One Shot of Chance

Chapter 6 - Wrong Timing

Rowie stood there without moving an inch. She was only staring at the guy in front of her. She did not know what to say at times like that. What could a guy like him want from someone like her?

He was wearing a plain black shirt and a pair of black pants. He had this tiny black earring on his left ear that caught Rowie’s attention. Another sign of being a bad boy. She did not know what to say.

"Ahm..." Shintaro fidgeted at the ticket he was holding and looked away. "Hi, Rowie-san. I —I doubt that you know me, but in case you do not really know me, I am Shintaro Yamazaki." He smiled. He was unsure whether to mention the encounter at The Midnight Bar, but it was not really hard to tell that he was the guy smoking cigarettes after drinking alcohol.

Rowie remained unmoving. She just stared at him, still did not know what to say because it seemed like the guy already knew who she was. There was no need to introduce herself.

Shintaro’s smile faltered. He became conscious as she continued staring at him. "Ahm... what? Ah!" He handed her the ticket that he had been holding for a while. "I was just wondering if you wanted to go watch the movie tomorrow?" he asked hesitantly.

She looked down and a little smile appeared on her face. She bit her lower lip to prevent herself from smiling more. What should she do? Her crush just asked her out on a date —if you would call this a date. But for her, it was indeed a date.

It was not bad to assume, right?

Instead of agreeing, she chose to play a little hard-to-get. She crossed her arms on her chest and raised an eyebrow at him. "Why should I? Give me one reason why I should go on a date with you."

He opened his mouth to say, it was not a date. But he shook his head to prevent saying that. He glanced around to find an answer, and the deity must be on his side because he saw his best friend, Kazu, waving a paper at him saying, Tell her you like her.

Shintaro shook his head again and closed his eyes. That was ridiculous! He did not have any guts to say that to her. She barely knew him, and he could not prove it either because he barely knew her as well.

"Are you okay?"

His eyes shot open when she spoke in front of him. "I like you," he said without even thinking. Their eyes rounded, both shocked by the statement. "I —I mean, no... what I mean is –"

"It's okay. I got that a lot. I mean, saying they liked or loved me but did not really mean it," like my Dad. She swallowed the lump on her throat and tried to smile.

He saw the sadness in her eyes. That was why he said something that he did not think about again. "It is true. I do really like you."

They stared at each other for like an hour, but in fact, it was just seconds. Both of them looked away at the same time when they noticed they were staring for too long. Rowie picked the ticket slowly, not sure if she would go or not.

"I think it is already a good enough reason for me to say yes?" Rowie asked, more like to herself. It was not like they were really going on a date or something. They were just going to watch a movie together, nothing more.

It is not a date.

Shintaro smiled widely. He seemed happier than before. It was like winning a lottery when he did not even sign up for it. "See you at the movie house, then."

"Sure." Rowie smiled.

Shintaro ambled towards Kazu who was smiling widely at his friend. He gave him a high five and smacked his head. Rowie did not bother hiding her smile anymore. She was just so happy to prevent it from forming.

This was the first time someone asked her to a movie together. Could anyone blame her? She was not a head-turner, nor attractive to even date anyone. Going out with a guy was the last thing she ever dreamed about. And someone like Shintaro Yamazaki on top of that. Fangirls must be so envious of her right now.

She skipped towards the gymnasium. She was in the mood right now to not even miss a single shot today. Her last day at school turned out fine and it turned totally ecstatic when Shintaro approached her. There was nothing more she could ask for.

She shot the ball at the hook like a pro. She was smiling alone like an i***t. Sweat was all over her when she stopped, sat in the corner, and drank her water. It was 4:30 PM when she decided to stand up and wrap up the place. She hooked her backpack on her shoulder and skipped outside the gymnasium.

The sun was almost setting when she went outside. The sky was a clear pink and purple with white clouds. The cool air was brushing her skin while she was on the way outside the school. The guards were almost on their way home. She greeted them all with a Happy Christmas with a big smile. They greeted her back with the same intensity.

Her phone vibrated. When she picked it up, she saw her mom calling. The smile on her face vanished and was replaced with a worried expression.

She immediately answered, "Hello?" She heard her little sister's cry, which made her more worried, her heart was hammering inside like crazy.

Raven sniffed before answering, "He is here, big sis. He was asking for money or else he would break everything inside our house."

She could not understand what Raven was saying because of her sobbing but it was enough for Rowie to understand the situation.

