18 A forgotten memory
Summer was up until midnight munching on the bag of Hershey's Kisses.
'Andrew is truly a good man,' her stomach was tied in knots by the time she went inside her apartment, and since she couldn't have lunch for the very same reason, she was starting to feel a bit light-headed, then, she remembered the bag of chocolate that was gifted to her and opened it with the joy of a schoolgirl.
"Mmm," she hummed in approval after every single kiss of chocolate while trying and failing to choose something on Netflix. She wouldn't be watching it, of course, she just found comfort in sleeping while the tv was on, the light voices that surrounded her were soothing, and it was why she ended up installing the device in her bedroom instead of sleeping on the couch just to stay close to it.
When her fingers slipped inside the chocolate bag once more, she was startled to find it empty, "Who ate all my chocolate~" she whined and glanced around knowing all too well that she was the culprit.
"Why am I even joking when nobody's around?"
But then something nagged at the back of her head, a deja vu of some sort, she remembered saying something similar to someone in the past, and she felt that it was kind of important, that it had meant something to her back then. But she soon let it go when she couldn't recall who it was.
"This is too hard," she complained as she picked up the bag and headed over to the trash can to dispose of it. When she glanced up again, the fact that she was all alone in this apartment was suddenly too much for her.
It was the first time she truly felt homesick.
She walked back to her bed and got under the covers with her phone in hand, she wondered if she should give her parents a call but then quickly dismissed the idea since it was the early AM hours. And in a moment of pure weakness, she wondered what would happen if she was to wear her slippers, get out of her apartment, and knock on Zack's door.
"Duh," she rolled her eyes, knowing all too well what would happen if she did so.
*VRRR!*
Summer frowned when her phone vibrated, but when she read the name on the screen, she found herself rubbing her eyes thinking that she must have slept and dreaming already, but when she looked again after a good rub, her eyes became impossibly wide with the realization that only awake people can have.
Mr. Valentine Hosek Calling…
Summer continued to gape at her phone screen until it stopped vibrating.
*Ding!*
She oh-so-slowly placed the suddenly dangerous phone on top of her pillow, then she pressed on the message that came right after she 'missed' his call.
/Mr. Valentine Hosek
My sincerest apologies for calling you at this hour. The issue is urgent and work-related. Please contact me during the night if you read this, if not, report to my office first thing in the morning. Thank you in advance.
Valentine Hosek.
Wed 1:15/
'The man truly puts the work in workaholic!' She thought while she shook her head left and right, not contemplating the idea of calling the big boss twice, she was smart enough not to set the expectation that she would be ready to answer a line manager's every beck and call and knew all too well that what she allows to happen once will happen a thousand times after that.
"Nope, I have a life, Valentine," Summer muttered, refusing to become a slave to the system.
Her work took all her time and all her concentration, but in her mind, it always came second to her family. And while she thrived to make a good CV for herself for now and dreamed of working long for Hosek Holding, she also wanted to find somebody to love and settle down with while she kept a healthy work-life balance, she wanted to start a family of her own while staying an active part in her brothers and parents' lives.
Summer's entire body froze when she realized that she might not be able to have all of that, that her time to do all the things that she always postponed for later because she had other priorities might be over.
She shivered in fear.
"T-this wasn't supposed to happen so early..." She pulled her knees up and hugged them while she rocked back and forth, her skin was covered with goosebumps and her feet were ice cold, her heart was beating too fast, and her breath was coming in and going out as if she wasn't breathing any oxygen at all.
She was glad that she at least got some calories into her system because of the chocolate and flirted with the idea of getting in a hot shower to warm herself up. But having to blow dry her hair at this forsaken hour was simply painful.
She slowly sank back under the sheets and picked up the remote control playing a movie without really seeing what it was. Then she closed her eyes and tried to get some much-needed sleep while she rubbed her feet together continuously.
Summer almost knew that she was about to see a dream, something buried deeply, a forgotten memory.
***
"Would you like some chocolate?" He asked with smart eyes that shone warmly, "I eat when I'm nervous..." he snorted after that statement.
Summer had no idea whether he was joking or not, but she ended up grinning from ear to ear just in case, "This happens to be my favorite chocolate, so I won't say no!"
"Mine too," he said while he unwrapped one and popped it into his mouth.
"Then perhaps you shouldn't have shared it," she raised an eyebrow as her hand snuck inside the bag that he conveniently placed in the little space left between the two of them, then she closed one eye and kept the other open while she picked a few drops of the dreamy chocolate.
He laughed when she took her hand out and stared at the chocolate with so much passion.
"I wonder what's the secret behind this heavenly taste,"
"Hmm... I think you can use it as a case study for your thesis," he implied.
Summer's heart thumped loudly, "Do you think I should go for it? Should I pursue an MBA degree?"
He took out three chocolate pieces and unwrapped all of them at the same time, "It would be such a waste if you didn't,"
Summer's eyes drifted away shyly from the man's face as she absentmindedly reached for the bag once more, but her hand couldn't feel anything inside.
"Hey! Who ate all the chocolate?!" She joked, but she quickly decided that it was a tactless thing to do. A man who suffered from obesity could easily find her joke insulting.
She was very relieved when she heard his genuine laugh.
***
*Beep!*
*Beep!*
*Beep!*
Summer's eyes snapped open at the sound of her alarm ringing. But instead of sitting up right away, she stared at the ceiling of her room for some time trying to remember the dream that she had.
She couldn't remember any of it.
