We were outside of the villa already, with our packed belongings placed on one corner of the patio. I was leaning on the white rail of the area, looking at the sunset before me and admiring every bit of it. The gust of wind that tingled my skin refreshed my mind for a bit, as the crazy occurrences started filling my head. Though I wanted to forget about the craps this vacation had caused me, my mind didn't seem to comply with me.
"Come on, guys. Let's put these things inside the van," Emma initiated.
I turned my back and spotted everyone grabbing their belongings. Approaching them, I was about to reach for my luggage but Miguel lifted it for me. I gave him an appreciative smile as we all went out of the patio and headed to the minivan that was parked beneath the pine trees.
Daniel already left. He said it was urgent, and everyone seemed to be okay with it as if it was the most normal thing. I felt like this vacation had ch
We grabbed some foods in Taco Bell, as we placed the takeouts on the dashboard of the van. Everyone was still asleep that left Miguel and I the only people to fill up the silence in the car. Reaching for the bag, I put it in between Miguel and me and grabbed the burrito inside of it."Thanks for this," I said, unwrapping the food."No problem," he responded, as he continued driving down the road.I took a bite of the beef burrito I ordered and munched the food, enjoying the savory taste of the meat. I let it danced with my tongue, as I grabbed for the tissue and wiped the excess grease around my mouth."This is so good," I remarked with my mouth still stuffed.I saw him smile at the side of my eye, as I drifted my gaze to him which caused our eyes to meet. But he quickly looked away to focus on the road.I still remembered the moment we had during our vacation. With our lips in direct contact with each other, our bodies colliding, and the intimacy we felt while it happened. It was like
Monday went by pretty quickly. And it was as if we would be having another stressful week at school before prom could even arrive. All of us were hustling to get the homework and essays done before the examination.We were currently in the lounge room filled with utter silence as everyone minded their own business. Daniel wasn't here, and I was guessing he didn't attend school because I hadn't seen him around. I tried to contact him after our vacation, but his phone was out of reach which had me worried. The Royals weren't speaking up about it, as speculations filled in my head.The only thing that kept bugging me was the last time I saw him. Before I even confessed what Kourtney had done to his and Lindsey's relationship, he already seemed frantic. I could still depict the vivid image of him in a problematic state. From how his eyes began to glimmer, the uneasiness in his aura, and his actions were somehow lousy. He was holding back somet
I went back to our house after school and rushed to Hansel's office. There were some random thoughts creeping in my head and my hands began to sweat from nervousness.Once I opened his office door, I spotted him sitting on the black leather chair, elbows on the table while his chin rested on his clasped hands as if pondering. When I shut the door closed behind me, causing a slight thud to echo in the room, Hansel averted his attention to me with a worried look. Beckoning me to approach him, I trudged further in the room and walked in front of Hansel's wooden desk."What's going on?" I asked, my voice sounded frantic.He looked down, chewing his bottom lip as his eyes began to water. Silence started to consume us, and the only thing I could hear was the rapid beating of my heart. I could feel my hands sweating and a lump started to form in my throat."I don't know what's happening," he mumbled.
I didn't know if I should be attending school at times like this. That Hansel and I were currently facing a great depth that would put us both in misery. But since this day was the start of the examination and I was too eager to graduate high school, I didn't stop. This was the only thing that would make me sane.I walked outside of the school's lot where the huge tree stood in the middle of the green field. I tried to stall around before going to the first class and just clear my mind before the exam so that I'd pass.Sitting on the grass, I leaned my back on the tree trunk and roamed my eyes around the place. I heaved a breath of relief, trying to release some stress to not be too bothered and consumed by my problems. I needed to fight this, I told myself.The leaves of the trees hovered on top of me, as the sun rays filtered through it that made a shed. As my eyes flicked to my sling bag laying beside me, I ope
I promised Hansel last week that I would be returning once he got home. So I brought almost all of my stuff and left my apartment after school. The whole day I'd been having this nagging feeling. Thoughts after thoughts started to swirl in my head, and I felt like I was going crazy. I was starting to connect every dots, every possibility, every incident, and occurrences that might lead me to a final conclusion. But there seemed to be a leap. Every time I would come up to a logical reason, there seemed to be a missing piece. Or I guess all of the clues were scattered everywhere, and I was just too clouded with stress to comprehend. I was currently in my room, crouching in front of my luggage as I stared at my clothes as if I was in haze. Shaking my head, I approached the bed and plopped myself on the soft, white mattress. As I gazed at the ceiling, my mind drift off and started piecing some information again. The newspap
"We weren't ordered to kill you," one guy said, his voice sounded dominating. "We're here to stop you."I gritted my teeth, my anger started to surge in as I gripped the pistols tighter. I wanted to flee, but my eagerness to talk to William had devoured me."Please, I just need to talk to William," I pleaded, giving them a pitiful look but it seemed to not work."Lower your weapon and leave," he commanded again, his voice was hoarse and intimidating.Heaving a sigh, I put the guns down to my side, as the two other men that surrounded me pulled them out of my grasp.There wasn't a point if I fought with these dudes; I would just injure myself. Though I knew William wouldn't kill me, it also wasn't a wise decision to persuade them. William had this once it's over, it's over attitude and that was the main reason why he was pushing me away; he didn't want me here anymore.
