Street Signs

Chapter 41

BRIELLE

I wouldn't have it any other way if there was a hug of breakfast on the table, as there was every day. Soft pancakes and fruit were served for breakfast, as warm as they would be in the sun, with maple syrup poured on top. It was still my favorite breakfast, despite the fact that it had nothing to do with the cuisine. I enjoyed it since my father and younger brother was present on that particular day, and we were in the same room. It gave me a peaceful sense of comfort, which was a great way to start the day.

"Dad, where are you heading with Akie?" I asked him since I heard the two of them talking of somewhere to go after Akie's afternoon class.

"Ah, about it... Akie's convincing me to come with him to his classmate's birthday party."

"That's good," I said, sipping a little amount of my warm black coffee. "May I ask... aren't you noticing something strange around you whenever you go outside?"

Daddy Sy paused, thinking of what to answer with my question. "I can't see something that seems strange," he said after a few seconds. "Why?"

"Uhm, nothing. Just please take care of yourselves 'cause I am not always with you. Daddy, always look at your surroundings, okay?"

"Okay... but, what about you being thoughtful early this morning?" Daddy asked, giggling.

"As if you don't know me as your thoughtful daughter, Daddy. I just want to make sure you two are always safe." I turned my gaze to my little brother. "Akie, have you told Daddy already about what happened to you a few days ago?"

Akie shook his head.

"What is it?" Daddy Sy asked, puckering his brow.

Before speaking, I looked at my little brother again. I wanted to make sure that he would not worry about what I would say. As I had seen in his reaction, he was a little shocked to hear that kind of question from me. I could still smell the stench of fear in his blood, that now he was traumatized by those men who planned to catch him.

Daddy's reaction was the same as Akie's. His brow was still folded and the worry could be seen in his bleak eyes. He even brought down the spoon and fork he was holding just to hear the words he needed to hear.

It would be strange not to be anxious in this scenario. We were confronted with a legitimately challenging situation. In some ways, it was a good indication; it demonstrated that we were aware of the issue and were not in denial like some others. We must, however, ensure that we take the greatest possible care of ourselves along the road. We had a need for people like us.

I moved my seat closer to Akie and touched his shoulder. I called him by his name and said, "Don't be afraid when Daddy knows. It's much better that he's aware than not."

Akie looked at me with teary eyes. He did not utter any word but his eyes begged me to not tell Daddy about it. He was almost to cry when I tapped his back because I really planned to speak.

"Daddy," I called out for him and started to tell him about the group of men who tried to catch Akie at school when he was waiting for him.

Daddy was too stunned to speak. He might be playing the scenario inside his mind so he could figure out how did it exactly happen. At first, he tried to be calm, but eventually, he could not stop himself from bursting into anger. His entire face turned red and it seemed like he wanted to punch the table if only I did not warn him about it.

"I was right when I assumed you're not alright, my dear son," Daddy Sy said, taking a deep breath. "I asked you what was wrong, but you didn't tell me anything. I thought you're just having a fever on that day. I'm very sorry I wasn't able to see it."

Akie's tears started to fall from his natural pink cheeks. As if the soul could bleed an ocean through the eyes, that was the enormity of his sobbing. He was now having a hard time breathing, so I gave him a glass of water for him to drink.

Daddy Sy went to Akie and hugged him. "Do you remember their faces? We can report them to the police so they could not find victims anymore."

"I-I'm n-not sure i-if-"

"Shh..." I tried calming my little brother. "Don't talk yet... it's just fine." I turned my gaze at my dad and gave him a gesture as a sign to stop asking Akie at this point.

Daddy did not talk anymore, instead, he tried to bring joy to the atmosphere by carrying out a new topic which Akie really loved which eventually made him easily get over the previous talk. He was just like that, that whenever he knew that Akie was not happy, he would make weird gestures and actions or even make cheezy jokes just to make his son alive again.

Eventually, when everything was a little fine, I had taken the time to ask my dad to permit me to be late after my afternoon class because I would still have a meeting with Cheveyo about the assignment.

However, before permitting me, Daddy interviewed me first about Cheveyo. At first, he was doubting allowing me because he was thinking I would just go on a date. He was not worried about me getting another man again, but he was afraid I would suffer in the same case again. He had heard me sob when Zayden died. He had seen every tear that fell from my eyes, and he was with me at the darkest moment of my life. He was just that careful because I was his only daughter.

Well, I knew it. I also had seen every moment of Daddy's life, whether in ups or downs. So, I was indeed guarding my heart because I knew when I hurt, he would be hurt too. Nonetheless, finding another man that would be with me wasn't in my mind. I did not have plans of replacing Zayden because he was marked already in my heart--- and that mark was hard now to erase.

