Chapter 37
“WHERE DID dad say they took them?” Charles asked on the other line.
(Well, some of the adults are still in the same hospital, some already got discharged and had a life of their own. As for the kids, they were transferred to a facility. An adoption center, just near the Japanese restaurant we used to like.)
“Okay, got it. Thanks, Light.”
(That's not for free. Speaking of Japanese restaurants, how about ask me on a date—)
He ended the call with his friend. Light and his nonsense. He just shook his head and then turned his full attention to the road.
After a couple of minutes—thank God there was no traffic—Charles parked his car in front of the adoption center.
Since that place was closer, it was the first place he visited. The hospital will be the next one.
It has been years since he last paid them a visit. Charles then felt that he was greatly lacking in these people.
One of his previous missions was the case of a well-known government official that was involved in human trafficking. After they rescued these people, he had no time to talk to them because of Angelo’s case. Finally, he has time now.
As soon as Charles entered the facility, there was a smiling woman waiting for him there. “Good day to you, sir. Are you Mr. Charles Williams?”
He did not smile at her but he made sure that he didn't look so authoritative. “Yes. I think you were told that I'll be coming here.”
The woman nodded. “Yes, sir. I am Muriel Roach, one of the head facilitators of this center. Shall we head inside, sir?”
He just nodded at her and then followed the woman when she started walking. The woman was guiding him but wasn't talking. Looks like they told her that I'm not much of a fan of talkativeness. He can only tolerate Anurak, Narae, and Light because they have known each other for a long time.
When they finally reached the center part of the building, tons of greens welcomed him. Bushes, grasses, trees were present, making it a peaceful place to be at. A door opposite them opened just in time and the children went out. The peaceful ambiance was now gone and replaced with children's voices and giggles.
A woman in her late forties approached them. “Mr. Williams, we're so glad that you visited our place. If there's anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask me or Muriel,” she promised him with a smile.
He bowed slightly to show respect for the woman. “I’ll keep that in mind, ma’am. Anyways, how are the kids that the team brought here?”
The woman smiled. “They’re healthy and doing fine, Mr. Williams. Most of them have already been adopted since last year.”
“That’s good to hear.”
He noticed that Muriel was talking on the phone before approaching the woman he was talking to. “Ma’am, the deliveries are here. Shall I pick them up?”
The woman’s smile grew wider. "Oh, that's wonderful news." She turned to him. “Excuse us, Mr. Williams.”
He just nodded at them and then said goodbye. Charles looked back at the children. To be honest, he already thought of having a kid of his own. For Pete's sake, he's already thirty. His family wanted him to finally settle down and have a family of his own.
He wanted that too, but unfortunately, he still can't find the perfect timing.
Charles was startled when someone suddenly took his hand. When he looked down, he saw a little girl—maybe around three or four years old. She didn't have any emotion visible on her face but her eyes twinkled.
Charles sat up slightly to match the child. "Hey, how old are you?"
The girl just stared at her like she was trying to recognize him. She did not answer his question and remained quiet.
“Can you understand me?” he asked again. The girl nodded. "Can you talk?" She nodded again. “What’s your name?” And she went back to being silent.
“Mr. Williams,” someone suddenly called him. He turned in their direction and then saw Muriel approaching them while carrying toy bags. She stopped when she was close to them and smiled at him and the little girl. "I see you've met Luna."
He stood up and then looked at the girl who still did not let go of his hand. "So your name is Luna." The little girl nodded. "Such a pretty name."
“She’s four years old and barely talks to anyone. Most of us assume that she's mute but she really just doesn't like to talk.” Muriel once again looked at Luna and sadly smiled. “She was one of the kids that were brought here by your team. According to them, her father died during the incident, while her mom died after she gave birth to her.”
Charles remained to stare at Luna who was staring back at him. For some reason, he felt bad for her. Maybe if they had responded faster then the child would not have lost her parents.
"Anyway, I'll go ahead and bring these to the rest of the kids, but first—" Muriel took a stuffed animal from the bag and handed it to Luna. "—Here's one for you, Luna."
The child did not accept it and chose to ignore it. She was still staring at him, and for the sake of Muriel's arm. Charles took the stuffed toy and handed it to Luna. “Hey, the lady said that this toy is for you.”
Only then did Luna accept the toy. She bowed her head a little, maybe to say thank you before finally letting his hand go and ran to the other kids.
Charles was about to talk to Muriel when his phone rang. He glanced at the woman beside him "Excuse me." She just smiled at him then finally walked towards the children. Finally, Charles answered the call. "Anurak, what now?"
(Today is Tuesday.)
He furrowed his eyebrows. “And?”
(And… if you don't put your ass in this plane, we'll leave you behind.)
Charles put the phone away from his ear and looked at today's date. "Fvck!" He quickly returned the phone to his ear. "Be there in ten."
(Okie! Move fast but drive safely, Dom. Babye!)
Anurak ended the call and Charles went to Muriel to bid goodbye. “I’ll visit them again next time. Please take good care of them. Bye.”
Charles quickly got in the car and headed straight for the airport. His friends—except for Wynter —visited him in his hometown a week ago. They stayed there for quite some time before they all head to the Philippines to take care of the LUST DAWN’s fifth anniversary. The owner of MG Styles lives in the Philippines, which Narae wanted to handle their outfits. They did not complain about the decision so they planned to visit the country. Besides, Wynter has been there for quite a while now.
Charles drove even faster and when he got on the plane he just rested. Before he could close his eyes completely, he saw Narae sleeping soundly on one side.
