Getting out of the car, I ignored Monic’s protests and questions. I remembered what Preston told me and it was enough to convince me that this wasn’t the Adam that we knew. “Jake, drive and don’t look back,” I told him sharply. He looked at me as if I was crazy. “What about yo-” I shut the car’s door before he could ask another question and I shot him a look that made him turn the car and drive away. This man wasn’t my Adam and I won’t let him hurt anyone I love. He was after me so I knew Monic and Jake would be safe as long as they weren’t anywhere near me. I narrowed my eyes at him, glaring at the man before me darkly. “What do you want?” I asked into the night, knowing he could hear me loud and clear. I was hurt and if he was going to pick a fight with me, I would lose in a nanosecond. But Bryant has always told me that if I’m going to go down, I shou
I veered around the big crowd, annoyed at all the elbowing and shoving. I grimaced in pain as another elbow dug itself against my bruised side. Damn uncivilized baboons. Two can play that game. I sucked in a sharp breath and dove into the pool of nauseating body odor. I kept my head down and elbowed my way, shoved whoever shoved me even harder. Annoyed Casey is not a very nice acquaintance. When I finally managed to eject myself from the rest of the crowd, I stopped walking for a while and took my time in catching some needed breath. The humid air surrounded me, sticking to every part of my exposed limbs, The smell in the air was contaminated with the smoke from car engines and the lit cigar of a near bystander who was leaning on a pole, talking on the phone while smoking on the cigarette he held between his fingers. The sound of an oncoming train filled the station and people hollered for each other in the midst of the crowd. They hustled th
“Nan, I’m off!” I announced and she came out of the kitchen in lightning speed with a pout on her face. She was holding a cloth, wiping cream off her hand. “Already?” I nodded and walked up to her with my backpack slung over one shoulder. “I’m sorry but I only have two weeks to train and I don’t think it’s going to be enough so every second counts. Thank you for letting me spend the night.” I kissed her cheek and gave her a hug. “Not even for cookies?” I hesitated but shook my head. The cunning woman knew that was my weakness. Dammit. “Alright, you be careful then. You’re taking the bike right?” I nodded once more before hugging her and opening the door. “See you, Nan!” I shouted over my shoulder and shut the door behind me. I jogged to the small garage beside the house and took out the bike that I used to ride on whenever I visited. My f
An hour later, I finished setting my things in a corner of the cabin. It wasn’t dusty so that’s a plus. Mr. Huang gave me a thin cushion as a makeshift bed, a pillow and a blanket to sleep with. It may not sound like much but it made a comfortable bed. After I finished getting settled, I stepped out of the cabin to meet Mr. Huang in the middle of the empty land. Trees surrounded the place and there was no trace of civilization nearby; perfect for some intense training for a couple of weeks. The sun was shining brightly over us since it was still 9:00 am. I had tied my hair up and I changed into some black leggings and an oversized sleeveless shirt that I tied up just above the waistband of my leggings. I was barefoot and was praying to God that there were no sharp twigs or thorns that were going to pierce my foot. “There are 6 things that you have to master. The first thing is the faith you need to keep within you. Believe in
I woke up the next day with my knees clicking whenever I bend and straighten them. My bones made cracking noises as I stretched. My whole body was surprisingly sore from the mini training yesterday. It didn’t occur to me that those small movements can cause such a horrid ache on my triceps. When I left my corner, Mr. Huang was already in the kitchen, making some breakfast for the both of us. I took my toiletries and proceeded to walked down the short corridor to the toilet to brushed my teeth. After freshening up, I walked back to my corner to drop my toiletries and strolled into the kitchen, taking an apple and biting into it. The juice flooding my taste bud. The sour tang stood out and it popped my eyes open. “Good, you’re awake. Now, let’s eat. We’ve got a lot to cover and I expect you to master them. Since we only have two weeks or maybe even less, we can’t waste any more time so eat up.” Mr. Huang di
I fiddled with my fingers as I told him everything that’s happened. I never had this problem before but that’s probably because he scared away everyone who came too close. I couldn’t blame him for not seeing this one coming and scaring him off too. It was a shock for me too. I would never have thought that someone we thought as family would develop these absurd feelings for me. It could be the heat of the moment but we could never be 100% sure. “He told me he loved me and made it very clear that he meant it as something more than in a sibling love,” I stressed out. Bryant frowned at that. Our families have always been closely knitted. So to have Dom confessing out of the blue like that was beyond shocking. He knew that I didn’t like anyone that way and have never batted an eye at any guy before. “Don’t worry, I’ll deal with him,” Bryant assured me. I could feel all the color leaving my
