Chapter 8: Good morning
1278 Words
She didn’t answer a single call from either BK or Amelie. She wasn’t in the mood to talk. She just wanted to rest. She didn’t have a choice earlier either—Max had driven her all the way to her dorm.
She slept for over four hours, and when she woke up, she felt a little better. Before going to sleep, she fixed her laptop and phone. She deleted all saved data about her father. Even the file he left her—she tore it up. It was heavy on her chest, but she could handle it. She grew up without a father, so she figured she could grow old without one too. It hurt, but she’d just accept it. She needed to move on with her life.
She took medicine after eating dinner. She was supposed to buy food outside, but Margaret brought it up to her. She said Max had left it. She confirmed it with him—it was indeed from him. She couldn’t help but wonder why her world and Max’s were so small. And the way he worried about her, you’d think they’d known each other for ages.
She sat again at the table facing the window. The view was beautiful, and bright. The houses were all painted in different colors, and their reflections on the water looked stunning. Sometimes, before she went to bed, she’d gaze out this window. Good thing her table was placed here—if not, she wouldn’t have any good view at night.
She was resting her chin on her hand when she heard a knock several times in a row. She checked her wristwatch—eight in the evening. Who could be visiting her?
She slowly stood up and walked to the door. She peeked through the peephole. It was Margaret, so she quickly opened the door. Because Margaret had a broad frame, she didn’t notice right away that someone was standing behind her.
“You have a visitor.” Margaret glanced back, and she looked to see who it was.
Her eyes widened—literally—when she saw her husband.
“Just for tonight, okay?” Margaret said to her husband. He nodded and let her step aside.
She didn’t even notice her mouth had parted open. She was staring at her husband. For real? BK was here? That fast? The trip takes almost a whole day to get here!
Her head tilted slightly. Could he have come from another country? Not from the Philippines?
“What? Are you going to let me in or not?” he asked her.
“Huh?” she replied dumbly. She shook her head. “Right—come in,” she said, touching her temple.
He walked right past her and looked around the entire room. He even opened her closet and bathroom and peeked at her small bed. She couldn’t help but frown. He even climbed up the table to look out the window.
“What are you doing, BK?!” she asked her husband, arms now akimbo.
“Just making sure your man isn’t here.”
He straightened up and walked toward her. She kept her hands on her waist and raised her eyebrow.
“Are you talking about Max?” she asked him.
“Who else? Is there another?”
“Seriously, BK, if you’re not going to say anything decent, just leave.”
His brow furrowed. “You heard Margaret—I’m staying here tonight whether you like it or not.” He set the food he brought on the table and sat on her tiny bed.
“So, where are you sleeping?” she asked him.
“Next to you, of course. You want someone else?”
She shut her eyes tight at what he said. “Relax, Daph,” she told herself.
“How are we supposed to fit in that? That’s a single bed. Come on, how?”
“Why are you stressing about that? Just lie on top of me. Done!” he said with a grin.
“BK!”
“What?”
“Whatever!” she snapped, annoyed.
She was about to turn around when he suddenly pulled her and held the back of her neck. She couldn’t pull away before he claimed her lips. She struggled, but he just caught her hands.
“Damn your lips, baby,” he said when he briefly let go, only to kiss her again. She didn’t respond. She let him do it because she was mad at him.
“Kiss me back, Daph,” he whispered after a while.
She widened her eyes at him. “No. Let me go.”
He paused for a second, then let her go.
“Don’t tell me this is because of that guy?”
There it was again—dragging Max into this. She sighed and glared at him. “Yeah. Is that not allowed? You have Cecelia, right? Well, I have Max. Satisfied?”
He shut his eyes, but she didn’t miss how his fists clenched before he turned away. He sat on her bed, removed his shoes, and lay down.
“What are you even doing here?” she asked.
“I’m keeping you company. Is that so wrong?” His tone was dripping with sarcasm.
“I’m heading home soon anyway. You shouldn’t have bothered coming.”
“Did you see your father?” he asked, now sitting up.
She felt that familiar heaviness again because of his question. “I don’t want to talk about that. Just go to sleep,” she said and sat at her desk. She faced the table, opened her laptop, and put on her headset to listen to music. She didn’t want to talk about her dad, and maybe BK picked up on that because he didn’t say another word. He just lay down and shut his eyes.
She took off her headset and looked out the window. She stared for several minutes before deciding to tidy up the table. She glanced at her husband, who was already fast asleep.
How was she going to sleep now? They’d probably fit, but their bodies would be so close together.
She had no choice but to sleep on the floor. She laid down a wide comforter. She was on the third floor anyway, so it wouldn’t be cold. She had an extra blanket in the cabinet, too.
As soon as she finished setting it up, she lay down. BK was snoring, maybe from exhaustion. But she still couldn’t help but wonder—how did he get to Bergen that fast? Now she was sure he wasn’t in the Philippines when he called her.
Sleep took her quickly too. When she woke up the next day, she was in her bed—with BK’s arms wrapped around her.
Did he move her? Why didn’t she notice?
She was about to remove his arm around her waist when he suddenly tightened it. Seemed like he knew she was awake.
She was at the very edge of the bed, lying on her side. They really squeezed themselves onto the tiny mattress.
She didn’t move. She waited for him to fall back asleep. She slowly tried to remove his arm after a while—but he slapped her hand.
Unbelievable. Was he pretending to sleep?
She didn’t expect what BK did next. He suddenly hovered over her.
“BK, what the hell?” she said and tried to push him, but he wouldn’t budge.
“Good morning,” he said, then pressed his lips to hers, which caught her off guard. Her hand dropped, and her fingers hit the wall from sheer shock.
- Writer
