Chapter 7

“Good evening, Sir! She's not in her room. In fact, she hasn't come home yet. “

“Is that so? It's already dark. Where is she right now?”

“With all due respect, she's a grown-up now, Sir. Girls of her age deal with many things on their own now.”

“She could have informed me about her whereabouts. I'm her guardian. She is under my care.

“You are overthinking that matter, Sir. She is in high school now. You should not pay too much attention to her.”

“I think you should focus more on your top priority, Sir.”

“I agree. I should not throw myself off track. I would not let my plans and efforts go to waste.”

“I don't mean to disrespect but are you saying that as a matter of fact or to convince yourself, Sir?”

“What do you mean, old man?”

“Maybe, your concern is rooted in something else, Sir. Perhaps, a feeling of affection.”

“I am taking revenge, Monty. I will not submit myself to something stupid just to destroy it.”

“I have come this far, Monty. I will finish what I started.”

“Dealing with matters of the heart is more complex than what humans expect.”

“If you are talking about having feelings for my daughter, then it is pointless.”

“You believe so, Sir?”

“I don't think I have any feelings for her. “

“You think so. I see.”

“Let us end this conversation, Monty. It is going nowhere”

As you wish, Sir. Have you tried calling her, Sir?

“Where are you?”

“You are making me worried.”

“Ugh! I get no replies.”

“Maybe she's still in school, Sir. Her driver has not come home yet.”

“Ask my driver to prepare the car, now!”

“I have to find her immediately!”

******

“Give up Miss Witts or let yourself do an all-nighter here.”

I was just standing my ground. And this time, I need to face the situation on my own.

“Suit yourself here or call your guardian.”

I bowed my head, hiding the face of hopelessness and pride.

I'm pretty scared of a lot of things but this time, I have to know how to deal with them alone.

The consequences were unfair to me, but I didn't lose the heart to prove they were wrong.

I cannot call him. I've been too dependent on him ever since he sheltered me.

This is what I told myself just as I hold my phone, staring at Luke's phone number.

I looked at the person sitting next to me. It's Jason.

“Hey, you don't have to put up with this. You can go. Everyone seems to have left already. I will be okay.”

Jason gazes at me with his puppy eyes and then smiled as he taps my head. It seems like a movie scene for me.

“I know you will be. Don't feel so special about this.”

“I will be bored at home anyway and I find it interesting to stay at school this late for the first time.”

He is lying. He only tells me that because he knows how much I hate myself for being too dependent.

He feels me in ways no one can. His hand is still on my head. Why do I suddenly feel strange about it?

The distance you both have from each other and the fact of being alone that long in a room made you feel uneasy.

I brush my feelings off as I tried to remove his hand at the same time he wanted to.

“Oh! I poke your eye. Gosh. I didn't mean it.”

“I'm okay. I'm okay. Not a big deal. Chill, dude.”

“Let me take a look at it.”

“You cannot see clearly as you rub your eyes. “

“Jason, I'm okay. Don't overreact.”

As my vision gets better, I am surprised when I realize that his face is so close to me.

“Whops! This is so close. It's kind of awkward.”

I pushed him away and maintained composure.

“Hey, mister!”

I gently push Jason to keep my distance.

“Hey, what's wrong? “

“Can't you stand to be that close to me? Do you start to feel what the other girls do?”

“Why does that joke sound more sexy than funny to me? What is going on?”