The Unanswered

The only man she trusted.

"HI, Amanda!"

A tall blond-haired man greeted Amanda as soon as she entered Nateo's Coffee. Nate Bryson. The owner of the small coffee shop and Amanda's close friend. They had known each other for years since Amanda moved in to that area with her mum. Being a newcomer to the community, Amanda didn't have many friends as she didn't talk much. It was Nate who continuously approached her while she came to the shop to get her coffee, then read her book alone in a secluded corner.

"Hi, Nate!" Amanda slowly approached Nate. Looked like he was busy preparing to start his coffee shop operation. Amanda took a seat at the nearest table.

"What's up? I talked to your mum this morning. She said you already got a job." Excited. Nate came to the front. Hands resting on the counter. The body leaned forward.

"Yeah.." Amanda sighed. A personal assistant to an ex! What a wonderful job!

"What's wrong?" Nate raised an eyebrow. "You don't look pleased or excited for someone who just got a job!"

"I don't think I can work there." Amanda voiced out her thought. Along with a deep sigh.

"But why?" Nate frowned in surprise. Hadn't she been looking for a job for months already? Why that reaction when she is screaming with joy?

"The boss is someone I used to know." Amanda spilled the truth. But she skipped the ex-boyfriend thing. Not that Nate knew she had a boyfriend before. She never told anyone about Daniel. Daniel was a name she wanted to erase permanently from her history if only she had a delete button for her life.

"I smell something fishy here." Nate's eyes blinked in excitement. "Care to elaborate?"

Amanda looked at Nate's face. "I don't know what to think or say. I'm confused."

"There must be a solid reason for you to behave like this. If you're not ready to spill it out, I won't force you. But you know you can talk to me anytime." Nate smiled genuinely. Turned his body around, he brewed a cup of iced latte and exited the counter area. Putting the iced latte in front of Amanda, he pulled a chair and sat beside her.

"Thanks." Amanda grinned. She took the iced latte and drank quietly. Her mind traveled to nowhere.

A concerned look appeared on Nate's face when he stared at Amanda. Seeing her in this state reminded him of their previous encounters. The first few months she was there, she always came to his shop to get her iced coffee latte. The girl's indeed a coffee lover. She didn't talk much. She smiled when he talked to her to get her order. Most of the time she just sat alone at her favourite table and read her book. One day, he met her at the Paradise Inn when he was making a delivery for his customer. She said she was helping her mum as a part timer there when he talked to her. The other day, he bumped into her at their community library. She said she worked part time there too. Curious about her mysterious life, he asked her about her father out of the blue.

"I don't have a father anymore. My father divorced my mum and left me to survive alone with my mum."

Her voice trembled but she remained calm in front of him. Nate could clearly see she was trying hard to control her tears. From that moment, Nate knew she'd been hiding her true emotions all this time. After saying that, she turned her back and stepped away.

"I don't have a father either!" Nate raised his voice a tone.

She stopped walking immediately.

"And I don't even have a mother. I'm an orphan. I grew up at an orphanage. I've survived alone since I was a teenager!" He continued.

Then she turned around. This time she didn't dare to hide her tears anymore.

"Till now, just like you, I didn't have many people around me. Maybe we can be friends?" Nate asked with a smile.

She didn't say a word but a smile finally appeared on her teary face. And then she nodded.

From that day, they became friends. Time passed by, they got close. Slowly she started to open up to him. She treated him like her brother. And she's like a little sister to him. The one he would protect till his last breath.

"Nate!"

Hearing Amanda's soft voice, Nate's mind shifted back to that moment.

"Yes?"

"You are daydreaming. Is there someone on your mind? Are you dating?" Amanda joked.

All these years, she knew Nate hadn't dated anyone. Several girls were into him but he's just being him. Nice to everyone, but that's all. No girlfriends. No family. In Amanda's eyes, his life was tougher and lonelier than hers, but he managed to survive well. Amanda adored him so much. After her father and Daniel left her, she didn't trust men anymore. Nate was the only man she trusted.

"Me? Dating?" Nate pointed a finger at his chest. "Are you joking? We promise to marry each other if we're both single until you reach thirty, right? I'm waiting for you." He laughed out loud.

"Yeah, sure! If only you aren't seduced by another girl before the time comes. I saw Leina had been eyeing you for years. Sure you weren't tempted by her? She's quite pretty. Nice and blonde just like you." Amanda casually stated.

"Are you jealous?" Nate joked. Leina was their community neighbour. Nate had known her since young. She's nice and pretty, but Nate wasn't in a relationship. Not just yet. Until Amanda found a man she loved and loved her back like she did, he would never seriously get involved with any girl. For Amanda's sake, he'd be willing to wait. He didn't want another girl to pick a fight with Amanda just because they're close.

