Chapter 6

Bryce carefully stretched his left arm towards the other side of the bed, afraid that Nia will woke up if he will touch her without opening his eyes.

He silently turn around to face the side table and open his left eye to see the time on the clock. It's quarter to six in the evening!

He quickly jump out of the bed and his butt bounced on the carpeted floor.

"Ouch!", he rub his aching butt with his right hand before he continue to stand up and glance on the bed but he only saw some hair strands on the other pillow.

Why didn't I wake up with the fire alam sound of the clock? It didn't happen before to him! He will usually woke up with the sound of it, thinking there will be a fire in the house!

Or maybe Nia woke up because of its sound and didn't bother to wake him up? Or is it because the woman didn't notice him sleeping beside her on her own bed?

Argh! I don't know what to think now! Where did she go without even checking her housemate? Did she leave a note in my desk or refrigerator?

With that thought, he run towards his working desk to check if there is a note but none. It's the same as when he went to check on his fridge. He even checked all the bedroom doors thinking it might be there but still nothing was left for him.

He sigh in defeat. They have their separate lives, yes, but isn't it a silent agreement to leave a note to show some respect to the house owner?

He shook his head in disbelief.

"Nia? Where are you?, Aren't you gonna cook some dinner? There's rice at the bottom part of the kitchen sink cabinet!", he shouted, hopeful that the woman will respond to what he said.

After a couple of minutes, he impatiently walk towards the door and walk out of the house. Maybe he can ask the guards if they saw her going somewhere or he can request to check the Cctv's around the building to find her.

He saw a guard near the elevator and ask him if he saw a woman coming out of his condo unit but the guard stare at him before he answered.

"I don't think so, Mr. McClave. I wouldn't leave my post unless there is a temporary guard to switch on my post."

"Thanks!", I muttered before I decided to walk outside of the building.

The sky's showing different colors--yellow orange, violet and reddish shade on the clouds which makes me mesmerized to the sight as if I was hypnotized.

It's been a while since he last watched the sunset. He still have Claire back then--his ex-girlfriend--who loves to travel and makes him appreciate the nature around him.

He shrugged as the dusk came in and continue to walk passed those street stalls serving street foods.

His housemate might not eat those if he will buy it as their dinner. Or he can let him eat those. What a bright idea!

He smirked and ordered two cups of chicken skin, orange eggs, four pieces of duck eggs or balot with seasoned vinegar, fish balls, kikiam and squid balls. This are the most popular Filipino street foods that you can find anywhere in the streets and it's his favorite comfort food.

He also went to a nearby take out stall to buy their meal-in-a-box. He chose the tapsilog, which consist of beef tapa, fried rice and fried egg and the other one is longsilog, which consist of longganisa, fried rice and egg on the top of the cup. He bought extra hotdogs and pork dumplings for dessert.

He always eat at that stall whenever he can go out to eat but it's rarely to happen. Most of the time, he will prefer to order food online specially if he's working in a project that needs to be finished immediately. And he missed eating that food!

It's a good thing that he had a housemate to feed because at the back of his mind, he want to give her a nice impression on him. She's a visitor after all! Even if he didn't want her in his condo.

****

Nia sigh deeply. Sunset or nightfall reminds her off the past she wants to forget.

She rarely open her window curtain blinds two years ago when her father died. She wants to be reminded that her dad loves her and is still by her side.

It may sound silly and crazy but it's her way to remember their happy memories together when he was alive.

James was a jolly person and makes her smile even if she was drown with disappointments before. He was her inspiration and role model in life. When he died, she felt that her world shattered into pieces and she won't recover anymore because the only person who can make her smile when crying has left her.

But as she watched the sky enveloped by the darkness, she realized that tomorrow when the sun shines again, there will be another day that she needs to conquer. That she can wait for the things that will happen to her everyday as long as she stays to have a positive outlook on life.

Maybe the Psycho-therapy is working now!

After every nightfall, there will be a new life to start when the sun shines.

She smiled and got excited to post her new quote of the day in her Instagram account. She almost slipped on the edge of the narrow side of her sanctuary. Her heart beats faster than normal and she was terrified! She didn't want to die just yet since she had a new purpose in life that she will look forward to!

After balancing herself on the narrow track, she carefully went back to the balcony where she use to enter the house. She's greeted by the darkness of the house and the only light that she can see is the light illuminated from the half moon outside.

Though she cannot have a good sight of the house and she's not familiar yet on where are the light switches, she managed to sit on Bryce's desk.

She will just wait there while observing the moon outside. It will make her calm down by just looking at since her hands starts to shake uncontrollably again.

Maybe once she appreciates the positivity of every negative things, she can get over her trauma.