Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Alonzo
I should have spent the six-hour bus ride getting some sleep in preparation for my impending interrogation, not to mention my work shift. Instead, I’d stewed over my own idiocy.
How had I messed things up with Cam so badly? One second, we were arguing, then the next, I was practically mauling her against a wall. In public.
Yes, she had initiated the kiss and seemed to enjoy it. But I had taken it too far. If it weren’t for the sudden noise snapping me back to my senses, I don’t know what would have happened.
When I finally made it home, it was to Luna shouting, “There you are!”
She rushed toward me from the bedroom we shared while she was visiting. Ever the hugger, she threw her arms around me and squeezed me tight. “Are you okay?”
“I need a shower but otherwise, I’m alright.” I patted her back. “I’ll tell you later when everyone’s together.”
Luna let go of me and her eyes went wide. Grabbing my left arm, she studied my bandage. “Oh my God! What happened?”
“Accident with a surfboard. It’s fine.” With everything that happened over the past few days, my injury was the least of my concerns. “On a scale of one to ten, how much trouble am I in?”
She made a tsking sound but let me go. “We were frantic when we couldn’t reach you. After we found out where you were, Papa lost it. Then Mama cried, and he got even madder.”
Shit. “So a twenty?”
“On Saturday, yeah. We talked him down yesterday. During breakfast, he was at a six, I think.”
“So when he sees me, it’ll shoot back to ten. Good to know.”
She sighed. “We were really worried about you, Lonz. No one could reach you.”
The grime that seemed to coat my skin sank deeper, staining my being. I felt every bit like the bad child, and I didn’t know what to say to redeem myself—or if I even could. “I’m sorry, Ate L. C’mere,” I said, gesturing her close for another hug.
She rubbed my back. “I get that you needed a break or an escape, but can you tell me or Ate next time? We’ll cover for you with Papa and Mama. The important thing is that someone knows where you are in case anything happens.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
I wanted to argue that she’d been living alone in a whole other country since she was nineteen, and we’d had no way of knowing where she was at all times.
Both she and Tala had enjoyed plenty of freedom living in the US as college students.
They’d been younger than me, with zero parental supervision.
No curfews, no checks about where they were and who they spent their time with.
I’d been gone for two nights—and I was twenty-one. A legal adult. Yet I had to explain myself because I was living under our parents’ roof.
Pulling away, I smiled at Luna in an attempt to lighten the mood. “Am I still your favorite brother?”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t have a choice. You’re my only brother.” Lightly punching my bicep, she said, “You stink, but I love you anyway.”
“So mushy, Ate L.”
“Go shower before everyone gets here. And Lonz?”
I had started walking to the bathroom, but I glanced back at her. “Yeah?”
She smiled at me. “I’m glad you’re back.”
Cam
As though the sea sensed the storm within me, the waves surged stronger, more turbulent than usual.
They wiped me out with each attempt until I finally caught one.
Its force sent my heart leaping into my throat.
My entire being fired up with electricity, and for a second, I felt like I was in control.
Then I remembered that time someone crashed into my surfboard, and I went down again.
Coughing out mouthfuls of salt water, I pulled my board along as I fought my way back to the shore. The moment my eyes cleared, I spotted Nikki sitting on the beach blanket I’d laid out.
“Morning,” she called out when I was within hearing range.
I grunted, both my body and my board weighing heavy.
Stupid Alonzo.
Two buko shakes and a paper bag rested on the blanket in front of Nikki, and I decided not to be mad at her anymore. But that didn’t stop me from saying, “You are such a gossip.”
She widened her eyes, putting on her best impersonation of her daughter’s innocent look. “What? I thought of you and decided to bring you your favorite shake and pandesal like the amazing best friend that I am.”
“Uh huh. And this surprise has nothing to do with how you stuck me with an annoying guy last night?” Grabbing my towel, I gave my hair and body a quick wipe before looping it around my neck.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. The way I remember it, you invited a super nice, incredibly good-looking guy to our table.”
“Because you guilted me into doing it,” I shot back as I sat beside Nikki and nabbed my drink. “Also, he’s not that nice.”
She raised a brow at me. “But he is good looking, right?”
Since I hated liars, I took a slurp of my shake in response. I sighed at how good it tasted.
“Ha! Progress,” Nikki exclaimed. “Also, he offered to walk you home. Seems nice to me.”
“Would you think that if you found out he harassed me?”
Her mouth hung open. “What?” she half-shouted as her back went straight. “Seriously?”
“Relax. I said if .“
“Shit. Don’t scare me like that.” She pushed at my arm.
“Sorry.”
Nikki wrapped her arms around me in a side hug. I patted her twice, then pulled away.
“So…nothing happened?”
I took a drink to delay answering. Finally, I said, “We argued, made out against some wall, then we heard someone and he realized it was a mistake. End of story.”
She stared at me. “End of story? You didn’t give me any details! What did you argue about? How did you go from that to sucking face? Did he suck anything else? Also, which wall was it?”
“We argued about our assumptions about each other. I told him to shut up; he dared me to make him. None of the fun parts.” I ticked each answer off on my fingers. “I can’t remember.”
Liar . It was the one with the mural of pink flowers and the sign advertising Ed’s plumbing services. I had no idea who Ed was, but we’d come close to giving his poster more action than he’d probably imagined.
“What do you mean he realized it was a mistake?”
“I mean, that’s exactly what he said. He remembered I wasn’t his type and tried to apologize.” Admitting it hurt my pride all over again, but I wasn’t going to shy away from reality. Better to know the truth and get hurt rather than live a lie.
Nikki gawked at me. “He said you weren’t his type?”
“No. But it’s obvious enough.”
“We really thought?—”
My brows lifted. “We?”
“Eric and I.” At my look, she shrugged. “Of course we talked about you. The tension between you two was crazy.”
“Well, he’s gone now, so we can just forget about it.” The topic killed my appetite, but I reached for a pandesal anyway. “What else did you two get up to last night?”
“Eric got hungry again, so we ordered wings and talked. He walked me home a bit before one.” Before I could say anything, she added, “No, there was no random making out against a wall.”
“Bummer.”
We chatted for a couple more minutes and walked together to the café, where we said goodbye. When I got back to the house, Inang was on her way out for her usual Monday breakfast with friends.
I held the door open for her. “Morning, Inang.”
“Good morning,” she said. “I found a note for you under your door. I thought it was just a receipt at first.”
I frowned.
Her smile was wider than usual. “It’s on the table.”
With that, she left.
I went straight to the dining table, where sure enough, there was a folded piece of paper. A bus ticket. Scrawled on its back was:
Cam—
I really am sorry for crashing into you yesterday and snapping at your offer to help. You’ll probably (definitely) disagree, but I’m glad I met you.
Thanks for the save—and for listening. I owe you one.
Alonzo
The paper crinkled as I reread the note. He must have left it while I was gone yesterday, maybe right before he walked to the bar and ran into Nikki.
Damn it.
Just when I thought I had him pegged, he’d pull a one-eighty on me and have me questioning my judgment all over again.
This gesture wasn’t anything grand; just recycled paper and words.
But it was tangible—evidence, as he might say, of the events that had marked my weekend.
It didn’t erase what happened last night, but it did dull my anger.
I found myself bringing the note to my desk and going back to it after I showered.
As I opened my laptop to work, I placed it under my mousepad, promising I’d throw it out later.
Then I opened my emails and found one from my recurring client. And I forgot about the note for the rest of the day.