CHAPTER 3 Wake Up

What ma'am Mira said almost caught me off guard. Who is this man, and why does the Solidad family seem to know him well and be comfortable with him?

As if it were my cue, I uttered, "It's fine, ma'am. I'll just go with Oli. I don't want to be a nuisance."

"Cyreese, you will not be a nuisance because Levi's route is also there." With a sweet smile, Sir Constantine said.

Without even knowing it, I just saw myself standing outside the house, watching Sir Levi say goodbye to the family.

"It was nice seeing you again, aunt." While Sir Constantine just looked at him, he told Ma'am Mira. I sighed when Celest suddenly hugged her.

"Levi, I'm glad you visited us here. You're always welcome here. If you have time, you can drop off again."

Celest's hand caressed his chest, and it didn't escape my notice. He just nodded sparingly and said goodbye again. He slammed his car, and I didn't know what to do. He opened the passenger seat, and I stopped staring at him and just bent down to walk closer to his car. He turned back in the driver's seat and waved at the Solidad family again before starting to maneuver the vehicle.

He looks so stoic around the family that I can't help but wonder if he's really like this. My eyes widened when he approached me, and my face almost stuck to his chest. I inhaled his scent because he approached me and returned to his seat.

"Seatbelt." He said that and started his car.

It seemed like I stopped breathing for a few seconds, and I didn't even notice that I was wearing a seatbelt. I blinked a few times and just looked outside so he wouldn’t notice how much he had affected me.

Whatever the reason for this nervousness, I have no idea. I want to be annoyed with myself for allowing myself to be like this about this simple thing, but on the other hand, I feel like there's a part of me that's wanting it.

"So, how are you living with them?"

I turned to him and thought he was talking to someone on the phone. He was always staring at the road while driving, so I held my breath to answer his question.

"Fine."

He only nodded, and I heard nothing from him. I just distracted myself by looking at the scenario we were going through and was forced to think that I was alone and was not affected by his presence. We are currently walking the secluded road of Mar De Vena, towards town.

"Who are you going home with? The road is dangerous if you are alone."

I was shocked again when he spoke. I turned to him as if I were still making sure I was really the one he was talking to.

"Maybe I'll go with Oli. And I'm not going to stay up too late."

True. because I'm scared that the Solidad family would scold me. They might say I’m taking advantage of their kindness with me, and I still have work to do. Also, I have a class tomorrow.

I have long accepted that since my mother and father passed away, my life has been different, and there are things that are not for me. If I want something, I have to work hard and go through a long process. In my life situation now, I have no plan or time to go for leisure activities because it would be better if I just spent my time on more meaningful things. Just for now, really, because I want to fulfill my promise that I made to my dear friend.

"I'll contact the Solidads if you're home then."

My eyes quickly landed on him, who was still serious about driving. I don't know if I misheard, because why would he even think of doing that? That’s right, he complied with the favor demanded of me by the Solidads but he doesn't have to call them to make sure I get home safely, does he? Safe? Ava Cyreese, who are you to think that a man you just saw worries for you? Perhaps he simply meant that he needed to confirm to the Solidads that he had already done them a favor and that he had nothing to do if anything happened to me or whatever.

I heard him hissed and saw him take his gaze away from me at the edge of my vision.

"Where should I drop you off?"

I shifted in my seat and answered him immediately.

"Ah, it's just next to the barangay hall. My friend's aunt lives next to the court."

I turned to him for a moment, and the car stopped at the place I said, quite crowded and noisy surroundings. There were people doing karaoke and drinking in a few houses, everyone was having fun. He quickly got out of the car, turned to the door of my seat, and preceded me to open it.

"Thank you," I said with a bow.

I couldn’t bear to look at him anymore because I didn’t have the courage left to do so.

"Thank you very much. You can go now. I'll just tell the Solidads that—"

"Where's your friend?"

He interrupted what I said and looked up. He's roaming his eyes around as if he's looking for someone. My lips parted as he approached me. He's oozing with so much appeal.

"His aunt's house is near here. I'll just go there and look for him."

I was surprised, as I said, because I was too short compared to him. I was only up to my chest, and I still had to look up to see his eyes.

