Chapter Six

“Excuse me, why are we here?” I demanded.

He simply shrugged. “Well, we already passed your house. You didn’t even notice.”

“And you just decided to take me somewhere else?” I asked angrily. “What is wrong with you?”

“I saw your father standing in front of your house, sending off some his friends. I just thought you wouldn’t want to have another encounter with him. Figured you can use some time off from him?”

He was right. I would not want to face my father again. But that does not mean I want to be alone with him!

“We’re not friends, Atkins! Why do you think I needed help from you?”

Nicholas stared at me for a moment and then he nodded. He straightened up on his seat and started his engine.

“Alright, whatever you say, princess,” he murmured.

“Stop!” The tone of my voice made him stop on his tracks. He turned around raising a brow at me.

“Don’t call me that ever again!” I snapped. Then I turned away from him. “And… yeah, maybe I can stand sitting here next to you for another ten minutes or so.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t talk.”

“Not talking.”

“Breathe quietly!”

“Not breathing at all,” he said, amusement evident in his voice.

We sat there in silence. The city view before me provided me with a little of bit of peace and calm. I ought to be thankful to Nicholas for bringing me here. But I didn’t like him. I bet he was only doing this because I was Jen’s best friend and he’s trying to score points with her.

Ha! He will never gain points from me, for sure!

When Nicholas dropped me off in front of my house, I murmured a quiet “thank you” and then went out of the car.

“Hey!” Nicholas called after me as I reached the front gate. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay in there?”

I shrugged. “Been living like this for years. What you saw this evening was the most attention I got from him. I should be thankful he’s speaking to me at all.”

“You let your old man treat you like that?”

“Like you said, he’s an old man. And my mother taught me to respect my elders, no matter how unrespectable they are.” I felt my stomach twist into knots and that pain radiated to my heart. I felt heat at the back of my eyes. Before Nicholas could notice my teary eyes, I turned away without giving him another glance or uttering another sound. 

***

“To know your enemy, you must become your enemy.” – Sun Tzu, The Art of War.

I thought about this the whole day. Maybe I was looking at things the wrong way. Maybe I was being rash in my decisions and tactics to drive Nicholas away from Jen.  That was why my plans were backfiring.

Now, I have two facts in my hand.

One, Nicholas was after Jen and knew that I was the biggest obstacle in his way.

Two, Jen was seriously into Nicholas, to the point of disregarding our years of friendship.

It was turning out to be a major problem for me in record speed. I knew I have to stop it before it gets too far, before I lose Jen to Nicholas, and then to the black hole he’d dump her in after he was done playing with her.

I didn’t call or text Jen the whole day. I was less than happy with the way she acted toward me last night. She made me feel like I was disposable, and Nicholas was somebody she couldn’t live without.

Well, guess what, Princess? I was the one who was always there for you when things got a little too much for you to handle!

In Jen’s case, too much to handle could mean just a teeny tiny thing. She was always fragile, easily broken. I was a constant in her life—always available, always automatically at her side. She is the type of girl who needs to be sheltered and I was the one who gave her that shelter.

Maybe this time, I should give her a chance to miss me. To realize what she would be missing if ever she lost me.

Meanwhile, I had to make sure that I got the object of her delusion as far away from her as possible.

Whatever Nicholas was doing, it was working. Maybe I should learn a thing or two from him. He was smoothly sweeping in between us. And he was doing it without deception or sarcasm. He wasn’t even trying to make me look bad in front of Jen.

“To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.”

Looked like he took a page out of Sun Tzu’s book, too. And he was doing it far better than I was.

Well, of course he is older. But none the wiser.

Maybe I should step back and re-strategize. If I couldn’t get Jen to stay away from Nicholas, maybe I could get Nicholas to stay away from Jen. And the earlier he does it, the better—while she hasn’t fallen for him yet, and while he can still leave her with her heart in one piece.

I went to Rythemes that evening. It was an easy night. Brett would be able to handle the whole gig without my help. My father was having a party at the house again. I would never be safe whenever he was home. His secretary returned my car keys. No matter how ashamed he was of me, he could not afford to have his only kid go on foot around town. Not for me, though, but for his reputation. As long as I was carrying his surname, I should keep a certain image of luxury.

Bailey and Brett waved at me when I sat at the table in the corner of the bar.  I gave them a little salute as Brett hit the cymbals to signify the start of their set.

After the first set, a pretty blonde approached me and asked, “Is this seat empty?”

She was referring to the empty seat in front of me. I stared at her face. Even with the low lights, I could see the way she was looking at me and there was no mistaking what she had in mind.

I took a gulp of my beer. “Yes. But my seat will be, too, if you decide to take that one,” I said bluntly.

She blinked back and stared at me, trying to understand what I just said. Maybe she was not used to getting rejected. Or maybe she was just slow. After one minute, she still hadn’t moved.

Arggh! Get there already!

Finally, she gave me an insulted look and turned away. 

Thank God!

I did not come here to hook up with anyone.

After a minute, somebody pulled the chair in front of me, and I found myself face to face with Nicholas. His was the face of an enemy—the big bad wolf I was protecting Little Red Riding Hood from.