Trigger warning: there's a mention of an anxiety attack in this chapter.~*~When I first heard Miguel mentioning my real name, I felt my heart clench. He knew me. He knew Araulla Jones as a dead person. I was still stuck deciding on whether to tell him the truth or hide away until I got the perfect chance to say it all. I knew he'd understand my situation, but knowing that he'd worked with illegal mafias, I shouldn't be trusting him that much. Though I really liked him, I wasn't sure if I could trust anyone anymore.What if this was all a façade and he was a bait? What if he was still working with those mafias and he was ordered to capture me again? What if this was his redemption pledge to the people he was working with? Could I trust him?This was the reason why I was afraid to trust anyone; people were coming after me. I knew it seemed
Warning: This chapter contained the use of illegal substances and violence.~*~I hadn't attended school a while ago, again, and I knew that I would be banned soon. But I didn't care. There were far more valuable things that I should be focusing on, and examination wasn't one of them. With all these overwhelming problems we were currently facing, I highly doubted I would pass. Those were consuming me, and I had nothing to worry about because my reputation was free.The day after all the conspiring Hansel and I had, I'd come up to a plan while I was contemplating the steps we had to take. This needed a precise work, no left of traces they could find, and a distraction for Catherine Houston while we moved behind her back.I was sitting at the edge of Hansel's bed, as he paced back and forth in front of me. He was rubbing his thumb on
The whole ride on the way back to the hotel was quiet. We immediately left Paola’s house after the conversation we had, and Miguel didn’t choose to persuade her more for he understood her situation. All that I could do at that moment was empathize with her for her loss and we did everything we could to not make her feel bad about not helping us. Miguel also had told her to go to their mother which Paola instantly declined since she felt hesitant to show up to him. Then we all bid her goodbye along with Xavier.
“I met up with our father yesterday,” Miguel said and it received a baffled reaction from Paola.Her eyes widened and she stiffened on her seat as she stared at Miguel.
The next day, Gwen, Miguel, and I left the hotel in the afternoon along with William’s men. We would be heading to the person Miguel was referring to yesterday and we would try to talk to him or her about Fernando. To be honest, I was full of anticipation and I was being optimistic about the outcome. I wouldn’t deny, I was still a little nervous.We were inside the car and Miguel was in the driver’s seat. Gwen was sitting at the back while I was on the shotgun.
No one knows where the golds are, only your father, I repeated Fernando’s words in my head. I was certain that I knew where my father hid them, and he entrusted those to me that’s why I became the new keeper. Why did he come up to that conclusion? Did the Houstons know that I hid the golds?“You know that my father’s dead, right?” I said, my tone was laced with resentment. “And the treasure didn’t die along with him.”
Seeing Fernando sitting in front of me was probably one of the most unsettling feelings I’d ever had. I stared at him in awe, trying to hide the anxiousness I suddenly felt at the sight of him. He plastered a stoic face, and only two guards were standing on both sides of Fernando. I was right, he looked just like an Italian mafia boss in his early thirties. But I knew he was older than that, he just appeared younger because there weren’t any apparent wrinkles that formed on his face. I knew where Miguel had inherited his features, and I could already visualize how he would look like when he got old.
I was seated in front of these men who were gawking at me as if I was prey they needed to devour. There were five of them, and Fernando sat in the middle, contemplating. Beside Fernando was Dmitri, smiling mischievously like he was planning something sketchy. They’d locked William up in a chamber, and I was left alone because we got caught. We failed to conceal the secret between Arthur and William, and we were about to escape Mexico when we got caught by Fernando.
We got out of the car and moved closer to the house that looked just like a freaking castle. It was an old-style house, a bit outdated if you would ask me. But it was gorgeous, dark, and foreboding. It was the house you would expect a beast would live in. The house was surrounded by trees that there were dried leaves that scattered all over their unkempt lawn. The grass had grown tall, maybe because no one was staying here and no one looked out for their house. The hedges that ran along the front of their house also looked dehydrated, and they weren’t the luminescent green color we’d always had at our home. This looked more like a haunted mansion that no one would ever dare to stay here for long.
I was in a deep slumber for the entire ride that I hadn’t realized that we’d landed already. Though I’d already slept, it seemed like I had just blinked my eyes and now we were here. It was quick, about an hour or two rides that I honestly didn’t expect. Gwen had woken me up when we arrived and we quickly got off the plane. William’s men, who I barely communicate with, held our luggage. When I roamed my eyes around the place, we were taken to another hangar which wasn’t expected.
I was in a deep slumber for the entire ride that I hadn’t realized that we’d landed already. Though I’d already slept, it seemed like I had just blinked my eyes and now we were here. It was quick, about an hour or two rides that I honestly didn’t expect. Gwen had woken me up when we arrived and we quickly got off the plane. William’s men, who I barely communicate with, held our luggage. When I roamed my eyes around the place, we were taken to another hangar which wasn’t expected.