51 Playing A Game
“Well, that just makes it worse, for I died for that lie.”
In the stillness, he clearly heard the words she uttered before fleeing the garden. He felt his heart constrict in his chest with the hurt in her voice.
He was taken aback that she would voice out her pain. She always has been the type to use anger to mask out her pain. But tonight she said those words that broke his heart in an instant.
More than ever, tonight he regretted his decision two years ago. He was a fool when he acted cool taking on the responsibility that wasn’t his. For what? To break her heart?
He knew they have something special back then. Even without talking about it, he knew Ellise loved him. In her own twisted idea of love, and he was so dense not to realize it soon enough. Until it was too late. She walked out of his life like a phantom in the night.
He didn’t realize that he loves her until she was gone and he was heartbroken. Like a fool, he didn’t know why. He didn’t know that she already was a huge part of his life until he lost her. He was so engrossed in chasing someone’s else ass.
He distinguished the difference between love and adulation when his heart starting hurting -- when she already left him.
He fell in love with her as naturally as waves kissing the shore. His love for her was as natural as when he opened his eyes when the sun penetrated his bed in the morning. There was no justification or explanation.
No fireworks, no bells ringing. It was as quiet as his breathing.
He simply fell in love.
He was staring blankly at the night sky, thinking about how he could change things when his phone ringing snapped him out of his thoughts.
“Hello?”
He answered the phone without checking who was calling. He regretted it once he heard the sobbing on the other side of the line. He took a deep breath and readied himself to listen to the caller’s whining.
“DT are you even listening?”
“Hmm, oh yeah!” he gritted his teeth in annoyance yet felt guilty that indeed he wasn’t listening. His thought was still with the words, Ellise uttered. ‘The killed her…’ his brows furrowed in thinking, ‘Does it mean, that she truly love him?’
His heart started an excited dance in his chest with the thought. Did she truly love him in the past? Not just her obnoxious way of trying to own something that took her fancy. A glimmer of hope shown in his eyes.
He no longer hears Asya on the phone. He needed to talk to Ellise and clear things out!
“Call your lover with your problem, will you? Next time, I would appreciate it if you do not call me with this kind of issue.”
He hung up the call and hurried back to the house. He glanced at his phone screen and saw the time was already quarter to eleven, but Ellise is a night owl. He is quite sure that she is still awake at this hour.
His steps were light like they have some wings as he took the stone pathway back to the house. He arrived at her door in no time.
He knocks gently on it, trying not to disturb the next room. He called her name softly but got no response. His brows knitted wondering if she was already asleep. He was sure that she would still be awake at this hour, but it seemed like that wasn’t the case.
He sighed in disappointment. The excitement he was feeling was replaced with gloom. ‘Sweetdreams, Missy,’ he whispered with his hand on the door before turning back to his room to call it a day.
He can talk to her tomorrow.
“Did you just come back?” Spirit pushed himself from his bed when he entered the room.
“Sorry, did I wake you up?” He unbuckled his belt and pulled down his pants and threw it on the edge of his bed.
“Hmm, what time it is?” he asked, rubbing his eyes and grabbing his eyeglasses from his side table.
“Quarter past eleven,” he pulled his shirt over his head, and with just his boxer he entered the bathroom to take a shower.
When he got out of the bathroom, he just has a towel wrapped around his waist. He searches for some fresh boxer from his duffel bag while rubbing his hair dry.
He was still searching for a pair of boxers when his phone rang.
“It has been ringing since you were in the bathroom,” he told him without lifting his eyes from the screen of his phone. He was focused on playing some mobile game.
With the boxer in his hand, he stood up to check who was calling him and saw Asya’s name on the small screen of his phone. He clenched his jaw as he put on his boxer and went back to the bathroom to hang his wet towel.
“You are not going to answer that?”
“I don’t want to answer it,” he said in despair.
Spirit didn’t ask why and just chuckled lightly with his answer.
“What game are you playing?”
“I’m not playing… well, I am,” he smirked. “But not a game.”
“What could you playing if not a game?” his brows furrowed with his answer. He put his phone in silent mode for his ears got irritated with his phone continuously ringing. It seems like Asya won’t stop calling until he answers. Well, she could call all night.
“A girl -- that’s what.” He laughed at DT’s question. “You have an older lover, but I wonder what did she see in you when you are nothing but a dork.”
“She wasn’t my lover. Never was, never been,” he muttered under his breath, but Spirit heard it clearly.
“No shit?” he dropped his phone and turned to his right to face him, “Then what was that press conference you did. You admitted that you two were in a relationship?”
“There was a huge backlash towards Asya that time, and we felt that was the only way to stop people saying shit towards her.”
“Dude, I’m shocked.” he shook his head, picking up his phone and type a reply to the girl he was playing around with.
“So, you and Asya were never an item?” he asked with curiosity.
“No. We don’t really have a relationship… it was more of…” he glanced at Spirit’s curious face and smirked.
“I see… playing game,” he nodded his head in understanding.
Grinning, he scratched the base of his nape. “It was nothing serious.” he smiled sheepishly.
“Hmm, of course… a game.”
