Saturdays have never been in Amarantha's favour for she always had a lot of house chores to do. She started off by sweeping and mopping, then washed the dishes, heated up the food just in case her father woke up hungry, and went ahead to do her laundry, expecting her father to have woken up by the time she was done with that, to give her his pile of dirty clothes.
Today she was in a haste more than ever to get everything done, because she wanted to make it in time to the train station before the second train to Prestbridge leaves, and make it back in time. After doing her laundry, she noticed her father had not knocked on her door yet, or started screaming out her name so she could serve him breakfast as usual. It would only be because he had not woken up yet, or he left the house before she woke up, and Amarantha was going to find out right after spreading out her clothes to let them dry up. She walked back into the house, heading to her father's room. After taking a deep breath, she gently knocked on his door.
"Dad, are you sleeping?" she asked, waiting for a response or a growl from her upset dad but to her surprise, she heard nothing. She knocked again, repeating the same question, this time it was louder, but once the sound of her voice and the knock faded away, the house was consumed by immediate silence. This convinced her that she was home alone, but she wasn't in the position to leave the house without taking care of her father's laundry and without his permission. For a minute she thought of entering his room, ignoring the boldly written 'do not enter' sign glued to his door but the memories of those moments he had warned her never to enter his room started to haunt her.
"That's it. It is better to leave for Prestbridge, get back and get beaten than go in there and be traumatised. I wonder what he is hiding, but that is none of my business," she thought to herself, walking to her room.
Amarantha took the second train as planned and made it to Prestbridge. She only worked on weekdays, so she wouldn't be seen at Mr. John's Pizza shop today, instead she would be in Phone Plaza, looking for an affordable phone. After long minutes of searching for a phone, she finally found one she loved and could afford. She walked out of the shop with a smile and entered a coffee shop nearby. Now she could finally call Jimmy, he must have been sick and worried about her.
"Hello. It's Ama, babe"
"Ama? Baby, what happened to you?"
"Nothing, I'm fine."
"No, you are not. Where are you?"
"Prestbridge."
"Prestbridge?"
"Yeah, strange, right?" She chuckled.
"Really, I wasn't expecting that. I thought your father wouldn't allow you to leave Jollyville on Saturdays? Whatever, that doesn't matter right now. Where are you? Send me your location and I will be there in a jiffy."
"Um, babe, there's no need for that. I have to get some foodstuff and go back home. Don't wanna get dad mad by keeping him waiting. We can always chat later."
"Forget about the foodstuff, I'll come with as much as possible and some cash, too."
Amarantha thought about it for a minute and agreed. That was definitely going to save her a lot of money. She was looking outside the shop through the transparent glass door after texting him her location, when a black flashy car drove in and parked in the carpark. It took a minute before the door opened and the guy she was expecting walked out of the car.
"Jimmy!" she mentally screamed, beaming.
Jimmy rolled up his sleeves up to his elbow as he walked to the shop. He was casually dressed in a white button shirt but rather left the three upper buttons unbuttoned to show off his manly chest and a golden necklace he had on, while his lower body was properly covered by a black pants that was up to his ankle, and his legs, by a black leather pair of shoes. His sharp gray eyes penetrated into the transparent door, making eye contact with Amarantha, whose smile hadn't faded. She was dressed in a white t-shirt and a red pant, so it was easy to detect her sitting with her left leg placed over her right leg. He smiled and pushed the door open. As the doorbell rang, some customers randomly looked at his directions and looked away but most could not help but admire his beauty.
"He's beautiful," a girl whispered, but loud enough for people around to hear. Jimmy smirked at her remark and she blushed, realising she had said that out loud. He rushed towards Amarantha who had stood up, waiting to embrace him. They threw their arms around one another tightly, taking in each other's pleasant scent.
"You look beautiful, angel."
"Thanks. I missed you so much," she whispered, still resting her head on his chest.
"I missed you more," he responded, planting a kiss on her hair. They slowly pulled apart after cuddling for what seemed like forever and took a seat beside each other.
"How have you been, babe?"
"Sick and worried. Ama, what happened to you? Why couldn't I reach you for almost two weeks now? I almost went nuts and the craziest part was that Leslie wasn't in town to tell me where you live in Jollyville and on the phone she wouldn't tell me anything. You scared the shit out of me, baby girl," Jimmy narrated with pure frustration in his tone.
"I'm really sorry Jim, I lost my phone and had no chance to get a new one." She bit her lower lips a little hard for lying to him.
"Shush, you're a bad liar. I know it has to do with your dad. You're hiding something from me about your parents and what's bothering you. Love, you know you can talk to me."