"I'll accompany you. Lead the way."

He pointed to the road he was blocking, and I just stared at where I was standing. He tilted his head and lifted his eyebrows. I did nothing and followed only what he said. I preside as I feel his presence behind me, and I also see the people rejoicing in their house following us with their gaze. No, it is probably the presence of the person behind me. Obviously, it is not uncommon for this person to be photographed in a muddy area due to heavy rain, chaotic alleys, and noisy surroundings. This place seemed too small for him, so he was like someone who got lost in a place like this.

It started to mist when I saw Oli at his aunt's house, who hurried over to me. His worried eyes opened up to me, and he held me in both arms.

"Cy! I'm worried. I even went to the Solidads earlier to ask where you were." Trace with concern, he said.

I just smiled at him and motioned for a moment and turned around to thank Sir Levi again when I saw him turn around and walk away from us. I just opened my mouth and left the words I would have let go, and I can't help but worry because of the drops of mist on his white long sleeve.

"Levi,"

I don’t know if I said a whisper because it was impossible for him to even hear that  but he turned to me again. My vision was blurred, but the tension in his jaw was very clear to me. I only lost sight of him when Oli pulled me into his aunt's house.

The night was getting a little late when, for the last time, I looked again at the little watch on my wrist. It's ten o'clock, and I can't sit still in my seat while my friend is lying next to me because of alcohol. I don't know if he drank much, but his relatives only offered him a few times, and this is what happened to him.

Only a few of his cousins are awake, but they are noisy because maybe the liquid they are drinking is right. I peeked at Oli's mom and dad inside, and I almost complained because even they didn't seem to be on their own because they were dancing and drunk. I could do nothing but let out a sigh and touch Oli.

"Oli, I need to go home. They'll worry about me."

I was disappointed because he just growled back at me, and his friends and cousins just laughed at us.

"Oli, I'll go now. Or else the Solidads will get mad at me."

I don't know if he heard me, but I got up anyways and said goodbye to his cousins and friends, I just said some of my instructions, and I ran out of the alley. I felt the splash of mud on my foot, and my dress must have been touched.

The rain got a little heavier, so I took shelter under the protruding roof of the store while waiting for a ride. A few more minutes, and I'm sneezing in the cold that I've been waiting for. I've been here for thirty minutes, but I still don't want to ride a tricycle because maybe it's raining and they don't really travel because it's festival.

I'm having second thoughts, but I still dared and walked out of the arch to wait because my position was a bit hidden. I stopped a few more times, and still no one stopped. I'm soaking wet in the rain, and my head hurts, but there's really nothing stopping.

I was shocked when I came across two elderly men who were still limping down the road, drenched in rain. They smiled like dogs and whispered while looking at me. I just bent down and avoided them, but before I could get past, I felt a man's hand on my thigh. I didn't have time to scream anymore because a man had already grabbed my neck and was forcing me to join them. There, I cried and felt very scared because I could not move because of their tight grip on my hand and neck.

"Help—"

The man slapped me hard, and I immediately tasted rust in my mouth. My strength was so low that my headache shook even more. I wanted to scream, but I almost got on my knees on the road in extreme exhaustion. I could hear the laughter of the two men as they watched me desperately crawl down the wet road and crawl in the dark.

"No one can hear you here young lady."

"Help,"

I wasted more energy by talking as if someone could hear me. Mom, dad. I'm sorry if I'm weak. I wanted to stand up, but my eyes were spinning and my body was numb from the pain.

One more tweak I felt—I wanted to despair because I had little strength left to stare and stay conscious when a violent force pulled me upright and leaned me against a hard object or something. The structure of a man was visible, but it was too blurry to confirm the man in front of me.

"Fuck! Stay here."

That's all I heard, and I could see the three people in front of me, but I couldn't see them properly. A few cheap sighs were heard.

I opened my eyes desperately to see what was happening, only to see that he was here. Is it him? Is it really him?

"Levi,"

My world rotated again, and I just sat down and tried to hold on to where a man I didn't know caught me.

"This is Bullshit. Ava, wake up." The man said. That's all I heard, and I completely lost consciousness.