Chapter 17 It Hurts

"Cy,"

I turned to Jomar and he grabbed my two arms and led me to the side side of the road. Avoid oncoming vehicles. As if we both have a choice, we were both assigned to ask for Lourd Vidalio's signature.

Alicia is sick and Mariel, Oscar and even Leo can't. It's okay with me because I feel sorry for Alicia, I know her sacrifice in this project of ours so it's just a small thing that we can help.

"Cy, did anyone invite you to the Prom?"

"Prom?"

He nodded. I don't have that in my mind anymore, why did I forget that we had it then? I have no plans to go there. Joining there is also voluntary so I didn't even think of joining. I have nothing to wear and I have no friends to be with.

"I have no intention of joining Jomar."

I held the skirt I was wearing to keep it out of the wind, even though we were currently walking in the center to our intended building.

"Why Cy? It's our last year, it's a pity if you don't go."

I hummed at his statement. I looked again at the tall building we went to last week. Jomar is also right, but I would have thought of that better if I had a friend there but none.

"I don't know Jomar yet, because I don't have anything to wear and I don't have any friends there."

"Why? We will be there!"

I just smiled at what he said, I feel like he still wanted to tell me something but he just didn't continue. I just didn't understand him anymore. I thought of Oli. Does he have any plans to attend?

"We have a purpose for Lourd Vidalio."

I said to the familiar outpost in this building.

"Is it Sir Lourd? I don't think he's here now mother."

One guard said and spoke to another guard in the small basement.

"Cy, how's that? We need that now."

I turned to Jomar with a trace of annoyance and worry. I waited after the guard there spoke to another, they were talking on the walkie talkie they were holding.

"Sir Lourd is not inside."

He confirmed to us.

"Can we just wait for him here?"

"All right you take care of it."

And Jomar and I could do nothing but wait in a corner. We're both here next to the big name of the hotel. There were a few people coming in who looked at us. Maybe they are wondering why there are students here. Jomar and I have talked a lot and sometimes I can't answer him because he has so many questions.

I also don't want to talk about Solidad's and personal life. I could only give a sigh the last time he asked me.

"Are you bored Cy?"

I immediately turned to him and shook my head so that he would know my answer. We were both sitting in the gutter because an hour had passed.

"I'm not bored because I'm with you."

The smile I gave him was raw, I didn't want him to think that I was bored with him. At the same time I don't know how to react on what he said. It's not that I'm bored with him and it's not that I'm not bored.

Gradually, I was also consumed by boredom and the thought of being bored with the person we were here with. But there's no one I could blame. Those kind of people, they are the ones who are willing to waitpeople they think are just submissive to them.

They are used to, they are the ones waiting, they are used to being looked up to and they are used to being ignored because what is that for them? I wonder, if people like them have experienced a wait like this. Wait even if they don't like it either.

Wait, because their expectations depend on it. Jomar and I were immediately able to sit back and forth when we saw the gradual drops of rain. We immediately ran to the main door of the hotel where we would not be hit by the rain. Jomar and I were surprised because when we went there, there were a lot of people who seemed to be waiting just like us.

Some of them have large cameras and others are talking loudly. We just stepped to the corner of the door and watched the rush of rain. It's been almost two hours and we still don't have the right person.

Soon the sun will go down and it will start to get dark. I may never reach Levi again. It was as if my prayer had been heard faster than lightning. A vehicle stopped right in front of the main pathway of the hotel. It was a big van and a guard we had seen before came out, and a woman followed.

The guard opened a large black umbrella but it was not for him. That's him, the one we've been waiting for. Her hair is messy and she is wearing casual clothes. His eyes widened and he seemed to be out of his car. I was relieved to see him but jomar and I were shocked when people rushed towards him and made a series of noises.

"Mr. Lourd, what can you say about your current issue?"

"I saw you disappear in a bar, what's your statement about that?"

"Mr. Lourd Vidalio, people are now making assumptions about the issue. Can you clarify this?"

Jomar and I widened our eyes as he was confused by the people, the guards were his - he was the bulwark against the reporters who were forcing him to answer their questions. Jomar and I were stuck at the end of the main door because of their commotion. I still can't take my eyes off him as I follow the path given to him by the guards who I don't know where he came from.

