8.No Way Out
1254 Words
Enya’s POV
I wanted to scream.
Why did he have to say it that way?
“If you can’t make it, then we’ll postpone the outing.”
Everyone’s eyes turned to me as Raphael said those words. He looked calm and cold, but his eyes carried emotions I couldn’t read.
But I knew he had caught me. He knew there was no headache, no illness, just my desperate attempt to make an excuse.
Then Sandy, with her kind and caring self, joined Raphael. “Yes, Enya. You must come. You are the representative of this group. We can’t go without you.”
Like that, my escape was closed.
So I found myself sitting in the medical centre bed, staring at the white walls just after swallowing the painkillers I didn’t even need. My body was in perfect condition, but my heart, not so much. So I thought maybe lying down on a bed and having some alone time wasn’t bad.
Right then, my phone buzzed. It was Rose. My poor friend, who had no idea how I suddenly got a headache out of nowhere.
Rose: “I tried to come and be with you, but Sandy wants me to help her with some files :(”
Me: “That’s fine :)”
Rose: “Text me if you need anything.”
Me: “Ok.”
I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes, trying to control the thoughts in my mind. My heart was filled with fear. I needed to calm down and remind myself that this is not the same as before.
I wasn’t going to the bar the same way I had in my past life.
Back then, I was alone, broken. But this time, I was going with a group of people. Even my best friend was with me. Also, I was stronger now, wasn’t I?
But still… my chest ached as memories began to surface. The memories I wanted to bury deep.
That night… I could still remember it as if it were yesterday.
It was the day I found out my mother was pregnant.
I clearly knew how much my mom had done for me, how she had sacrificed her youth working hard and paying debts. She deserved happiness. She deserved a good family.
But hearing this news suddenly, knowing she would soon marry that man and become a mother to someone besides me, that feeling was hard to bear. Since my father’s untimely death, the only family I had was my mom. Though we were not as close as a mother and daughter should be, we still cared for each other. We were there for each other.
I felt… maybe soon I wouldn’t be part of her life anymore. She would have a happy family with her new husband and their new baby.
I would be left alone in this world, like an orphan.
That fear drove me straight into the arms of recklessness.
Rose was away with her parents, and I had no one else to share this heartbreaking news with. I had nowhere to seek comfort, no assurance.
Without knowing what to do or where to go, I ended up in a bar, ordering drink after drink. I had the worst alcohol tolerance out of all my friends, so it didn’t take long for my world to blur.
And then I saw him.
Raphael.
Sitting just a few seats away from me, his proud face lowered, his cold features shadowed with unknown sadness and loneliness. I don’t know if it was because I was too drunk, but I felt he was different that night.
He didn’t look indifferent as usual. He looked fragile. Pitiful even.
He was drinking too. Gulping alcohol like water.
That night, I had no idea he was my future stepbrother. For me, he was just the guy I had a deep crush on. The guy I tried to follow every day, just to see those eyes.
I shouldn’t have gone to him. I shouldn’t have dared.
But I was too drunk not to dare anything.
I asked him if he was alright. A question I desperately wished someone would ask me right then. He didn’t reply at first.
But that simple, stupid question began a chain of actions that would make him disgust me for the rest of my life.
We were both intoxicated, both stupid, and both equally responsible for everything that happened that night. But somehow, all the blame fell onto my shoulders.
Still… that night… the way he held me in his arms, the way his lips traced every inch of my body… No matter how humiliated I felt afterwards, I didn’t regret that night. Not until the day I saw him holding another woman the same way.
With a cold touch on my hand, I was startled back into reality.
“You!” I almost screamed when I saw Raphael standing next to me.
“Were you asleep?” he asked, his eyes carrying a slight concern.
“I… I…” I quickly sat up on the bed. Just a moment ago, my mind was filled with the night Raphael held me in his arms. Seeing him so close to me right now gave me goosebumps.
“Everyone left for the bar. I told them I’d pick you up from the medical centre,” he said casually, ignoring my slurring.
“Everyone left?” I murmured. Rose! You betrayed me! Why did you leave without me?
Raphael didn’t give me any explanation. He didn’t even ask if I was feeling okay now. Wait… of course he didn’t. He knew I was faking a headache. There was no point in asking.
“Do you want to freshen up before leaving?” he asked nonchalantly.
“Yeah…” I said quickly. Spending a few minutes in the washroom was definitely better than being here with him.
“I’ll wait outside.” He said just that and stepped outside.
I took a deep breath to calm myself and climbed off the bed. After spending a good few minutes in the washroom, I finally stepped outside. I saw him speaking politely with the nurse.
When he heard my footsteps, he turned his head to look at me.
“How are we going to the bar?” I asked Raphael after leaving the medical centre.
“My bike.” He gestured to the matte black Ducati Monster 821 parked just over there.
My eyes widened with surprise. I was no fan of motorbikes. Yet I knew this one so damn well because it was Raphael’s favourite ride. No matter how many cars he had at home, he preferred this over them. He loved this bike just too much.
“Am I riding on your bike too?” I asked in a daze, because no one was ever allowed to sit on his sacred bike.
He looked at me as if he was asking, Why are you this stupid?
“No, I’ll attach a trailer, and you can get on that,” he said almost teasingly.
I was speechless. This is not Raphael! My mind was screaming.
He handed me a spare helmet, the same matte black as his bike.
“Put it on,” he said simply.
My throat tightened. It wasn’t the helmet that scared me.
It was the thought of wrapping my arms around him, of being so close again.
My heart thudded painfully as I slid the helmet on, knowing there was no way to avoid him now.
- Writer