“Lev? What on God’s green Earth are you doing out here?” Lev lowered his hands that were trying to shield his head, I think. “You know this guy?” Mr. Huang asked. “Yeah,” I answered. “他是你的朋友吗?” (Is he your friend?) I nodded in reply while Lev looked like he understood nothing of what Mr. Huang was saying. “Please tell me he did not insulted me in another language,” he said aloud and I could only laugh lightly. “No, I did not just insulted you in another language.” Mr. Huang slipped in. He gave Levy a scrutinizing look. “I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere,” he mused softly. “Who did you say you came here with?” Mr. Huang’s arm muscle twitched visibly and I got ready to block his blow if he was going to throw one towards Levy again. I don’t know what beef they have but Levy’s a friend and I won’t let him g
The door swung open with a loud creak, arousing me from my dazed state. The two idiots were still knocked out cold but I’m not complaining. Less work to do equals to a happy Cassandra. Happy Cassandra might be lenient. Although, looking at Levy’s half-sober face made her blood boil once more. Whatever beef this friend of his has with Mr. Huang, he shouldn’t have gotten involved the second he knew that she was going to get roped in. Mr. Huang casted an indifferent look towards the tied men and strolled inside the cabin. He brought with him a basket full of fruits and what looked like meat. For a moment, all thoughts about Levy vanished and my mouth watered at the thought of meat. I didn’t know how much I craved eating something until I saw the fruits brought into my line of sight. It didn’t even occur to me that Mr. Huang looked too calm when he saw the tied fools until later on. I mean, come on, two people tied toget
The car had toppled over and had landed on its side. Casey was under me. I could feel the liquid that drenched my eyelids, preventing me from cracking my eyes open. I felt the pressure on my arm that laid under Casey's head to protect it from the jostling that happened as the car swerved and fell sideways. I couldn't feel my lower half either but from the movements that Casey made under me, I knew that I've successfully cocooned her.Through the blinding pain, I heard Casey's cries and screams over a faint hissing noise. Every movement she made that nudged any part of my body would flare a new set of pain that threatened to knock me out. But amidst the unbearable pain, I felt relief in my heart.My little sister was okay. She was alive. She was moving.That was all I needed.
I pulled up at the spot where I dropped Casey off earlier and got out of the car. I jogged to the front door where Casey stood, one of her friends hanging a few feet behind her with what looked like my sister's purse in her hands.I locked eyes with Casey and she started walking. I couldn't read her expression as she looked straight ahead and power walked towards me. I slowed down, ready to spread my arms to give her a hug, but she stepped past me and walked towards the car instead. I turned to look at her back as she continued walking before turning back to her friend, handing me Casey's stuff.Casey's friend gave me a look and shook her head, tipping me off on how bad it went. As I took Casey's bag from her and ran after my little sister who was already walking towards the car, I watched the drag in her steps, as if they were the heav
"Yeah, just drop by any time you feel like it, Bryant. I've got no plans tonight so I'll probably be home. I'll text you my address." General Reeves said through the phone."Thank you, General. I'll call you when I'm on my way there." I spoke into the phone before hanging up.It's been a few days since I last heard from Dom. If our fight the other day didn't happen, I wouldn't have thought much about his silence since we weren't the kind of friends who had to talk to each other every day to stay close but how we left things off the last time we met made me worried.I checked his social media account to see if he was active or had made any posts lately but found nothing that eased my worries. Maybe I was too hard on him..But wha
I shut the front door and locked it before taking off my shoes. Casey was laying sprawled on the living room couch in her pajamas, covered by a layer of blanket. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun, head resting on a pillow propped up against the armrest and hands holding a spoon and an ice cream tub. The TV was playing one of the episodes of 'Salvation' on Netflix.When she heard me stroll into the living room, she raised her head and craned her neck to look at me. "You're home early," she commented, looking at the time displayed on her phone screen.It was only 6 p.m. so technically it was early. After staying for a few hours in the park, watching the sunset together, I told Maddy what I was planning and she understandingly agreed without any objections or complaints. I was lucky to have a supportive and understanding girlfriend.
