Fall 2014
"Are you sure about this, Nikka?" asked Anthony as he watched his daughter pick some clothes from the closet.
Nikka continued to fold her clothes inside her luggage quietly. She had made up in her mind kf what she needed to do after waht happened that night. Among all the universities she applied, she decided to enroll at Yale University in Connecticut.
It was not her original plan since she also got offered a scholarship in New York University, but she told herself it was better to be far away from home.
Far away from Marcus and that woman, Christine.
Whenever she thought of that day, she could not stop herself from crying. The pain that Marcus caused had embedded in her heart and she did not know when she would be able to recover.
She hoped that the distance would help her forget the memories... and the pain all together.
So she could move on...
"Hija," the calm voice of her mother had made her stopped from her thoughts and looked up to her, still holding a shirt in her hand. "Do you really want to do this? You can always come back here."
Nikka sighed and nodded.
"I have to, Mom... It's for the better," she answered and continued packing up her clothes. "Besides, I would be staying with Daniel. I'm sure we could still come and visit on the holidays or breaks."
Martha wrapped her arms around Nikka and that was all she needed for her tears to completely fall from her eyes. She had never been away from her parents, even in the Philippines, and although it was only a train away, she felt like she would be too far away from them.
"I will miss you, my princess," her mother said as Nikka closed her eyes. Tears flow quickly as she sniffed and leaned her head against her mother's chest. She turned around and embraced her.
"I would miss you, too, Mom," she cried. "I'm rrally sorry if I have to do this."
She looked up to her mother as Martha wiped her tears with her thumbs.
"I understand, Nikka. But if you are ready, you can always come back and live with us."
She nodded and embraced her again.
Anthony stood up and joined them. He could not help but feel sad for his daughter. As a father, he did not want to see her cry and yet, he knew this would be for the best..
And he was hoping that this distance would really help her forget... for now.
"When you're ready, Nikka... you will sort things out on your own.. when you're ready.."
Those last words of her father had stayed in her heart until she jumped on the train going to Connecticut.
*************
"Nikka!" called a familiar boice behind her. She spun around and her eyes wide, relieved to see her brother, Daniel. She gave him a big embrace.
"How are you doing, Sis?" Daniel asked as he slightly pushed Nikka away from him.
Nikka smiled faintly as she stared into her brother's eyes. She could not hide the pain she was feeling, and most especially to Daniel. He knew her too well.
"Where's Monique?" she asked, trying to mask the tears that were threatening to fall. Despite of what she tried to tell herself that she could do this, she almost wanted to break down in front of her brother.
Marcus had left a painful mark on her heart, and she knew that it will take time for it to heal completely.
"Hey, Daniel! Sorry I-" the male voice behind her brother stopped as Nikka's eyes went to him.
"H-Hi. You must be Nikka," he said and waved his hand to greet her. "I'm Philip."
Daniel turned to face him and properly introduced them. His arm never leaving Nikka's shoulders, and somehow Nilka felt secured having her brother beside her again. She felt more protected and safe.
"Oh, hey man! I want you to meet my little sister, Nikka. She will be staying with us for awhile," Daniel introduced.
Philip stared at Nikka, half-smiling. Nikka found him to be mysterious with deep-set eyes that held secrets needed to be unlocked.
His hair was jet black and his eyes were brown yet she felt like the pupils turned black whenever he had something in mind. Somehow it made her feel uneasy. But the smile he gave her made him look less threatening to her.
"Nice to meet you, Nikka," he said, his gaze never leaving hers.
"N-Nice to meet you, too, Philip," she replied.
"How was the train ride?"
"It was fine, I guess."
He smiled. "Welcome to Connecticut."
"Thank you."
Daniel cleared his throat as he could feel the sudden friendly exchange betwen the two might lead to something more. He wanted to make sure his sister felt comfortable first before going through something else.. especially after having her heart broken recently.
He still could not believe Marcus would do that. He hated the fact that he treated him as his brother and yet, he chose to hurt Nikka like that.
Now, he had told himself he would protect Nikka at all costs, and don't let her fall for the wrong guy again.
"Very well then. Why don't we head out to my car and let you rest?" he stated and took her suitcase from her. Philip walked beside Nikka on her other side which Daniel surprisingly did not protest. Somehow he trusted his buddy more than Marcus now.
He just hoped it would not wscalate to soemthjng more at the moment since he knew Nikka needed time to mend her broken heart.
"So I have heard you're staying here. I hope you don't mind seeing me often?" Philip said as his eyes glanced over to Daniel and the latter just smiled at him.
Nikka saw the exchange and Daniel gave him a nod as if to tell her it was going to be okay.
She sighed.
"No, it's okay. You're Daniel's friend. I don't mind," she replied, trying not to feel nervous by the way Philip looked at her.
Philip smiled as his eyes gazed at her again. She felt a bit strange and yet, there was something about Philip that intrigued her.
Would he be the one to let her forget about Marcus?
He seemed nice but a little mysterious. He was probably like Marcus... but then, why did she still have a little bit of uneasy feeling around him?
It was probably first meeting jitters. Perhaps it would change as time goes by...
Or so she thought it would be...