It was a day off today. Miss Jane said she noticed we slacked off at work lately; probably because we lacked rest. She went off to the mayor's house to discuss Lucas's wedding with Grace. It was this weekend and we were in charge of refreshments, again. I kept my hair white; decided to keep dying it.
I was rearranging my room. I locked my documents in a safe drawer and hid the key under one of the legs of my bed. I changed the sheets and curtains and cleaned. I was satisfied with the outcome but one thing seemed out of place- my luggage from home. Memories came flooding in and I couldn't help but cry. I was sobbing quietly in order not to let Jonas know, but then he was already knocking at the door.
"Alex, are you okay?" I heard him ask from behind the door. "Can I come in?"
I wiped my eyes and cleared my throat. "Yes I'm fine. You can leave now. I just want to be alone."
The door opened and he waltzed in. He quickly rushed to my side and held me by my shoulders. "Why are you crying?"
"I told you I wanted to be alone," I accused.
He scoffed, "You've been alone all day and I haven't intruded."
"But you came in even when I refused you permission," I chided.
He scoffed again, "At least I knocked. Unlike someone I know who doesn't. I'm just glad you always barge in when I'm clothed."
I smiled and he sat me on the bed and joined me.
"What's wrong?" he asked again.
"Nothing. Something entered my eyes," I lied.
"Did it enter your nose too?" he asked.
"No," I laughed. "Why?"
"Because you were sniffing and that gave you away. Come on, don't lie to me. What's wrong?" he inquired.
"Nothing really. I'm fine," I tried to brush it off and stand but he grasped my wrist and pulled me down. I fell into his lap and he held me there. We gazed into each other's eyes and I felt awkward. I tried to stand again but he encircled his arms around me, holding me in place. "Let me go."
He shook his head, "I won't till you tell me what broke your ice."
I was confused, "Huh?"
"Well, I've never seen you cry since you got here. You were not the cheerful one either. You were just there. And when ice breaks, water leaks. Your eyes is the ice."
I laughed out loud. "You have a funny analogy. But I think it works."
He had a lopsided smile. "So, tell me."
In just a few minutes, this not-so-trusting grumpy Jonas made me laugh. What a miracle.
My palms on his chest shifted a bit, "Well, I just remembered a few things from where I came from."
He smile dropped, "Wanna share?"
Was I ready to tell this stranger everything? I'm here to forget my past and that is what I must achieve. Bringing it up now will just take me back.
"Nah. I really don't want to talk about it. But I need to trash that." I pointed to my luggage.
He seemed to be thinking before saying, "There's something about you. You're shady and you hide a lot about you. Are you a criminal? Are you running away from the police?"
I was stunned. Did he recognize me? Calm down Victoria. Even if he did, you're an 'ex' convict.
"No. I'm not a criminal. Why would you think so?" I asked.
"Only criminals hide a lot about themselves," he shrugged.
"I'm not one. It's just that I fear bringing up my past will make it haunt me again. And I really don't want that. I'm enjoying what I have now." I replied.
His face turned serious, "Whatever that past is, I hope it doesn't hurt my mother when it comes to light."
I gulped. I wanted to say, 'I hope so' but I knew saying that would not settle well with him, so I assured him, "It won't."
"Good," he let me go and I scurried to sit on the bed. "So, what you gon do on your day off?"
I thought, "Maybe stay indoors all day?"
He gave me a deadpanned look, "How fun. Have you even been around town since you arrived?"
I shook my head. I haven't had the time and no one would take me.
"Then get dressed. Let's cruise," he said and exited the room.
I went to trash the luggage and got dressed. I wore a black hoodie, a pair of blue denim trousers and a pair of white heeled boots. I got a waist purse and clipped it around my waist. I got my phone and master card and slipped them into the purse. I styled my hair the best way I could with my comb and walked out to the front yard. I found Jonas beside a black motorbike which had two helmets. He wore the same outfit as mine except he didn't have the waist purse. I gave him a quizzical look and he smiled.
"Copy cat," he called out to me as I approached him.
I snorted. "How am I sure you weren't peeping into my room while I got dressed?"
He touched his chest like he was wounded, "I'm not a pervert, Alex."
"Cool ride," I commended. "Where did you heist this from?"
"What do you take me for?" he asked. "First you called me a pervert and now a thief."
"I've not just seen you on it before. Wanted to make sure to avoid sirens following us," I retorted and he laughed.
"This baby has always been in the garage. I hardly need it, so I hardly use it," he said.
"Oh okay. Let's hit the road then. Where to?" I asked, as we both mounted the bike and donned our helmet.
"The famous Chinese restaurant in town," he replied and stepped on the gas.
∆∆∆∆∆∆
I ended up not eating anything at the Chinese restaurant because almost all the dishes freaked me out. Sorry to my Chinese friends out there, but how do you survive? Anyway, I judged all the meals Jonas ordered by their looks and ended up having nothing. Jonas enjoyed his meal though. I took some pictures.
Next we headed to the amusement park and I remembered Nancy and Derek. Strange to say but I missed Derek. I had this urge to see him again. After all, he didn't hurt me so bad. He only withheld information. I slapped myself mentally and asked myself why I was making excuses for him.
Next, we went shopping and I thought of my daughter. I wondered where she was at the moment and what she was doing. I wished she was here now to enjoy this moment with me. I wondered if Miss Jane would've accepted me if I was with my daughter. I wanted to look for her but I didn't know how to go about it without raising suspicions from Jonas and his mother.
"Look who we have here," I heard someone say and turned to see Lucas.
He was gripping the hand of his wife to be who had a sullen look. Her eyes darted to my arm holding Jonas and I could see the pain in her eyes. I looked to Jonas and saw he also looked like a caged animal ready to do some damage. I rubbed his arm, telling him to calm down. Some security men in black held Lucas's shopping bags.
"You both look cute in your couple wear. Why didn't we think of that, sugar cakes?" he asked the girl and I felt Jonas's muscles flex.
"Why don't we just act like we never saw each other?" I asked and began pulling Jonas away.
Lucas laughed and said, "Of course. You'd always run like the coward you are. You can't even fight for the one you claim you love."
That did it. Jonas broke loose from my grip and rammed into Lucas. The security men began pulling them apart. They wanted to take Jonas away but Lucas signalled them not to.
Lucas stood now and with the help of his security detail, brushed himself. "I'll let you walk this time. But next time, you won't be so lucky."
I finally dragged Jonas away. He was flaring. I knew our day out was officially over. And we were having so much fun. When we got home, he quickly stormed off to his room and banged the door shut. Thankfully, Miss Jane wasn't back yet; I wasn't ready to answer questions.
Jonas didn't talk to me even till the next day. We went about our duties silently. I knew Miss Jane noticed but didn't ask. I was counting the cash we made for the day when I felt a customer walk up to the counter. I didn't look up to see who it was.
"We're closed for the day," I told the person.
"I just need to ask a few questions." I heard the person say and recognized the voice immediately.
My head snapped up and my eyes confirmed my thoughts. Derek was standing right in front of me.