“You looked worn out. Have you been sleeping late these past few days?” Anurak immediately asked him.
He opened his eyes and moved his head a little to the side to look at his friend. “Been busy.” His friend nodded and did not speak again. Only then did he remember something he wanted to ask. “Wedding huh? Where would you want it to be?”
Anurak smiled. “In a beach. He liked our previous trip to a resort. ”
Charles' lips formed into a small smile. “I’m happy for you, Anurak. You're finally settling down after everything you've been through.”
"Sometimes, I feel like I don't deserve this kind of happiness but he always reminds me that I do," he said while looking ahead.
“And he's right. You do deserve it, Anurak.”
He laughed softly before looking at him again. “How about you? When will you get married? You know, you're going to miss the calendar.”
He just shook his head while smiling sadly. “Just like you, I feel like I don’t deserve a happy ever after with anyone. Especially with him. My last news about him was that he's in the Philippines with someone.”
Anurak fixed his position. “I don't know about you, Dom. As far as I know, when you love someone, don't ever let them go because you will definitely regret it in the end. ”
He did not respond to it again and just continued the rest of his body. They had a long trip to the Philippines and sleeping was the most effective pastime, so that's what he did.
CHARLES DIDN'T know how to feel while he stood there inside Wynter's condo unit and in front of the man, he pulled out of a club, away from the woman he was talking to.
Just a few days after they arrived in the Philippines, he found out that Angelo once worked in a club as a bartender. He told Wynter several times to stop his brother from working there but he wouldn't listen. And when he saw him earlier at the club while he was talking to the girlfriend of Martina Gill—the owner of MG Styles—his blood suddenly boiled.
"Welcome back?" awkward words of the young man in front of him. He saw this man grin a while ago while talking with the woman, which made him jealous and caused a scene.
“Wynter told you to stop working there. Are you really that hard-headed?” annoyed he said.
The man teasingly smiled at him. “Depends on which head we're talking about.”
Charles was taken aback by the sudden boldness. “Cortez!”
Angelo laughed softly. "Hey, what happened to Gab?"
He just shook his head. “Whatever. Just stop working there. You're already in LUST DAWN, can't you settle for one?”
Angelo just shrugged before smiling at him. “How are you?”
“I-I’m fine. H-How about you?” For some unknown reason, Charles could not look at the man. He suddenly felt… shy?
“I’m doing great. So…” Angelo walked closer to the door of the unit and Charles seemed to regret thinking it would leave immediately. But the former did not go out but rather he locked the door, then stared teasingly at him. "Shall I show you how great I am?"
Charles slowly backed away. What is he doing? Why is he suddenly dominant? W-Why am I backing out? “Mr. Cortez—”
"It's Gab for you, Nick," he reminded him seriously as he continued to step closer to her.
“Gab, what are you doing?”
“Hmm… innocently walking towards you, I believe.”
Charles stopped walking even before he reached the wall, and Angelo just continued advancing until he’s finally in front of him.
“There. You stopped.”
“I don't like being the one pressed on the wall.”
Angelo smirked. “Hey, Nick.”
He looked at him seriously. "Hmm?"
He said nothing but he suddenly pulled his nape and kissed him torridly. All Charles knows is that kissing isn't the only thing that'll happen between them.
WEEKS PASSED and finally, their fifth anniversary came. Charles did not regret Narae's choice of their fashion designer, as well as the song for their start of the program. Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera.
“The real party’s about to start. We’re just finished roaming around and welcoming the guests personally,” said Charles to Theresia and Martina who were their special guests at the time. He looked at the woman he once screamed at out of jealousy. “Gab is at the bar, you can go visit him. He mentioned your actual friends.”
Theresia smiled. "Yeah, I pose no threat," she said, causing his friends to laugh.
Wynter was the next to speak to the woman. “Forgive my best friend for being possessive—”
“I’m not possessive,” Charles cut her off. He's really not that possessive. I think.
“Yeah right, tell that to the marines,” she told him as she rolled her eyes before smiling at the woman. “So you’re a friend of my brother, well then, I’ll send some more drinks for you. A special one.”
Theresia thanked Wynter before glancing at the person she's with.
“Advice for you…” Charles heard his best friend whispering to Theresia. “If you want someone, grab them already. Don’t let anyone have them first.” Then his best friend pointed at him. "Don't move as slow as him."
Charles grimaced when Wynter laughed. “Shut the hell up. Are you really my best friend?”
Charles wanted to say more things to Wyn but Theresia suddenly whispered, "And when someone got a hold of him first?"
Charles suddenly glanced at Angelo, who was at the bar and said, “Steal him. Mark him as yours. He won't let you mark him if he's serious about who currently owns his heart.”
Wynter looked at him sarcastically. "Wow. Is that your plan? You’ll wait for someone to have him before you steal him?”
Charles glared at his best friend. “Why do you always have to be so sarcastic?”
Wynter rolled her eyes. “It’s my second skin, duh.”
“Second skin, second skin. Just say it. You like torturing people's minds.”
Wynter just shrugged and continued conversing with Theresia and Martina.
"By the way, be at my wedding?" He looked at the speaking Anurak. He was talking to the… couple.
“You’re getting married?” Martina asked.
Anurak chuckled before nodding. “Yeah, this year. Probably around November.”
Theresia smiled at him. “That’s great! We’ll come.”
Charles just shook his head and looked at the man at the bar again. A wedding? Hopefully. One day. I’ll be able to be confident enough to ask him out. To be mine again.
