29. You and Tony.

LUCA.

"We weren't and we aren't, Tony. Just drop it." I heard Beth's voice say.

"No offence, really. I only wanted to know about the type of girls my brother follows around." I heard my brother saying, making me wonder why they were talking about me in the first place. I just rolled my eyes and opened the door.

"I'm home!" I screamed as I walked into the house from the front door. I was about to speak to them and when I saw that they were staring at each other without any word, I said. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No, no, you aren't," Beth replied to me immediately, as if she was trying to hide something.

I could tell that something was going on, especially with the fact that they both stopped talking when I entered. I was going to ask what they were talking about, but I just let them be. No one needed to tell me that there was this tension between Beth and my brother. I've noticed this ever since the first meeting at the bar. Consequent times, I just randomly thought about it and I just know something is up.

"Okayyy," I said, walking further into the house, finally deciding to drop the issue. I dropped the stuff in my hand on the centre table.

"Why were you late?" Tony turned to face me and asked. "You said you were only going to buy stuff in the supermarket two streets away. What took you so long?"

"Uh, yeah, I had to wait to do some stuff on the way," I said and then turned to Beth. "What do you want? There are several snacks in that package. Just pick anything you want."

"Even if it's everything?" She asked with a smirk on her face.

"Fine by me!" I replied and shrugged.

"Okay. I'll leave you two to it." Tony said and picked up his car key on the centre table, heading for the front door.

"Where are you going?"

"To Lara's place. Catch you later, bro." He replied without turning to look at me. Then he opened the door and walked out, closing the door behind him.

"So…" I started and went to sit right beside Beth. "My guest, how've you been?"

"Why are you being so nice?" Beth asked, smirking at him. "When we used to hang out back then, you weren't this nice."

I chuckled at what she said, "what do you mean? I've always been nice."

"Whatever," she replied and picked up a chocolate pack in the package I brought in minutes ago. She tore the nylon and began to eat it. "So, how was the states? How's life been for you?"

"Life has been good. The states is literally everything I imagined it to be. Had a good time, really." I replied.

"Hmm," she simply said.

"Now to you." I said and turned to face her squarely.

"Okay? What about me?" She asked nonchalantly as she ate the chocolates in her hand.

"How's your boyfriend doing?" I asked her. It seemed like the question caught her off guard with the reaction on her face.

I didn't ask just to know if her boyfriend was fine, but I felt that was the easiest way to ask her if she has a boyfriend or not. Growing up with her, I could tell that she would have been with a lot of men through the time we've departed to this present day.

"I don't have one. Besides, why did you ask? It was so sudden." She replied, still eating the chocolate in her hands.

I chuckled lightly without saying anything. Then, I turned to the television and began watching the channel it was on. "Did Tony leave it here or you're the one watching Super Sport?" I asked, not wanting to believe that she was the one watching football.

"He did. And then, you haven't answered me yet. Why did you ask?" She asked me again.

"Are you married then?" I blurted out, knowing fully well that she wasn't married yet.

"Nope. You know I'm not." She replied and rolled my eyes. "I wonder why you're asking me those personal questions though."

I tried to change the topic. "Do you remember our pinky swear?"

"Sorry, what?" She asked. The look on her face showed that she truly didn't remember, but I wanted to be persistent, to see if she'll eventually remember.

"You don't remember?" I asked again.

"I honestly don't remember, Luca. Just tell me what it is." She was done with the chocolate by now, so she dropped the nylon on the stool in front of her. She then picked up a bottle of soft drink in the same package I carried in earlier. There was a cup on the stool beside her, so she emptied half of the drink into the cup. Then, she sipped a little.

I watched her as she did all this, then I cleared my throat before replying. "We made a pinky swear before graduation that if we were to meet again in the nearest future when we're thirty years old and we aren't married, we'll get married to each other."

She suddenly burst into laughter. "I remember now!" She said through her laughter. "Gosh. So many childish things." Then, she turned to me, dropping the cup in her hand on the stool. "How do you even remember it? I meant it's been years."

"Why wouldn't I remember? It shows I didn't forget about you and you not remembering shows you totally forgot about me." I said to her and shrugged, trying to make her feel guilty.

"Hey!" She snapped immediately. "You were the one who didn't call me or try to reach out to me when you went abroad. How did you expect me to reach you then? After a while, I stopped waiting for you to text me and all of that shit." Then, she rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "Literally, it ain't my fault."

"I'll say you said so," I said and chuckled a little. She poured the drink in a cup again and drank from it, while I just stared at her.

It's been years and nothing has changed. I still like her as much as I did back then. I didn't tell her about my feelings for her then because I knew I was going to leave her behind anytime soon. There was no point raising false hopes about dating her when I was going to another country to study.

When I changed numbers there, I had wanted to reach out to her, but I let it be, thinking that would make me get over her. But I was wrong. The moment I saw her at the bar, I knew there was still something there. I only needed to rekindle it again, and that's after I confirm what I was about to. I need to confirm what's with her and my brother.

She was on another cup of drink when I asked the question. "What's this tension between you and Tony? Is something going on between you two?" Immediately, she choked on her drink and began to cough.