Remember That Day

Chapter 29

“I ran and went to my car immediately. I don’t think she noticed me, but I don’t care anyway. I drove back, but my car stopped one and a half kilometer away from the hotel,” Jayda said. “And because I’m still in shock, I stepped outside my car and left it. I ran crying and yeah, I bumped into you...”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Damek mentioned. “Now I understand why you were so scared.”

“And I just couldn’t believe what I heard.”

“Mom, what should I do? She would surely swear at me!” Tris yelled, clutching her chest. “What? Relax? Mom, I’m nearly going crazy and you’ll tell me to calm down? Mom, please help me!” Jayda stopped and stared at her. She was not sure about what was happening yet, but she was curious and worried.

“I can’t leave the country. I’m not going to States. I’m not going anywhere, Mom!”

“It’s my fault. It’s really my fault!” Tris shouted out of frustration that she almost pulled her own hair.

“I killed her! Mom, I killed her! How can I even tell that to Jayda?”

“So what’s your plan?” Damek queried, staring at Jayda with concern. “Would you tell it to police?”

“I don’t know.” Jayda breathed. “I have nothing with me. I only heard it. I’m sure they won’t believe in me again.”

“This is crazy. Could she be really the killer if you were with her that night at her own party?”

Jayda shook her head. “I don’t know either. It was too clear to my ears. She killed someone, and it was a girl.”

Jayda felt so helpless as she breathed. She looked down on her plate and started tossing the dumpling on it.

“Jayda.” She slowly tilted her head to look at Damek, and she blinked few times when she saw him smiling. That smile of him made her hit a bunch of memory of it.

“Why don’t you eat fire instead?” That, automatically made Jayda glanced behind her.

She even roamed her eyes around checking if she was the one that the guy who had just spoken was talking to. But it was just her, the lady crew, and the guy inside. Her brows knitted.

“What? Wait. Are you... are you talking to me?” Jayda finally spoken, pointing her index to herself. Jayda didn’t know if it was just her, but the moment that the guy looked over his shoulder to see her, it was in a slow motion of some kind.

The guy was in his mid-twenties, had a towering height, and definitely had a sweet and beautiful smile that made Jayda snapped from reality.

“I guess?” the guy answered while smiling and continued to pick more chips in the shelves.

***

“Why do you even care?” Jayda snorted. “I’m craving for it. Got a problem?”

A simple smile was the only answer that Jayda got from him.

What’s with the smile? Why is he smiling at me? she thought to herself again as she stared at the guy.

***

Jayda tilted her head to see who on Earth put a chocolate drink on her table and it was him again. Her eyes automatically squinted.

“You? Again? Ugh! Why are you bothering me?” Jayda snorted.

With his usual smile, the guy answered, “Just because.”

***

“Damek?” Jayda whispered. Just as the guy turned to her, she was now certain that he was the same guy she met last night at the convenient store.

“Oh, noodles? Is that you?”

“What?” Jayda’s eyes squinted over what Damek said.

“You remember my name, noodle girl,” he uttered, smiling from ear to ear.

***

“I guess we can eat now,” Damek said once he was done preparing the plates.

“Really?” Jayda was obviously excited when she asked it as she stood up, making Damek to smile once more.

“Sure thing. Come over here.”

Her thoughts and spacing out made Damek to prepare the chocolate cake.

“Jayda? Jayda!”

Jayda came back to her senses when Damek put a spoonful of Chessy Menudo at the entrance of her mouth. Her forehead had already lines on it as she looked at the laughing guy in front of her.

Slowly moving his hand with the spoon away from her, she yelled, “What the hell?”

“You’re spacing out while looking at me,” Damek said, giggling. He dropped the spoon on the plate and started to decorate the cake. “Why? Am I too attractive already? Husband material? I got a lot of talents—”

“Assuming.” Jayda rolled her eyes. “Anyway, it’s great. I mean, the Menudo.”

Instead of wiping with tissue, Jayda licked the sauce from her lip that made Damek stare at her. He swallowed hard.

“Damek?” Jayda snapped her fingers near his face. Damek blinked and cleared his throat. “Why?” Jayda grinned. “Spacing out so much? Why? Am I that pretty?” Damek unconsciously nodded.

With the corner of his lips slowly curving, he said, “Yes. You’re pretty.”

Jayda wasn’t expecting that answer from him, so she immediately looked away. She uttered, “I’m just kidding.”

“Well, I’m not.”

Before Damek focused on putting the icing on the cake, Jayda witnessed how he smiled again. And it was not too good for Jayda’s heart

What the hell am I feeling? He’s just smiling, she nagged inside her head as she secretly pinched her arm.

“Aw!”

“Hey, what happened?” To Jayda’s surprise, she gulped hard as she saw how Damek turned into a face full of concern. He was holding her hand, checking it as if something really bad happened to her.

“Why? Are you hurt? Did you—”

“Hey, I’m fine!” Jayda chuckled. “It’s nothing.”

After Jayda convinced him that she wasn’t hurt, Damek sliced the cake as it was finally done and ready to eat.

“Here’s your desert, Madam Jayda,” Damek uttered as he placed a piece of it on her plate.

“Madam? Isn’t that too much?” Jayda smirked and stared at the cake.

“I’m sure this is awesome.”

“Indeed.” As they were both enjoying the cake, Damek noticed how Jayda turned mute once more. She was again tossing the food, obviously bothered.

“Jayda?” he called her.

“Yes?” Jayda didn’t even bother herself to look at him.

“You okay?”

As she let out a sigh, she answered, “I don’t think so. I couldn’t erase everything inside my head. They’re as if hunting me. That mysterious crime happened in my room, it drains me. I don’t know how to resolve it and where to start or maybe should I just give up?”

“I understand.”

“But my curiosity makes me to just continue it. I want to know who is that woman, where is she, who is the killer, and why it happened in my room. I want to know why...” Damek nodded.

“And I want to help you.”

Silence followed.

They were both thinking, wondering and seeking for something to do on how to unveil the mystery behind the murder.

“You’re a Webtoon artist, right?” Jayda asked, breaking the silence. “I remember your comic book that I bought in the mall, and it’s about crime and murder. Don’t you have any idea about this kind of incident? I mean, there’s a missing dead body, CCTVs that aren’t working, hotel crime like this?”

Damek bit his lip. “I haven’t thought about this kind of plot with my works.”

“I haven’t as well although I write novels.”

“Well, there is one thing we can do when we try to write different genre and plot.”

Nodding, Jayda announced, “Research.”

“I have a strong feeling that the murderer is just around this hotel,” Damek said.

Jayda turned to her with wonder. “You really think so?”

“Well, your notes.

“Ah, yes. My notes.”

“You still haven’t your notes back to you, right? If the person who saw it is just a hotel staff, I’m sure they will return it to you. You have your name there?”

“Yes, of course. So if he’s just around, my notes must be in his hands or her hands?”

“Do you still think about Tris?”

“I can’t help myself not to think bad about her.”

“I understand, but Jayda, it’s possible that you haven’t notice all the hints that can help you to answer this mystery. Recall every little details as much as you can on October 25,” Damek mentioned as he held Jayda’s shoulders. “You should remember that day.”