Sparks Fly

Apartment

Chapter 5

Zarina’s pov:

After a few minutes of walking, we finally reached Mrs. Amalia’s apartment. This is a five-story apartment with three units on each floor. It has a yard that fits a car and a small garden on the side.

We stood in front of the gate and waited for Mrs. Amalia to come out after I rang the doorbell. Mrs. Amalia is quite old; she is probably in her 60's and the only one living with her here is her granddaughter Anica who is one of my closest friends.

Since their gate is made of grills, I saw Mrs. Amalia show up. I immediately waved at her when she looked at us and then she quickly smiled as soon as she knew it was me.

When she reached the gate, she immediately opened it and when she saw me with a man, she also took turns looking at us.

"Oh, Zarina, our beautiful Zarina!" she began to say, "who is this with you? Is this handsome young man your boyfriend?"

Oh, come on, not again!

My cheeks seem to be warming up again in shame. I noticed that Rye seemed to hold back a laugh when I smiled bitterly at Mrs. Amalia. Oh, this guy!

“N-no! He's not my boyfriend! H-he's just a friend of mine, "I explained to Mrs. Amalia but she also didn't seem to believe it.

Oh, please! Not her too! Tch!

"Oh, really? Then why are you here? Is it Anica? She's at the grocery store right now," she assumed.

"No, we would like to see the vacant unit, if possible. He's looking for a place where he can stay for a few weeks," I informed her which made her smile grow wider. 

"Of course, you can! Come in! Come in!" she invited and we entered her yard.

"You arrived just right today, I cleaned that unit up this morning! My vacant unit is on the second floor, is that okay?" Mrs. Amalia entertained us.

"Yeah, it's fine. I hope we're not disturbing you," Rye said politely.

“You are a very kind young man!” Mrs. Amalia smiled who was walking ahead of us, “Don't worry, it's my pleasure to assist you.”

We went up to the second floor and walked to the door at the end of the floor. When we reached the door, Mrs. Amalia immediately inserted the key she was holding into the doorknob before opening it. Mrs. Amalia opened the door for us and let us enter the room first. Rye and I looked around the room and were amazed! Although the room is not that big, it maximizes the space and it is very clean and relaxing to look at in white paint with a touch of light wood as an accent.

Upon entering the door, the living room was already there and on the other side of it was the bathroom door. Adjacent to the bathroom is the kitchen with a dining table for two people. Behind the sofa is the bedroom door. It also has furniture and is also complete with basic appliances, I'm sure Rye won't have a problem if he stays here temporarily.

"You can check the bedroom, it also has air conditioning and a small veranda," Mrs. Amalia offered.

"I'll check it later!” said Rye as he turned to Mrs. Amalia. "It is... amazing! It is nice and cozy, I love it!"

"Thank you! I make sure my units are always clean and tidy," Mrs. Amalia replied proudly.

"I'll take it!" Rye said after looking through the whole room.

I was surprised that he decided right away even though he didn't know the unit rate yet. Mrs. Amalia and I looked at each other in astonishment but I just kept quiet because I thought I might offend him.

I remember, the first time I saw him, he looked like a rich young man, and now I suspected he really is. Maybe he is a son of a millionaire? Maybe that is why he is used to not looking at the price of things. Hmn?

"Here's my down payment. I'll just give you the missing payment tomorrow if it's not enough," Rye said as he opened his wallet that was taken from his pocket.

My jaw almost dropped when he took out $ 10,000 and handed it to Mrs. Amalia. Seriously?

"I thought you were only going to stay for a few weeks? I-It's too much !?" said Mrs. Amalia as if hesitant to take the money.

Rye's grin widened and he folded Mrs. Amalia's hands that were already holding the money, "It's okay! I'm still not sure how many days I'll stay. It might take me a few more months."

"Oh, okay! All right, I'll just prepare a note that you've paid this amount. I'll leave you two here for a moment," said Mrs. Amalia who no longer refused the money and left the unit.

I just stared at Rye as he walked into the bedroom and put his stuff there. I still can’t believe he didn’t hesitate to pay for this unit right away. He is weird.

"Hey, Zarina!" he called me as he showed up again and I looked at him immediately. "Thanks for the help!"

I tried to smile but I was actually embarrassed to look at him. I also don't know why my chest suddenly throbbed when he called my name. Uhm. This is a strange feeling. Eh?

"If ... if you're okay here, I think I can leave so you can rest," I said timidly.

"Don't worry about me but if you have anything else to do, just go! I'll be fine," he said with a genuine smile that made my heart beat faster.

Sheez! What’s this feeling?! Tch!

"O-okay, bye," I said and I waved a little at him before stepping out the door.

"Ahmn, Zarina!" he called again which stopped me.

I closed my mouth to take a deep breath before I looked back at him again and smiled. "Y-yes?"

"Can you express my gratitude to your mother?" he asked.

In my nervousness, while staring at his handsome face I just nodded in response.

"And one more thing," he added.

"Ahmn, yeah! What is it?" I asked and I immediately purse my lips.

"Can I ... can I see you again?" he asked with a smile and as if his eyes were pleading.

Ow, my gash!

Why does he want to see me again!? I don’t know if I’m excited or I’m even more nervous. What should I say?

My forehead furrowed as I stared at him. Fortunately, I was far away from him otherwise he would have heard the loud beating of my heart.

"You're not a r****t or a bad person, are you?" I asked to be sure.

He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders while looking at me. What is that supposed to mean?

What the hell am I saying? I think he is not, isn't he? If he was a bad person, he probably did something bad to me especially since we were the only ones inside.

"What do you think? I can't blame you if that's what you think," he smiled with sincerity in his emerald eyes.

“It’s not like that,” I said quickly.

He laughed at my reaction so he covered his mouth with his fist to prevent it from bursting out. I felt ashamed to realize that I was overreacting. I know he's just being kind when he said that but I still asked him a silly question. Ow, geez!

"I'm sorry, I just can't help it. I just think it's because you looked cute earlier," he smirked.

I pouted and I felt my face turn red again so I quickly turned away from him.

Ugh! What the heck! I feel ashamed!

"Uhm, Zarina! I'm not making fun of you—"

"I know. I… Uhm, I really need to leave," I said as I looked out the door.

I don't know why my heart is pounding like this but... it's a strange feeling of mixed nervousness... and happiness. I don’t know if this is a good thing or not.

T-then maybe... I-I should find out.

"I'm just at the bakery... if you need someone to talk to, bye," I added before finally leaving his unit.