Candace's POV
I felt my energy started depleting while walking back towards the parking lot. A solid proof that this brief Saturday getaway is so much fun than what I had expected.
"I've found my heaven...♪♪♪ right here with you... ♪♪♪
Believe in me forever I believe in you... ♪♪♪"
Lorraine hums a line of her favorite famous song while walking beside me and Queen articulately swings her arms, alternating them in an upward and downward motion while her head is moving in sideways joining Raine's singing.
Kate and her boyfriend are walking rather slower than the three of us. I glanced at them and saw that the two are even holding hands! I shook my head and consciously stretched my body to relax. A small yawn escaped my lips. I blink my eyes a few times and felt sleepy already.
I decided to increase my pacing and arrived at the place where our car is parked first. Then I realized, the car key was on Kate! I frowned and looked around. There was no one near the area so I sat on the cemented staircase while waiting for them. Subconsciously, I started singing quietly the lyrics of the song that Lorraine was humming earlier. It was like I am struck with the last song syndrome!
"I've lost my faith in everything... ♪♪♪
I couldn't believe in anything, ♪♪
Until I put my faith in you... ♪♪♪" I softly started to mumble the first line of the song. I am not into the melody of the music. What I always noticed first on the song is its lyrics than the tune.
"Ah! A FireHouse fan!" I jumped on my seat, startled of the sudden voice from someone who had spoken at the inside of the other car parked next to Kate's. Then I heard him continue the lines.
"Is it a sin? Is it a crime... ♪♪♪ " His head then emerged at the window of his car. We both smiled at each other but did not speak. I giggled and let him finish the song.
A few minutes later, I saw Lorraine and Queen walking towards their car. Then Kate suddenly emerged in front of me.
"I'll drive, Kate." I offered to drive Kate's car on our way back to the city for one reason. I am too sleepy and I can drive faster than her.
I observed my sister nods her head and unlocks the vehicle. She then climbed to the passenger's seat and gazed at her boyfriend gently. The man waved his hands and Kate waved her hand back with a silly grin plastered in her face. Kate was smitten by him!
"How did you know Nate, Ace?" I heard her asked after I speed up the car on the road.
"He had visited you once when you were in the hospital, Kate." I manage to reply with my full concentration on the gas pedal and steering wheel. Fortunately, the road is almost empty.
"Oh...! " Kate trailed with her tone full of surprise.
The moment I saw the man sitting on our table earlier, I knew I had seen him before somewhere. My memories are pretty sharp. It only took me less than a minute to recognized him completely.
This was half a dozen years ago. Yes, the incident is six years old. My sister had been good at fighting even before we were ten years old. Our parents enrolled us in Karate at a young age and Kate was quite a fast learner than me.
We were fourteen when Kate and I started to travel a lot. She traveled to local areas sometimes with friends and oftentimes alone. She enjoyed solitude! This made Kate the most decisive person among the four of us.
While Kate seeks outdoor adventure, I was also having fun with my virtual journey in MMORPG, unlocking new maps and quests! Yes, my inclination had always been in the online gaming community. We may be identical in appearance but our leisure time is used differently.
But this does not mean we don't connect. Kate had taught me various practical and efficient combos when fighting with my enemies. She sometimes plays games with me and helps me with my quests.
Back then, Kate went on a cruise trip alone. It was just a three-day vacation and our parents have always encouraged us to be independent. So they allowed her to go.
On the first day of her trip, Kate told me that they will be using a yacht and most of her companions are students. She also added that she was the youngest on the trip and there are only ten people in their manifest. Kate also emphasized that there was a good looking boy onboard and she sent some photos of the great scenery of the place they were touring somewhere in Palawan.
On the second day of her trip, she said that the people on board were odd. Although they are just years older than her, those people seem not focusing on their vacation. She said that those people act monotonously. Kate is a keen observer but I just told her to mind her business and enjoy her vacation.
