Chapter 7: Trespassing

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended. I do not own nor claim to own any of the lyrics of songs featured in this chapter. All rights reserved to copyright owners.

I walked from the mansion up until the gate, and when I passed through it, I started running.

The mansion is located in Laguna. The lot that our grandparents bought is too big for the villa only, so Dad and my uncles had decided to put it to good use when they first got their positions in each company. Actually, the mansion's location is isolated from the other neighborhood and far from the city. They thought it's a good idea to purchase a land far from everyone to be relaxing and peaceful. If I took one of our cars and decided to drive a little farther, there's a waterfall that we could always run to. Not to mention the mountains that surround the area, too. In short, whenever we go here, this place can always be our escapade.

I put on my earbuds and started playing one of Taylor Swift's songs – Sparks Fly.

The morning vibe, clean road, and cold breeze make me feel motivated to run around and waste time. While running, I set the alarm an hour before the designer's arrival so I could go back and prepare.

"The way you move is like a full-on rainstorm"

"And I'm a house of cards"

"You're the kind of reckless that should send me running"

"But I kinda know that I won't get far"

"And you stood there in front of me just"

"Close enough to touch"

"Close enough to hope you couldn't see"

"What I was thinking of"

I increase my speed a little faster.

"Drop everything now"

"Meet me in the pouring rain"

"Kiss me on the sidewalk"

"Take away the pain"

"'Cause I see, sparks fly, whenever you smile"

"Get me with those green eyes"

"Baby, as the lights go down"

"Gimme something that'll haunt me whenever you're not around"

"'Cause I see, sparks fly, when you smile"

I felt a slight pain in my legs after running for some time and realized that I haven't jog for a while, so I feel this tired already.

I stopped for a moment and realized that I reached farther from what I expected. When I look closely at the signs present at the side of the road, I found out that this is precisely where my parents got into an accident. I didn't know it's this near the mansion because I couldn't come here myself a week ago because of too much shock.

"So this is where everything had happened...."

I walked and wandered around, but something felt weird inside my shoe, so I instantly took it off and saw a bug inside. I plucked a leaf and used it as a tissue to get the bug and throw it away from me.

Suddenly a dog came from nowhere, bit my shoe and ran away from me.

"Hey!"

I ran after him while limping. It went deeper into the forest to the point when I looked back. I almost cannot see the road. But I cannot go home without my shoe!

It went inside an old cottage, and I happened to corner him, so he barked multiple times at me. How can a small dog like him end up here?

"Where's your owner, huh?!" I talked to him as if he's going to answer me

He barked again. I think he feels scared of me because his bite at my shoe is getting deeper that I can almost see a hole in the side.

"Give it back!" I shouted one more time.

I saw a rusty metal rod at the side, long enough to use it to make him go away, but as soon as I grabbed it, he just barked at me even louder.

"Your barks are too loud for a small dog like you," I said to him.

I slowly walked towards him. He squeezed himself at the corner while still barking at me, and when I extended my arm to get my shoe off of his mouth, he suddenly dropped it on the ground and ran towards me. I got scared suddenly, so I lost my balance, hit my butt on the ground, and lost the metal rod; that's why it landed on my feet, and it hurts so much!

"Ouch!”

I held the part of my feet where the metal rod was numbed due to the pain and rubbed it back and forth.

I lift myself slowly to reach my shoe and see that its shoelace, tongue, and collar are all damaged. I let out a heavy sigh, wondering how I ended up in this situation where all I wanted was to jog peacefully. I shook off the dirt in it and managed to wear it still.

Now I want to go home.

"I endured your bold and bratty attitude before, so I guess there's no need to hold a grudge against my dog."

I immediately looked back and saw a silhouette of a man standing in the doorway. The sun had already risen outside, and I can't see his face clearly because of the shadow. He went in and walked towards me, and that when I understand who he is.

"You again?"

He flashed an irritating smile on his face as he pets his dog, who's in his arms right now, looking at me, and barked once again.

"Why are you here?" He asked.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "I should be the one asking questions. Why are you here? Is that your dog?"

"You scared him-"

"I was peacefully walking at the side of the road when he bit my shoe and ran," I corrected him.

"He bit your shoe because you're trespassing."

"I did not- wait, what?"

I'm trespassing? Does he own this place?

"Go now before I call the cops," he warned me and walked away.

I am speechless. This guy really gets on my nerves! How dare he say he'll call the cops? Hello? Excuse me? Your dog inconvenienced me, isn't it obvious? This guy just has no consideration for others at all!

I took my courage with me and went outside the cottage. I walked as fast as I can while limping, and because of my frustration for him, I did not see the broken branch in front of me that caused me to tripped and fell behind him.

I bit my lip as hard as possible so no sound will come out from my mouth even though it hurts a lot.

He suddenly appeared next to me and held my leg, but I kicked his hands and moved away from me.

"Don't touch me!"

I tried to stand up on my own, but my feet just hurt more, and I growled because of pain, so he held my left arm to stop me from standing up.

"I said don't touch me, you jerk!" And threw some fallen leaves right at his face.

I managed to get up, and I hurriedly ran away from him. I could feel my tears started rolling down my cheeks because of the pain and humiliation I received. I did not know where I was running to, but I know that I wanted to get away from him.