They were all in a commotion while Jomar and I were stuck here in a corner. We almost entered the hotel because I could already feel the cold inside. I lost sight of him when I suddenly fell because a woman in front of me stepped on me. It was as if I had been pushed and fell at the hotel entrance. I felt the pain in my knee from the collapse and I endured it.

"Aww."

I looked at my knee unscathed but I could feel the pain of it.

"Cy! Cy!"

My eyes are blurred but I can see Jomar waving outside because he can't get into the crowd.

"Jomar,"

I tried to stand up to get out but before I could even do that someone pulled my arm and when I looked back at it even though I wanted to love I was almost scornful.

"Release me!"

He seemed deaf not to hear my loud voice and just pulled me inside. I looked at the door and saw that the guard was already blocking the door.

"Jomar!"

Jomar, who was desperately waving at me, became increasingly blurred in my vision, so I looked at this man angrily.

"Let go I said!"

He ignored me at dere-deretso paring ang lakad. Everyone we meet looks at us especially since they know it with me. It's obvious because he's been creating trouble lately. I could smell the alcohol on him, so I became even more desperate to struggle with him.

I remember the night in town that happened to me. With narrowed eyes I shook my head to erase it from my mind. There's no time for that Ava.

"Please, I'm in pain."

We turned into a hallway and were even more bewildered as we entered an elevator. The guards were left outside and the only ones who entered were him, me and the two people he always had with him.

"Where are you taking me?"

I pulled my feet back and I hit the end of this elevator. No one spoke to them or even attempted to look at me. I saw Lourd sneeze and twisted his neck once and turned his back on me. They were all waiting to get to the floor they hit. I tearfully squeezed aside and thought of a few thousand reasons why he had brought me here. The whole elevator smelled of wine and I'm sure it came from him.

What rang and the elevator opened, I did not get out of it but when he looked back at a guard next to him it grabbed my arm.

"Please, I want to go home."

How many million times have I thought of scrapping our project in my mind. This person does not deserve to be admired and looked at by everyone. If it wasn't reason enough I wouldn't know what else to do.

We stopped at the far door of the hallway and there the man holding me released me. He went in and the man mustered up the courage for me to follow him. The man looked at me very coldly so I swallowed a few times and entered the door. The door banged as well as my heartbeat.

My knees were shaking and I seemed to explode with a mixture of nervousness and annoyance.

"Ava Cyreese Suarez huh?"

Tears well up in my eyes as I look at the man who suddenly laughs as if he's out of his mind. I could no longer look around the room because my full attention was on him alone. Very quiet and dark surroundings.

His palms were on his face and he gently tweaked himself. It seemed to be dripping with alcohol as I figured out a way to get out of it. As if that's even a choice because his staff is also outside.

"Please, I want to go home."

Luck was never on my side, but here I am now and trying the world. He turned to me and his eyes stopped at me. They are red and I can see the tears forming here. I gasped. Those eyes, I'm sure I've seen it before.

"Then let's go home."

Her deep voice was weak and tired. I frowned at him and stared at what he was waiting for. A few seconds of deafening silence and the look in our eyes at each other. Things were moving fast and only my sigh became clear. He picked up a vase there and threw it at what caused it to shatter. My knees felt weak until it reach the ground. I brought both my hands to my ears, terrified of what was happening. I suppressed my sobs and closed my eyes tightly.

I remember my mother and father gain, the thunder and the lightning. A long silence once again enveloped thequarter. I'm silently praying that when I open my eyes it'll be just a dream and I'm back to normal but no. When I opened my eyes I saw his hands were bloody and I didn't know how that happened.

"Y-your hand ..."

He didn't answer me and he was still staring at me, I couldn't read his eyes but I sense the longing and sadness in it. I slowly crossed the distance between the two of us and held his hands.

"You need to be treated, your hand is bleeding."

I couldn't see the blood flowing there so I stood up again to call the people outside. But that's not what he wanted. He grabbed my wrist and I did nothing there.

"You're right, maybe my family didn't really love me Ava."

I was so shocked to see his tears flowing up to the tips of his nose. There was some pain in my heart because of seeing him. He look so miserable.

"But at least your family raised you well."

He nodded several times and released my blood -stained hand. I was in a mess and didn't know what to tell him. If he has some issue with his life then why would he drag me with him?

