May Peace Grace Us

Chapter 6: Their Care

The injury made by Bella was applied with an ointment meant as a painkiller (Travis' bag has plenty of other ointments that Aila simply does not want to categorize). Travis managed to dig out a few varieties of ointments from that handy bag of his, sometimes it is a wonder what else it contains.

In all honesty, Aila's ' injury ' is not serious enough to actually need a pain killer or anything at all, but like always, they take the matters of Aila with utmost care. She could only helplessly watch as Alexa gently applied the ointment to her skin.

"I'm okay." Aila assured them as they focused on her now forming bruises. It didn't hurt as much as Aila felt, but somehow the grip on her shoulders was enough to leave such marks.

"I'm so sorry Aila. I wasn't thinking straight." Bella said as she gently held the green-eyed girl's hand. " I was just surprised by the sudden announcement you just made. Didn't you say that you would do your best to be a CPA as soon as possible? You suddenly saying you're quitting school is shocking to all of us. Though I admit I over reacted to it."

The others nodded in agreement with Bella's words. They are surprised and didn't expect to hear it from the most stubborn person they have ever known. All of them had thought they were hearing things until she voiced out her pain.

"Well, I still want to become a CPA, but I decided to have some experience with how the world works." Aila gave the same reason she had given her parents. Any other reason would make them question her more. And her friends are quite interrogative if they want to.

"What did Auntie and Uncle think about it? Did you already inform them of it? I'm sure they will have some questions as to why?" Travis said as he put back the ointment in his bag. "They'll be sad if they still haven't heard of it."

" I've already told them about it over breakfast. They agreed for the most part, but they really wanted me to have a degree at some point in the future. They even offered to help me in my job hunting."

The group was strangely silent and weirdly harmonious, quite contrary to what Aila expected it to be. It was so quiet that it made him uncomfortable, as she knew it was a sign of an upcoming storm. Her friends are only silent when a plan is being brewed inside of that head of theirs. Last time this happened was when a certain in-law of hers had done particularly stupid something against her and they are just within the area.

"Guys?" Aila attempted to somehow dispel the false tranquility. "Do you have something to say about my decision?"

"Why Aila?" Felix went straight to the point. " There is something you're not telling us. Don't lie or say otherwise, we know you enough to detect something going on that you're concealing."

Aila could not say anything. She cannot tell them anything as of yet. They will most likely do what she is doing. Like back then when they were choosing their programs for college. Wanting to always be together and not separate. If she doesn't convince them to explore other choices, it's almost certain that they will also enroll in the college of accountancy with her.

She does not know why they are closely revolving around her. Although she admitted that she was always the outlier outside of the norm, she just cannot put her mind on the reasons why they are just hovering over her like some sort of baby to be protected.

She wanted them to be more open-minded to other people and not just with their own little circle. It had been two years since then, in this current age of theirs, but up until now, she hadn't had any new friends they made outside of her little tight-knit group. Though she has met some of their acquaintances and some unpleasant relatives, none of them are the people they are particularly fond off.

"I'm being truthful with my decision guys, no need to worry." Aila said with a carefree smile.

"Liar," Eugene said monotonously and Aila flinched over the accusation it carried. "Something is up. You're always like this when anything is happening. Do you not trust us?"

"There is no such thing."

"Don't lie, Aila" Liza said as she closed their distance and held her face. Pink eyes dead serious, blank and oddly determined. "Remember you cannot lie to any of us. For most part, you are still truthful, but everytime you want to hide something you always find it hard to see us eye to eye."

Aila was afraid of them precisely because of this. They knew her enough to see anything unusual about her. In a way that her parents let her be, these friends of hers always get into the bottom of them until they get the answers they wanted. A trait that her parents had happily allowed festered into their childhood up until now.

Albert had been more spiky than usual towards her ever since he arrived. He obviously noticed something had changed, but tried to hide his worry with spice. No doubt the rest knew about it at first sight.

Belle went behind her and hugged her. "Tell us Aila. We won't want anything bad happening to you."

Aila felt a very heavy pressure weighing on her. Because they cared, she was always careful when dealing with them. Always making them as comfortable as she can, they are sincere people that have a hard time accepting others. What she is currently doing is nearing a betrayal to their codes and bottom lines. As much as possible, she doesn't want to provoke the inherent paranoia they possess.

Her eyes were tearing as she refused to tell them anything. She was a very sorry sight that her friends had been feeling guilty about cornering her like that. But they are resolved to know the whole thing as the Aila they knew was never a reckless person and all she did had a reason. This time is the same as the past and they are sure that future actions will also be the same.

