Three weeks in London and everything seemed to be working out fine for me. The sun was up,the sky was clear as crystal and birds were up to their usual singing. I got out of bed and went to the fire escape and looked at the alley. It was a bit messy. I went to Aunt's room to wake her up and saw she wasn't in there. Maybe she's in the kitchen. I went to the kitchen and saw her enjoying some toast with butter spread one side. I hugged her from behind and gave her a peck on her cheek.
"Good morning Aunt!" I said with a smile
"Morning Jocelyn,you look cheerful today"Aunt said, observing the big smile on my face
"That's because I'm"I replied, opening the fridge and got some milk
"Okay. Are we celebrating anything or is there something I'm missing here?"She asked
"Nope!"I replied
I brought out a box of cereal from one of the cabinets above,poured it a bowl and added milk to it.
"Okay,if you say so"She shrugged
I held a spoonful of cereal, ready to eat it when Coco barked. Her bark startled me and I accidentally spilled cereal on my pj's.
"Coco!"I scolded her
She whimpered and stared at me with her adorable puppy eyes. Oh how can I be mad at that innocent face?
"I just remembered, Jocelyn, could you go to the supermarket and do the groceries for me while I go for Yoga?"She asked
"Sure,no problem"I said, wiping off the milk from my pj's with my palm
"Okay. Here's a list of what I need you to buy"Aunt said, handing the list to me
"Wow! Like wow! Aunt,do you seriously need all this? I mean isn't it a bit to much?"I said surprised with the items on the list
"Yes,I do. I want to prepare this new dish I learnt from a cooking show"She said
"Okay"I replied
"Here's some money for the groceries. Don't spend it all on cupcakes"Aunt teased
"C'mon Aunt,that was a long time ago. I'm more mature and can resist the tempting callings of cupcakes"I replied
"I'll call Carlos and tell him to help you with shopping"She said
"Aunt! I can do the shopping myself. You don't have to bother Carlos. He's probably busy..."I said
"I know but London is a busy place and I need someone to watch over you"She replied
"You should just like Mom"I said jokingly
"That's because we grew up together. Hurry up and get dressed. I need you to be back on time"She said, leaving the kitchen
I finished my cereal and went to the bathroom and freshened up. I got dressed and went back to the kitchen. I picked up the list Aunt gave from the dinning table where I had left and folded and kept in one of my trouser pocket. I kept Coco busy with her chew toy and some dog treats I poured in a bowl. I closed the door and went over to Carlos' apartment. Aunt gave me his apartment number before she left which I memorized by heart. I arrived at his apartment and knocked on the door.
"In a minute"a deep voice said from behind
I stood there and adimired the stickers on the door. The door finally opened.
"Hi! Is this apartment 28B?"I asked
"Yeah!"He said
"I'm looking for Carlos"I said
"Okay,one moment..."He said, entering the living room
I followed me him in.
"... Carlos,some chick is looking for you"
Carlos came out, struggling to get one of his foot into his sneakers. He raised his head and saw me.
"Dude, that's no chick! That's Ms Nicolette's niece!"Carlos said
"She looks pretty too. Better than the way you described her"His friend said
"Dude,not cool!"Carlos said
"Sorry about that,my roommate can be a little coo-coo sometimes"He apologized
"It's okay"I said
"Shall we go?"Carlos said
"Mm-hmm!"I nodded
"Wait, aren't you going to introduce us?"His friend said
"Dude!"Carlos replied
"It's okay. I'm Jocelyn"I said, stretching my hand to shake his
"I'm Alex. The A-dog!"He said and shook my hand
"Now you guys know each other,can we leave now?"Carlos said
"Sure"I said, opening the door
"It was nice to meet you,Jocelyn"Alex replied and closed the door after we left.
We went into the elevator and stopped at the lobby. We walked out of the building and I noticed his motorcycle wasn't parked outside.
"Where's your motorcycle?"I asked
"It's at the bike shop. I'm having it repainted"He said
"Oh! That's okay"I replied
"We'll take the train instead"He said
He led the way and I walked alongside him.
"Jocelyn,what a nice name you have!"He complimented
"Thanks"I replied
"So...are you from Europe?"He asked
"No. I'm actually on vacation"I said
"Oh, okay. Are you the only child?"He asked
"No,I have an older brother and a sister. She's still little"I said
"She must be lucky to have a big sister like you"He teased
"Yeah,I guess she does"I replied
We walked down to the subway station and boarded the train with other passengers. We got off at the next station and continued our journey on foot.
"How far is the nearest supermarket?"I asked
"Is not that far. Just two blocks away,I guess"He said
"Okay"I replied
We soon arrived at the supermarket. It was enormous. Bigger those I've seen back home. It had a big sign in the shape of a tea cup which had,'GRIZZILE'S SUPERMARKET' on it. It was filled with people. I noticed the two security guards had their walkie talkies on their breast pocket on their uniforms and batons beside their belts.
