CHAPTER 3: Coincidence Wasn't Fair

[Feigh]

I can't exactly described my feelings right now as I try to grasp our situation. Our parents are having a misunderstanding and we, their children, are both affected. We are forced to deal with this aftermath by ourselves. I don't know if Mom was aware of this. 

By the way, mom and I are already outside, waiting for the vehicle which she said would be driving us towards our destination.

Mom was wearing a black long sleeve partnered with a black slacks and a black sandal. She had also worn the strap of her black leather handbag on her right shoulder. The way she literally wore black today made her look as if she'll be attending a funeral. Me, on the other hand, allowed my long hair to flow freely on my shoulder to match my casual dress code. I wore a white polo to cover my tight spaghetti tops. I partnered it with light blue skinny jeans and white slip-ons. 

While waiting there, I was reminded of what happened minutes ago. Dad pleaded Mom not to leave but no matter what he did, he could not change her decision.

My brother and I also choose not to meddle with them. Because if we do so, we'll only make the situation worse. I know that, like me, he doesn't like what's happening. Sadly, we can't do anything but to accept the situation. Or maybe we could have done something to kill the fire. But I guess, we became cowards. We have let ourselves get eaten by our what-ifs to the point that we don't have the courage to try anything.

Earlier, I also tried to wear earplugs just to avoid hearing their constant exchange of harsh words toward each other, but I guess, their volume is so high that my earplugs became useless. My brother probably did the same. 

What bothered me even more is the aftermath. How am I gonna handle being with Mom the whole time? I mean, I always find it hard to share and open up to her. Unlike my older brother, whom I think had an exclusive coverage of my life. I guess, it's because we always had each other's back. 

I sighed. I would really be missing Dad and my older brother even if he's a tease. I hope that they will be doing fine even without us around. I hope that my brother will deal with this mess way better than me. I hope it won't be affecting his grades as he'll be graduating this school year. Moreover, I'll also be missing my best friend, Wandough.

Peep. Peep.

I was only interrupted with my deep thoughts when a black van arrived. A man in his early 40s, wearing a plain white polo shirt and black jeans, emerged from the driver's seat. His face looked familiar as if I had seen him somewhere. I just wondered where.

When Mom saw him approaching, she immediately went to meet him. They engaged in a conversation. And after a few minutes of exchanging dialogues, the man went to the back portion of the van. He immediately opened the trunk and went towards my side where our luggage was placed. He carried them towards the trunk and loaded them there. Mom thanked him for doing so. 

When he finally returned to the driver's seat, Mom looked in my direction and signaled me to go inside, but I did not move. I guess, I'm still hesitant to leave.

"Alright. I'll head first. Just make sure you'll follow after you're done with that little drama of yours," she said while opening the door of the van. I nodded to her so she turned her back from me and sat at the passenger's seat. 

I sighed and shook my head to clear whatever doubt that had been bothering me before opening the door of the van. I was about to step inside when I decided to pause and take one final look of the house, just in case I would be given the opportunity to see my brother and father looking out from the window. I smiled when I, indeed, saw them. I just hope it will not be the last time that I'll be seeing them. 

But when they noticed me, they immediately looked away. That caused me to finally make up my mind. I went inside the van. I sat quietly in the back, next to the window. I tried not to look back, but when the van started moving, I couldn't stop myself from doing so.

"Never knew that you're that dramatic." I stopped when someone suddenly spoke. I blinked a few times when I realized how familiar his voice was. But I was even more surprised when I turned to the side and witnessed the emotionless face of Zy Enriquez. That's when I realized that the cold breeze from earlier was probably coming from him. I guess, his presence is enough. I mean, this van doesn't need an air conditioner because the one next to me is already overflowing with cold air. 

By the way, he was also wearing a black hoodie, a black mask, and a black jogging pants, that's why I was not able to notice him when I sat down. His face was devoid of any emotion earlier, but now it was replaced by irritation. As evident by how his brows were furrowed. 

"What are you doing here?" I had unexpectedly raised my voice when I asked him. Maybe I couldn't believe that I'm actually seeing him. Like out of all the places, why would he suddenly pop-up here?

I waited for him to answer, but a minute had already passed and I still got no response. Instead, he only slapped a pair of earmuffs. I guess, it's his "not-so-interested-in-answering-your-obvious-question' attitude so I took a deep sigh and sat quietly beside him. 

Some time had already passed but we are still traveling. During those hours, I kept wondering why Zy chose not to answer my question. Was it because it's common sense? I sighed again for the nth time. 

"Could you please stop doing that!" I blinked a few times before facing Zy, who angrily removed his earmuffs before facing me. Wait! What happened to this moron? He's mad for no reason. 

We stared at each other for awhile, as neither of us wanted to give up. But he seemed to be braver than I thought, so I let him win. 

I covered my mouth in awe when I realized what he meant earlier. Then, I teasingly asked him, "Why would I? It's my body so I can do whatever I want."

"Don't test my patience, Alvarez." His face became serious, signaling me to stop. However, I was not affected by it rather I was even more tempted to do the opposite. 

"Why? What would you do if I chose not to stop?" I responded defiantly. Now, let's see who will give up first. 

He was about to open his mouth, but he paused and went back to his seat. I thought he was brave enough to argue with me, but I was wrong. He can't even refute me. Or maybe he thought it was just a waste of energy. In the end, he was the one who sighed so I tried to stop myself from chuckling.

