Chapter Six

Ekie’s POV

I don’t know what went through my mind and I followed Jeyro. I lied to Marcky that I need to go to the bathroom but the truth is I want to follow Jeyro and I don’t know why or maybe because I got curious about what they talked about. I don’t want to ask Marcky because I know that he would not say what they talked about.

After a few minutes I saw him stopping in one room and he entered. I stopped a few meters away so he could not notice me. When I was totally sure that he entered that room I began to walk towards the room. Fortunately there is a glass window in the door so I can see who is inside and I saw Jeyro sitting beside Sky. He held her hand and began to caress it. I tried to open it slowly without making a sound and I succeeded.

“I’m sorry about what I said, I didn’t mean it. I thought if I say that to you, you will be happy but I’m wrong.”Jeyro said while talking to Sky who was still asleep. “I know I never met or know Vince so I shouldn’t say that but I feel your pain. I know what you went through and I hope it will be gone so that you can see me. I’ll do everything for you, even if I have to be Vince’s substitute in your heart. ”he added.

I, somehow, feel Jeyro’s pain. I know what he’s going through although it is not obvious but I feel like I’m Vince’s substitute in Jayselle’s eyes. Until now, I don’t know what relationship they had because I feel there is something that she never told me. I thought Jeyro knew something but I guess he didn't know about Vince. I decided not to bother him and Sky.

I started to walk away when I bumped into a nurse who was passing by and made a loud noise. Oh my god Ekie, you really such a klutz. I turned in Sky’s room and I saw Jeyro looking out to me. I just closed my eyes and cussed myself. Then I saw Jeyro walking out.

“You’re here.”he gave me a smile. “Are you visiting Era?!”I just nodded and awkwardly smiled.

He invited me to come into Sky’s room. He sat again on Sky’s side while I sat on the couch near them. I stare at Sky who is still asleep and I notice that she has become slimmer and has eye bags. Is she still eating and sleeping?! The last time I saw her, she didn't have eye bags and had more muscle than before.

“Are you worried about Era?!”I was off-guard when Jeyro asked me this. To be honest, yes I’m worried about Sky but I really want to know who Vince is.

I smiled at him and nodded. “Yes I’m a little bit worried about Sky. I don't know what happened to her or what she has experienced but I hope she will move forward from the past. I know it is not gonna be easy but accepting the past is much easier than still suffering from it.”I said to him.

“Yeah but it is easy to say but it is hard to do.”he said and he looked straight at me. “Remembering the past full of pain, nothing good will come of you. You just gonna hurt all over again.”I know he just said what he wants but when he said that it feels like he directly said it to me.

“But remembering the past, even if it's full of pain, will be okay than living without knowing your past. I better be dead than to forget my past.”I answered him and I saw him shocked in a few seconds.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”he said and it's my turn to be shocked. I don’t know if he knew my situation but only my friends knew my situation. We tried to hide it and continue with our lives because that’s what I want. I don’t want to become the center of attention, I just want to continue where my life ends and I didn’t know that there was someone who knows what happened to me two years ago. Jeyro, to me, was an acquaintance and never part of my circle of friends, only recently, he was close to Marcky and Vernice which I don’t know how. I’ve known Jeyro as a loner and didn’t have a friend until Sky came and that started to change his life, that's what I noticed.

“What do you mean?!”I asked him with a serious tone. “Did you know my situation?! Do you know something?! Do you know what happened to me in the past?!”I bombarded him with continuous questions.

He opened his mouth to speak but he closed it. No word came out his mouth, it was like he wanted to say something but was resisting it. When I tried to question him again, there was someone entering the room. We looked at him and we saw him become shocked.

“Tristian?!”Jeyro called him but he didn’t answer instead he walked towards me.

“Vince is that you?!”he asked and his face became pale and it felt like he just saw a ghost. Here we go again, why did they always call me Vince?

“Tristian let me exp------”

“I’m n----”

Jeyro and I didn’t complete our sentence when he suddenly pulled me out of the room to the side of the hospital with only a few people passing by. Where is he taking me?! And who is he?!

“What are you doing here?!”He said with a minimal voice and he looked at our left and right side like there was someone watching us. “Why are you still coming back?! I thought we were clear that you will never show up to Era anymore.”

I didn’t know what to say. What is he talking about?! Why did he suddenly grab me and pull me here?!

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you are talking about.”I said while removing his grip.

“Ohh god please Vince don’t pretend that you don’t know, I’m begging you. I don’t want to put my family into danger again.”he said like he is paranoid. “If you still love my sister, please forget about her. We had an agreement, if your mother knows what you are doing, my family will be in danger again.”

I became speechless. I don’t know what to say. I don’t even know what he is talking about and why is my mother included here? Does she know who Vince is or maybe he is referring to Vince's mother?! Why do I feel like this situation is familiar to me?!

“Are we clear Vince?! Yes, I owe you one for saving Era before but if you really love my sister, you will let her go and please pretend that you will never talk or meet us again.”he said before stepping back to me.

