Chapter 2
1927 Words
Finally, our two hours performance has done.
“Hey guys, I gotta go now.” I told them while putting my guitar on my back, then walked to the backdoor.
“I can give you a lift Hailey.” Tonton offered.
I stopped walking and turned around.
“Haven’t you had any night outs?”
“Tonight has cancelled, so we rescheduled it. Let’s go. I’ll give you a ride.”
“Me too, bro! We are all in one way. I didn’t bring my car.” Lance told him.
“Sure! Let’s go.”
After we bid to Troy, we headed to Tonton’s car.
“You can drop me by at the train station Ton.” I told him.
“Okay.”
“Aren’t you going home to Bulacan, Hailey?” Lance asked me.
“No. Not tonight. I’m staying in the boarding house.” I lied to him.
Lance is living in Fairview and Tonton is also in Bulacan, like me, but he is miles away from my place. He’s living in Norzagaray, Bulacan. While me is just in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, closer in Fairview.
They think that I am still single. They also know about my suitors, but they think I am not into a serious relationship.
I always keep my life private as much as possible.
While on the way to the train station, I called Pierce, and he quickly answered.
“Hi, beautiful.” His greeting made me smile.
“Hi. Are you in there now? I’m on my way already.” I told him.
“Not yet. I had a hard time escaping from Nigel..”
“Really? Just be careful, okay?”
“Okay. See you soon.”
Exactly ten minutes, Tonton’s car stopped at the dropping point near the train station.
“Thanks for the ride Ton. Good night, guys!” I told them when I got out of the car.
“You’re welcome.”
“Good night Hailey.” Lance and Tonton said in unison.
“Good night.”
They left, and I walked to where Pierce parked the car. I saw his car right away and walked faster.
Pierce opened the door before I could even knock.
“Hi, babe.” He greeted as he gave me a quick kiss.
“Hi.”
He took the guitar and put it in the back seat.
“How’s your day?” Pierce asked me.
“Good! Oh, Marta told me that the webcam move in there anytime. I also checked the room and the one we asked to add to the bathroom. Everything is perfect. Might want to see for yourself. Anyway, I have photos here. I can show you later.
“That’s great to know. What do you think if we can move in there tomorrow?” Pierce asked me excitedly.
“Don’t you have classes tomorrow?”
“I have one subject. Oh, wait.. tomorrow is your first day in our school, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Maybe we can defer moving in. I can accompany you tomorrow. Touring around the campus so you would get familiarized.” He told me.
“My classes will be late afternoon, so we still have time in the morning. If you want to. Besides, I also need to buy toiletries. I’m running out of stocks.”
“Well, if it’s okay with you. Then we can do it tomorrow morning.”
“Okay.”
We bought take-outs in McDonald before we headed to his apartment.
“Get me the same order I had before..” I told him while he’s talking to the cashier.
“Okay.”
After we ordered and got the food. I started eating and gave him his while feeding him. He has eaten nothing yet as he waited for me.
“Thanks babe.”
“You’re welcome.”
Pierce knows my part-time job. He’s supporting me. He is in fact into music too as he has school band and my brother is also one of the members.
He doesn’t have part-time job. Anyway, he doesn’t need it. He can support himself financially since he has business in Ilocos. His cousin is managing it while he’s completing his degree. He still has a hold of the business and he checks it every night as he gets home. He has his personal laptop and another one for business. But you would not know that he can be serious about anything until you let him sits on the chair facing his business laptop.
We have arrived in his apartment at around eleven as we stuck in the traffic. I quickly cleaned the mess that we Pierce left earlier.
Pierce was putting all the left overs inside the fridge so we can still eat it tomorrow. Then he went to the bathroom and get changed.
“Oh unicorn!” I exclaimed in shock.
“Haha! Did I startle you?
“Wasn’t that obvious?”
I didn’t realize that he was already beside me.
“Let me finish that. You can do your thing now. We have a long day tomorrow babe, so we need to rest early.”
“Okay.”
And thirty more minutes later, we’re snuggling on the bed. I can’t sleep. I’m thinking about tomorrow.
“Pierce..” I looked at him.
“Hmm?” He responded with his eyes closed.
“I’m going to the same school starting tomorrow. Do you think my brother wouldn’t suspect us?
“He wouldn’t, unless we do things that could make him.”
