" You don't know what you're talking about, Angel. You don't know what you're talking about". It was the only thing I said.
" Explain it to me, so I can understand, Angelique!" He stared at me with caring eyes.
…
" Talk to me, Angelique! Don't hide everything inside of you! Doing so will only hurt you more". He added further.
" Sorry, Angel! I'd like… I'd like to share my terrible past with you, but I can't. It's way too painful". I said as silent tears started rolling through my cheeks.
Seeing Angelique being emotional, Angel got close to her and instinctively hugged her. She let herself cry in his arms and Angel gently patted the back of her head to comfort her.
Meanwhile, Oscar had arrived on the roof and was waiting for Angelique to arrive.
( What exactly happened that day four years ago? Had I misunderstood her all these years? If so, I don't deserve to be forgiven for what I've put her through and for the atrocious way I've treated her).
Back to the locker, Angel was still comforting Angelique while she was letting all her pain out.
" What will you do about Oscar?" He brings it up all of a sudden.
Angelique separated from him and stepped back from him a few meters.
" About that, I need your help. Will you help me, Angel?"
Back at the roof, Oscar was continually waiting for Angelique to arrive but she was nowhere from coming. Suddenly, a person showed up at the roof in place of Angelique.
" What are you doing here and where's Angelique?" Oscar inquired as he saw Angel appearing on the roof.
Angel remembered the favor Angelique asked him a few minutes ago.
Several minutes prior
" About that, I have a favor to ask of you. Will you help me?"
" What is it that you want me to help you with?" He inquired attentively.
" It's about, Oscar! I don't want to see him right now. Could you tell him that I've gone home as I wasn't feeling well". She said anxiously.
" Are you asking me to lie to him?" He was lost for words at what she had asked him.
" I'm in no way asking you to lie. I'm simply asking you to help me out for a few days. I'm not planning to hide from him forever. I'm just asking for a few days of rest. That's all I'm asking. Will you help me?" She inquired once more.
" You can count on me for anything and you know it. Of course I'll help you! I'll gladly help you". He said affectionately.
" Thank you! Thank you, Angel! Thank you so much!" She said with a slight grin.
Back to the present
" You haven't answered my question. Where's Angelique?"
" She went home". He responded.
" She went home! As expected, she's avoiding me. She doesn't want to talk to me". He said sadly.
" You're wrong! She wanted to come but she couldn't". He added.
" She couldn't come! Stop lying to me because I don't buy it". He said indifferently.
" She's sick. She's not feeling well. She'll need to take some days off from school to recuperate".
Hearing that, Oscar's expression changed. His expression transformed into something he had never seen before.
" Is it serious? Will she be okay?" His voice was reflecting anxiousness and care.
( If only Angelique could have stayed a bit longer, she would have witnessed a miracle).
" Don't worry! She'll be fine in several days". He reassured him.
" What are we still doing here? Let's be on our way home!"
Tsukishima Residence, several hours later----
Angelique lays down on her bed thinking about things.
( Oscar, everything you've gone through is solely due to my existence. If only you guys had never met me. If our paths had never crossed, would things be different? Would you have been happier? Would that terrible incident have been prevented?)
Angelique heard a knock on her door, interrupting her reflections.
" Angelique, may I come in?" The voice was that of her mother.
" Yes, you may!" She granted her access.
Angelique's mother entered her daughter's room and found her laying on the bed. She approached her and sat beside her.
" Angelique, are you alright?" She asked out of concern.
" Yes, mom! I'm always alright". I answered.
Her mom could sense sadness in her voice and tone.
" Angelique, what's happening with you? You have something, don't you?" She asked her daughter.
…
" Angelique, talk to me. Share your burdens with me! I'm your mother". She said incessantly.
…
" Since that unfortunate incident four years ago, you've changed a lot. You haven't been the same anymore. You never told us what happened that day. Don't you think it's about time you confide in me?" She patted the back of her daughter's head.
…
" I have nothing to confide nor do I have anything to confess, mom".
" I don't believe it, Angelique. Something happened that day that changed you forever and I'd like to know what that was". She continued talking to her daughter to get the truth out of her.
In the meantime, in the Venus Residence-------
( Is Angelique alright? When Angel Mukaido informed me regarding her sickness, I felt anxiousness in my heart. I wonder why I feel that way if I despise her. Could it be related to the latest events that occurred several days ago?)
The following day, Angel was having lunch at the cafeteria when Oscar joined him.
" May I sit here?" He had a lunch tray in his hand.
" Oscar, it's you! You can sit wherever you want in this cafeteria". He said, putting his lunch aside.
" I'll be sitting here, then". He grabbed a seat beside Angel.
" How are you?" Angel asked him.
" Fine, thank you! What are the news?" He asked questionably.
" The news! I have no news to share".
" Any news regarding Angelique?" He asked straightforwardly.
" Angelique! Why would I have news about her?" He asked with a grin.
" You have a good relationship with her and besides, you're friends. If there's anyone who would have information about Angelique, it would be you". He said affirmatively.
( He might want to know about Angelique's fake condition, although he doesn't know that. What should I tell him?)
Angelique has been avoiding Oscar since the day she was supposed to meet him on the roof to discuss stuff. Angel has been covering for her at school, saying she was sick and that she needed rest advised by the doctor. The trick worked and she has been absent from school successfully ever since.
" Angelique's fine! She's recuperating little by little". He answered.
" I was wondering about something". Oscar said suddenly.
" What?" Angel inquired assertively.
" Do you know where she resides?" He asked straightforwardly.
( Why does he want to know where she resides? Is he planning something?)
" I don't know where she resides. How would I know?"
( Why did he ask me that question?)
" That's too bad. I'll ask the admission office". He said as he ate.
" What for if it's not too indiscreet to ask?"
He asked affirmatively.
" I'd like to know her address, so I could visit her".
...