Touch of Deception

SEVENTEEN

He stared at his phone for he doesn't know how long. She's doing well, he thought. It was as if what happened to her didn't happen at all. Is she totally fine, now? Or is she just masking it? He doesn't know. But it made him delighted. He couldn't wait to bring it all back to her again. He couldn't wait to see her face up close once again. 

He stared at the eleven digits on his phone screen. He wants to hear her voice. Badly. He looked at the surroundings. It's dark. His phone's light was the only thing bright in there. He liked it. And then his head spun. And before he could even process what's happening, his vision blurred. He closed his eyes and went unconscious. 

But it was just for a few seconds. He opened his eyes and looked at the surrounding. He doesn't know where he is. He doesn't remember how he got there. He closed his eyes firmly and glued his back on the wall. It's happening often lately. The lapses. 

The other day, he saw a scheduled message set to be sent this day. It was locked and he couldn't open what was inside the message. He doesn't remember when he sent it. He definitely did not send it. And he knew it was him. The other one. 

When he looked at his phone to look at the time, his eyes widened when he's on call to an unknown number. He slowly put the phone to his ear and a very familiar voice was on the other end. 

"Hello?" she said. And he knew it was her. For a long time, he heard her again. He wondered how he got her number. 

"Hello?" she repeated. He tried to calm himself down. 

"Who's this?" she asked. He let out a shaky breath. It's her. It's really her. And he couldn't help but wonder why is he on a call with Celeste Morgan.

The other line went dead and he just looked at his phone. A bitter smile escaped his lips. 

* * *

Matt stared at her as if he couldn't believe what she just said. She stood there looking all awkward and one more second of him staring at her and she would definitely run to the other direction or maybe take back what she just said.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear the last bit. What did you say?" He leaned and put a hand to his ear to emphasize what he wanted to say.

Heat crept to her cheeks as she clenched her fist. She knows Matt was just messing with her.

"I am not going to repeat it. It's your choice. I'll be waiting there," she said as she fought the heat on her cheeks and was about to walk away when Matt held her wrist.

"Wait. You were serious?" And the surprised face is back.

She rolled her eyes before he faced him fully. "Consider this as a payment for the shirts I messed up, for helping me with...things and for saving me back then."

He was still holding her wrist and he was still looking at her as if what she said was something incomprehensible.

"Are you going to look at me like that for the whole day or are you going to give me your answer?"

She saw him blinked as if being pulled from a trance. "I could definitely stare at you for the whole day if I want to."

She groaned. "You coming or not?"

He flashed his grin at her before he said, "How could I say no?"

"Then 7 o'clock later. It's okay if you get late. I'll give you 15 minutes allowance and if you're still not there, I'm going home."

"Then I'll go there at 6." He grinned which caused her to roll her eyes and chuckle. She looked at his hand which was still holding on to her wrist. He looked there too and immediately let go of her arm. She nodded slightly at him and turned to walk away. But not before hearing Matt shouted, "See you later!" The other students looked at him and then at her. A small smile curved her lips as she continued to down the hallway.

As hours passed by, she couldn't help but feel nervous. She kept tapping her notes with the pen and the class somehow managed to drift her mind from what's going to happen at seven o'clock. She closed her eyes firmly and slumped her head onto the table, thinking if inviting Matt to dinner was a good idea. She has never invited someone out and even though she kept on reminding herself that what's going to happen is just her way of saying thank you, she couldn't help but feel nervous about it.

And the moment she told Gail about it, her roommate was unbelievably ecstatic about the coming dinner. She kept telling her it's nothing worth shrieking but Gail was jumping around the room.

"No matter what you say, that's a date." Gail laughed and she thought Gail was more excited about it than she.

"This is the first and last time, Gail. I just invited him because, for the nth time, I owe him a lot. He saved me and--"

"This is your way of saying thank you. Yes, I get it. Why can't I just dream that you two will end up with each other."

She gave her roommate an incredulous look before she said, "That is not going to happen."

But Gail just shrugged. "We can't tell, dear. We can't tell."

She just groaned and went to her room to change clothes. She picked a dress which she only wore twice and didn't bother to put makeup on. This is a friendly date. I don't need to look pretty. She kept on convincing herself and when she was satisfied, she went out of her room only to be pushed back inside but Gail, insisting she put color on her face. She couldn't protest and only sat on her bed as Gail did wonders on her face.

It was a quarter to seven when they both heard something outside. They both went to the window and saw Matt just getting out of his car. He looked up and saw them peeping by the window. He flashed his dashing smile and waved at them.

"Holy mother of the Lord. Look at how fine that man is!" Gail exclaimed that she had to smack her arm. She immediately picked her bag and heard her phone beep. She didn't have time to check who it was and went down.

Matt was grinning and it didn't escape her eyes how he scanned her from head to foot. She stood in front of him, trying her best not to get flustered. "I thought we are going to meet there?" 

Matt looked at her. "I couldn't possibly let you walk there alone."

"I always walk alone."

"And one time a stalker--" Matt decided not to continue what he was going to say. "Anyway, I thought this would be convenient." He jerked his thumb to his car. "Shall we, Lady Celeste?" He did a dramatic bow to which she just shook her head.