By the last day of her trip, we could not get in contact with her. I have managed to convince myself and our parents that she was probably in the area where the signal was limited. I maintained an optimistic mindset that day like any fourteen-year-old girl who is not yet aware of the existence of cruelty in this real world. I constantly reminded our parents that Kate knows how to fight and that if anyone would want to harm her, it would be like asking for a death appointment by provoking my twin sister.
My optimism did not last long though. Our parents received a call from a local clinic in Palawan later that day. Kate was shot but her wound was not fatal. The doctors were asking for my parents to come so they could get a consent to do a minor operation to get the bullet in her shoulder since Kate is not yet in legal age!
Imagine the sheer horror that our parents had felt while on the phone! We were not the richest family nor a wealthy one but my parents managed to get a private plane to fly us in Palawan immediately.
When we arrived at the clinic, Kate was unconscious. Our parents blamed themselves for allowing her to go on vacation alone. We cried heavily at that time and one of the nurses had even asked us to go outside since we were disturbing their patient.
The next day after her operation, our parents flew back for work. I remained at the clinic and look after my sister.
Kate and I are identical twins and I know all her friends. So when a boy with a perfect face and is wearing a nice suit appears in the clinic to visit Kate, I was cynical. The stranger was definitely from a wealthy family!
The first time I met Nate, he appeared in the doorway of the clinic with a fruit basket in his hands, looking dumbstruck at me. He glanced at the bed where Kate was peacefully resting and then stared back on me. He gently rubbed his eyes and I realized that he was probably confused that there were two people with the same face in the room.
"Who are you?" I asked in his state of confusion.
"Errr, twins?" he inquired still looking dumbfounded.
"Yes, who are you?" I replied while frowning at him. My frown deepened when he casually walked near Kate and rubbed her hair.
"I was with her on the Yacht. Your sister is quite a fighter." I heard him stifled an answer.
"Did she saved your life from a bullet?" It was supposed to be a sarcastic remark from me but I saw him nods his head confirming that my wild guess was correct.
"She did." he softly stated while rubbing Kate's backhand.
Then a long silence descended upon us. I walked on the corner of the room and sat there quietly. I found myself in a state of mixed feelings. Somehow, I want to question Kate about her stupid action. She could have died if the bullet went towards her heart! At the same time, I want to yell at this stranger standing beside her for being a coward and let a girl protect him!
I heard the boy sighed and bent down to kiss her forehead. At that time, I was too consumed with my own emotions that I could not muster a strength to react to his action. He slowly walked towards me and sat next to my chair.
"I'm sorry..." he mumbled with a voice full of sorrow.
"My sister is not yet dead!" I snapped. How dare he sounded like my sister had passed away!
"Yes. But I put her in a near-death situation. Don't worry, I owe a life to her. If she wants to take it, I would be glad to hand her my life." the boy declared.
I did not speak anymore and was panting with anger. I furiously glared at him. If looks could kill, he would have been dead by now! I saw him stood up and glance at the expensive watch on his wrists.
"We will meet again..." he stated before he left. Whether the message was intended for my unconscious sister or directed at me, only he knows.
Later that day, Kate gained consciousness.
"You look like an NPC zombie, Ace!" she commented and smiled at me. When I look at the mirror, my eyes were indeed swollen and red from crying.
"You make me look ugly!" I playfully scowled at her. I heard her giggle and sigh.
"Mom and dad were so worried, Kate. I don't even know how they managed to rent a private plan to fly us here! I've always dreamed of flying my own plane with the four of us but didn't imagine that it would be because a doctor needs to save you from death!" I complained while she laughed.
"Who could kill me, Ace? I have a full level of invincibility!" she joked in reference to her online character stats.
That evening we checked out on the clinic. A medical chopper had got us back home. I didn't get to tell Kate about her visitor. Our things were already packed upon our arrival and the next thing I know, our parents have told us to travel overseas and let us finish our studies there.