Chapter 45: Chapter 45

I shut the door of my car and walked in the cafe, ordering some overdue hot chocolate and took a seat on one of the booths.

A minute passed, then it was two, three and soon, half an hour.

I tapped my nails impatiently on the wooden table. Where the hell was this guy?

Probably banging some chic; typical.

Jealous? Hah. Not a chance. Don’t sweat it y’all, I’ve got my eyes on some hot piece of ass and it was definitely not the man- whore you were thinking about.

The bell above the door chimed, signaling someone’s arrival. By then, I was already on my phone playing piano tiles 2 with an ear bud stuffing my left ear. A hand landed on the table and jolted me back to reality and made me lose focus. My finger slipped and tapped the wrong tile, causing the song to end.

Goddamit.

That could’ve been a new best! This guy needed to learn some things about manners. I couldn’t wipe my annoyed expression even if I wanted to. Do you know how hard it was to tap this goddamn screen so many times with incredible speed? No? You should.

I looked up and saw Levy grinning at me and I swear that I was seconds away from punching his face. After not showing up, he finally does by ruining my golden chance to reach a new best in this stupid game.

Damn you, Levy.

I huffed in irritation as he took a seat in front of me. “So, what’s up?” He asked while leaning back on his seat and sipped on his coffee.

I was waiting for him to show up for more than half an hour and he had the nerve to take his time and buy himself a cup of coffee. I was this close to castrating the guy but managed to hold myself back and regain my composure; at least, enough to not kill him.

I cut to the chase and spewed out the reason that I was there in the first place.

“What do you mean you ‘quit’?” Lev asked in an incredulous way. I gave him deadpan look.

“I mean I quit, Lev. I’m dropping out of the competition. No more fighting and beating people to win some stupid prize. It’s not worth anything anymore,” I told him in a tired manner only to have him wanting none of it.

He looked at me like I was crazy and I shrugged in response. I was throwing all this away to start anew. I had Adam and his family to help out. I need to be there for them 24/7 and I couldn’t give them my undivided attention if I have this ridiculous fight going on.

“What changed? I see that look, it’s empty. The determination I saw in the Pixie I knew a few days ago is gone. What happened?” Levy’s tone was laced with concern and I was dying to tell him everything and let him comfort me but I managed to hold myself back and reminded myself that I was Pixie.

“The reason that I chose to fight is gone, there’s nothing keeping me from walking away from this competition now. I don’t need the money anymore,” I voiced out in a low tone, whispering the last sentence and tried to prevent myself from going through another mental breakdown.

I shook my head, trying to get myself to snap out of it. I was here to notify him that I quit the competition, not to have him interrogate me on my choices.

“I’ll see you some time, Lev. Thanks for everything,” I turned away and left him standing there in confusion.

I took out my phone while walking to the car I drove here with, calling my mother to ask her on her whereabouts. My parents called me last night to tell me that they were coming home and I immediately told them that I would be picking them up from the airport so there I was, in a café shop that I asked Lev to meet me at on my way to the airport.

Getting in the car, I left my mother a text to tell her I’m on my way after unsuccessfully calling her. I got behind the wheel and started the engine, pulling out of the parking space and hitting the road to the airport to meet my parents.

On the way, all I could do was stop myself from crying. It took a lot of effort to make my eyes look normal with the amount of concealer I owned and it would be a waste for me to end up crying and messing this up. I didn’t want my parents to suspect anything and ruin our reunion after the few weeks that I hadn’t seen them. I missed my parents whenever they take all these business trips but I know they’re doing it to fund my needs and to collect the money I need for my university studies. I knew that they were doing it for me.

When I finally arrived at the airport, I parked the car and neared the building to wait by the exit for my parents to show up.

“Case?” My mom’s voice called out and I instantly looked up from my phone after reading the text from Adam this morning.

“Oh my sweet darling child, I’ve missed you. Where is that father of yours? God, he’s always disappearing in the most random moments!” I laughed at her rant.

Not a minute later, my dad walked towards us from the washroom and hugged me once I was in arm’s reach. I laughed quietly at how tight he was hugging me.

“I miss you, Princess,” he whispered in my ear, pressing a kiss onto my temple. When he pulled away, I gulped at the look he gave me. His attention was glued to my swollen eyes.

“Princess...” I swallowed the lump in my throat as he eyed me suspiciously.

“Who do I have to kill?” I laughed nervously at that.

‘So that’s where I got it from,’ I mused silently in my semi- amused state. I shook my head at my dad’s question.

“It’s nothing, dad. I’m fine,” I stressed out the word ‘fine’ to get it across but that just fueled his curiosity.

“No, Princess. We’re going to that young man’s house right now. I won’t just stand by and watch as my little girl’s heart gets ripped into two by some idiot gay dude.”

