In Love With My Rival

CHAPTER TWELVE: and who knows what to do

            “Where have you really been?”

            When will he stop asking me that?

 Zephyr wondered. Xavier had been asking him the same question over and over again once they got seated in front of a round table in a food court at the mall. Now that they started eating their lunch which was some cheesy baked lasagna, crispy fried chicken, and cucumber salad, Xavier was still so curious about where he had really gone to.

“Why do you keep asking me that?” Zephyr casually asked and took a crunchy bite of the fried chicken. “I already told you I just went to find something, but nothing.” He added, his mouth full.

“That doesn’t answer the question, bro.” Xavier already knew what he was talking about when he said he needed to find something but nothing.

Zephyr looked up at this brother from his chicken, swallowed the food in his mouth, and let out a sigh. “Are you curious because I was late?”

“Exactly, I am,” Xavier said, rolling his eyes at him.

Zephyr shook his head and let out a breath. “I went to help someone on the way here.” Zephyr thought saying that instead would finally stop him from asking the same question again. It did not necessarily answer his brother’s question but Zephyr hoped it would somehow divert Xavier’s attention.

“Oh. Who? What happened? Are you hurt?”

Xavier, instead of still worrying about where Zephyr had been, was more concerned about his brother’s state? “Are you hurt somewhere? Let me check you out.” He added, leaning back on his chair and stared at his older brother with so much seriousness. He could not hide the concern on his face. It was his brother, his only family, he just could not help, but feel extra concerned about his brother. “You seem fine. No signs of physical injury.” He added after he was done with the ‘physical examination’.

There’s just something in the way he reacted.

Zephyr thought. That was when he told Xavier, “You are overreacting.”

“Huh? How? I’m just concerned about you. Was that bad or you’re just mad?” Xavier childishly rolled his eyes.

“What happened? Are you hurt?” Zephyr said in a mocking voice, imitating the way Xavier talk.

“How do you expect me to react? I know you. By help, I know what you mean.” Xavier rolled his eyes again.

Zephyr was already irritated, seeing Xavier kept rolling his eyes at him. It was one of the things he hated the most that people do. But, instead of throwing an empty plate at his brother, he tried his best to remain calm on his seat.

There are people around.

He reminded himself that. His other fist which was under the table was curled up. Yup, he was hot-tempered. He hated it when people annoy him to the best that they could, just to see him steaming in fury.

“Yeah, you’re right. I got into a fight again. It was unexpected. I just saw a woman getting harassed by two hungry maniacs in a parking lot of a hospital. I–”

“You came to rescue her.”

“Yeah, I did. I just couldn’t–“

“You just couldn’t leave her behind.”

“Right. Damn, you’re always right.” Zephyr dramatically pointed his index finger at his younger brother, shaking his head as if he amazed when he was just being sarcastic. “How do you do that?”

“What? Read your mind?” Xavier shrugged, leaning in back to the table, picked up a fried chicken wing, and took a bite of it. “It’s a woman you saw. Of course, you wouldn’t hesitate to help her.” He said it was the most obvious thing to say.

“So, if it’s a guy, you think I’d just leave?” Zephyr frowned.

“How would I know that? What do you think? Would you just leave?”

            Zephyr’s eyes closed in their own accord after hearing Xavier’s response. He pursed his lips, exhaled deeply before shaking his head. “I don’t want to talk to you.”

            “What? Why?” Xavier asked, but the amusement in his tone was so evident. It was very obvious that Xavier enjoyed annoying him. “Seriously, I just wanted to see you annoyed. It’s been a long time. I need to see that kind of face sometimes.”

            “Funny.” Zephyr sarcastically replied.

            “So…” Xavier trailed off, making Zephyr look at him suspiciously. “You look so scary when you look at me like that.” Xavier laughed.

            “Cut it. So what?”

            “So, did you get her name? Who is she? What does she look like? Is she hot? Sexy? Curvy? Slim? Rich?”

            Zephyr looked at his brother who was wearing a smirk on his face and eyebrow wiggling.

            What the f**k?

            Zephyr thought. He did not know what to say yet, completely shocked by the question thrown at him by his own brother.

            No, I should be amazed. Who the heck taught him that?

            Zephyr wondered so. Since, when did his brother get so interested in girls? Girls? No, he was interested in women. By women, not girls… but women… older... stable… hot and sexy. He shook his head, trying to erase the thoughts in his mind. Just recalling the questions just thrown at him, made him feel helpless because he did not want to think about the woman again, but he had no choice.

            Damn this.

            He silently cursed and finally asked his brother, “Is it necessary to answer all that?”

            “Of course. I asked you. It would be rude to just leave me hanging, though. What really happened? Who was the woman?”

            “I don’t know her. Yes, she’s rich, hot, and sexy, but as I said, I don’t know her. It’s not like I would want to know. After saving her from possibly getting robbed, raped, or killed, I just left. Can you stop asking questions now? I think I’ve informed you enough.”

            “What? Did you leave her just like that? You didn’t say anything?”

            Zephyr let out a huge puff of breath for the nth time.

            He’s your brother.

            A voice in his head reminded him.

            Seriously, how old is he?

            “Yes, I did. Was it important to get to know her? What mattered was that I saved her.”

            “Are you serious? Of course, it was. You could’ve at least asked for her name and shook her hand before you left her just like that? That was so rude, bro.”

            What the heck?         

            “Rude? It’s already rude? I told her to go back inside the hospital because her wound on her forehead was bleeding and that–“

            “Wait, she was hurt?”

