't you try to listen to me?"

"No! No, I didn't. Why should I do it when I can simply open your door and walk through it?"

"What's going on with Andrew?" he inquired, nodding.

I shut his mouth and we walked inside Ash's room, closing the door behind us.

"What did you inquire of me about?"

"Did you two start dating secretly?" he asked, snapping my hand away from his mouth.

"What?"

"My buddies noticed you while you were with Andrew. Did you confess to him how you felt? Were you on a date with him?"

"We did not go on a date."

"What were you doing in that dessert shop, then?"

How can I tell you the truth, that I was spying on you with Andrew, so I lied? "As friends, we went to try the dessert. Not in any other way."

"Then why are you nervous?"

I exited his room and went into mine.

When I got to my room, I sat on the bed and realised that the splint was more comfortable than the cast. The cast was difficult to move and I got bumped in almost everything in the room, but the splint felt light and simple to wear. Splints should have been used in the first place. Why did they put me in a cast? Hmph!

I got a call from Hannah, "Did they change the cast?"

"Yes, I'm in a splint right now. It's more at ease than the cast. And I'll be going back to college tomorrow."

"Really?"

"Yup! I can go to college, according to the doctor."

"That's fantastic news. It's dull here without you."

I laughed and replied, "Okay. We'll see what happens tomorrow, bye." And then the call was terminated.

Late at night,

I returned to my room after dinner to find Andrew working on my novel.

"When did you arrive?"

"Just a few minutes ago."

I walked over to him and looked at the computer while asking,"What chapter are you currently in?"

"The final chapter. We're almost there to the finish line."

"That's fantastic."

A knock came on the door.

Andrew stood up from his seat, I motioned for him to sit and work, and I said quietly, "I'll see who it is."

I opened the door slightly to see who it was. This is Ash.

"Wha…"

"You have to come with me right now," Ash shouted as he dragged me out of my room.

"Where?"

"I'll explain on the way."

"I neglected to bring my phone with me. You go first, and I'll follow you."

He nodded and proceeded downstairs.

I walked into the room and said to Andrew, "I'm going out with Ash. You are free to go home after you are done with the work. I'll inform you when I get home."

I stepped out of the room and downstairs after he nodded.

I exited the home and got into my father's automobile. "Where are you going?" I inquired as to Ash who took the wheel.

"You'll see when we arrive. Also, remain silent. Now I have to focus on driving rapidly."

"Don't go too fast. I don't want to be apprehended by cops in the middle of the night."

"There'll be no cops involved. I guess."

After some time,

Ash pulled over in front of a shopping centre and motioned for me to get out.

"What brings us here?"

"First, let's go inside. Come."

I followed him inside and had a look around the shopping mall. There weren't many people around, and many stores appeared to be vacant. Why are they keeping their stores open in the middle of the night if there are no customers?

Ash led me to a jewellery store and introduced me to the employees.

The chamber glistened with jewels and gave the impression that I had entered a treasure room. I'm not a fan of jewellery, therefore I've never visited shops like this before.

"What are we doing here, Ash?"

To the worker, ash "Her hand resembles my sister's. You may measure my sister's hands for it."

He grabbed my hand in his and laid it on the table. The man who spoke with Ace measured my hand with tape and then left.

"Why did he measure my hand? What's happening here?"

"Measurements are required for a beautiful ring."

"Ring? Who is it for? Is it intended for your girlfriend?"

"Yes," he answered, nodding.

The man who took my ring finger measurements interrupted my brother, so he left before completing his sentence along with that worker guy.

I noticed how eager and joyful he was while purchasing the ring. I've never seen him so content. He's always lively, but he's never been so thrilled. It's the first time I've seen him act that way. Does love, as everyone claims, alter people?

Ash approached me, showed me the bag, and said, "Done and dusted. Let's get back home."

Inside the car,

I asked him while he was driving, "You mentioned buying a ring for your girlfriend, are you going to marry her behind our parents?"

He came up laughing and exclaimed, "No. I'm not. It's also too early to be married. I need to finish college and get a job before I ask her to marry me if she still loves me. Nobody knows what the future holds, right?"

"Are you planning to propose to her?"

"We already have a relationship. Why should I bother asking her to be in a relationship with me again?"

"So, what was the point of the ring? Why did you purchase it?"

"It was our anniversary present."

"Anniversary? I didn't know you were in a secret relationship with a girl for a year behind my back."

"Actually, It's the sixth anniversary."

"You've had feelings for her for six years. How did I not know about this?"

"Because you were preoccupied with competing with your next-door neighbour."

"I didn't do it because I wanted to. It's our father's fault, not mine. Are you going to see her right now?"

"Yes, I should give it to her before midnight, or I'll feel bad because she already gave me a gift."

"How does she look, Ash?"

"She looks lovely," he added with a smile. "Despite her diminutive stature, I've always admired her wisdom and kindness. I've never seen a girl so composed and gentle. I couldn't believe it was our sixth wedding anniversary today. I swear I just saw her yesterday."

"Are you going to see her right now?"

"I must give it to her before midnight."

"Where are you meeting her?"

"I asked her to come to the park."

"Stay here," Ash urged as he came to a halt in the park. "I'll be right back."

