15 HE IS NOT ANSWERING HIS PHONE

***

Andrew was trying to call his friend, Austin. However, regardless of his few attempts to call him, it seemed like his friend was busy at the moment. Andrew received call from one of Austin’s ex-girlfriends and was asking his help to talk with Austin. Just like the other girls, Camille was too persistent enough to win Austin back. Austin blocked her number, reason why she was trying to contact Andrew. Nuisance as he may describe by him, he had no choice but to let Austin know about it because she was trying to call her for almost 3 days in a row.

“Why he is not answering his phone.” He whined.

Because of the greater annoyance he received from the girl, Andrew decided to pay a visit to his friend on his apartment on that night. He suddenly changed his clothes and left his apartment at once. When he reached the lobby of the apartment, he saw Krist sitting on the sofa. Andrew was surprised and he started asking himself what Krist was doing on Austin’s place.

“Hey Krist! What are you doing here?” He asked.

“I am waiting for Vanessa.” He answered.

He got even more surprised when he heard that Vanessa was also on the same building. Due to his curiosity, he asked him again about the reason why they were on that place. Then, Krist went on to elaborate that he helped Vanessa to meet Austin for one important purpose – to disclose her feelings towards Austin.

After hearing their reason, he mentioned that he needs to talk to Austin immediately reason why he left Krist on the lobby. While, he was moving his way upstairs, she saw Vanessa crying. He approached her at once and suddenly asked her the reason of her lamentation. The sound of her weep was totally painful as if she was a child abandoned by her parents.

“Vanessa, what happened?” he gently asked.

When Vanessa burst into tears, Andrew hugged the girl tightly. He was clueless about the entire situation but he had this feeling to comfort the girl to ease the pain she was experiencing. Vanessa cried uncontrollably and her tears flew excessively. During that moment, Andrew felt nervous, his heart started to beat fast. After a while, Vanessa recalled everything she saw and the one who hugged her was Austin’s friend. Her hatred and burning disgust was contagious. She pushed him away. Angry as she may look like, she left Andrew clueless about everything.

“Vanessa?” Krist whispered.

When she reached the lobby, Krist was browsing photos on his Instagram until he perceived his friend weeping. The face of Vanessa before she went upstairs and that moment when she went down was the total opposite. She was elated and a bit nervous a while ago but her face when she went down was intensely irritated plus the tears on her eyes.

He went on to hug his friend gently. He was trying to console her until Vanessa opted to leave the place immediately. Shea asked Krist to drive her home because she wanted to go back home and sleep. Krist followed her request obediently without knowing the entire situation. On the car, while heading way back to her apartment, Vanessa was so quiet. She had no tears left to cry. She was looking outside, wondering what just happened and trying to organize her thoughts. Krist was waiting for his friend to talk until he heard Vanessa talking.

“He is really damn asshole.”

At that night, her words filled the car with extreme curse. She had mentioned everything to Krist – as in everything. Krist was so shocked when he heard that Austin was having a sex with another girl. Vanessa was indignant and she made herself believe that someone like him would really change for the better. She then, realized that all his acts were counterfeit. Everything he had done was part of his game and his feeling towards Vanessa was just an illusion.

“I hate him! I hate him so much!” she shouted.

When they just got back, Krist hugged his friend and Vanessa went inside of her room. When she was preparing herself to sleep, she received an unexpected call from someone.

“Hello Ma” she answered the call.

With the tone of her voice, her mother Angeli was able to seen everything. Vanessa wasn’t able to conceal her current situation. Angeli knew her daughter so much, that’s why the moment she answered the call, she entirely knew that Vanessa was not fine. Vanessa began to weep and she said that she hates herself so much for allowing someone to rule her life, knowing that person was jerk and nuisance in her life. She kept on blaming herself, thinking that she was too vulnerable and inadequate to see the bait Austin prepared for her.

“I wanted to see you Ma.” She whined.

Her mother listened to the painful story of his daughter and since it was a long weekend, Angeli urged to ask her daughter to go back home for a while to rest and of course, in order for them to bond. Vanessa agreed to her mother’s plan that’s why after the call. She fixed some of her clothes and stuffs and was ready to leave at dawn.

***

“Maaaa!” She shouted.

“Vanessa! My daughter!”

They hugged each other in the terminal as if they were long lost friends who haven’t seen each other for a long, long, long time. Vanessa suddenly cried for an unsure reason: first maybe, she cried because she missed her mother or maybe the pain she had on her back. Regardless of the reason, Vanessa felt a bit relieved when she was inside of her Mother’s powerful and soothing embrace. She tried to console her, while tapping her back, Angeli said that everything will be okay.

“Okay, let’s go home!” Angeli suggested.

While sitting on a taxi, Vanessa was holding her mom’s hands yet her gaze was focus outside. She was thinking too deeply that’s why her mother asked if she was okay. Vanessa didn’t hear the question that’s why her mother attempted to ask the same question again. Then, when she heard it, she simply smiled and put her head on her mother’s shoulder.

“Ma, when dad was cheating on you. What did you do?” Vanessa asked.

“I cursed him!” Angeli immediately answered.

To her surprise, she suddenly stared to her mother and investigating her face as if she were just joking. Her mother was serious, serious enough to believe what she had just said. But Vanessa knew that her mother was really not serious about her answer – about her, cursing her dad.

“Ma, I want a serious answer.” She whined.

“Vanessa, I am not joking.” She answered.

Angeli handed in the fare for the taxi. When they reach their home, Angeli went inside but Vanessa kept on asking her mother about their topic in the taxi. Her mother said that she’ll continue discussing things after preparing meal for them. Vanessa brought her bag to her room and because she could no longer wait to her mother’s discussion about the curse, she immediately went to the kitchen to help her mother when suddenly Austin was calling him.

When she saw her number and name popping up on her phone, she suddenly dropped the call. But due to Austin’s stubbornness, he kept on calling the girl. However, because Vanessa had no plan of talking to him, she just turned her phone off.

“Is that him?” Angeli asked while chopping an onion.

“Hmmf, yes!” Vanessa replied.

“What was his name?”

“Austin!”