“No!!! We are not clear!!”I shouted and I don’t care what the people will say. All of my confusion is building up right now and I just want to answer all of my questions. I’m done being clueless. “What agreement are you talking about? And why are you always mistaking me as Vince? I’m not Vince, okay?!! I’m not!!!”

I saw him stop for a moment and I thought that he would be shocked but he’s not. He smirked at me and gave me a dead glare.

“Don’t fool me, I’m not anyone else. I know you from head to toe.”he said. “Do you really think that because you said you are not Vince, you can come to Era’s life again?! Not me, Vince. You can fool everyone else but not me,”he added. “And before I go, please remind yourself that there are so many eyes that are watching you. Think before you decide, for you and Era’s sake.”and he starts to walk away from me.

I want to ask something but I can’t. I feel like there is some gravity that makes me stop to ask but there is one that I’m sure of, he is Sky’s brother and there is a deeper story about Vince than I knew. At some point, there is something that bothers me, the one that they agreed on and he said that there are so many eyes that are watching me. Is Vince's mother really doesn't like Sky which is the cause of Vince’s accident?!

“I’m really sorry for Tristian's acting. He didn’t mean to do that to you, he mistook you for someone.”

I brought myself back when I heard Jeyro’s voice. Maybe he followed us because it was so sudden and even until now, I was still shocked.

“It’s okay. I’m used to it.”I said in a calm voice but I wanted to ask him a question. “Can I ask you a question? Do you know who Vince is, right?! Be honest with me please.”I said to him pleadingly. I’m getting tired of this, all I heard was Vince here and Vince there. I’m getting frustrated because of that name, he is still here haunting us even though he's gone and worse I don’t even know that person and yet, he is like a shadow to me. Follow me every corner.

He turned his gaze into the side.

“Honestly, I never met Vince but I know him because of someone.”he answered. “Then Era told me their story before she was hospitalized.”he added then he breathed deeply like he’s getting his strength from it. “Vince died because he saved Era from getting hit by a car after they break-up.”

When he said that, I remembered one of my dreams. There was a girl who was saved by someone because she stopped in the middle of the road. I don’t know if my dreams and their story are connected because neither the two of them have a name of Kyle, or it's just a product of my imagination. I really don’t know but something suddenly came out of my mind.

“You said that Vince is gone right?”I asked him and he nodded. “If Vince is dead why Sky’s brother mistaken me as Vince as if he is still alive. Why did he suddenly act like that and threaten me that I should forget and pretend that I didn’t meet his sister.”

I know it is not good to accuse someone I don’t know but based on his act, there is something wrong and I feel that. What if Vince is still alive and he chose to lie to Sky because of the threat of Vince’s mother? But where is Vince if he is still alive? How he endured to see Sky suffer because of him, if he really loves Sky, he will find her even if it's hard.

“I don’t know but Tristan will never do that.”His tone became serious and strong. “I trust him.”he added.

I frowned because of what he said.

“You only met him recently and yet you trust him? How can you be so sure that he didn’t betray his own sister?”I said to him that it was like I was challenging him.

I was shocked when he grabbed my shirt and glared at me.

“You don’t know him and you know nothing so don’t accuse him like he is doing a crime.”he said in a low-tone voice. “If he knew something, I know he is doing that for the sake of his sister so if I were you, don’t mind his business and take care of your so-called girlfriend. She is also here, right?!”because of what he said I froze. I forgot Jayselle because of my curiosity about Vince.

He removed his grip on my shirt and stepped back.

“Please leave while I’m being nice to you. You are very lucky to have a girlfriend and friends who always stand for you, unlike Tristian. Era is the only Tristian has and I know that he will do anything to protect his sister and I will too.”he said with a serious tone and I saw in his eyes that he is sincere. After that he started to walk away but before that he suddenly stopped. “I will protect Era no matter what happens and the things that Vince didn’t even do.”

I don’t know what happened to me but when he said that, I felt the pain in my chest and my tears starting to flow. When he said that, there was more emotion coming to my senses and before I knew it, I said a word that never crossed my mind that I will say.

“I want to protect her.”I said but he was not surprised.

“You no longer have any responsibility to protect Era now.”he said while not looking at me. “If I were you, just take care of your girlfriend and don’t bother Era anymore.”

He started to walk away from me and I don’t know what to say because my emotions are eating me up right now. The pain that I felt before is growing big and I feel like I want to shout but I can’t. I know that he has a point, that I should not bother Era anymore and just take care of Jayselle because everytime Era sees me, she always remembers Vince. If I want Era to move forward we should not talk and see each other but there's a side of me that I want to see her and talk to her even just a few seconds.

“Still, I want to protect her.”I said to myself while wiping my tears.

There is a part of me that I want to protect her because I feel that we have the same pain we’re going through. I want to remember my past even if it's full of pain while she, on the other hand, wants to forget the pain from the past. We have so many differences yet, I feel that we are in the same shit.