"Then let's go," she muttered.

It was when she entered the car when her phone rang. It was from an unknown number.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" Matt asked.

She looked at the phone number and clicked the answer button.

"Hello?" she called but the other line was silent. She looked at the number again to make sure she didn't drop the call but it's on-going.

"Hello?" she repeated. She could only hear steady breathing from the other line.

"Who's this?" she asked and Matt was already looking in her direction. She could hear a sound from the other line, but she couldn't quite make up what kind of sound. She looked at the caller ID and turned off her phone.

"What was that?" asked Matt. She just shook her head before she put on her seatbelt.

"I don't know. Wrong call, I guess." She placed her phone inside her bag and waved at Gail who was waving at them at the gate. She just chuckled looking at her friend.

"She seemed really happy about this," Matt commented.

She scoffed. "You have no idea."

The whole drive was silent and she isn't inclined to talk either. Her mind was wandering somewhere else. Particularly to the phone call earlier. With the stalking incident that happened just recently, she couldn't help but feel suspicious around her surroundings.

She didn't notice they've already arrived at the restaurant. It was the same restaurant where she almost left her book. She figured it would be perfect to dine there since there aren't a lot of people in the place. And when they went inside, there were just about four people eating inside and they sat at the table near the window. One of the part-timers went to their table and got their orders.

When the waitress left, Matt rested his elbow on the table and looked at her. "So, what made you think this would be a perfect payment?"

She narrowed her eyes at him before she crossed her arms. "You asked me to tutor you math before when you were apparently very good at it. Tell me, Matt. Why did you do it?"

A grin plastered across his face. "Because I want to be your friend. I thought if you were nice enough to grant me my request, I would get to know you better and thus, be friends with you."

"So here you go." She gestured her hand in front of the table as the waitress brought them their food. Matt just chuckled.

"So this is it? Am I right to say that I am your friend, now?"

She just gave him a smirk as she said, "Let's eat."

Matt played his tongue inside his mouth before he nodded and shook his head. They ate comfortably, much to her surprise. She thought it would be an awkward dinner for her. But apparently, Matt is too skillful at not making the atmosphere awkward. Matt is humorous and no matter how hard she tries to stifle her laugh, she couldn't help it.

"Your eyes aren't that sad anymore," Matt said the moment she finished laughing at one of his jokes. She knew what he meant. She could still remember that time when Matt told her she looked sad.

"I'm glad I made you laugh tonight because it would be a pity."

She gave him a questioning look.

"It would be a pity to have that pretty face of yours be frowning all the time."

She scowled at him. "I don't frown all the time."

Matt laughed and pointed at her face. "Sure. And you're doing it now."

She just rolled her eyes and gave up. She sighed and played with the spoon.

"I was homeschooled before I came here so going back to an actual school made me excited and at the same time, nervous. The latter prevailed and I was too focused on having a perfect college life when in fact the things I ignored most are the reason to have what I was always focused on having. Making friends."

Matt just listened to her. And maybe it was the fact that she already started and she went on, "I didn't have many friends and I lost all of them. Living in this new city gave me a chance to meet new people but my fears got the better of me. But I was thankful for you, Matt. Thank you for insisting."

"I've always known you're a softie inside," Matt said and grinned.

She rolled her eyes.

But Matt's laughter died as he looked at her. Then he became serious as he said, "I insisted because I knew that's what you needed the most. A friend. And I figured I'm perfect for the job."

"And that is because...?"

"Because I am funny and I can make you laugh. Look at you now. You should have seen yourself, Cel. You have no idea how beautiful you are."

She didn't fight the heat creeping to her cheeks as she heard it. She doesn't really know how to respond to a compliment so she said,

"Tell me something I don't know." She then sipped on her juice. Matt roared with laughter at her statement. She couldn't help but smile.

When it was time to go home she could have sworn Matt drove slower. And when she stood by the gate, Matt eas in front of her.

"Thank you for tonight," she said and Matt just stuffed his hands into his pockets. His stylishly pulled back hair swayed with the wind causing some strands to fall down to his face.

"I regretted bringing my car."

"Why?"

"Because walking would have allowed us to be together longer." She rubbed the back of his neck.

"Catch me in the hallway, tomorrow, then," she said before she gave her a small smile and went inside the apartment. When she heard the sound of the engine and his car speeding away it was when she let out a smile she has been restraining earlier.

Gail was sleeping on the sofa and she slumped on the other side. And when she decided to take her phone out, several messages arrived. And when she opened some of them, they were blank but what caught her attention was the last one. It wasn't a text message but a picture. And it was her wearing an awfully familiar t-shirt. There were other peope around her drinking and talking. Some were dancing. But she was there, her cheeks were red and she could tell she's already drunk. She was talking to someone in the picture. Her hands started trembling.

And she realized the picture was taken from outside. Whoever was outside, it was the same person who took that picture and must be the same person who has been spamming her with text.

But then she remembered the shirt. It was what she was wearing that night at the party.

Her hands trembled and she dropped her phone as she realized when the picture was taken.

It was the night when that incident happened.

* * *