Amanda's green eyes blinked in surprise. "Just so you know." She chuckled.

"Don't worry! I'll be waiting for you." Nate touched Amanda's long curly red hair. Messed it up.

"Stop! My hair will turn into a mess." Amanda waved her hand away.

"Your hair was messy from the start." Nate enjoyed teasing her. Looking at her laughing face made him feel less worried. He didn't like it a bit when she was in a state of melancholy. For all the pain she'd gone through, she deserved to be happy.

Amanda didn't want to lose. She reached for Nate's head. Messed up his hair just like he did to her. "From Mr.Nice Guy you've transformed into The Bad Boy Next Door."

"You always like bad boys, don't you?" Nate fixed his back as before.

"You know everything." Amanda didn't even dare to deny him. She quietly sipped her almost forgotten iced latte.

"Of course I know you." Nate touched her pointed nose with one finger. "Be careful! You'll find one soon. Or maybe he's just around the corner." He smiled suspiciously.

"You and your theorem. Bla.bla..bla." Amanda mimicked him.

"Don't come to me crying when the time comes." Nate reminded her.

"I had better wait until you become one."

Nate laughed out loud. "You silly girl." Then he got up. "I need to get back to work. It's time."

Amanda pushed her chair and stood up. "I'll help you." She firmly said.

"No. Go see if your mum needs help. It's Saturday, remember?" Nate told her while helping her tidy up her white cardigan to cover her sleeveless red mid-length blouse.

"Orait." She sighed and turned away with her iced latte. "Oh my!"

"Careful, girl! You don't want to spill your coffee, right?"

Amanda almost bumped into a guy who had just come in. Lucky she didn't spill her coffee on his blue shirt.

"Sorry!" She bent a little.

"Just go." Nate whispered to her ear and chased her away. "Good morning, sir! What can I get you?" He greeted the black-haired man in glasses. Looked like he was not someone local.

The man stopped staring at Amanda's back and turned to Nate. "Good morning! I want an Americano. Iced please!"

"All right, sir!" Nate quickly went into his kitchen. The coffee was made in just a few minutes. He walked to the counter and placed the coffee on it. "Here's your Americano, sir!" he announced.

The man who was busy typing on his mobile phone stood up and stepped forward. Put a note onto the counter but refused to take the remaining money. His eyes were back on his phone screen.

"Thank you. Have a nice day, sir!"

"You're welcome." The man took his Americano and turned around to walk away. But he stopped at a few steps. Turning his head back to Nate, he asked, "Is she your girlfriend? The redhead lady earlier."

Nate's face changed in surprise at the unexpected question. Why did he bother to ask?

"She's my everything, sir!" Nate gave him a smile.

The man nodded and continued walking to the main street. And, of course, his eyes focused back on his phone.

What a weird man! Nate talked to himself.

Amanda, however, had just arrived at the inn. The moment she walked into the lobby she saw her mum was talking to one of the staff.

As soon as she noticed Amanda's presence, her mum dismissed her staff and went to her.

"You're here." She said.

"Did the new owner really show up?" Amanda couldn't hide her curiosity. Who is he? Why did he never show up? What a mystery man! And he even hid his name!

"No! I got a notice just now. He canceled his visit."

Amanda's brow furrowed. Weird! "Do you need my help today?"

Her mum shook her head. "I think we can manage. We have extra help today since we're expecting the owner. You can either go home or stay in my room if you like." Being a manager there, she has got her own room. Every staff member had a room there, but hers was the biggest among all.

"No. I will spend my time in the library. Mr.Robinson wants me to come until I confirm my employment." Amanda told her mum. Mr.Robinson was a librarian in their community library and he's old enough to work alone there.

"Okay then go to the kitchen and get some food for both of you. I'll be in my office."

Amanda went into the kitchen inn right after her mum disappeared through her office door. Grabbed some sandwiches and pancakes, she walked to the library which is just 500 meters away. Handed over some pancakes to Mr.Robinson, Amanda grabbed a few romance novels from the shelves and spent the whole day reading the novels while helping Mr.Robinson. Amanda loved reading and once she found an interesting book, she would read it non stop for hours till she completed it.

Later that night, Amanda had dinner at the inn with her mum and Nate. It was their routine to spend time together on Saturday night. Sometimes they went out for dinner. Sometimes they watched a movie at home. If her mum was on the night shift, it would be just her and Nate alone. But they seldom watched a movie together. Amanda loved romance and Nate preferred action. Not just do they usually have a hard time picking a movie, but Nate hated it when Amanda cried over some sad romance movies. Normally they'd just hang out together and talk over silly stuff until midnight before calling it a night.