Bitter goodbyes

MARGAUX

"We need to go, now," Mary, who was dressed in the same manner as I was, came barging inside the room, bearing a frantic look on her face.

The sound of a buzzer coming from the gate gave me the answer to the question I have yet to ask Mary. Setting the tray aside, I got myself out of the bed making sure to avoid passing by Paul as he bolted out of his sitting position as well, muttering one curse, his phone ringing right that instant.

I watched him fish out his phone from his pants pocket. Upon seeing the caller id, his eyes darted towards me, then to Mary, and then back to me. He placed a finger on his lips, gesturing for both me and Mary to stay silent while he picked up the call.

"Takahashi," hearing him say the name and knowing that the last person whom I needed to see was just outside of the walls of Paul's house, I was back to glaring at Paul.

He shook his head vigorously, responding to my unspoken statement.

"Traitor," I mouthed instead.

"You could have asked me to come over. That would have been less of a hassle for you then."

I was back to seething with pure fury, listening to the one-sided conversation like everything that had happened last night was nothing.

"You should have called me first and told me that you were coming."

Despite my anger, I was somehow taken aback to find that Paul seemed to be annoyed by whatever Takahashi was saying on the other end of the line.

I knew him enough that seeing him annoyed was a rare phenomenon.

Paul tends to like people. No matter what kind of personality a person may have, he has a way of adjusting to it. He was almost comparable to a sponge.

I don't think that Paul hated anyone, neither did he appear to be one who does.

Paul had a happy-go-lucky personality. He be-friends all and mostly, people loved him back too. To add, he wasn't the type to portray annoyance with anyone despite that person being someone everybody disliked.

So, for him to find Takahashi annoying was saying something. Yet, it could hardly change the fact that he was still one of his men and was part of the reason why my whole family was gone and I was left alone to grieve losing all of them in a blink of an eye.

"Right. Give me ten minutes then to make myself presentable given that you didn't allow me the luxury to be prepared before your visit."

"See you in ten, Takahashi," Paul said with finality, putting away his phone right after that. Taking a deep breath, he looked me directly in the eye.

"I know you won't ever forgive me and you have every right to be mad at me, Margaux," he paused, taking another deep breath. "And I also know that I deserve to not ever be forgiven".

"Margie," Mary called out, reminding me that our enemy was merely waiting by the gate. If we don't escape now, we will have a hard time trying to flee later on.

However, the determined look now plastered across Paul's face held my attention. Then, out of nowhere, he tossed something towards me.

On instinct, I reached out and caught the object mid-flight. Unfolding my hands, I found a car key.

"I'm not trying to compensate," I stared at him. "But I need you to live, Margaux. Get your vengeance." I can't help but smirk.

I could sense the sincerity of what he was saying. However, he was still a traitor in my eyes and I refused to accept being acquainted with someone like him.

I can never forget the pain of his betrayal.

"You do know what you're trying to say right?" I said, unable to help myself.

Paul nodded, a certain sadness was now playing across his facial expression.

"I know. The next time we meet, I am no longer Paul Del Rosario whom you had met and you are no longer Margaux Cortez, my little sister."

"The next time we meet," I said, wanting to add a few words of my own. "I will not hesitate to point a gun on you and pull the trigger."

"The next time we meet, you and I are sworn enemies." Paul stated which was followed by silence as we sealed our silent agreement.

"Goodbye, Margaux."

"Goodbye, Paul."

Paul offered a faint smile before I turned away and ushered Mary out of the room. Hastening our descent from the flight of stairs, I almost stumbled over my own feet. Gratefully, I was holding on to the railing for support.

My heart was starting to speed up once again upon Mary and I trudging towards the back gate of Paul's house.

We were leaving the premises the same way we had entered.

The car key that Paul gave me was that of his Black BMW which was the car he uses when he was out on a date or to fetch his new victim from her place or somewhere else. Also, it served as his getaway car.

Paul has quite a collection of cars. Up to this date, he has five. Most of them were hidden safely inside the garage.

But his black BMW was parked on the curb a few blocks away from his house. It was why he chose it for mine and Mary's escape. It wouldn't raise too much suspicion. Using one of his cars kept inside the garage would basically tell Takahashi that he had kept the ones whom he was supposed to look out for and report overnight and chose not to tell him.

I could just imagine how mad Takahashi would be upon learning that. Paul will probably end up dead. Or maybe not. At this point, I didn't want to care.

He was able to betray me and my family, he was more than capable of handling whatever Takahashi would wish to do with him as a form of punishment.

Upon arriving by the back gate, I carefully opened it, poking my head first, looking from left to right and vice versa, making sure that the coast was clear.

Hitting the asphalt once again, it was only then that I noticed that I was still barefoot and so was Mary. If only we were not trying to escape as of the moment, I would have allowed myself a laugh or two.

But then, with us only a block away from our assailants, this was no time to make fun of our situation.

I was grateful that Paul's car was not that far away. When Mary and I had finally settled in, I allowed myself to breathe.

"Where are we going now, Margie?" I looked at Mary. I had no idea where to go either but there was only one thing that I was sure of.

"Somewhere, someplace where you and I could prepare for our come back," I said, revving the engine to life.