I shut the door of my car and walked in the cafe, ordering some overdue hot chocolate and taking a seat on one of the booths.
A minute passed, then it's two, threw and soon, half an hour.
I tapped my nails impatiently on the wooden table. Where the hell is this guy?
Probably banging some chic; typical.
What? Me?
Jealous? Hah. Not a chance. Don't sweat it y'all, I've got my eyes on some hot piece of ass and it's definitely not the man-whore you're thinking about.
The bell above the door chimed, signaling another stranger's arrival. By then, I was already on my phone playing piano tiles 2 with an ear bud stuffing my left ear.
A hand landed on the table and jolted me back to reality and made me lose focus. My finger slipped and tapped the wrong tile, causing the song to end.
Goddamit.
That could've been a new best! This guy needs to know some things about manners. I couldn't wipe my annoyed expression even if I wanted to. I mean do you know how hard it is to tap this goddamn screen so many times with incredible speed? No? You should.
I looked up and saw Levy grinning at me and I was seconds away from punching his face. After not showing up, he finally does by ruining my golden chance to reach a new best in this stupid game.
Damn you, Levy.
I huffed in irritation as he took a seat in front of me. "So, what's up?" He asked while leaning back on his seat and sipped on his coffee.
I was waiting here for more than half an hour and he had the nerve to take his time and buy himself a cup of coffee.
I was this close to castrating the guy but managed to hold myself back and regain my composure; at least, enough to not kill him.
I cut to the chase and spewed out the reason that I was there in the first place.
"What do you mean you 'quit'?" Lev asked in an incredulous way. I looked at him with a hard expression.
"I mean I quit, Lev. I'm dropping out of the competition. No more fighting and beating people to win some stupid prize. It's not worth anything anymore," I told him in a tired manner only to have him accept none of it.
He looked at me like I was crazy and I shrugged in response. I was throwing all this away to start anew. I have Adam and his family to help out. I need to be there for them 24/7 and I can't give them my undivided attention if I have this ridiculous fight going on.
"What changed? I see that look, it's empty. The determination I saw in the Pixie I knew a few days ago is gone. What happened?" Levy's tone was laced with concern and I was dying to tell him everything and let him comfort me but I managed to hold myself back and reminded me that I was Pixie.
"The reason that I chose to fight is gone, there's nothing keeping me from walking away from this competition now. I don't need the money anymore," I voiced out in a low tone, whispering the last sentence and trying to prevent myself from going through another mental breakdown.
I shook my head, trying to get myself to snap out of it. I'm here to inform him that I quit the competition, not to have him interrogate me for my actions.
"I'll see you some time, Lev. Thanks for everything," I turned away and left him standing there in confusion.
I took out my phone while walking to the car I drove, calling my mother to ask her on her whereabouts. My parents called me last night to tell me that they were coming home and I immediately told them that I'll be picking them up from the airport so here I am, in a café shop that I asked Lev to meet me at on the way there to give him the quick information.
Getting in the car, I left my mother a text to tell her I'm on my way when she didn't answer my call. I got behind the wheel and started the engine before pulling out of the parking space and hitting the road to the airport to meet my parents.
On the way, all I could do was stop myself from crying. It took a lot of effort to make my eyes seem normal with the amount of concealer I own and it would be a waste for me to end up crying and messing this up.
I didn't want my parents to suspect anything and ruin our reunion after the few weeks that I haven't seen them. I miss my parents whenever they take all these business trips but I know they're doing it to fund my needs and to collect the money I need for my university studies.
I knew that they were doing it for me.
When I finally arrived at the airport, I parked the car and jogged towards the building to wait by the exit for my parents to show up.
"Case?" My mom's voice called out and I immediately looked up from my phone after reading the text from Adam this morning.
"Oh my sweet darling child, I've missed you. Where is that father of yours? God, he's always disappearing in the most random moments!" I laughed at her rant.
Not a minute later, my dad walked towards us from the washroom and hugged me once I was in arm's reach. I laughed quietly at how tight he was hugging me.
"I miss you, Princess," he whispered in my ear, pressing a kiss onto my temple. When he pulled away, I gulped at the sight of his narrowed eyes that seemed to be glued to my swollen eyes.
"Princess..." I swallowed the lump in my throat as he eyed me suspiciously.
"Who do I have to kill?" I laughed nervously at that.
'So that's where I got it from.' I mused silently in my semi-amused state. I shook my head at my dad's question.
"It's nothing, dad. I'm fine," I stressed out my 'fine' to get it across but that just escalated the level of his curiosity.
"No, Princess. We're going to that young man's house right now. I won't just stand by and watch as my little girl's heart gets ripped into two by some idiot gay dude."
My dad has gained this weird 'theory' or conclusion if you may that anyone who turns his little princess down must be gay. In the other hand, I was laughing too hard on his little 'theory' to even correct him.
