Hate To Love You, Love To Hate You

(AUSTIN) I See You

Austin Elsner

I dropped Donna at home before I took Claudia to her house. She was quiet the whole ride. She was looking out of the window, completely ignoring everything else. Anyone could tell she was bothered, and I knew what was bothering her. Theo. I am not blind. I see everything. I see how much she likes him, and I see how he doesn’t reciprocate her feelings. And then here I am. I am head over heels for her, but she doesn’t look at me the same way.

I have been in love with Claudia ever since I met her at university. I was in sophomore school and she came. I still remember the day I first saw her. It was her orientation day. We will become friends soon. I was always a charming man. I was never a person who would settle with someone. My friends used to joke that I was allergic to commitment. And to be fair, I did act like that for others to assume that about me, but that was until I met Claudia. At first, I just thought she was just a pretty face, but when I spent more and more time with her, I realized how amazing of a person she is. I felt happy when she was around; before I knew it, I was in love with her.

It was the first time I fell in love with someone. I thought if I expressed my feelings to her, she would agree to date me. I was never rejected before. As arrogant as I may sound, I am Austin Elsner. Girls never rejected me – I didn’t think Claudia would either. But then she started to ask me about Theo. Whenever she talked about him, her eyes sparkled in a way I wanted to see them sparkle when she talked about me. She would blush when he was around, just in a way I wanted her to blush for me. She would steal glances at him when he was not looking. My heart broke even before I could confess to her. She liked him. She didn’t like me. She liked my best friend.

Theo and I have known each other since we were kids. We went to middle school together, and even when we went to different high schools, we didn’t lose touch. I have spent more time with him than I did with my own brother. We both might have different interests, but we both always connect. He is the calmest person I have ever had. I don’t think I have ever seen him get furious. He is respectful and secretive. I have never seen him flaunting his family’s wealth around him. We are still great friends, but I am not going to lie – I envy him.

He doesn’t understand how lucky he is to be liked by someone like Claudia. He is extremely stupid for ignoring her. I did confront him and he replied, “But I don’t like her like that, Austin. She is and will always be just a friend to me. Not everyone thinks like you. I know she likes me, and I can’t be obvious enough that I don’t like her back.”

It has been four years since I have had to wait for her to move on from Theo, but it hasn’t happened yet. I did think she would move on soon, but then she saw him around that girl – Luna, and that made her sad. I hate seeing Claudia sad. If I am being honest, Theo did act friendlier towards that girl than he does towards Claudia or Donna – even when Luna has been nothing but disrespectful towards Claudia for no reason. And it is bothering Claudia.

Luna. Ugh, I hate that woman. I know she is on to something. I can see in her eyes how much she doesn’t like Claudia. And from what I heard the other night, I know she is here with a purpose to hurt Claudia and I am not going to let her do it. Even if Claudia doesn’t like me back, I would not like Luna to do anything bad to her.

I know what I heard. I heard Luna loud and clear. Maybe others don’t believe me, and I don’t care about them. I just want to protect Claudia and I will do it – even if it takes anything. I need to find out what Luna is planning and why exactly she is after Claudia. Claudia didn’t mention any of her old friends' names until that day at the restaurant. That was the first time I heard of Luna.

I glanced at Claudia to see her looking out of the window. “Hey, Clo, are you okay?” I finally asked.

She turned to look at me and faked a small smile, “Of course, I am.”

She never opens up to me. I am sure if Theo were in my place, she would have ranted to him. I forced a smile at her and nodded my head. We didn’t speak until I pulled over in front of her house.

She removed the seatbelt and shifted to me. “Thank you, Austin. Tonight was great. I had fun.” She softly spoke. I took everyone for dinner tonight. It was my late birthday treat to Theo. “Thank you for the ride back home. I will see you later, bye.” She sweetly waved her hand before she stepped out of the car. I waved back at her and watched her walk into her house. I sighed and rested my head back. I waited for a minute before I drove back home. I don’t live near Claudia’s house. I live alone, unlike Clo.

She leaves with her parents, but I live in a condo alone. I do have parents living in the city, but I like living alone. I moved out right after I graduated and now, even when I am working with my dad in his company, I like my own space. My older brother, Jasper, lives alone as well, but he lives in Singapore. He looks after the business there. I wanted to go to Singapore and live in a new city, but my dad suggested that I take over his work while Jasper looks after the business there – which is fair since Jasper is more qualified and experienced at running a business in another country.

