Chapter 3- Starting Line
1240 Words
LIAM’S POV
I wasn’t planning to invite her for a walk, but my mouth just blurted out the words unexpectedly, maybe because her eyes looked so sad. After all, it must have been so lonely being inside the house for so long.
We walked until we reached the golden river and this is how our conversation went:
“Yeah, but only if you’re around” she said.
What does that mean? I’m quite confused. So can she only go out when she's with me?
“Then we can go to school together.” I said thoughtlessly.
What am I thinking? Nooooo! I regretted saying the words right after I said them.
“Rea—” she stopped.
“What?” I asked
“I’m not good at being with people. It usually gets awkward.”
“Okay” I said in relief.
“But it would be a great help if you could accompany me for a while.”
I thought,” Oh no, this is not going well. I should decline”
I am thinking of the right words to say. I stared at her eyes. Once again, it looked like it was asking for my help.
“Okay for a few months only. Just don’t be too close to me and don’t expect anything else from me”
She laughed. “I’m not like the other girls in school. I don’t find you attractive.”
“Don’t be so sure of yourself. Make sure that you don’t fall in love with me”
She smirked “I’m in love with someone else.”
Her words somehow bothered me.
“Does it mean you have a boyfriend?”
“No, but someone promised to marry me.”
“Whatever, how long is this going to last?” I asked.
“Maybe three months?”
“Fine.”
Well, three months is not that long, I guess. I think I can keep my secret from her for three months.
The next day, I didn’t have anything to do so I dropped by Maddie’s house to check the cat and to check on her secretly.
Luckily, she was in their garden watering their plants.
“Oh Liam!” she said as soon as he saw me.
“Oh Maddie. Nice to see you” I smiled.
“Looking for the cat named Cat?”
“Yeah, have you seen her?”
“Been here for a while, I haven’t seen her.”
She looks a little less sad today than yesterday.
“I think I’ll just leave the cat’s food here.”
“You’re going already?” She said in a low tone.
I can feel the sadness in her voice that makes me want to comfort her.
“Do you need someone to talk to?” I said lively.
“No, you can go on with your day.”
“I’m actually getting tired from walking. Would you mind if I take a rest on one of your benches in that beautiful garden of yours?
“Of course, come in.”
We sat on two different benches.
“You’re home alone?” I asked.
“Yeah, my mom just went to the grocery, but I think she’ll be here in a bit.”
“Oh, can I rest here till she comes?”
“No problem”
She always has a short reply.
“So, what do you like to do?” I asked, just to break the silence.
“Reading books is my only hobby but I stopped for a while.”
“May I know why?”
“I can’t even hold a book much more read it, because it triggers my trauma from the incident”
I felt guilty upon hearing it. You might think I shouldn’t be because I saved her, but somehow, I feel bad because I could have prevented the whole incident. I cannot bring myself to tell her the whole truth, so I’m going to keep it a secret as long as I can.
“I don’t like reading, but I like listening to stories. I hope one day you can you read a good book for me.” I said with a little smile.
“Well, that’s one thing I should look forward to for me to recover fast.”
“I think that will take some time and we need to find you a new hobby.”
“Are you serious? I’m not good at anything except for reading.”
“Well, we’ll be looking for a hobby not a job. You don’t have to be good at it. You just have to enjoy it.”
“That makes sense” she said with a little smile.
“Have you gone to a movie theater?”
“No.”
“Really? Actually, I’m planning to go see a movie later. You should join me.”
She just stared at me. I just realized that I sounded like I was asking her out.
“I mean, it could be a good hobby for you to watch movies.”
She smirked.
“Sounds like a good idea,” she said in a happy tone.
“Shall we go?”
“Okay, I’ll just call my mom to tell her.”
“Okay.”
MADDIE’S POV
We took a taxi and arrived at the mall at around 4 pm in the afternoon. Guards and mall staff are gathered at the entrance.
“I think there is an assembly of the mall employees” I told Liam.
I was confused. They were all looking at us as we approached the main door.
“Welcome back sir. Good to see you again” They greeted Liam as if he owned the mall.
“Molly, I told you before, this isn’t necessary” Liam said, who seemed annoyed.
“ Apologies sir, we just want to pay our respect to you. This way to the cinema Sir.” The lady in a suit said while signaling directions.
“I know where it is, no need to escort us, just go on with your jobs.”
“Okay Sir. Have a great day.”
I needed some time to process what had just happened.
LIAM’S POV
Maddie looked so shocked by what she witnessed. I really don’t want any welcoming drama from the staff, but I needed to call Molly so they could vacate a whole cinema for us. She is the current mall manager and used to be my tutor when I was in elementary. She’s a nice but strict lady in her 40s.
We took the elevator to get to the 4th floor where the cinemas are located. We were welcomed by Aries, the cinema supervisor.
“Good afternoon, Sir Lani! Good to be of service to you”
“Ehem.” I cleared my throat and turned my head to the right side.
“Oh, my mistake, Sir Liam!” I haven’t seen you for a while, so I got confused.”
You know why Aries got confused, because I have a twin brother who looks exactly like me. I turned my head to show Aries that I didn’t have a butterfly tattoo on the left side of my neck for him to properly recognize me. I would never let Madd meet my twin brother because, as you probably know by now, he’s the one who tried to abduct her. And that is my biggest secret.
- Writer