"Are you going to leave us?" Jerome said, just sitting in his seat. Quiet and behaves very differently to what he usually is.

"No!" Aila immediately denied the accusation. She broke free from Bella's embrace and went to Jerome to hold his hand. "I want to prepare for something and what I am doing is necessary!"

Jerome was crying as Aila was saying those words. Out of all the people in their group, Jerome was always the most sensitive one. Out of them all, he was the one who had the most bond with her. Most of the time, they are both each other's confidant when other cannot be.

As the one who does most mischief among them, the others tend to let him be out of pettiness. With this kind of dynamics, he is constantly insecure about his place and this group. He is always afraid he will be alone if they also leave. He really doesn't want that to happen.

"You made him cry, little maniac. You had better explain yourself well. If not, he's not the only one crying in a few moments now." Albert said as he pointed to Bella like she was some sort of thing who seemed to have lost her parents. Her gaze is blank, almost like a doll, no soul or whatsoever.

Aila hesitated, her will to not tell them was shaking. There is no harm in telling them, but she is sure that they will be more paranoid than usual even if the said apocalypse is still a year away. She's afraid that they will forget about themselves and, instead of her words being helpful, it will ruin them. Not to mention, the complicated relationships around them will make things harder in the days to come.

They call themselves Hyenas for a reason. They are crazy. Aila herself is crazy, so adding worries about herself is a counterproductive thing to do. Not to mention the chaos they leave in their wake, no one should be subjected to them until the world is no longer as civilized as it is currently.

She wants her friends to be with her in the last days once again. This time she's building them a place to call home in the upcoming dark times.

She acknowledged that if she failed to assure them, they would be in a very unrestful state about her sudden change. So she will compromise this time. A compromise that will only give her some buffer-time to get most things in order.

"Give me three- no six months to prepare," Aila said as she assured them of her not hiding anything by that point of time. She would have enough preparation at that moment to fortify the townhouse in the countryside. That house will be their base in the future, that place will be their home. She had to make sure that everything they needed was available there, including the security they needed.

Six months will be enough for her to start preparing, and they will have enough time to lay up the needs. And the last six months would be dedicated to making her loved ones familiarize themselves with the upcoming apocalypse after that initial six months. They will be able to make their own preparations by then. And at that time she will have believable facts to present her case by then. The apocalyptic signs will start appearing by then, before the actual outbreak.

If she tells them now, she's afraid that this will be the last time they will be seeing each other. Their families had always been in disagreement about her being their friend. Something about her being a bad influence on them. Should they know of her saying such crazy things, they would use that as an excuse not to let them see each other anymore. It's better to find some solid evidence to support her claims.

"If you promise to be honest by then, then we will," Harvey said, making a stand for everyone. "Aila, we hate people leaving and if you won't give us basic trust on major matters, that, in my guess, is the real reason why you are insistent on this choice of yours, I'm afraid that it's us who are leaving you and all the bonds we made."

"That's why I'm hesitant to tell you all of everything. But you had the right to know," Aila said as she refused to see their eyes. "I hold my promises dear, it's either us succeeding together or failing together. So my decision is necessary. Six months, give that to me and I'll tell you everything."

Bella, who was unresponsive for a while, heaved a deep sigh. Although, in her opinion, it's unfair to them, they promised no secrets in terms of plans for the future, Aila is clearly not withholding that promise through her actions. But she promised to explain, only not at this very moment.

"Then I'll allow it," Bella decided. "Just remember we hate being in the dark, Aila. You need to be as honest with us as we are to you."

"I know." Aila said, acknowledging how this friendship was built on. "You guys will have an answer in six months."

The gloomy and heavy atmosphere eased. Aila was happy with the change. Jerome was no longer crying and his smile was back on his face.

"So we're done here?" Albert said as he took a stand from his seat. "Can we eat now? I remember a certain someone promising to treat us."

"Now that you mentioned it. I clearly remember that's the reason I came over to this sudden meeting." Felix said with a cherry smile. "Aila, would you mind?"

Aila dramatically placed her hand on her chest as the other was clutched in her pocket. "Please have mercy on my wallet."

The group was back to the usual antics between them. They had these smiling expressions on their faces as they discussed among themselves where to eat, especially the boys who have the biggest appetites choose the most savory dishes. They thoroughly ignored her plea for leniency and dragged her to their choice of restaurant.

"Really no mercy" Aila whispered in the wind.