“Does that mean that we shouldn’t talk to each other while at school or we shouldn’t see each other?” I know he can sense some disappointments in my voice.
Pierce opened his eyes and seriously looked at me.
“Let’s act normal. Like what we always used to do. But if you’re ready to tell the truth to your family, then we can immediately tell them tomorrow morning.”
“No! You know my parents. They are strict and I am their only daughter, so you know they won’t take it easily. Most specially my brother, Nigel. You are his best friend and I am his sister. And how about your family? What do you think they would feel?” I sat and leaned on the headboard.
I heard his sigh, and he sat on bed then leaned on the headboard too.
“I have mind on my own babe and I can decide whatever I want or not. I married you because I want to and I love you. Do you regret marrying me?” He’s gazing at me.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know means you somehow regretted marrying me.”
My answer annoyed him. It’s just that every time I think about the lies I made, my guilt doubles.
“It’s not that. I was just wishing that I could have told them or somehow given them inform them about it. But--“
“Then we can tell them right now. I can call or let’s go to Bulacan.” He said when he cut me off.
“Are you kidding me? Do you want me to be disowned?”
“You should have thought about that before you agreed of marrying me.” He’s pissed.
I fell in silence. He’s right. But love can do silly things and I love him so much.
My parents knew what I felt for him because on the day he left, they were there to pacify me, to comfort me. They saw me crying every day. I cried my eyes out for him. I told my parents about my feelings for him, but they didn’t take it seriously. They told me I was only is mistaken those feelings as infatuations.
Then months had passed, and they told me they have someone for me to marry once I graduated.
I haven’t seen that guy in person. Their family is currently at United Kingdom. Dad told me that his father is his best friend. Ever since I got that news, I always thought of Pierce. He promised to come back. I thought he had forgotten about me. He never talked about me. Even Nigel had contacted him, and I had always thought that he wasn’t true to his promise. Until one day I got a call from him and we met up. I was already staying at the boarding house at that time. The met up led to catching up, until we made out.
Pierce held my hand l. “I’m sorry, babe. We can sort this out together. Don’t worry too much, okay?” He lightly rubbed my hand.
I slowly nodded my head. It’s actually not his fault. It’s me to blame. I forced him not to tell my brother and my parents about it. It scared me that my dad would kill him. Pierce doesn’t know about my parents’ plan of marrying me off to my dad’s best friend, and I’m afraid that he would find out. I don’t want to hurt him.
Like the plan we have last night, we woke up early to move things to our new home and to buy toiletries.
The new apartment is a bit far from the school is in between the new apartment and the old one.
We’re here in the new apartment, but Pierce is still occupying the old one, just in case my brother and his friends wanted to visit him or stay in the house. He has a place for them.
Recently, his friends wondered why he didn’t always join them to any outings or night outs.
It’s already afternoon when we got to finish moving in some stuffs and buying things we needed. I’m glad that Nigel didn’t catch us in Pierce's old apartment. He is now talking to Pierce on the phone.
“Bro, I’m not in the house now. Why?”
Pierce is in the living room while I’m preparing the food that we took out last night. It’s still fine. I just pre-heated them.
“I’m not sure if I could come back sooner. Sorry, bro. I’ll just see you later.”
“bye.”
Pierce walked in. “They’re at the house.”
“Why?” I asked while handing him his plate.
“It’s James’ birthday, and I forgot today is his birthday so they went there as I was the only one missing.”
“Well, you can catch up. You can go after you ate and only minor adjustment of the shoe rack. I can handle it.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I want to be with you.”
“You’re cheesy.”
“But I made you smile, babe, and I enjoy seeing you smile. Besides, this is our first day here. I don’t want to leave my wife alone.”
I blushed. Him saying the word wife feels right.
“Well, we both have classes later and your classes will end earlier than me
“I’ll pick you up, babe.”
“At school?”
“Yes. Why?”
“What if someone can recognize you or your car and they’ll tell Nigel about it, then Nigel would ask me why we’re together.l??”
“You have a very wide imagination. Haven’t you?” He’s widely grinning at me.
“Pierce, I’m serious. What if that happened?”
He sighed.
“Fine. Call me once you’re out and I’ll be waiting at the Starbucks two corners away from school.”
“Okay.”
- Writer
