Bittersweet (English)

CHAPTER 16

Kaye was making it hard for him to give up. Her words never matched her expression. He knew that deep inside her, she wanted peace of mind, too. But she was too busy overthinking that in the end, she would see the negative side of things. 

It was irritating, to be honest. She never grew out of that habit. It got worse over the years. Maybe it was him who made it worse. If it was possible to turn back time, he would have changed it already. But this was reality. No time machine. No magic genies who would grant wishes. 

“Is that really what you want?” He stared at her with a serious face. But decided not to push further. He cleaned her face with the damp towel, brushing off the tears that formed. “Honestly, I did try but I just couldn’t.”

Kaye went silent. She didn’t argue any further. Seemed like she ran out of grounds to send him away. Or perhaps she knew she couldn’t convince him. Or simply because she got tired of bickering.

He proceeded with the bed bath soon as she calmed down. She seemed uncomfortable wrapped in those chunky blankets. And so, he pulled the sheets away from her. Of course, she was still trembling. But having those wouldn’t benefit her. It would only make her fever worse.

“Can you sit up?” 

Kaye nodded lightly in agreement. She appeared to be sulking. Between them, he was the one who should be sulking.

He took her hand and support her back as she attempted to sit up. She seemed to have finally regained her consciousness. Her eyes were clear as she glanced at him for a brief moment. 

He helped Kaye change her clothes. She looked better now in fresh clothing. He peeked at her cabinet if there were medicines she could take. There were few among the foils. By the looks of it, she’s been having a fever for two days now. 

Haaah…. This was giving him a headache. He was frustrated. This would’ve been avoided if she told anyone. 

He laid the tray on her bedside table and peeled the orange he brought in. She remained quiet as she sipped the cup of tea with lemon and honey. Hopefully, she’d get better soon. 

He went downstairs earlier when she was changing. He investigated her kitchen for something to eat. She barely has anything in her fridge and cupboard. But there were fruits and few instant meals.

Good thing there was still some tea left on her cupboard. The freshly brewed tea would reduce her fever and discomfort. He came from a family of tea makers. Although he wasn’t into the process, he at least had the idea of the benefits.

He handed over the peeled oranges to Kaye. Without any noise, Kaye ate the fruit. Her rebellious phase finally died down. 

He checked her temperature once again before handing her the medicine. He was relieved seeing it lower to some degree. 

After taking the medicine, Kaye began to doze off. He took the opportunity to clean her room a bit. He folded the dirty laundry and neatly placed it on the basket. Her room felt lighter now that the floor was clear of rubbish.

He also cleaned the mess in the hallway. The stinking smell was getting on his nerves. 

He returned to her room after he was done. He chuckled seeing Miko also napping at the foot of the bed. Both owner and dog were feeling better now. 

He was standing by the threshold when he remembered his phone. He forgot his purpose of coming here. But Kaye was in no position to move around so he should probably inform his family. 

As expected, Missy was flooding his phone with messages and missed calls. Other messages were greetings from his friends. He glanced at the time. True enough, it was almost midnight. Once the clock struck twelve, it would be Christmas day.

He returned to Kaye and gave her a quick swab on the face. The color on her face was slowly reappearing. Hopefully, tomorrow she’d get better to have a proper Christmas celebration.

He was about to leave for the bathroom after wiping her hands when he felt the tight clutch on his shirt. 

“Don’t go.”

In her half-awake state, Kaye managed to prevent him from leaving her side. She turned to her side, facing him. Her strong grasp restricted his movements. He had no choice but to stay still.

“Weren’t you so rigid on casting me out earlier?” He snickered with a low voice. He placed one hand on his cheeks as he relished her adorable behavior. 

This might never happen again so he could at least add this to his precious memories.

He sat on the corner of the bed holding Kaye’s hand. He hadn’t noticed he had drifted off as well. The changes that occurred in one night drained him. Or maybe he was too comfortable in her room that he also fell asleep. 

The next morning he woke up comfortably. He jolted seeing how he woke up laying on Kaye’s bed. 

He stretched his body and noticed the bright sun outside the window. Then he heard Miko’s boisterous bark from downstairs. That’s where he noticed Kaye wasn’t around.

He wiped the drool on the side of his mouth and hurriedly washed his face. Why was she out of bed already? Judging by the position of the sun, it was only an hour past sunrise.