I tilted my head up with my eyes closed, trying to just absorb the fresh air and let it cool my insides and help me relax.I opened my eyes and watched as the wind shook the branches of the tree we were sitting under. Fall was already here and winter was just right around the corner, approaching fast. The branches were already balding, giving it a bare look, making the tree seem almost naked without its green. The leaves that managed to stay on the branches had already turned colors, pulling different shades of orange, yellow and sometimes even a beautiful bright red. The sight made by the tree branches reaching out and creating a web right above us, mapping across the space between us and the sky, was entrancing, at least to me. I could never get enough of it.The sun was nowhere to be seen today, hidden behind some clouds. The air aro
"Leaving?" Casey asked me as she stirred her cereal and milk in a bowl for breakfast."Yeah, I'll be back by 10 p.m. tonight." I told her over the jiggle of my keys as I pocketed them. "Do you have any plans today?"Casey shook her head, "Get home as late as you'd like, I'm not a kid, I'll be alright. I'll just be chilling inside, binge watching netflix and enjoying my ice cream."I didn't want to argue with her about going home later. It was more for my peace of mind than anything else. For the past year, I've tried very hard to never let Casey be alone. Especially in an empty house late at night. Of course she didn't understand where my worries and anxiety was coming from but that's alright. I'll do the worrying and being the anxious one, she can live in blissful ignorance that comes
"You haven't forgotten what day tomorrow is, right?" Casey asked me while she dumped her things on the foot of her bed.I plopped on my bed beside hers and rubbed my eyes tiredly. I hummed in response to her question, laying my arm over my eyes to block the light streaming in through the window by my bed.When she didn't continue speaking, I raised my arm slightly and took a peek at her.Casey stood over me, staring me down with her hands propped on her hips."You totally forgot what tomorrow is, didn't you?" She asked again.I grunted in annoyance, prompting her to stop speaking in circles and just get to the point.I felt a slap l
I rang the doorbell and waited for a few minutes for Dom to answer it and let me in.I had the urge to look around to check if anyone was watching me while I was waiting but I didn't want to tip off the people watching if there were any. I didn't want to give them further reason to suspect that I was hiding something.Because I was, and they're not supposed to know that.It was a Saturday afternoon and it was way too shiny than I'd like it to be. The sun was beating down my back and it was starting to get uncomfortable, so I knocked on the door to rush Dom."Coming! Hold your bloody horses!" Dom cursed from behind the door as the door jiggled and swung open. Dom stepped aside once he saw it was me and let me in. "You're here."
We stepped into the restaurant and told them we had made a reservation under Johnson.A waiter led us to a table where a man in a collared shirt sat, talking into his phone.When he saw us approaching, he waved and said a few words into the phone before hanging up and stashing the device away, smiling widely at my parents."I thought you stood me up!" He joked, standing from his seat to warmly greet my parents with hugs.Dad slightly turned his body to let the man see Casey and I clearly."This is Bryant, my oldest." I smiled as Dad made the introductions, stepping forward and offering my hand.He took my hand and shook it firmly. H