Daddy and Akie left first the house right after they eat their breakfast. They were all set already, so they did not bother to stay anymore since Akie's first-class would be starting within fifteen minutes and they still had to travel for around ten minutes.

Meanwhile, I was still in the house, preparing my things. I was in my room when I looked at the wall clock and knew it was only seven in the morning. I did not rush because my first class would still be on ten. Besides, I was waiting for Daddy's call since I told him to call me when he safely drove Akie to his school. And as I was expecting, after ten minutes, he called, informing me that they were safe.

"How about my dear daughter, is she in the university now?"

"I'm still in the house, Dad. I'll be leaving when you come home."

"Oh, no. I forgot to tell you I'll be going to the coffee shop to see my friend."

"Alright then, be sure to be safe."

After ten seconds, Daddy did not respond, but I could hear him breathing.

"Dad, are you listening?" I asked.

"Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking of Akie," Daddy said. "I know that you know, Brielle, of what had happened to your little brother. I want to know about it 'cause I won't be able to sleep in this case."

"Can we set it for tonight, Dad?"

Daddy Sy concurred with me before ending the call.

From sitting on my bed, I stood and proceeded to the window to see how bright the day was. However, no matter how blue the sky was and how fresh the air was, I could still the darkness on the outside-- exactly on the spot where I saw the five men preparing themselves to attack us. It had been weeks already since I last saw them, nonetheless, I could not be complacent because I was still feeling something strange whenever I go outside the house. It always felt like there was someone behind me following me, but when I would turn around, I would see none. I didn't know if I was just hallucinating or my feeling was really true and I just could not catch that someone who kept on stalking me.

Minutes after standing in the window, I looked at the wall clock again and knew it was close to nine already, so I packed up and went straight to the university. When I arrived in the building, the first person I saw was Cheveyo, who was standing in the doorway with crossed arms.

"I thought you'll not come, you're almost late," Cheveyo told me, to my surprise.

So, he had been waiting for me there?

I hemmed. "There's no way of skipping class unless I'm sick."

"Great. I'll see you at the end of the day."

I forced a smile and nodded to him before going to my seat where Queen was there already waiting for me. I settled myself until the discussion started. I was passionately listening to the proctor because I felt myself even more now than before. I just decided to focus more on my studies because no one in my family would see me miserable even in this. It would only take me little days now before I graduate, and so I was giving my best.

When the class ended for the whole day, Cheveyo approached me before I could even stand on my seat. "Let's go?" I asked him, which made Queen slap me on my arm.

"Goodbye, birds," Queen told the two of us before leaving.

From being distracted, I again focused my sight on Cheveyo. "Where are we going now?"

"Anywhere you want, as long as you're comfortable with the place."

I was still about to speak when in time, my stomach groaned. My face burned, and I tried avoiding my eyes to Cheveyo for I knew he had heard it. At the time the embarrassment was immense, and I could have hid as a child. Even though I wasn't looking straight at Cheveyo, I could see in my peripheral view that he was trying to cover his real reaction about it.

"Would you like to go to restaurant?" he asked. "I can't see you hungring while we are on a meeting. It's better to feed yourself while we are planning for the assignment. Or, do you want to go home now so you could eat? We can also talk through phone, if it's fine to you."

"No, let's proceed to the first plan. It's booked already, we can go." I took a first step but before continuing, I asked him first, "Would you like to ride on my car?"

"I have my car with me. Let's just meet to the restaurant." Cheveyo started to walk away but when he arrived at the doorway, he turned around me again and said, "Be careful with your driving."

There felt like something that was tingling my lip to smile, however, I tried to control it and just nodded to him. I also started walking away the room, never minding my classmates that had been looking at the two of us since when we started talking after the class discussion. And as I always used to do, I drove carefully which made me arrive in the restaurant safely.

The delicate smell of the food welcomed me as I entered the place. The restaurant felt as if I had entered a dreamland, the happy chatter, the fragrances, the easy and natural colours.

Cheveyo escorted me to my seat before ordering for our food. And while waiting, he started to talk about the assignment. He was too passionate speaking, and even without making gestures, he could hook an attention by just the way he played with those ocean blue eyes.

The assignment given to us was to create a short story book with a romance theme. Since it was a story, it would take us days before we finish it. We also had to plan for the plot and the setting so we could avoid the unnecessary holes of the entire book. Especially that it was romance, we had to be very careful of what we were writing about because we might give false ideas about relationships; however, we could still make it great, not cheesy, in many ways possible.

Still talking, Cheveyo looked straight in my eyes, and that was also the time he made a pause before he brought out the question: "Would you like to write about your love story?"