Rowie cursed inside her mind. "Wait for me. I am on my way!" she almost screamed.

She rushed outside the waiting area. Good thing the bus was already there, she did not need to wait. Her hands were sweating, and she could not stop her knees from shaking so that she needed to hold them in place to stop.

Shintaro called for her before she got on the bus, but she did not seem to hear him. He was on his way home as well after eating with Kazuhiko and his family. Kira, Kazuhiko’s little sister, is going to Canada with their parents. Kazuhiko would not be coming because he had already agreed to go to the camp on Christmas break.

Shintaro shrugged his shoulders but when he saw the worried look on her face, he could not help but wonder why.

It was five years since then. Rowie’s dad was fired at his last job because of getting drunk over and over again. When he could not find any other job anymore, he blamed his second wife and two daughters. He would even hurt his wife by not being able to walk. Rowie would just shield her mom with her own body because she could not say anything.

It was cruel, but she could not do anything. Her stepmom wanted them to ignore him because he was just upset. Rowie did not agree, though. She wanted to place her dad behind bars but she could not. Her stepmom loved the bastard so much.

She stared out the bus window. There she realized that she could not really have a perfect life. There is no such thing as perfect. It was just an illusion. She could not be happy. She could not continue what was about to start when she knew that her family was suffering. She needed to wake up from this dream and face reality.

She must have known from the start that love would only be possible in books. They could only ask for motherly love or sisterly love. Love from the opposite s*x was impossible for her with her case right now. She needed to help her stepmom and little sister first.

"I am sorry," Rowie mumbled after wiping a tear that came out of her eyes.

"MOM!" ROWIE SCREAMED when she saw her stepmom's state. She almost tripped from running but she did not care. What was important to her was to prevent her stepmom from being hurt.

"Stop it, Dad!" she cried. She reached for her stepmom who was now lying on the ground while crawling away from her husband's cruel hands.

"You are finally here," her father said with his baritone voice after seeing her. "Money... give me money, kid, and I will leave you alone."

Rowie bit her lower lip really hard to stop herself from cursing at him. She ignored her father and scanned her stepmom for any bruise.

"Are you okay, Mom?" she asked in a worried tone, swallowing the lump that was forming in her throat. She did not want her stepmom to see her cry. Not now that her father was there. She would not let him see her weakness. That was the last thing she would ever do. She did not want her stepmom to get worried about her as well.

She smiled at her daughter and said, "I am fine, baby. Just go inside your room and I will handle your dad, okay?"

This time, she could not stop it anymore. Her tears flowed in her cheeks.

Seeing her mom like this was her weakness. It was like someone was piercing her heart and shattering it into pieces. She could not take it and all she ever wanted to do was punch the person who hurt her mother.

"No, Mom. I won't. Here, I will help you stand." She carried her stepmom and let her sit in her wheelchair, then she handed her the inhaler.

Before she could stand on her own feet, she felt a stinging feeling on her back. That was when she realized that her father was already holding a stick, swaying it on her back.

"Do not ignore me, kid! I fed you and your sister for so many years and now you are just going to ignore me?" He swayed the stick and another sting crawled her back making her groan in pain.

"Stop! Stop it, James! Do not hurt your daughter anymore!" Janice screamed.

She tried covering Rowie's body with her own, but her daughter did not budge and received her father's anger instead.

He swayed the stick again and hit her arm.

Rowie closed her eyes, hoping that the pain would go away. But it did not. It felt more and more painful every time he swayed the stick. It felt like the pain doubled whenever it hit her. There was no doubt about it, it would surely leave a scar or two.

"Just leave! I do not have any money to give you. If you are only working and did not get fired, then you do not have to beg from us!" Rowie shouted at her father indignantly.

The old man raised his hand with the stick but stopped mid-air. It was for a second, but Rowie saw the pain in her father's eyes that shocked her. It did not last for long because it eventually was covered with anger.

"You do not have any idea what happened! You do not have the right to judge me. And I am not begging for money. Just—" He seemed unsure of what to say, that was why he threw the stick and walked away. "I can't take it. You didn't even have money. Why not quit school and work instead!"

The moment her father left, she sighed in relief. That was the time when she felt the pain in her back, again. It hurt so much that she didn't know how to stop it from hurting. All she could ever do was shut her eyes and bit her tongue.

All she could do right now was to fight the anger that was starting to build inside her.