The nighttime of an encounter brought forth a sky of granite-grey that faded and rose from total darkness, only to find that by true daylight it had fissures of brilliant light. To Marzia, the man was a rock above that had been struck with the hammer of the Gods to let such gold pass through.
Scott leaned into her ears and haunted her with his menacing voice out of spite. "So you're just going to crash at your friend's house until you die? Marzia, if I were you, I'd prefer not to disturb another person's life with my troubles."
Marzia couldn't keep her nerves calm about his appalling statements. Pushing him away, she derided. "You should tell that to yourself, Scott. Stop squeezing in and out of my business, you fucking braggart!"
Then, without turning back to him, Marzia got inside a cab, but before she completely shut the door, she even heard him say, "Imbecile…"
She clenched her fist, thinking, 'I need him? Bullshit…'
Marzia couldn't help but chuckle while she was inside the cab.
Though this exchange stressed the hell out of her, she was a bit proud as she stood up for herself. Staring at the clear visible window pane, her eyes were fixated on the vehicles passing by along the streetlight and the warm, tangerine greeting of the skyline. When the view of the city had become a hazy flash in her sight, everything from her past came back like a moving picture at that moment.
It all started six years ago when Marzia was still a college student, struggling to make ends meet with her tuition fee and Mary's indifference to her. She was in her sophomore year to obtain her education degree when an unforgettable event happened.
One day, just before her class starts, she stands along a pedestrian lane. She just got off work and was severely stressed because of the exam season. Her mind was a little clouded. To be honest, she was lucky that her manager was lenient to her request for an early out, knowing she had to travel about forty-five minutes to arrive at the university. Marzia knew that despite the tedious nature of her job, she needed it so much for her tuition expenses.
Although her mind and body were already screaming out for rest, Marzia persisted in attending her classes as she didn't want to miss any lessons because she was one of the top students in her university. She was almost sure that she'd be able to land a spot in the Birdtrack Organization's Sponsorship, an educational program that sponsored poor students like Marzia for career opportunities both here and abroad. If Marzia did well at her exam today, she'd get to study abroad and live a far superior life than what she was having now. Bearing this in mind, when the light on the traffic light turned green, she immediately crossed the road whilst daydreaming about the exam.
But worst came to worse when, all of the sudden, she noticed the sound of a speeding car heading toward her.
Marzia didn't have enough time to evade the collision, as the blow from the vehicle's bumper had already hit her, resulting in her body flying across the pavement. She struggled to get up as her body was drastically wounded, but she knew that she was still conscious. Then, she heard a deep, gravelly voice from afar. "W—What have I…." that strange man uttered, and the next thing she knew, darkness had shrouded her vision.
Marzia couldn't make it to the qualifying computation of their exam grades.
…
A week had passed when Marzia woke up from a coma. After some physical tests, the doctor cleared her and let her rest in the private ward. The first thing she saw upon entering the room that day was the man who had hit her. Her eyes passed on him, examining the figure from a distance. He was tall, had brown tousled hair, and eyes that were so vibrant yet cold and hypnotizing that she felt her heart stopping for a moment.
Coming to her side, the man introduced himself. "Hello. I'm Scott Dickins." He held his hand to her, to which Marzia obligingly accepted. "I apologize for what I've done… I'm really sorry, Miss. I'd pay the damages. I just hope we can settle this…"
Marzia couldn't speak. Though she has been wronged, something inside her bloomed that day. She has never fallen in love before, so she was new to the feeling and couldn't act well. "I… Uhm, it's okay—I mean, it already happened. What's the worse that could happen?" she replied in a weird, embarrassing manner.
Admittedly, Scott was taken aback. He thought she was being sarcastic.
"I'm really sorry, Miss. I just hope we can settle this..." Scott gave her a saccharine smile as he got closer. Whiffing the cool minty scent from him, Marzia couldn't stop herself from biting her lip. The man smelled so good that she had almost forgotten the accident she had just been through. '"You don't have to worry about that… It's alright. At least you didn't run away from your responsibilities. Thank you."