"So what are we buying?"He asked
"Wait..."I said, reaching for the list in my pocket
"...here you go"I replied and gave him the list
"Okay, let's do this. I'll get the items off the shelves while you do the calling and cross them off the list. Does that sound good?"He asked
"Yeah,it does"I said
Carlos has been acting nice towards me. Usually we disagree on stuffs and end up doing different things but for the first time,we actually agreed to do something together. It almost feels like we're becoming friends.
He took the shopping cart while I held the list in my hand. We bought almost everything on the list and will soon be done with the shopping.
"What's next on the list?"He asked
"Umm...a carton of Mabel's milk"I read
"I think I saw some of that earlier in the freezer"He said
He went back to the freezer and got the milk. I crossed the milk off the list and realized we got everything on the list. We went to the cashier and paid for the groceries. We left the supermarket with three bags filled with the groceries we bought. Carlos carried two bags while I carried only one There was the silence between Carlos and I.
"So how long will you be staying in London?"He asked, breaking the silence
"A month I guess"I said
"Can't you stay a bit longer?"He said
"I wish I could but I'm only here for my therapy. My psychiatrist thought it would be best for me if I had a change of environment to help me recover"I said
"Recover from what? Were you sick or something?"He asked
"No,I was... heartbroken"I muttered
"By your boyfriend?"He asked
"He used to be but not anymore"I said
"What happened? Did you both have an argument or a fight?"He asked, curious to know
I sighed and focused my gaze on the building ahead.
"He is a player. He was every girl's dream. I used to believe we were soulmate,each other's missing rib but I thought wrong. The only reason he loved was because he was hired to"I explained
"Hired? I don't get"He replied
"He was paid by her to get back at me for supposedly stealing her spotlight in the a cappellas"I said
"Who's her?"He asked
"Brianna. She never liked me. She bullied me at any chance she gets. I was unable to defend myself in front. She's really cunning and good in covering her tracks. However,he stood up for me when I couldn't,got into detention and had a guy beaten up to save me. I thought he meant all of that but never knew it was all a plan..."
"...That's when I realized the only faithful enemy you have is love. Our relationship was based on a signed contract, filled with nothing but lies. His betrayal cost me a lot. I was so fed up with life and I thought of ending it. I almost committed suicide but my best friend, Claudia saved me. I thought maybe the world is filled with a lot of deceitful like them and wanted to stay in the clouds with my grandma. Ever since that incident,I became numb to the world. And that's why I'm here"I narrated sadly
A tear drop ran from my eye and I used my forearm to wipe it off.
"I'm sorry to hear that. If I had known,I wouldn't asked. It only reopened closed wounds"He said and felt a bit guilty
"It's okay. It kind of feels good talking to someone about it. It felt like I've lifted a heavy burden off my chest"I said with a grin
"Everyone has their own awful memories, don't they?"He said and heaved
"Yeah"I replied
"I came to London to escape from my past. My dad is a dictator and narcissist. He thinks only of himself,only his opinions matters and regarded everyone else's stupid. He always chose everything for me. The clothes I put on,my friends,after school activities and my future. Even my hobbies. He is so strict and doesn't like it when others go against his order. He never allowed to go out and play like normal kids do. He locks me up at home and leave with board games. Even when he's away,I can't play soccer in the yard. He never lets me ride the school bus or walk home with my friends. He controlled everyone and everything within his power. He wants everything to be pitched perfect. He didn't allow me to the play the sports I liked or even a girlfriend. My mom couldn't stand his dictatorship and left. Since then,it's been me and my dad. The house is always lonely. Even though we have servants,it still feels like a ghost town. He gets home from work and end up drinking himself to stupor as if his life depends on it. He never to took me to the park, baseball game, arcade or play soccer with me like most dads do...."He said
"...one day him with the girl,who he introduced me to as my girlfriend in his bedroom. I decided to leave. I was so caught up in being the perfect son that I never knew what life was truly about. My few years here has been amazing. I was able to do the most of the things my dad didn't let me do. I had lost a lot thanks him"He concluded
"I never knew you went through so much"I said, shocked by his story
"Not everyone needs his story to be written in the newspaper. Sometimes it's best to talk to people you trust about your problems"He said
"I guess, you're right"I replied
"Hey...why don't I give you a tour around London. You're vacation is about to end and you haven't been out much. You usually stay in the apartment. That way,you can forget about the awful memories and create new ones. What do you say?"He said
"That's sounds great"I said
"Okay. I'll come over to the apartment tomorrow and pick you up"He said
"Okay. Thank you for the offer"I said
"You don't need to thank me. I'm only helping my friend out. Better get your camera ready 'cause we are going to see a lot interesting places"He said cheerfully
"I'll do just that"I replied happily
At last,I've removed the burden off my chest. I feel better and alive again. It felt nice sharing my problem with him. We rode the bus home and made it home before Aunt did.