Why am I here when I have nothing to do with that? He stood up straight and I still couldn't lose sight of his hands. He grabbed my two arms and touched his lips to my forehead. With that I wasn't able to function. I heard the door clicked and he let go of my arm and left me speechless at what he did.

"Take her home."

He looked very disappointed when he turned his back on me. I was still an idiot until I got out of the car.

Now I just thought about how I got on there.

Only now do I remember Jomar, because my eyes can no longer see him. My mind is crowded with a full blown confusion and fear.

The pain in my heart is still there. Seeing him so miserable can't be erased from my mind. I did not enter the entrance of the Solidads by myself, I even caught sight of Mother Celia and some housemates but instead of noticing them I chose to go straight to the bedroom.

I looked at the photo of mom and dad. I couldn't get my mind off what he told me. I don't know if it's because of what I said why he's getting pregnant, I also don't know his life so I'm still wrong to say that he's miserable because his family doesn't seem to love him. I felt sorry.

Now I know. I came into this kind of conclusion, that luck maybe was never on the side of anyone. There are things that you have but did not ask for but others would lay their cards just for it.

Worse, if they don't have a card to lay after all. I spent a few hours in the room and did nothing but view the sea from my room until dark. I made my mind busy contemplating about the things in life.

The reality and whatnot. If I didn't remember Levi coming home, I wouldn't have come out of the room and remembered to have dinner. I looked at the office door but it was closed. Is he there or not yet? I didn't find anything at the dining table so I wondered if he was home or not.

She tsked my gesture. How many times has he heard this from me so maybe his patience is running out. I just sat there silently to start eating. He just stared at me for a long timeg was eating so when I noticed him I hesitated to smile at him. There's something different the way she looks at me. I sneezed so that he would notice that I was coun.

"How are you hija? Will you be able to finish your studies?" She smiled.

"Yes, it's only a few weeks and I'm graduating."

"It's good then."

She look so soft hearted and proud. I felt her support through her eyes and smile. It felt like a mothers love.

"It's been two years since you came here, so it's fun to know that you're going to graduate now."

Who would have thought that time would take me here? I stopped my self from bringing my mind into the past, so much had happened on this day and I don't want to add to it anything more. Levi came to my mind again, if I could talk to him now I might feel better.

"Uhm, Na Celia-"

"Sir Levi? It's too early to go home."

I was surprised that I hadn't spoken yet he knew immediately what I was going to say.

"U-uhm is that so s-so?"

I immediately finished my meal even though I was wondering if Levi had rested in your room or if he was locked up in the office again. I walked around the whole mansion and I didn't see him.

I peeked into the office but even his shadow was not there. I don't want to open his room on the third floor so if I can't see him now in the pool area I'll just go back to my room. My heart jumped with Joy when I saw him crouching on the stairs, his wide shoulders is the only thing I can see right now.

He's just here. I approached him like a child and two meters away I stopped and he looked back at my presence. I lost my smile and stopped looking at a glass he was holding and a bottle next to him. But that didn't end there because I saw his lip with a small wound. I said nothing else and slowly approached him.

"W-what happened?"

He gave me a faint smile and sip into his drink. He devoured its contents and set the glass down next to the bottle he was drinking from.

"You shouldn't see me like this Ava." He shrugged.

His eyes looks tired and his lips turned red when he bit it. He patted the space beside him and I followed what he wanted me to do. I can smell the mint and cool presence of him. It's addictive but you'll love it. I couldn't take my eyes off the wound on his lip, none of myself touched it. His eyes followed my hands until it reached my eyes. "Let's treat that." He just lowered my hand and wet his lip.

"I'm sorry."

My eyebrows met when I heard him.

"I'm sorry. I really am."

How many times should I see something like this? Earlier I saw a miserable Vidalio and here comes another one. He couldn't look me in the eyes while he was still holding my wrist apologizing.

"Isn't Lourd Vidalio your brother?"

His expression hardened and he avoided looking at me even more. I'm not dumb. That Vidalio is in the Hotel that Vidalio says is in front of me now. So they are not likely to be brothers. I didn't know what I was thinking and I brought my palm to her messy hair, gently brushing it with my hands. Just as he did to me when I was sick, he may feel better.

"If you have a family problem everything will be fine as well."

I assured him giving my smile. He shifted his gaze to me in astonishment but I just returned him a smile. I have nothing to do with the both of you. But I feel like it's my responsibility.