Chapter 13

I was staring at the last message that I had with John while I was waiting for Neil to get our orders from the counter. Wondering if I should text him and asked him how he was doing? Or wait for him to do that instead since he's the guy? I also wondered how he was doing right now and why he hasn't messaged me yet.

"They don't have pasta." Neil came and sat down at the chair in front of me, placing down a plate of chicken. I stared at the chicken who looked like it hadn't been cooked well.

Neil cut off his steak with a fork and knife then fed himself. And a thought came into my mind. Since he knows a lot of relationships and love advice, maybe I should ask him about my date with John?

"Hey, I have a question." He continued chewing without glancing at me like he didn't hear me. "What should a woman do on a date?"

Now his eyes glanced up to me, still chewing on his food. "Dressed appropriately. Fix your hair. Avoid talking negative stuff. And just enjoy." Then he continued eating his food.

"That's the same thing that I read on the internet," I said with a deadpan look.

"What do you want to see? Barfing while eating?”

"No! I mean, if I got nervous and I didn't know what to say—"

"You think too much. Just think of it as a normal casual hang out. Like what we're doing right now," he said as he laid his back on his seat. 

My eyebrows furrowed. "What are we doing?"

"Eating while chatting." Then he took a sip on his wine and wiped it with a white table cloth. "You don't have to worry too much what the other person thinks. Just be yourself and enjoy his company."

"Okay," I said then we continued eating. 

I don't have to worry huh? Just be myself.

After our lunch, we headed back to the FHR office and saw Tamara sitting outside the bench, probably waiting for us.

"Well, well. Look who's here," Neil said with a sarcastic tone that made me glare at him. I mean, Tamara may sound like a mean person on social media but we still didn't know the whole story. So judging her right now isn't necessary.

"I uh... " she said in a timid voice. "I told him what I really feel."

Neil walked past her then unlocked the door with his key. "Well, congratulations." Then we stepped into the office, Tamara followed us inside.

"But he just said 'okay' and my roomie was still trying to get his attention even if she knows that I like him."

"Does she know that you hated her?" Neil asked.

Tamara shook her head. "We're roomies, remember? She might kill me in my sleep."

"You should tell that to her. Tell her what you really feel," Neil said as he opened the laptop like he was going back to his work.

"How is that necessary anyway?" I asked. "I mean, that will just have them fight, right?"

"At least the other person will understand her feelings and they can talk about who they like and what their plans are about this guy. Rather than eating your pride and plotting your revenge almost everyday to this person who doesn't even have a clue that you hate her."

I glanced at the woman who looked like she was surprised with Neil's answer. I think Neil was saying these things to her and was trying to see how she would react to it.

"Maybe she is right, Sir. I don't think that's necessary either," she said in a soft voice.

"And why is that?" Neil asked with a stern expression as he crossed his arms on his chest.

"Because... " she paused then heaved out a sigh. "I think she already knows it, as well as I know that she hates me too. That's why she always wanted to get his attention."

"But who does this guy like? You or her?" I asked.

She bit her lip after a few seconds of thinking. "I think it's me."

I glanced at Neil who was just staring at her. Then he darted his attention back to his laptop. “If he likes you, then he was hitting on you. Is he?”

I glanced back at Tamara again who was secretly rubbing her hands against each other and her eyes were on the ground. She’s lying.

Neil‘s eyes darted back on her without turning his head around. “You wouldn’t be stopping here if the guy likes you anyway. So I assumed that he didn’t and you hated the fact that your roomie was getting all his attention.” 

I could feel from his tone of voice that he was annoyed with the woman’s situation. He tapped the frame of his eyeglasses up to his nose then glanced back at his laptop. “This isn’t a love case. This is you and your insecurity issues. You hated the fact that this guy isn’t giving you the attention and is giving it to the girl that  he really likes. So there’s nothing much that we can do here except to tell you the truth.”

Those words that were thrown at her were a bit harsh, enough for Tamara to dwell up in tears. She didn’t utter a word and just ran towards the door. I felt bad for her receiving such comments from Neil. I mean, she could be wrong but he could've told her this in a nice way.

“Follow her Ella.” My head turned when he said that. “Maybe we have to know the truth. We couldn’t just base it through her social media account.”

“Yeah, of course,” I said with a sarcastic tone. Because honestly, he acted like a real asshole.

I quickly took off then left FHR. I looked around and saw Tamara walking towards the field in a fast paced. I moved my feet in a fast paced, almost running just so I could catch up to her, without finding anyone around me that I’m acting odd. When I arrived at the soccer field, I saw her crying alone behind the tree. I walked towards her then sat beside her. I knew that I was there, but she was still crying and pretending that she didn’t see me.

“I know it looks like it’s my fault!” she said between her cries. “But that bitch took away everything from me!”

“What else did she take away from you?” I asked.

“Everything,” she said softly. Based on how she said it, it sounded like she was going through a lot of pain. “Sir Neil is right. This is not just a love case. But I am not insecure!” she almost shouted then continued crying.

“What else has she done aside from that guy?”

She sniffed then wiped her face with her wrist. “My friends. My journalism future. And him.”