Scott's cold eyes widened. "You don't have to thank me for that—" He paused and chuckled. "Uhm, we've checked with your university. Miss Marzia Delta, right?"
"Yup. Just call me Marzia," she replied.
Scott pursed his lips for a while and then said, "Great! It's nice to finally meet you while you're conscious, Marzia."
"Same goes for me, Scott."
Little did Marzia know, the budding giddiness she felt for him was far from a simple crush. Each day that he visited her in the hospital while she get her injuries treated, the more she became attached to him. It was at the end of her two-month treatment that she realized that her affection toward him had become more profound as Scott started to subtly flirt back.
However, Marzia was completely ignorant of Scott's motives. What Marzia knew was that Scott loved her just as she had loved him.
Looking back, it was painfully obvious that his feelings at that time were only skin deep. Possibly, he only needed her because of his father's demands. Sergio was a traditional man with a very skewed perspective of the business world. He believed that a clean image is the most important thing a person could have, aside from birthing sons. So, it was obvious that Scott only forced himself to like Marzia to get Sergio's approval. Marzia sighed. Indeed, Sergio was so fond of her that Scott also acted interested. She was completely duped and blindsided by the two.
She remembered it as clear as the day. It was on Monday afternoon when she met Scott's father. She was with a physical therapist, exercising her broken arm when both Scott and Sergio came to visit her.
"Marzia, meet my father. Mr. Sergio Dickins," Scott introduced a man in his early sixties. He looked exactly like Scott in his later years. Sergio approached her with an affable gesture. "A pleasure to finally meet the woman my son couldn't stop talking about."
Marzia shook his slim, anile hands, thinking, 'Holy shit, Scott is talking about me?!' Of course, she kept that thought to herself and acted classy in front of the powerful man. "The pleasure is mine, Mr. Dickins."
"I do hope you can forgive my son for what happened, dear." The old man patted Scott's back. "Don't worry, I've given him a good beating. He can be a bit of a wild stag sometimes, but I assure you, he's like a sweet pumpkin to his mom," Sergio teased his son, as though he was being sarcastic, yet proud to have Scott as his child.
"Father!" Scott hissed playfully.
Marzia looked up to meet Scott's gaze. "It's fine, Scott, and I think it's sweet of you to show your affection to your mother like that." She giggled and added, "He's never been more than anything but an attentive nurse to me, Sir."
"Just call me Dad, sweetheart." His eyes wrinkled in mirth. "Besides, you won't call me that anymore when my son courts you."
Marzia was shocked at what the old man said. "Uhm—I don't think Scott would be up for that, Sir. I mean… your son deserves someone a lot better than a college failure!" Marzia jested. Though she has the biggest crush on Scott, she has already told herself that it was impossible for the two of them to be together.
She then glanced at Scott and saw the hesitant expression of the man, but before he could say anything, Sergio has already declared, "Oh, believe me! My son is a perfect fit for you. Right, Scott? He can't stop talking about you every day…"
She stared at the old man with gleaming eyes. She already has the approval of Scott's father, yet he still hasn't professed anything. Was he shy? Marzia was at a loss, but she never felt more alive. Trying to find the right words to say to him, she stuttered, "R—Really? But… shouldn't Scott be the one saying these things, Sir?"
Sergio pursed his lips and looks to the side. "I agree. Scott? Why don't you take the stage? I'll leave you two alone so you can talk, okay?"
After saying that, the old man leisurely hopped out of the ward, leaving Marzia alone with Scott. She was about to tell Scott that she knew his father was jesting, but the man raced her words with something so sudden.
"Marzia, would you like to be in a relationship with me?"
She was brought back to the present after remembering that dumb question Scott asked. Marzia couldn't help but laugh at herself. 'He didn't even say I love you…' she told herself and shook her head. In the end, she just brushed the thought off of her mind and focused on the present.