If there's one word that can describe the whole drive to Deniece's apartment, it would be damn hell green around the hills. Marzia could sense the unfitting restlessness of the man before her while the nerves of her body simmer on tenterhooks. The drive took them about an hour before reaching the place.
When Ian stopped by the building's parking lot, Marzia unfastened her seatbelt and thanked him. "I don't know how I'll be able to repay you for all the help you did, Sir Ian, but i can assure you that I will never let you down. Thank you so much! I owe you a lot…"
Ian jerked his shoulders upward, evading her gaze and pursing his lips. "It was nothing, Marzia. I just did what I have to do."
"But, still—not everyone would do what you did. For that, I'm really grateful." The corners of Marzia's lips quirked up. Grabbing her bag on the side, she added, "Good night, Sir Ian."
"You too, Marzia—Good night, and drop the sir, alright?" He nibbled his bottom lip, gandering at her.
Marzia nodded with a smile and turned to the door to open it, muttering, "See you next week then, Ian."
However, before she could open the door fully, she felt his large, soft palms over her skin. Jostling from both shock and buzzing sensation, her eyes shot him a perplexing stare.
Heaving, Ian gulped. "I—I'll walk you out." His eyes landed back on his hand on her wrist. "Just to make sure that no one is following us." Then, he respectfully pulled back, stretching his fingers as though they were hard and frozen-nipping.
The woman's eyes flicked back and forth as she sputtered, "O—Of course! I mean, sure…"
"Aight." Ian's mouth was set into an upright line.
She thrust the door open and got out of the car with him. Marzia watched Ian walking toward her with both of his hands in his trouser's pocket. By the time he reached her, he held his hand up front, gesturing for her to lead the way. Marzia obliged and ambled to the building of Deniece's apartment while Ian was just beside her. They passed by the lobby, rode the elevator, and saunters from hallway to hallway in silence.
Upon reaching the door to Deniece's unit, Marzia paused and looked at Ian to say, "Thanks, again. I promise to pay you back, especially for the debt and my mom's hospital bills."
Ian's eyes glinted in amusement. "And I also told you I will think about it." He sighed as he released his hand from the warm feeling of his pockets. "But if you truly insist, then let me think of another way for you. Although let me remind you that it might differ from your regular tutoring job."
Marzia's nose crinkled. "My hands are already full because of your nephew. I think new surroundings will give me a breather!"
"If you're looking for something new, I hate to break it to you Marzia, but my nephew and I came from one thread," Ian teased.
"Hm, you have a point." Her eyebrows lifted and her lips curled into a beaming smile. They both laughed at the same time with their nonsense yarns and cleared the yearning uneasiness between them that was lying around since the drive.
"So, I guess I will see you soon?" Ian muttered, his pupil widened, burning hers apart.
Marzia took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes. I will be there on the weekend again—to teach Chan." Marzia tucked strands of loosened hair to the back of her ear to clear her face. "I have to get inside. It's getting late."
Ian looked at his watch and back to Marzia. "Yeah, you're right. Good night again…" He then waved his hand to her. In return, Marzia waved back and watched him get on the elevator with her hand plucked to the door knob.
When Ian's lift descended, Marzia was about to get inside, but a familiar voice echoed at the hallway's cul-de-sac. "Is he your new target? Is he the reason why you won't get back with me, Marzia?" A shadowy figure accompanied by daunting steps showed himself in his two-piece black fitted suit, looking as neat like he always does. His eyes were glowering from anger and his expression was rather unreadable. Scott's fist clenched tightly and his teeth clamped in agitation.
"It's none of your business, Scott." Marzia groaned inwardly. "Besides, why the hell are you here?! You're trespassing!" Marzia spat out, stepping away from him.
Scott's words didn't hurt her anymore. His insults had become a passing statement to her as they no longer weighed on her life and her decisions. "Who's he?" Scott questioned as he didn't see the man's face due to the dim lights in these low-income units. Biting his lips, he added, "We haven't broken up that long and you're dating already?" He growled, yanking her arms into his shackles.
Marzia shoved him away. "Get off of me, Scott! You aren't my fiancé anymore, so you don't have any right to touch me!"
She was about to go inside the flat, but Scott drew her closer to him, stopping her from leaving. Straight away, he pinned her against the wall, dragging her arms aloft and clutching them with his hands.
His face softened, and his lips quivered. "Come back to me, Marzia," he suddenly begged.
It was the first time she had seen him pleading for something, but it was not the thing she had wanted to hear from him. He was never this desperate to spend time with her when they were still together. It was always about him and it was always about what he wanted. Marzia never got what she wanted from him, even the most trivial things.
And because of that, she didn't dither about pushing him away. She kicked his shin and stomped his foot before she got away from the cramped spot. Rubbing out the creases from her blouse, Marzia yelled, "If you don't go at this instant, I will not hesitate to call the cops!" She pointed her index finger away and added, "Leave, Scott!"
Grumbling in moroseness, Scott felt his ego getting tampered with yet again. "I'm not going to stop until you come back," he said before leaving the building with no choice.
On the other hand, Marzia didn't wait for him to disappear from her presence as she turned the doorknob and went inside the apartment complex. "Damn him," Marzia meaningfully heaved.
…
When Monday came, Marzia traveled back to the hospital first to check on her mother before she went to work. Romeo was still there guarding her mom like a personal nurse and looked like he hadn't gotten enough sleep. With this, Marzia convinced him to go back home to rest, despite the man's objections. She took her free time to take care of Mary. By the time the clock hit eight, she left her mother sleeping to get ready for work.
Her work as a teacher came in full circle as her day started with a hectic schedule and swamped agendas. It was only at dismissal time that Marzia got a pause from her job to eat and do other things. Cassandra was also busy due to the upcoming math event next week as she was spearheading it. Marzia tried to offer her help, but the latter politely rejected it, knowing that she had already enough work on her desk.
Marzia had just got her lunch after doing all the important work she had to finish first. She was eating in the cafeteria alone when Chan came across her mind. Luckily, he didn't cut classes today and was present in all of his subjects. Some teachers were also quite astonished that the boy didn't do any commotion and ruckus in the vicinity of the school and was peculiarly well-behaved and obedient.
With this, Marzia ate her lunch fast and dashed to the waiting area to search for Chan. When she got there, she scanned the entire surroundings and saw a kid sitting alone on a bench. Having little doubt that it was him, she approached the kid and leaned forward to meet his eluding gaze.
"Hey, Chan…" She patted his small, fleshy hand and continued, "Would you like to study with me today? Math week is coming up and I would love to teach you about the upcoming event."
Chan stared at her with his lips pressed into a reedy line.
Then Marzia looked at her watch and realized that it was past four o'clock. Chan should be home by now, yet his driver was still not there. "We can do it here while we're waiting for someone to fetch you."
"Okay," Chan briefly answered, standing from the bench and grabbing his Star Wars backpack.
Marzia had sensed that he agreed to her out of having no choice. Despite this, she still thought that it would be time-efficient for both of them. Gathering his math book and notebook, Marzia reviewed some second-grade math lessons with him.