My dad has gained this weird ‘theory’ or conclusion if you may that anyone who turned his little princess down must be gay. In the other hand, I was laughing too hard at his little ‘theory’ to even correct him.

“No, dad, no one broke my heart. I’ll tell you what’s bothering me when we arrive at home. Let’s get your luggage in the trunk first, alright?” It was more of a statement than a question and I didn’t wait for an answer.

I took the load off my moms’ hands, including her handbag and carried their luggage to the parking lot. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to tell them what happened, I was just too scared that I’ll be having a mental breakdown once I started talking about it. It was an hour drive but when we finally arrived, I wanted nothing more than drive further to Adam’s house to make sure nothing hectic happened while I was gone.

The little ones did nothing but cry and Adam had become more detached than ever. Preston was shutting everyone out, literally. All he did lately was blasting songs in his room and pretend he’s a vampire; not going out of his curtain-drawn-room at all. Jerry was trying everything he could to help his kids but one man could do so much. He tried setting an example, tried to be cheerful and invited them to go to an amusement park to have some fun but it was too much for the kids.

I became more and more worried as days passed by and I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know why Carla thought I could bring some joy into the grieving family because I’ve never done it. I wasn’t even completely over Bryant’s death and she’s asking me to help her family.

My hand flew to caress the emerald stone that was dangling over where my heart lies. ‘God, if you’re listening in right now, please make sure that Carla’s being treated right up there. I believe that you’re fair so please let her reside on her rightful place up there.’

“Case? Are you alright? Come sit here and tell us what’s got you so wrapped up. You do realize your make up’s smudged, right?” I cursed under my breath, suddenly remembering why I’ve never liked eye make-up.

My eyes got itchy easily and I tend to rub it unconsciously since I’m not used to use make-up. I must’ve rubbed it off when I felt tears start to prick my eyes. I obliged to my parents’ demands and sat down on the sofa, “Anyone wants hot chocolate?”

What? It ran in the family. Hot chocolate was a must.

My dad raised his hand but got a good whack upside the head by my mom, causing that hand to fall and rub his head instead, facing my mother’s glare.

“What?”

She jerked her head towards my way.

“But I want some hot chocolate,” he whined and I almost laughed at the comical scene before me. It was like they just got married yesterday.

They finally settled down and gave me their undivided attention, my dad trying to look serious and failing miserably. It almost had me laughing but my mom’s stern look stopped me. I cleared my throat, trying to set myself on serious mode and storing my dad’s laughing face to the back of my mind.

“So, uh... here’s the thing. I have a boyfriend.”

The light and joking glint in my father’s eyes seemed to disappear in a nanosecond and my fingers fidgeted in trepidation. I didn’t know how he would react since this was my first relationship and I was starting to get anxious by the silence that followed.

“You what..?” He asked lowly and my mom immediately took control of the situation by taking his hand and squeezing it in hers, whispering something in his ear that made him breathe deeply. She looked at me, urging me to continue. I took another deep breath and told myself to get this over with; on three.

“His name is Adam, he has three other siblings and his mother just passed a few days ago. I visit them frequently while you guys were gone and even stayed over in the guest bedroom, alone.” I tried emphasizing ‘alone’ real hard to make sure it gets across to them. It didn’t seem to change my father’s mind about anything though. He was still glowering at the arm rest like it killed his favorite pet. My mom was a completely different story.

She caught the part that I wished she didn’t catch but the damage was done and I could see her eyes water.

“Oh that poor boy.”

I nodded, feeling my own tears gathering at the back of my eyes. My dad groaned at the sight of us stifling our tears and jumped to his feet.

“Oh what the hell, why are we still sitting here and moping around; Case, get the picnic basket. Lia, get the keys and my wallet, we’re going to the supermarket.” I lifted my head to give him a stare full of disbelief. I just told him that my boyfriend’s mother just passed away and he was planning to take us shopping?

And yes, I said boyfriend. He might or might not have asked me out a few days before the call from the hospital. He was really sweet about it too, bought me flowers and took us to a camping trip with the whole sleeping under the stars stuff. I may hate clichés but when a guy as hot as Adam does that to you, there’s only one response; ovaries exploding.

I’m a sucker for that guy and I am completely shameless about it. He’s my boyfriend anyways, right? Wait, I’m allowed to think about it that way, right?

“Princess, we’re going!” I snapped out of it real quick and dashed to the kitchen. I opened one of the cabinets where my mom usually stores the picnic basket and grabbed the woven basket, rushing out of the house.

Once I was sitting in the car, my dad stepped on it and we were off to the supermarket.

“Dad, what are we doing?” I asked curiously, a foreign feeling hitting me.

“I am going to pay the boy who asked my little girl out without my permission a kind visit.”

Oh shit. Well, at least I get to see the kids... right?