"Sit down first…" I said as I slowly guided him to sit on the small sofa.
I immediately let out a breath once he was seated, but I made sure not to let him notice. He was tall, big body, and well-built—completely different from my physique. It felt like I had just carried a sack of rice because of how heavy he was. Not that I was complaining, I was just exhausted from helping him get here to my apartment. Yes, to my apartment because he refused to be taken to the hospital. I insisted, especially since he had a wound on his forehead that needed to be treated by a doctor. But he was adamant about not going and insisted that I bring him to my place instead. I had no choice but to agree. I couldn’t just leave him alone, or I’d be the one to blame if something worse happened to him. "I’ll just get my first-aid kit," I informed him before heading straight to my room. "Tss, why did you even bring him here, Erina?" I muttered to myself in frustration. I was talking to myself again out of sheer annoyance. Of all the people in the world, why did it have to be me who witnessed the accident earlier? "Ouch!" I suddenly cried out as I stretched my arm. It must have gone numb from carrying him earlier. Talk about bad timing—no jeep or taxi passed by, so I had no choice but to help him get here. I had to treat the wound on his forehead before anything worse happened. "Sorry I took so long, I had to look for it," I apologized as I sat beside him again. But he didn't respond, and I noticed that he seemed deep in thought. "Are you okay? Does anything else hurt?" I asked, my voice laced with concern. He still didn't say anything and just remained silent, lost in thought. Maybe he was trying to recall everything that happened before the accident. "I really can't remember who I am. The only thing I can recall is that the brakes failed, and the car crashed into the bridge," he finally said before turning his gaze to me. I couldn't answer. Instead, I just found myself staring at his face. My god, he's so handsome! Why am I only noticing it now?! “D-Don’t force yourself to remember just yet. It might do you more harm,” I replied, quickly looking away from him. Why was that the first thing I thought of instead of treating his wound? Tss, it’s not like he’s the only handsome guy I’ve ever seen, but there’s something unique about his face. Starting with his not-so-thick eyebrows, well-defined brown eyes, a perfectly shaped nose, down to his reddish and perfect lips, sharp jawline, and clear skin. He has symmetrical features. He's perfect, men! "Um, are you sure I don't need to take you to the hospital? You might be feeling something else besides this wound," I said while treating his forehead. I had just finished cleaning the wound and was now applying betadine. Thankfully, it wasn’t deep, so I could handle it. If it were, I would’ve rushed him to the hospital whether he liked it or not. "I'm fine. M-My body just hurts, but I can handle it," he replied, though he seemed to struggle with his words. It was obvious he was in pain—his weak groans gave it away. But no matter how he reacted, he was still ridiculously handsome. Honestly, I couldn't concentrate on treating him because I kept staring at his face. I wasn't sure if he had noticed, but I hoped not. That would be embarrassing. He might think I was ogling him or something. "Okay, fine. But tell me if it gets worse, alright? After this, I'll let you rest and call your family so they’ll know you’re here. They might already be looking for you—" "I lost my phone," he interrupted, catching me off guard. "And I can't remember if I have a family," he added, making me drop the cotton ball I was holding. Now what? What am I supposed to do? *WAYNE LOUIE ANDERSON POV It was obvious that she was shocked by what I said, but I had to say it so she wouldn't make me leave. I will pretend that I lost my memory so she'll let me stay here. She looks kind, so I'm sure she'll feel sorry for me and allow me to stay. "What now? What should I do?" she said it softly, but it seemed problematic. I was just looking at her, but I let out a deep sigh because of the situation. When I had the accident earlier, I thought it was the end for me, but it wasn’t. I thought no one would help me, but I later found out that someone did save me, and it was a woman. I couldn’t believe it, but I’m still thankful to her because she helped me from drowning and, most especially, from death. "Do you have your wallet with you? I just want to check if you have an ID so I can find out who you are," she said, and I immediately checked my pocket, but my wallet wasn’t here. I think it’s in my coat that I left in the car. But I’m thankful it’s not here because I don’t want her to know who I am. I don’t want her to know because I don’t want to ruin what I’m planning. "Nothing either? What should we do now? Um, do you want me to take you to the police station to report what happened to you?" "No! .." She gasped at what I said, but then she suddenly became curious because of it. "I-I mean, you don't have to. Maybe my memories will come back. Just let me stay here." I suddenly said it so she wouldn't get suspicious. I don’t want her to think that I’m a bad person, so I’ll do everything I can to make sure she doesn’t suspect me. "Can I stay here until my memory comes back?" I said it sadly while staring into her eyes. "Okay, until your memories come back," she replied and let out a small smile. I forced a smile at her, but deep inside, I was freaking happy because my plan worked. "Um, can I know your name?" "Erina... that's my name. B-But what should I call you if you can't remember your name?" F*ck! I cursed under my breath because I didn’t think about that. "I-I don't know, could you think of a name for me?" I asked, and she immediately started thinking of a name for me. "Uh, Louie? Would that be okay?" "Sure, that's a nice name." When luck is on my side, she happened to think of a name that matches my second name. "Thank you, Erina, thank you for saving me and letting me stay here," I sincerely said and smiled at her. Because of what happened earlier, I know there’s someone behind it. I know someone planned to kill me. So what