"No, dad, no one broke my heart. I'll tell you what's bothering me when we arrive at home. Let's get your luggage in the trunk first, alright?" It was more of a command than a question and I didn't wait for an answer.
I took the load off my moms' hands, including her handbag and carried their luggage to the parking lot. It wasn't that I didn't want to tell them what's happened, I was just too scared that I'll be having a mental breakdown once I start talking about it.
It was an hour drive but when we finally arrived, I wanted nothing more than drive further to Adam's house to make sure nothing hectic happened while I was gone.
The little ones do nothing but cry and Adam has become more detached than ever. Preston was shutting everyone out, literally. All he does nowadays was blasting songs in his room and pretend he's a vampire; not going out of his curtain-drawn-room at all.
Jerry was trying everything he could to help his kids but one man can do so much. He tried setting an example, trying to be cheerful and invited them to go to an amusement park to have some fun but it was too much for the kids.
I became more and more worried as days passed by and I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how Carla thought I could bring some joy into the grieving family because I've never done it. I wasn't even completely over Bryant's death and she's asking me to help her family.
My hand flew to caress the emerald stone that was dangling over where my heart lies. God, if you're listening in right now, please make sure that Carla's being treated right up there. I believe that you're fair so please let her reside on her rightful place up there.
"Case? Are you alright? Come sit here and tell us what's got you so wrapped up? You do realize your make up's smudged, right?" I cursed under my breath, suddenly remembering why I've never liked mascara and eyeliners.
My eyes get itchy easily and I tend to rub it mindlessly since I'm not used to using eye makeup. I must've rubbed it unconsciously when I felt tears start to prick my eyes.
I obliged to my parents' demands and sat down on the sofa, "Anyone wants hot chocolate?"
What? It runs in the family. Hot chocolate is a must.
My dad raised his hand but got a good whack upside the head by my mom, causing that hand to fall and rub his head instead while facing my mother's glare.
"What?"
She jerked her head towards my way.
"But I want some hot chocolate," he whined and I almost laughed at the comical scene before me. It was like they were just married yesterday.
They finally settled down and gave me their undivided attention with my dad trying to look serious and failing miserably. It almost had me laughing but my mom's stern look stopped me.
I cleared my throat, trying to set myself on serious mode and storing my dad's laughing face to the back of my mind.
"So, uh... here's the thing. I have a boyfriend."
The light and joking glint in my father's eyes seemed to disappear in a nanosecond and my fingers fidgeted in trepidation. I don't know how he would react since this was my first relationship and I was starting to get anxious by the silence that followed.
"You what..?" He asked lowly and my mom immediately took control of the situation by taking his hand and squeezing it in his, whispering something in his ear and made him breathe deeply.
She looked at me, urging me to continue. I took another deep breath and told myself to get this over with; on three.
"His name is Adam, he has three other siblings and his mother just passed a few days ago. I visit them often while you guys were gone and even stayed over in the guest bedroom, alone." I tried emphasizing 'alone' real hard to make sure it gets across to them.
It didn't seem to change my father's mind about anything though. He was still glowering at the arm rest like it killed his favorite pet. My mom was a completely different story.
She caught the part that I wished she didn't catch but the damage was done and I could see her eyes water.
'Oh that poor boy," I nodded, feeling my own tears gathering at the back of my eyes. My dad groaned at the sight of us stifling our tears and jumped to his feet.
"Oh what the hell, why are we still sitting here and moping around; Case, get the picnic basket. Livy, get the keys and my wallet, we're going to the supermarket." I lifted my head to give him a stare full of disbelief.
I just told him that my boyfriend's mother just passed away and he is planning to take us shopping?
And yes, I said boyfriend. He might or might not have asked me out a few days before the call from the hospital. He was really sweet about it too, bought me flowers and took us to a camping trip with the whole sleeping under the stars stuff.
I may hate clichés but when a guy as hot as Adam does that to you, there's only one response; ovaries exploding.
I'm a sucker for that guy and I am completely shameless about it. He's my boyfriend anyways, right? Wait, I'm allowed to think about it that way, right?
"Princess, we're going!" I snapped out of it real quick and dashed to the kitchen and opened one of the cabinets where my mom usually stores the picnic basket before grabbing the woven basket and rushed out of the house.
Once I was sitting in the car, my dad hit the gas and we were off to the supermarket.
"Dad, what are we doing?" I asked curiously, a foreign feeling building in me.
"I am going to pay the boy who asked my little girl out without my permission a kind visit."
Oh shit. Well, at least I get to see the kids... right?
~â¢~â¢~
Hehehe bet you didn't see the boyfriend part coming, did ya..
Anyways, since I love y'all so much, I'm going to type it out in a few more chapters. Happy waiting!
I love you all and stay awesome, stay strong.
God bless ⤠-J