Chapter Twenty Two
2417 Words
Bella
“That’s not how you do it Damon! You stupid f**k!”
“I know how to do this! You just need to shut your mouth and watch me!”
“You’ve been doing that for what?! Thirty f*****g minutes! Have you ever heard about doing the things faster?”
“Have you ever heard about patience?!”
“God! You’re the definition of the word i***t!”
“Oh f**k you Monzato! You’re just jealous that I get to do this and you can’t because you’re unskilled piece of s**t!”
I shook my head as I watch Sir Damon and Leon arguing over cleaning a milkfish. They have been arguing like an old couple for half an hour and they haven’t been finished even a single fish.
Leon planned to grill some fresh fish today while we are here in his yacht. I put my hair into a messy bun because since we are in the middle of the ocean, the wind is strong.
“If I don’t know them, I will think that they are married and love to argue about little things.”
Sir Crow stand beside me while cleaning a milkfish. Unlike Sir Damon and Leon, we already cleaned at least five of the milkfish. I’m a bit shocked that he knows how to clean and fish like a professional.
“Are they always like that?” I asks, working my hand onto the fish.
“Yeah. I just don’t know where I get all the patience dealing with Damon and the rest of the boys. But you know? At the end of the day, they’re all my brothers.”
I always admire their friendship because I never had a good friend before.
“Sometime I forget that we are already in our 30s.”
“Those two act like five year olds. I swear.” I mumbled.
I wiped my forehead as I felt the raging heat of the sun. I can feel that my face is getting redder and redder, for sure, I will get a tan skin after today.
“Nice dress, by the way.” Sir Crow winked at me.
“T-thanks.” I said, getting shy.
I’m not really good at dealing with many compliments. Sure, I get compliments back in secondary school but since I get bullied a lot, I don’t know if they are telling the truth or they just want to see my reaction and laugh about it later on.
That’s it makes me really awkward and uncomfortable when someone compliments me. I know that these grown men will not bully me but the past experiences are ruining of my chances believing them.
“The scars will never ruin your beauty, Doll.” Sir Crow smiles at me, “Don’t think the otherwise.”
I gave him a soft smile and continue doing my work.
For the short period of time, these grown men never failed to make me good about myself. They defended me on anything and showed me the genuine concern they have for me.
They never lay a disgust look on me. They always boast my confidence the moment they saw me. It was like I found elder brothers the moment I stepped my foot inside the Leon Monzato residence, and one of them is sort of my lover?
Is he really my lover? What are we? Is he ready to put a label on this thing we are doing? Am I ready to have my very first boyfriend?
What is this thing we are doing? The thought got me confused.
“I hope you get healed mentally.” Sir Crow says, as he wipe my sweats on my forehead.
“I hope so too, Sir Crow.”
“Oh please.” He muttered. “Just call me Crow. No need for formality. We are friends, doll. Keep that in mind.”
Friends. He is the second person who offered me a friendship, the first one is Helios.
I smiled at him and nodded happily as I keep on repeating the term friends in my head many times. I made a friend! How gladly is that?
“Ah! Damn you, Damon!” Another exaggerated yell roared in the every sides of this yacht.
He is fixing his wet hair while glaring towards to Sir Damon.
“Here we go again.” Crow mumbled, shaking his head while watching the two grown men with a mind of a five year old boys.
Sir Damon is laughing so hard, holding a bottle of water. He probably poured that water to Leon, resulting him to react exaggeratedly.
“That’s on throwing my fish back to the sea, bitch.”
“I threw it back because you cannot clean it! You stupid weirdo!” He yells and next thing I knew,
He ran towards Sir Damon, and pushed him out of the yacht.
I gasped and ran towards the railing to see Sir Damon is still alive or he will be the lunch of the sharks lurking under.
“Oh my god! Why did you do that?” I asked him, worried.
“He’s been pissing me off.” He rolled his eyes. “Crow! Damon pissed me off so I pushed him out of my yacht.”
“Don’t smile. Damon is a good swimmer. Look, who’s glaring at you.”
I saw Sir Damon’s head and he’s in fact glaring, maybe fuming with anger. I swam back to the yacht.
“That’s foul. I just poured a small amount of water, douche.”
“And that’s my revenge.”
“Why are you so dramatic? Geez.”
I started grilling the fish instead of listening to their another round of nonsense banter. Since Sir Damon and Crow arrived earlier today, every ten minutes, there’s a session of banter between Sir Damon and Leon.
They look like they cannot stand each other even though they’ve been for so many years.
“Ah! This is good! Thanks, Bells.” I smiled to Sir Damon.
The lunch went well and we are all fed. The sun is too burning so we decided to eat inside the yacht since this is big and completely stacked with food ingredients and home equipment. This is pretty much a small home with two bedrooms, except this only functions on top of the ocean.
Evening came and we decided just to stay the night in the yacht. I sat on the sofa outside to read while smelling the scent of the ocean.