I stayed inside the car to wait for him. Should I go out and find who that girl is? That was the thing I was after for many days. Now, i got a chance but why couldn't i go out and check her out? Why am I still sitting in the chair? My brother looked happy while talking about her? Does he like her that much? Why am I feeling jealous?

Ash eventually reappeared and got into the car.

"Was I late?" he inquired.

"Did you give her the ring?"

"Yes," he answered, nodding.

"Did she like it?"

"Yes."

"What brought you back so quickly? I thought you'll be spending leisure time with your girlfriend."

"She asked me to leave since I stated you were waiting for me in the car."

"Did she really say that?"

"Yeah, she knows you. I talk a lot about you to her. She likes you too."

"She's nice."

"That's exactly what I said. She takes good care of everyone around her. You'll like her when you meet her." And he continued driving the car. He sounds like he's going to introduce me to his girlfriend soon.

We arrived at the house. I went to my room after getting drinks from the refrigerator.

When I saw Andrew's room, he was still up and working on his laptop. I motioned for Andrew to come over. He requested additional time and remained in his room.

I arranged the drinks in a corner and waited for him.

He eventually came to my room.

"How long did it take you?"

"I finished uploading every chapter of your novel while working on it."

"That's fantastic!"

I took the drinks and set them in front of Andrew and myself, saying, "We have to celebrate!"

"Where did you get these drinks? Did you go out to buy drinks with your brother?"

"No, it belonged to my father."

I opened the bottle and poured it for us.

"Where did you go with him in the middle of the night?" he questioned after a drink.

"He requested that I accompany him to the shopping centre."

"Do you buy anything there?"

"A ring."

"What?"

"My brother did, in fact, purchase a ring for his girlfriend. He brought me along because his girlfriend and I have the same hand measurements. He requested me to remain silent as he parked the car in front of the park. He returned after a while and drove me here."

"Didn't you try to figure out who she is?"

"No. Because someone said Interfering in other people's affairs is wrong so i didn't. Hearing how much he loves her through him changed my thinking about her. He'll introduce her one day if he wants to. Why should I rush over to see her? For the time being, let us leave them alone and let them be happy."

"You seem as if you've given up on locating your brother's girlfriend."

"I did let it go."

I kept sipping the drinks.

"By the way, Your description of s*x in your work was not steamy. It needs more alterations."

"All right, I'll fix it."

"Have you kissed someone, Amelia?"

"No, why?"

"That explains the kiss described in your works."

"How horrible was it?"

"No, that's fine, but it doesn't appear real."

"How should I proceed to make it a reality?"

He moved in closer, pressing his lips against mine while keeping his thumb between my lips and his, and asked, "How was the kiss?"

I was taken aback when Andrew kissed me.

The kiss wasn't long, but it felt like eternity. My heart raced as he left my mouth and I found myself wondering if he could feel it beating too.

I tried to stop thinking about the kiss because my brain was going crazy. It seemed impossible that Andrew would actually do this to me.

Why did he suddenly kiss me? Is he also fond of me? What was the point of the kiss? What exactly does that kiss mean? I'm just confused about why he did it. My mind is going back and forth, trying to think back and understand what happened between us. I had been staring into space for a few seconds, my mind racing as I tried to figure out what just happened.

"Tell me about the kiss," he said again.

What? Why should I inform him of the kiss? Did he kiss me at work? For a moment, I felt like I flew around the world.

"It was a surprise kiss because I wasn't expecting it. My heart pounded quicker than usual when you pressed your lips against mine. I parted my lips to invite you in when you started sucking my lips..."

"What made you stop? That's great. Go on and explain it. Surprise me, please."

Even if it's a little awkward at first, but then again, nothing can ever go wrong when you're kissing your friend. Right?

For work, he kissed me. We kept drinking after I finished describing the kiss. Andrew kissed me!! I couldn't believe it!! My secret crush kissed me!!! Is it a dream, or did it really happen?

We proceeded to drink.

"Are you a heavyweight or a lightweight?" I inquired about seeing him being steady.

"I'm a heavyweight lifter, but when it comes to drinking, I'm a lightweight."

Lightweight, heh?

"So, why are you drinking indefinitely? It's enough for now, go."

I forced him out of my room by opening the window.

"Take care."

Before leaving, he offered a thumbs up.

I was surprised that after such a short period of time he could make me feel so much for him. In the midst of the confusion my mind had decided to bring up an idea that made me blush. He didn't say 'I love you', but he'd kissed me before, in a similar fashion that one might kiss your cheek.

Did he really kiss me at work? Whatever, my secret crush kissed me. I'm going to remember this day for my entire life. It's my first kiss after all. I'm glad that I kept my first kiss special. I never thought Andrew would be my first kiss. I'm happy after getting kissed by Andrew.

As Andrew left my room, he turned around one last time and saw me looking at him. He gave me a wink before turning around again, smiling slightly, which made me smile back. Andrew was my boyfriend. He was my very first and only kiss. After his departure, I lay on my bed and stared up at the ceiling.

Following Andrew's departure from my room, I stroked my lips with my palm and felt the lips through touch. 'Sh*t!' I thought. 'Oh, boy. Did I fall in love with Andrew?' My heart sank down into my stomach. No! No, that can't be right!