There were only a few people in the church when Brent and I arrived. The Stonewick church was surrounded by many frangipani trees, making the area where we could light candles quite chilly. Brent followed my lead and also got a candle and prayed.
After lighting the candles, I didn’t want to go back to the hotel yet because I was afraid of seeing Kate and Samer being affectionate with each other. It might just break my heart.
“Should we go back to the hotel?” Samer asked, and I shook my head.
“Maybe later,” I replied.
“Do you want to go for a stroll? Or just take a joyride? We have helmets, so no one will see your face,” he suggested.
“I don’t have to fear being seen since I’m not doing anything wrong,” I said to Brent.
“So what are you waiting for? Let’s go,” Brent said and stood up.
“You said there are helmets, why is there only one?” I asked him as we stood in front of his motorcycle.
“Didn’t you say it’s okay if your face is seen because you didn’t do anything wrong?” he reminded me.
“Hello! That’s not the purpose of wearing a helmet. It’s for protection, and it’s not allowed to ride without one,” I told him.
“Let’s just pass by the house,” he said.
“Really?” I doubted his intention of passing by their house. Of course, I was already fooled once when I went to their house before.
“Are you afraid I might do something to you in our house?” he asked.
“Not really. I know you wouldn’t do something I don’t like,” I told him.
“Don’t you like it?” I was surprised by his question and glared at him immediately.
“If you have any plans to harm me like you did before, stop it because you won’t gain anything from me. I might even throw away our friendship for good,” I warned him.
“I was just joking,” he tried to brush it off.
“That’s a bad joke,” I said to him.
“Let’s go,” I ordered him and quickly got on his motorcycle.
We were just a few meters away from the church when a heavy rain suddenly poured down. There was nothing we could do but continue since we were already soaked. The rain was so strong that we could hardly see anything.
“Be careful,” I shouted close to Brent’s ear because I didn’t want us to have an accident, but he didn’t respond to me.
When we arrived in front of his house, I finally breathed a sigh of relief because we made it safely. I was completely drenched while waiting for him to open the gate, and when it finally opened, Brent called me, and we entered together.
“You seem to be unlucky,” he commented as we reached their house’s balcony.
“Am I the unlucky one? It seems like you brought bad luck into my life,” I retaliated. He opened the main door of their house, and I felt embarrassed to go inside because I was soaked.
“Come on,” he said to me.
“I might make a mess inside. You go ahead and get me a towel,” I told him.
“It’s fine, Jamie. Come on, get inside. It’s cold outside, and you’re all wet. You might catch a cold,” he persuaded me to enter the house despite being soaked from the rain. When we both got inside, Brent briefly left to open a room, probably his mother’s room. When he returned, he had a towel with him, but there was only one.
“I don’t have any spare clothes,” I told him.
“Oh, my bad, just a moment,” he said and went back inside the room. “How about this?” He waved an oversized black polo shirt in front of me.
“Yup, that will do,” I said and immediately accepted the borrowed clothing.
“Go inside and take a shower. The bathroom has hot water,” Brent said.
“What about you? Where will you shower?” I asked him.
“There’s still a common bathroom here like before,” he replied.
I didn’t argue with Brent and went inside because I was already feeling cold. I wanted to change into dry clothes or hide under the comforter.
I quickly took a shower and dressed up. The polo shirt Brent lent me reached down to my knees. I didn’t have an extra bra, but it was fine since I could cover myself with my long hair.
I opened my bag and was relieved to see that its contents were not wet, including the disposable underwear. I got used to having disposable underwear in my bag just in case my period comes.
When I stepped out of the room, my long hair covered my chest so that Brent wouldn’t see it. I didn’t want to shock him with the transformation of the girl he left before to the “goddess” that I am now. No, just kidding. However, I was not prepared to see him in the living room. He was just wrapped in a towel, cleaning the wet living room.
We waited for several hours, but the rain didn’t stop. Instead, it grew stronger. I sat near the window, looking outside the house, and became scared as the surroundings suddenly darkened. I worried that there might be a storm, and the Khalifa opening was already tomorrow.
“Have you heard any news about a storm entering the country today?” I asked the man nearby.
“None, so I’m sure this rain will just pass. Are you hungry? I can cook for you,” he offered.
“What kind of food?” I asked because I wasn’t informed that he was good at cooking.
“Chocolate porridge,” Brent said, and I chuckled.
“You’re teasing me,” there was a hint of annoyance in my voice because he was trying to remind me that he once fed me chocolate porridge as well.
I returned to Stonewick fifteen years ago, and Brent and I met again. He followed me to my house, and it was also raining heavily that day. While looking outside and waiting for the rain to stop, the memories of what happened back then came back to me.
“The chocolate porridge is delicious when the weather is like this,” he said.