I thought of doing was to keep my true identity from her, lived as someone else while staying with her, hide and figure out who was behind the accident. My car wasn’t damaged, and I’m sure someone sabotaged it. I won’t let that slide. They will pay for what they did.It was just Derick, I thought it was someone else. He was with Faye, who was smiling widely at me now, but it looked like she was looking for someone. And I already knew who... Louie."Have you been here long?" Derick asked when the two of them finally reached me."Uhh, yeah... maybe about 30 minutes," I replied.Faye immediately came up to me and hugged me, but she looked at me teasingly once she pulled away. I already knew why."Where's your boyfriend?" she asked teasingly, poking me in the side.She's crazy—she was the one who came up with that idea, yet she's also the first to tease me about it. But I never even got to do her suggestions because Louie already took the initiative to do it even before I could say anything to him."Boyfriend? You have a boyfriend, Erina?" Derick asked, which caught me off guard.I immediately turned to look at him, but his brows were already furrowed, and his face was filled with confusion.I didn’t want to lie to him because he’s one of the people I
"Kuya..."He only looked at me when I called him, but his eyes kept shifting back to Louie, who was now standing behind me.Now I’m scared to introduce Louie to him—what more if Dad shows up?“Hmm? Uh, I’m glad you made it. I’m really happy you came,” he said, then pulled me into a tight hug.I returned his hug, then handed him the gift I bought once he pulled away from our embrace.I smiled at him. “Happy birthday, Kuya. I hope you’ll like it,” I said, and he immediately took it from me and thanked me.“Thank you, Erina. I’ll open this later.”I think this is the right time to introduce Louie to him.I gathered my courage before turning to Louie and gently taking his hand. I led him closer to Kuya, who was now staring at him intensely."Umm, Kuya, everyone... I’d like to introduce him to you. This is Louie, m-my boyfriend. Louie, this is my brother Erick, and the rest are my relatives," I said hesitantly.I looked at all of them—they were all smiling, except for Kuya, whose gaze towa
I’ve been pacing back and forth in this room for a while now. I’m already done getting ready, but I still don’t want to go out. It’s only six in the evening, so I decided to stay here for a while to think about what I’ll say later when the two of us arrive at the party.I’m no longer thinking about how I’ll greet my family—I’m thinking about how I’m going to introduce Louie to them.I’m still having second thoughts about Faye’s suggestions last night. I don’t know if I can really say that to my family, especially since I’m sure they won’t believe it.I need to tell Louie about it, but how do I even begin? I have a feeling he won’t agree to it.But I’ll try.I let out a deep breath before standing up. “You can do this, Erina. Don’t be shy around him,” I told myself and walked toward the door."Oh, hi... I was just about to knock."He was surprised when I opened the door, and so was I. I didn’t expect him to be right outside the room.I couldn’t answer right away, instead, I looked at h
I’ve been silent for a while now, staring at the mirror, but suddenly I found myself smiling for no apparent reason. I don’t know why, but it all started after I cut Louie’s hair.Yes, I cut his hair because it had grown too long.I noticed it while we were eating dinner earlier. His hair was almost covering his eyes, but he still looked handsome to me.Huh? What did I say?But we almost argued earlier because he didn’t trust my ability."Are you sure you know how to do it?" he asked, but there was a hint of doubt in his voice.I chuckled a little at what he said, but I nodded in response and smiled sweetly at him. I showed him full confidence so he wouldn’t regret the outcome of his haircut."Yes, I’ve already told you several times earlier. Just trust me, will you? If you hadn’t asked, cutting hair is actually one of my hidden talents. So, just trust me," I said proudly, but I still noticed the hesitation on his face.I suddenly frowned at him because of it. He wasn’t looking at me,
"Erina, are you okay? You've been spacing out for a while now," asked Ate Mica as she approached me in the locker area.I was currently sitting with both arms resting on my thighs and staring blankly into the distance. I've been like this ever since my shift at the restaurant ended. Some of my coworkers have already gone home, but I chose to stay here for a while."I'm okay, Ate.""Are you sure? You've been out of it while working earlier, but it's a good thing our manager didn't call you out."I lost myself because of what happened yesterday—because of the memories that came back, all because of that damn van.I wish I hadn’t seen that—maybe I’d be okay right now, and maybe I wouldn’t have dreamed all night about the darkness I went through when I was kidnapped."Yes, Ate... I’m really okay. I’ve just been thinking about something, that’s why I’m a little out of it, but don’t worry... I’m fine, Ate," I said with as much certainty as I could, and she believed me right away."Just let
"Have you chosen what you're going to wear?" I asked as I approached him.He was still in the middle of picking a top. He’d been standing there for more than twenty minutes and had already tried on two long sleeves, slacks, and a tuxedo earlier, but still hadn’t chosen anything.I wanted to help him, but we might not agree when it comes to clothing style. So I just let him choose what he wanted to wear."Not yet, I’m having a hard time," he said, shifting his gaze between the two white long sleeves he was holding before turning to look at me.I chuckled a bit at the emotion he showed me. He already looked stressed and seemed like he could burst into tears at any moment.I really need to help him choose what to wear before it gets dark."Can you help me?" he asked, his eyes pleading as they looked at me. I nodded in response and took the two buttoned long-sleeved shirts from him.They're the same in color but different in style. I think both suit him, but I have to choose one."This on