I put on the music at low volume and drove to my condo. I like driving late at night when the roads are clearer. It helps me think. As I drove back home, I thought about today. It was a nice day. Claudia was in a good mood, but then Luna happened. My face hardened when her face came to my mind. I don’t understand why Theo had to interact with that rude woman in front of Claudia. He spoiled her mood.

I did hear Luna saying that she was there to study. It was a little too late to study – maybe she was a night owl. I was very different when I was a student. I used to wake up early in the morning to study. Till now, I have seen her multiple times – each time she is doing something. I have never seen her just randomly be somewhere. I know she works at Daz. I also learned that she works as a salesperson. I don’t know why she was at the mart the other day. She didn’t look like she was there to go to a club – she wasn’t dressed for it. Maybe she was there to spy on Claudia.

It was weird how she was everywhere Claudia was. I am getting more and more sure that Luna is on a mission, but what does she want? Maybe, I need to find out more about this girl and put a stop to whatever she has planned against Clo.

After I reached home, the first thing I did was call Tristan. Tristan is my father’s assistant. He answered after a few rings, “God, Austin, you had better be dying or something because you just woke me up from sleep.” He spoke with a gruff laugh.

I bit my tongue. I should have thought about the time before I called. “I am so sorry, Tristan. I will ask my dad to give you a bonus this month,” I flinched at the offer.

Tristan was silent for a few minutes before he sighed, “I am listening.”

I chuckled, “I need you to investigate a person,” I said.

“No.”

I clicked my tongue, “Listen to me first.” I rolled my eyes, “I am not asking you to stalk them – just find some basic things about them – like what they do, where they study, some things about their past…”

“That’s stalking.”

I rolled my eyes again, “Fine, I want you to stalk someone.”

“No.”

“Tristan, come on man, this person could be dangerous. I need to know what kind of person I am dealing with!”

“What do you mean dangerous? Do I need to be concerned? Do I need to report this to your father?!” Tristan emphasized.

“No! No, no need to involve dad.”

Tristan is my dad’s assistant. He has been working for him for the past eight years. With Jasper not around, I do feel like Tristan is my older brother. He often helps me in my time of need. Whenever I am in terrible – I either call Jasper for help, and I can’t reach him – I go for Tristan. He also doesn’t take my bullshit – he is more than an employee to us.

“Good, then the matter is not that important. Let me get this clear, Austin. I am not stalking or investigating someone for you – neither will you do it yourself. Stay out of trouble and show up at work on time tomorrow. Good night!” He said before he hung up on me.

“Hey, listen – I am not done – hello?” It was too late. The line went dead. I rolled my eyes and huffed. “Fine, don’t help me – I will find out more about her myself,” I muttered.

It was pretty late so I decided to call it a night. I showered and changed into my sweatpants. I always sleep shirtless, no matter how cold the weather gets. I scrolled through my phone a bit before I decided to sleep. I had a pretty long day at work, and then I went out with a friend – I thought I would fall asleep soon – like I usually do, but my sleep slipped for some reason.

For hours I tossed around in my bed, and scrolled through my phone a bit more, then went to the kitchen and had a snack, and drank some water, but I couldn’t sleep. It was around 2:30 am when I gave up. I blew my cheeks and jumped out of bed. Maybe I need to go out for a quick walk. Walking always helps me think, sleep, and feel better. I look out of my condo – down at the empty city street. I smiled. I like going out for a walk or driving this late at night.

I wore a gray hoodie, put on my shoes, and grabbed my house keycard, cellphone and AirPods before I walked out of my condo. I put the AirPods in my ear, connected them to my phone, and played some of my favorite music.

I was walking down the empty street in the middle of the night. I put the hoodie over my head and placed my hands in my pockets as I walked alone. I smiled as the cold wind hit my face. I liked how it pricked my skin. I always loved winters. I like cold. I don’t mind snow as well. It is overbearing heat I can’t stand. I hummed along to the song as I walked along the vacant street.

I took turns and crossed roads as I wandered around. I know this area like the back of my hand – I was not going to get lost. I enjoyed this time alone. I walked for over half an hour when I reached the very familiar spot – I had been there earlier. It was the same street where the library is located.

I froze in my steps when I saw Luna. I frowned and watched her from a distance. I looked down at my Apple watch. It was 3:00 am. “What is she doing out so late?” I wondered under my breath.

I watched as she stood outside a local mart. She had a water bottle in her hand. I watched as she took the cap off the bottle, pulled up her sleeves, poured water on her palm, and then splashed it on her face – right there – in the middle of the road – in such cold weather. She jumped a little after she poured cold water on her face and tapped her feet on the ground. I could tell she was cold. Even from a distance, I could see her shiver.

“What is she doing?” I wondered.