He ran down the stairs and he could already smell the savory aroma of food. Did she go to the market? She barely had anything in her kitchen when he checked yesterday. She wasn’t in the perfect condition to be going around. 

“Kaye, shouldn’t you still be resting? You should’ve let me do that,” he bolted as soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs. 

He rushed to the kitchen and Kaye continued cooking like she hasn’t heard his protest.

Breakfast was prepared on the table. It was weird since there were lots of dishes set on the table. 

“Good morning to you, too,” Kaye sarcastically smirked at him. 

This was the Kaye he knew. Not the brat from last night. 

“My, my. Look who just woke up.”

The familiar voice came from the front door. 

Missy was removing her boots on the entryway. She was carrying a huge bag with her. She gave him a suspicious look. It was enough to embarrass him. 

 “That was quick!” 

Kaye walked past him to welcome Missy. He took Missy’s bag even before Kaye could put her hands on it. 

“Couldn’t you at least close the door before coming in?” He scolded Missy.

“Chill, brother. Mother and Martin are following behind me,” Missy snorted in response.

True enough, his mother was at the doorstep. What made the whole thing weird was how did his family come together with Martin? 

“Oh hi, Mykel. You woke up,” Emily greeted with Martin following behind her. 

Speaking of Martin, why does his smile look eerie? 

“Martin! Merry Christmas,” Kaye joyfully hugged the man as they stood side by side on the entryway.

As if on cue, Martin’s facial expression changed. He smiled lovingly at Kaye handing her his gift.

Kaye appeared to be enthusiastic about the whole situation. Well, he felt better seeing her fully recovered. But he couldn’t brush off the strange aura Martin was giving off. And it was aimed at him!

Martin turned to him with the same eerie smile. He placed his free hand to his shoulder. That was a strong grip for a man his age.

“I see you stayed the night.” The stiff smile on Martin’s face was scaring the hell out of him. Every word with a heavy tone. “I hope there was no taking advantage that happened.”

“Wha-- what?! No. Me? She was the one who took advantage of me,” his explanation was in frenzy. He sounded even fishier there.

Emily and Missy both giggled. Martin even snorted after hearing his response. Heck! They were messing with him.

“Relax, Mykel. I know you’re a trustworthy man,” Martin tapped his shoulders while constantly laughing at his expression. 

Mykel felt like he was digging his own grave. He should’ve replied with confidence. Everyone moved to the kitchen and helped with the preparation. 

Apparently, Missy came right away first thing in the morning. She brought in food earlier explaining why Kaye suddenly had the ingredients. 

Since Kaye was feeling better, she invited his family for a breakfast to make up for the worry she caused them. As for Martin, Emily informed him last night after receiving the text from Mykel. So he decided to come over to check on Kaye.

The look Martin had moments ago was intimidating. Especially to Mykel who saw him as a gentle person. He couldn’t say he was relieved knowing Martin was kidding though. It felt like a warning to him. 

Anyway, that was the least of his worries now. He was just delighted that Kaye recovered overnight. He hadn’t expected that seeing her terrible condition last night. Thank heavens she was already in good shape.

“Hey, bud. Here’s your share,” he crouched down giving Miko his breakfast which he immediately chewed.

His mother and sister were so lively in the morning. And Martin was dragged into it. Well, somehow he could tell the guy was enjoying the conversation. 

He washed his hands and turned to Kaye who was observing from afar. He knew Kaye was feeling lonely living in this house after Macy’s death. But now she has a warm smile on her face. And couldn’t be any happier seeing her move forward.

"Come on. Let’s go,” he invited as walked past her. 

However, he was stopped. Her hand reached his. For a second she looked serious like she was deliberating. But then her lips lifted with a smile. It wasn’t an awkward one. It was a genuine smile from the heart. 

She hugged him with a whisper of gratitude. He was caught off guard. Something was peculiar today. 

As he remained stiff in his position from shock, Kaye pulled him out of the kitchen to where everyone was waiting. 

“Let’s go to our Christmas celebration.”

Kaye’s smile turned to laughter. The happiness radiating off her was contagious yet very surprising. His heart started beating erratically. He hadn’t seen that expression towards him for years now and it was moving. 

Faith was in his grasp. Desperately, he wished for things to be better from here on out.