After that, we went silent. So I decided to take my cell phone from my sling bag. I opened the messenger app and checked for updates in our section's group chat. I kept scrolling through their conversations until I read Jiana's message. 

Jiana: "Guys, is it true that Zy is going to transfer schools? If he ever did, just let me know so that I can also process my transfer." 

I was about to roll my eyes for her last remark but I was not able to when her question finally sync in. So I subconsciously turned to the person next to me and wondered if the rumor is true. 

"Hmm?" he suddenly mumbled when he turned to me.

I blinked a few times, then looked away when I realized that I had been staring at his face for too long. When I noticed that he was no longer looking at me, I decided to just go back to my previous position.

I sighed when I realized how impossible it could be. Like why would he transfer when he's running for Valedictorian there? Also, he could lose his scholarship, if he did really transfer. 

Our trip took a few more minutes before we finally stopped in front of a large gate. I was about to get up from my seat when I realized that none of them felt like standing up. So when I looked out the window, that's when I found out that they were still waiting for the guard to open the gate. So I decided to sit back. 

They started the van again as soon as the guard opened the gate. Only then did I realize that we were inside a subdivision. Wait, I thought... I tried to remove whatever was on my mind. I really hope my hunches are wrong. I hope I'm worried for nothing.

"We're here!" Mom said before removing her seatbelt and opening the door of the van. 

I looked outside and blinked a few times when the figure of our old home appeared in front of me. That could be the reason why the road seemed familiar. But wait, why did we stop here? Maybe the driver just made a mistake. If this was a mistake, Mom should have told the driver earlier.

"Aren't you going out?" Suddenly the person next to me spoke, so I looked at him. I rolled my eyes before finally opening the door of the van. When I noticed him following me, I meaningfully looked at him.

"What?" he asked with irritation as he removed the hoodie which covered his head before. 

"You're also going with me? I thought..." 

He scoffed. "I didn't know you were a little slow sometimes." He immediately went straight to the back of the van so out of curiosity, I followed him. There, I saw how he opened the trunk and started unloading our luggage. Wait, why is he the one doing it?

I gasped when I realized that the driver could be his father. Oh! That's why the driver seemed familiar. It's because I saw him during the homeroom meeting. I felt disappointed at myself when I realized that I was too slow to notice their resemblance. Then, could this be the reason why he was absent in class earlier? 

"Feigh, you should head inside. You might catch a cold if you stayed here for too long," Mom worriedly stated as she went towards my direction and handed me the key of the house. I immediately reached for it before heading straight to the front door of our old home.

It took me awhile before I was able to unlock the door. So when I was finally able to open it, I was expecting that the inside would be full of cobwebs and dust but my eyes widened when I saw that everything was neatly arranged and cleaned. It's as if we did not abandon this house. 

"Ijo, could you take my daughter's things to her room?" Mom ordered Zy when he got inside. The latter only nodded. 

"W-wait!" He was about to go up to my room when I suddenly stopped him. He hopefully paused and turned his head towards me. "I'll do it myself," I told him as I snatched my suitcase from his hands and quickly went upstairs carrying my rather heavy suitcase, without even looking back. I guess, that is a bit embarrassing. 

When I finally went inside my room, I immediately locked the door. I turned on the lights and was also surprised to see that everything were just like before. It's as if, someone was regularly taking care of the house. 

Out of amusement, I slowly placed my suitcase on the sides and started roaming around my room. I was only interrupted when I heard someone knock so I went to open the door. But, I immediately closed it when I realized that it was Zy.

Who would have thought that he would still be following me here? I was supposed to be thankful because we are moving out. But I guess, it's impossible to avoid him.

"Can you open the door?" Zy's voice asked from the other side. "I was just going to hand your sling bag which you forgot to bring earlier," he continued.

"Just leave it outside." I tried to sound monotonous so he won't notice that I'm surprised to see him.

"Alright. I'll just leave it at the door." 

I heard his fading footsteps so I slowly opened the door. Before getting the bag, I first made sure that he was nowhere at sight. I was about to close the door when someone suddenly pulled my arm. I tried to remove the stranger's hand from my arm but it seemed impossible. 

"Shh," the stranger whispered while placing one of his fingers between his lips so I was forced to keep quiet. 

He only removed his grip when we were already in the dark corner of the hallway leading to my brother's room. My heart was beating so fast and I was preparing myself to shout but I decided to be calm. I took a deep breath and slowly stepped away from him. "W-who are you?" I took the courage to ask him. 

"M-me?" He sounded confused while pointing at himself. I automatically raised my brow at him and I smirked. I guess, I've been afraid for nothing. 

"No, the wall," I just sarcastically replied while pointing at the wall behind him. I guess, he's slower than me.

"You don't know me?" His brows furrowed. There was also a hint of frustration in it. 

"Should I say yes?" He shyly smiled and scratched the back of his neck so I rolled my eyes at him. 

"So. Who are you? And why did you—" I was not able to finish my question when I noticed that someone was approaching. I tried to check who it was but when I turned to face the stranger, he was nowhere at sight. "Am I just seeing things?" 

"Oh! You're just here." I rolled my eyes again when I heard Zy's voice. So it was just him! 

"Why? Do you need something" I turned to face him. He was already standing on front me, with his tall figure casting a shadow to me. 

"Nope. I'm just checking on you," he casually said before leaving. 

"What's wrong with him?" I asked myself as I watched him leave. 

••W••

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, songs, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.