“I know,” I grumbled because it was offensive when he mentioned the word chocolate porridge. I felt like he had a plan to bring back whatever we had before.
“Don’t you want me to help in the kitchen? Your cooking is still better,” the man said.
I shook my head a few times because I would never let him sweet-talk me again. “Oh no, your attempts to be cute won’t work on me,” I told him.
“I’m not trying to be cute. I really just don’t know how to cook,” he admitted.
“So, you offered me chocolate porridge, but you expect me to do the cooking?” I asked him.
“Kind of like that,” he replied.
“You really haven’t changed at all,” I told him because if I indulged him, I knew my blood would boil.
“Is there something I need to change?” he asked me.
“Never mind,” I said, then stood up and went to the kitchen.
We finished eating, but the rain still didn’t stop. I started to worry because it was getting late. “Who’s with you here in the house?” I asked Brent.
“I’m alone. My cousin went home,” Brent replied.
“Who? The handsome guy I sat next to on the bus?” I asked innocently, but Brent looked at me angrily.
“Are you afraid that it’s just the two of us here?” he asked, and of course, I nodded.
“Of course,” I replied honestly. There was no point in pretending.
“I won’t do anything bad to you. I should be the one afraid because I know you’re angry with me, and you might decide to stab me while I’m asleep,” he said. “By the way, do you know how to play tong-its?”
“Of course!” I quickly answered, as playing tong-its was our source of happiness before.
“Let’s play then, or if you want something to eat, I’ll cook for you,” Brent offered.
“No, you might poison me,” I teased him. “Where are the playing cards you boasted about?”
“Wait, let me get them,” he stood up and went to a divider.
We played tong-its and lost track of time. Suddenly, my stomach grumbled, indicating that I was hungry. “I’m hungry,” I told Brent.
“Okay, wait, I’ll boil some eggs,” he replied before getting up.
Did I hear that right? I followed him to the kitchen to ask, “Just eggs?”
“Eggs and bananas, that’s what we have for food here,” Brent answered.
“You really bring bad luck to my life, Brent,” I said, and when he frowned, I knew he was offended. Unexpectedly, my dinner consisted of just boiled eggs, bananas, and a bottle of vitamilk. After a few minutes, we finished the boiled eggs.
“Let’s play three rounds,” Brent suggested, putting the plate with boiled eggs in front of me.
I had only eaten three, and it seemed like I couldn’t finish the two remaining eggs. “I can’t finish this,” I told him.
“Are you sure? I’ll finish it for you then,” he said.
I just stared at him as I handed him the remaining eggs. “Do I need to eat this banana too?” I asked.
“Yup,” he replied.
Thirty minutes later, I felt drowsy. I don’t know why my eyes were feeling heavy. I thought I would only feel that way when I was with you, but it wasn’t the case. As I lay down, I immediately closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep, fearing that Brent might wake up and discover my head resting on his chest.
What if he woke up and realized that my breast was in his mouth? I didn’t want to commit a sin against Samer, even though we were on a cool-off. I wanted his affair with Kate to be fixed because I didn’t want to look for someone else again. Good thing Brent didn’t take advantage of me.
When I woke up again, it was already four in the morning. When I looked at where Brent was lying, he was already gone, so I sat up immediately. I worried that he might have left.
“Brent?” I called his name as I walked out of the room. He wasn’t in the living room, so I went to the kitchen, and that’s where I found him. “Good morning,” I greeted him.
“Good morning to you too, Jamie. How was your sleep?” he asked if my sleep was okay.
“It was okay,” I said, but I couldn’t look at him directly. He didn’t know that I was awake when I accidentally fell on him on the floor.
“What are you doing?” I asked him.
“Making hot chocolate, then we’ll head to the hotel,” he said.
“How will I go there if I have nothing to wear? You can go ahead, and I’ll follow later because Rhea is still asleep,” I told him.
“I’ll take you there. Just wait a moment; I’ll get my luggage from Rhea,” he said.
“How could I believe you? What if someone asks me where you are since they saw us leave together yesterday?” I said to Brent.
“I’m sure they’ll still talk about us because some employees saw us leaving together. Remember? Maybe Samer will be jealous and realize what he lost,” Brent said.
I just laughed at his suggestion because it was unlikely to happen. After a few days of not hearing from him, I lost hope that he still loved me. I felt like he didn’t think about me anymore. I didn’t feel like I was still in his heart. Maybe I was replaced by jealousy.
“If you really want to help, make sure the hotel’s opening is perfect, and get my suitcase from Rhea. I’ll call her later, but please don’t make a mess there,” I instructed Brent.
“What if Samer asks me where you are? They all know we were together yesterday,” Brent said.
“Tell him I went home. There, now I have a proof of transaction. I doubled it so you have money for groceries for our stay here,” I said while showing him a screenshot of the transaction.