            “There was already bandage on the wound on her forehead when I found her.”

            “Oh.”

            “Are you done?” Zephyr asked, sounding so tired with his brother’s crazy questions. If it wasn’t Xavier, he had already left this table.

            “Eating or Interrogating?”

            “Both. I’ll drop you off at NYU.” Zephyr glanced at the time on his wristwatch, a very old Rolex, given to him by his father. “We don’t you want to be late for your three o’clock class. Let’s go.” Zephyr stood up from his seat.

            “Wait. Let me finish this.” Xavier said, hurriedly picking up the one last brownie on the plate before fowling his brother out of the food court. “Can’t you walk slowly? My stomach hurts, you know.”

            Zephyr heard Xavier complain. To avoid any more banters and childish arguments between them, Zephyr slowed down and waited for Xavier who was trying to keep up with his long strides. They headed to the elevator, walked in, and rode it along with an elder couple, down to the ground floor. They did not buy anything but just ate lunch together.

            While the two were walking towards the exit of the mall, Zephyr just suddenly halted when his eyes caught something on the magazine stand beside the security guard standing near the exit. He walked towards it and picked up a certain magazine issue. It was the cover page that caught his attention.

            ‘Three Years of Excellent Leadership’

            The title said. He read it silently with his eyes. But, it was the woman on the picture that hooked him. She looked beautiful, he thought. The woman was wearing a terno white corporate attire, an executive, pants, and strap heels. All whit. The only black he could see was her black-painted nails on the toes and fingers, black lipstick, and hairs.

            This is her.

            He thought, couldn’t be wrong.

            She might have been to a photo shoot that day. This was exactly what she wearing.

            Everything that happened when he bumped into her that day was imprinted in his mind. He remembered all of it. Every freckle and hair on her body.

            He read the name in big bold white letters on the cover, ‘Ava Lauren O’Kelly’.

            “Was that her? The one you saved today?”

            Xavier’s sudden voice behind him started him so bad the almost jump and scream. He elbowed his brother lightly, moved away from the magazine stand, with the magazine in his hand, and finally walked out of the mall.

            “Hey, wait for me!”

            He heard Xavier call for him. He did not stop walking until he reached his motorcycle which was parked at the mall car park. He took the extra helmet and threw it at his brother, after securing the magazine in his jeans’ back pocket. Xavier perfectly caught it in his hands. Zephyr hopped onto the vehicle and turned on the engine after Xavier hopped on the back. He did not waste any more time and sped up on the road.

            “She’s hot, bro. I can tell. Look at these fierce eyes. So damn sexy. Are you going to cut this picture and hang this on your wall? She’s a businesswoman, it says here. No wonder why she looks so professional. Do you know her?”

            Zephyr did not know what to do with his brother anymore.

Damn, He’s too talkative.

He had no idea that Xavier had lifted up his leather jacket and took the rolled magazine from his jeans’ pocket. That was… stealing.

            “Put it back in my pocket. I don’t know her. I’m just interested in her leadership. It says ‘Excellent’. I want to know why.” He reasoned out.

            Please buy it.

            Zephyr silently hoped.

            “Oh, okay.”

            Just in time, they reached the university and Xavier hopped off his motorcycle.

            Thank, God.

            “Take care,” Zephyr said, getting the helmet from him.

            “Thank you for the lunch. You take care too.” Xavier smiled and started walking towards the entrance of the school campus.

            “Wait! Give me that magazine.” Zephyr shouted angrily.

            Xavier, being so annoying, just laughed and turned around to give the magazine back to him. “Tsk. I really think you know that woman.”

            “I don’t. Bye.” Zephyr muttered, putting the magazine back inside his back pocket.

            “Bye!”

            He heard his brother laugh as he started driving. He did not know where yet. He just kept driving and somehow, he ended up parking his motorcycle outside the park. He found himself walking along the pathways, taking a Monday stroll, and just breathed in the fresh air. He ended up sitting on a wooden bench by the trees and reading staring at the cover of the magazine.

            “Ava Lauren O’Kelly.”

            He tasted the name on his tongue. Lovely name for a lovely woman.

            “So, this is you, huh?” He nodded his head, flipping through the next page.

            He read some stuff about her company. It turned out that she was the CEO of a food corporation known as Lauren Foods Incorporated. He honestly hadn’t heard of that company. He was amazed by the company’s background and its stocks in the market. He wasn’t into business and accounting, but the articles about her and the company kept him flipping through the pages of the magazine until his eyes landed on something more interesting.

            Pictures.

            And more pictures.

            Of Ava Lauren and her family.

            Zephyr could not take his eyes off one face in a family portrait on a whole page of the magazine. It was obvious that it was her father on the right and it was her mother on the other side because her looks are torn between her parents. The man was the only one not smiling in the picture and just staring at the camera with those cold eyes. Zephyr studied the face closely. Every facial feature. A voice inside his head was telling him he could be wrong.

            But, I can also right.

            You have to make sure about it first.

            “There’s only one thing to do to find out.” He muttered, standing up from the bench and started walking along the pathway when his eyes just landed on someone not so far and not so near from where he was standing. “Isn’t this fate?”

            He stared at the woman who was sitting alone on the next bench by the trees. She was on the phone with someone. He could see her side view and before he even knew it, he was already walking towards her. No, he did not sit beside her but hid behind the tree, eavesdropping on her. But, all he heard before the woman stood up from the bench and walk in the opposite direction was, “I need a bodyguard”.

            Well, I know what to do.