"Yeah, I know and I already told you, my dad is very strict when it comes to me talking to guys and if he found out about us, I am so dead. He hates lies with so much passion."
"I'm really sorry for putting you in this position but I can fix it, only if you would let me. Let me help you prove to your father that I am the guy for you. I can give you and your papa the life you both deserve and I'd never hurt you."
"Jim, it isn't that easy, you know?"
"Yes, it is. If your father could lift the 'no leaving Jollyville on Saturdays' rule, why can't he lift the 'no boys' rule after seeing how serious and determined I am with you?"
"Okay babe, my father didn't lift the rule. I left the house without his permission because tomorrow is Holy Prestbridgens day and as you know, no one is allowed to work and we don't have enough foodstuff to last us till Monday when I'll be able to get more. He left really early this morning and I couldn't wait for him to get back, so here I am."
"Oh, wouldn't he be mad when you get back home?"
"He might be, but I can handle that."
"I'm glad you got this, but I still find it difficult to believe that you were too busy for two whole weeks to get a phone? Now come on, baby girl, you can do better than that."
"Jimmy love, okay, I pissed off my dad by coming home late three days straight, so he grounded me and took away my phone but I was able to make him let me have my phone back last night but my battery was dead."
"Huh, really? Why were you going home late though? Prestbridge is dangerous at night."
"Well, you know, guys always refuse to pay for the pizza I deliver to them. They always try to harass me but I got that covered."
"What the heck, babe? You never told me you deliver pizzas. I mean, you are not supposed to be delivering pizzas. You are dating one of the richest guys in Prestbridge. You could easily ask me for anything you want and it will be yours, girly."
"Yeah, I know, but you have done more than enough. After we got robbed, you gave me the money to get back our stolen properties and I still haven't paid for that favour. I know you said I shouldn't pay but I don't wanna be seen as a burden or be dependent. I wanna work hard for my money, baby."
Jimmy sighed. "Sure, but you could do something better and less risky. You could get hurt. The guys here are wilding everyday. They have guns and your karate skills aren't going to save you from such danger."
Amarantha pouted, feeling a little bit hurt from what Jimmy had said. He noticed, so she held her hands. Looking into her eyes he said, "I love you so much, Ama and I would never forgive myself if anything was to happen to you. Please, stop doing all these crazy jobs, stop traveling to and fro everyday and move to Prestbridge fully. You could come stay over at my house if you wanted. At my house, we could stay a whole week without bumping into each other, if that makes you feel uncomfortable in any way. I wouldn't invade your privacy or walk too close to the apartment you would be living in. But if you find that uncomfortable, I could rent you an apartment far away from me, but where I live is the safest and the best street to live on in this city. Ama, please, let me help you. Stop facing whatever you're going through alone because you've got me."
She smiled and nodded. "I'd think about it but it is just that my dad wouldn't let me leave the house. He wants me to stay with him forever, I guess. To always be his baby girl."
"Next semester is next week and you need to resume along with other students though. How do you intend on going to college everyday from Jollyville to Prestbridge?" he asked and she let out a sigh.
"The fact that Jollyville is a small town that has no college hurts badly. When I told dad about me going to Prestbridge, he said he would be lonely without me. He asked me who would cook, do the house chores and keep him company, and then he said I should wipe all thoughts of going to college but I haven't. I just can't."
"Aww, your dad must really love you to always want you near, but sometimes if we don't let the things we love go, we'll never make them happier. I think If you bring a solution to his reasons not to let you go, he wouldn't see a reason not to let you go. He could get a househelp to keep the house clean and a chef to cook for him. If he feels lonely, he could always call you and talk on the phone. Maybe facetime would help."
"Smart, but where am I going to get such money to pay the workers?"
"Babe, how many times am I going to tell you that you're not in this or anything alone? Let me see, if you add ten dollars and I support you with the balance, we could get a chef and a househelp. We could pay yearly. That way, you get to pay and I only contributed."
Amarantha pushed out her lips, trying to hold back her tears. "You're the best, baby. Literally the best. I love you so much and I am really grateful to have you in my life."
He smiled and pulled her into a hug. "Anything for you, my love. I love you."
"Maybe I should get going?"
"If you're asking to get an answer, my answer would be a no but I know you need to go home, so sure. I'll give you a ride home."
"No, Jim. Please give me a ride to the train station instead. Maybe you could visit Jollyville some other time and I could give you a tour If only you would let me."
"Definitely. Come on, baby girl." He stood up, helped her up and they both started walking out of the coffeeshop when Amarantha got an idea. She immediately stopped.
"Wait, I think I can actually make my dad let me stay in Prestbridge. I might just have the perfect idea, but I would need your help." She smiled at Jimmy who was returning the smile.