I wore on of Leon’s jumper on top of my dress because tonight’s a cold night. The jumper is too large for me but it made me comfortable enough.
“Hey, baby. What’re you doing here?” Damon sat down beside me and wrapped his arms around me.
“Just reading before I go to sleep. Why are you still up?”
“Why would I go to bed when I saw my baby sneak out just to read her book, hmm?”
I chuckled a little, not bothering to look to his eyes.
“I just wanna enjoy the night breeze in the middle of the ocean.”
I felt him kiss my temple multiple times. He’s not saying anything, he’s just there, sitting with me while he’s one arm is wrapped around me possessively.
We are just sitting, comfortably vibing with the silence we both want.
“So, baby....” Damon snatched my book and smirked, “Tell me about yourself.”
“Know everything about me.”
“I want to know a bit more personal. About your mom?”
I smiled when I remembered my Mama again.
“She’s a beautiful woman. She provided us when Papa got fired from the post office because of allegations.”
I draw small circles on his thigh. “She worked in the pizza place, she became a dishwasher or anything that can bring money to pay our bills, food to our table and sending me to school. Everything was great when she’s still here. Before she left.”
“Where is she now?”
“She’s in America right now. She was offered a job there and because a good opportunity, she accepted it. Well..” I sighed before continuing, “I don’t know if that’s really a good opportunity because she never called or sent a mail to me and Papa.”
“After leaving for work and promising to me that she’ll be back, she disappeared in thin air of America.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat, preventing myself from crying. I don’t really know what to feel right now. Part of me wanted to forget about her promise but there’s a part of me that’s still hoping. And the sad thing is, I don’t know if I’m really hoping and waiting for nothing or not.
It’s been five years since I heard her sweet voice and it’s been five years since the last time I hugged her.
“You’re still waiting.” That’s not a question but I nodded as a yes.
“I do but I’m getting tired of waiting, just to be honest. I don’t know.”
I kept on telling to myself that she will make her promise come true one day but I learned that promises are always meant to be broken.
Papa promised her that he will take good care of me before her flight. But what happened? I only got a good amount of beating from him. He took good care of me by humiliating me and beating me up.
Do I have to hold on her promise? Or it is time for me to let go of that and accept the fact she will not coming back home. Its been five years, and I’m getting tired.
“I cannot relate because my mom is already dead but all I know is that she loves you very much.” Leon kissed my cheeks.
Sometimes, I feel like death is much more better than promising someone that they will be back.
At least, with death, I knew they will not getting back to my life and they will just be a good part of my memories.
Unlike my mama, I have no any idea that she will be back anytime soon or whenever because I never heard anything from her for the last five years. I don’t know how is she or she’s still alive or what.
“The moon is bright tonight. Baby, look.”
I looked up in the dark sky. “Yeah it is. That’s beautiful moonlight.”
I smiled.
“Just like you.” I looked up to him.
He’s really handsome. He’s eyes were too beautiful reflecting from the moonlight. The little mole on the left side of his chin made him handsome. His eyes, his brow and his nose made him handsome.
He is beautiful inside and out.
“Why thank you, baby.” He blushed and hide his face on the crook of my neck.
“You shouldn’t hide. You are beautiful. Thank you for making me feel good about myself and my scars. You never failed to encourage me. You’re a beautiful man because of that.”
I just want to say that I find the man who made me happy in just a short span of time. I just want to say that maybe, Leon is my paradise.
Not the lilies, not every book I read or anything, it’s just him. Only him.
“I like you. So much.” He said sincerely and I cannot help but to smile. I cupped his face, studied his handsome face.
“I like you too.” I say with no hesitation.
I maybe too young for him but is that really matter? Well yes, if one of us not in legal age but we are both legal. Both adults with mutual feelings.
“Even though I’m older than you?”
“Even though I’m younger than you?” I mocked him.
“You’re nineteen and mine. I like you so much.” He kissed my forehead. “And to make that official, would you be my girlfriend?”
“I know I don’t do this relationship and all but I want you to be first and last. For one time, I want to make a good decision with my life and that is you. I maybe not really a romantic guy but I will try, I promise.”
“Are you asking me to be your real lover?”
“I don’t settle with no label relationship, baby. I’m too handsome just to be someone’s more than a week fling.”
“But you said you do flings before?”
“I do but that’s a one night fling but do not interrogate me right now.” He smiled awkwardly and started playing with my hand while he tighten his arms around me.
I shook my head, chuckling a little.
I asked myself before, am I really ready to be someone’s girlfriend? Am I ready to commit? Those questions were playing inside my head but whenever I look to him, I realised that even though he might not ask me to be his girlfriend, I will be always in his side, admiring him and cheering him up. He’s my happiness and rock at the same time.
When it comes to Leon, I can do everything and I can overcome anything.
“Yes.” I smiled. A million times yes.
Without any words, he launched himself to me and crashed his lips against mine. And next thing I knew, we’ve been kissing under the moonlight.
- Writer
