"M-Mariam…" Lucas called her name, who is sleeping and lying beside him, her back on him, full of kiss marks and bites. Her ebony hair disheveled, and even her pale lips were swollen. She did not wake up as she looked so tired.
'Am I a wild animal?' Lucas thought as he heavily sighed, feeling extreme guilt and responsibility on what happened. He took a shower before he left the hotel room in a hurry. When Mariam woke up, she felt disgusted at herself as she clothed herself without cleaning herself as she left the room and paid the hotel room.
'I took advantage of him. I am so pathetic and desperate.' Mariam thought of herself while looking her laughing face with tears flowing from her ebony eyes in the mirror with so much hatred and sorrow.
For more than a week, Mariam took a break from school because she got a flu according to Amor, but this bothered Lucas and decided to visit her on their house after class. When he went inside the classroom, he got a little surprised because Mariam is sitting elegantly in her seat which is next to him. When she saw him, she smiled at him like usual as a greeting. She came to the school as if nothing happened and this made Lucas a little uncomfortable. He sat on his seat, feeling shit, when Mariam spoke first to him with her usual smile.
"Lucas, I need a little bit of your help. Could you lend me your notes? As you know, I suddenly got a flu and now I am left behind." Mariam casually talks to him as she always did.
"Sure. I will give it to you later at the Student Council room." Lucas replied with a smile, but his emerald eyes look a little bit cold.
"Why not now?" Mariam asked she got confused why he cannot lend her his notes and wait for the class to be over. He did not immediately give his reply.
"Don't you think we need to talk?" Lucas coldly asked while looking at her. Mariam got uncomfortable, but she awkwardly laughed it off.
"We can always talk if you want. What does lending your notes got anything to do with us talking? We are friends after all." Mariam lightheartedly replied.
On the corridor, Amor and Gio are walking side by side with an atmosphere where imaginary hearts and flowers are surrounding them.
Because of what he saw, Lucas got irritated and scoffed at Mariam for the first time as he coldly said, "As you've said, we can always talk, but I too need your help in a specific subject. So, let's have our time in the Student Council room"
Lucas knew from the very start that Mariam loves him, and because of the loneliness and emptiness after his heart was broken into pieces by Amor Celeste, and accepting the fact that she will never looked at him like she look at Gio, he tried to fill that loneliness and emptiness through physical relationship with Mariam who complied with his every demand that started on that day in the Student Council room.
Their messed-up relationship continued for a year, unknowingly to Lucas that he has already become attracted to Mariam's touch and scent. Later, he got totally into her that even in class, he noticed all big and little events that happened to her. He even knows the circumstances that she is extremely tired because he sometimes overdid it to her. She will keep chewing gum from morning until the classes are over to make herself awake. There is also one time when she got tripped on their P.E. class because of her lack of sleep. She got scrape on her knee and hand, but Lucas overreacted and treated her like she is severely wounded. Also, Lucas never overdid it again and got a little gentle when they do it.
There are also a few times when Lucas saw Mariam all alone, blankly spacing out but it is not cute nor normal because she is trembling, pale, and have cold sweats. But when he called her name, she immediately smiled at him and come back to her normal self.
One day, Lucas invited Mariam on a date. She delightedly agreed to go on a date with him. She even assumed that her hard work is starting to pay off and got a little confidence to confess her feelings to him and continue their romantic relationship. They went to a theme park where Lucas discovered the inner child of Mariam that no one knows.
"You really enjoyed this?" Lucas asked with a smile on his face, looking at her adorably who is enjoying blowing bubbles. She brightly and innocently smiled at him that made him surprised as he felt a strange emotion emerging whenever he saw her happiest expressions. It is a strong emotion that he once experienced, but this time, it's deeper.
"Yeah. This is so much fun! I feel like I can do this all day!" Mariam excitedly replied and was about to blow another batch of bubbles, but Lucas' hand slipped through the back of her neck and pulled her closer to him and a kiss landed on her lips. It is a different kiss this time as it is gentle and warm instead of the usual hurried and rough kiss.
"I love you, Lucas Aguero." Mariam blurted out as she cannot contain her feelings for him. Lucas did not give an answer to her confession, rather he caressed her smiling face and kissed her again.
After Mariam and Lucas' graduation, they decided to go on a vacation with just the two of them. Lucas' grandfather and parents prepared a villa in Siargao Island for them to stay in a month and a half which made Mariam's parents pleased when they knew about it. Her mom even personally prepared her luggage for the first time.
"Thank you, Mom." Mariam said with a smile on her face after her mom zipped her luggage and gave it to her. She thought that after eleven years, her mom finally gave attention to her but got disappointed later.
"Make sure to never displease Lucas, okay?" Lianne said to her after a hug from her. The warm hug that Mariam once felt eventually turned harsh and cold, but she hides her disappointment with a smile.
Before Mariam left home, she saw her adoptive parents on the living room with Amor. They are having a good time, so she decided to quietly leave and left a text message to her mom.
Mom, thank you for packing my luggage. It means a lot to me. I will be leaving now. I'll come back later. Tell Dad, thank you for the pocket money. I will bring souvenirs later using the money he gave. I love you both!
When they arrived at the villa, Lucas took Mariam to their room, and they did it a lot. The next day, morning, they started their itinerary. They do normal things couples do. They walk hand in hand in the white beach, they talk random things as they eat luscious food, bought souvenirs together, they kissed under the moonlight, and Mariam whisper to Lucas every single time how much she loves and trusts him. Mariam is floating on cloud nine that she never expected that a storm was about to come.
Two days before their departure, Lucas who always clung to her, is now always on the phone and always busy. She thought that it might be related to their family business, so she does not want to interfere. But there are times that she doubted his sudden change of attitude, so she went outside alone where she got into trouble and met for the first time Reverend Anthony Silvestre.
At that nighttime, she got lost in an unknown forest while she is silently sitting on the seashore trying to clear her head. Unknowingly to her, a Demon-Class soul already manipulated the environment and trapped her soul. The Reverend, using the Holy Sword, deal with it alone and Mariam witnessed it. He is quite having difficulty defeating the hideous creature that Mariam started to tremble in fear. Whenever she is having extreme anxiety, she prayed with all her heart using the common prayers she learnt in the orphanage as this always saved her whenever she encountered hideous-looking souls. Unbeknownst to her, she emitted a light that even the Reverend got surprised since the unclean soul weakened gradually which made him able to exorcise it.
"Are you fine?" Reverend Anthony asked and helped the trembling Mariam to stand up.
"You can see them, aren't you?" He asked and Mariam pursed her lips as he nodded her head.
"Y-Yes." she briefly replied, looking anxious.
"Do you want to be an Exorcist?" Reverend Anthony asked immediately because of how powerful she is that she can weakened a Demon-Class soul, but Mariam tilted her head as she is confused why is he offering such important task to her.
"I am sorry. I am already trying to live a normal life, and I am already satisfied with it." Mariam rejected his offer because she does not want to let go of the things and relationships she built using her endless efforts.
"It is fine, but it is just a waste that the rare power you have cannot be used to aid our Almighty One in reducing the Evil in this world." Reverend Anthony said with a smile.
"I am truly sorry." Mariam said, genuinely looking apologetic.
"You have a pure soul and a kind heart, maybe that is why He chose you." He commented before he introduced himself, "I am Reverend Anthony Silvestre. As a way of thanking you for helping me exorcise that DC, I will help you close your sixth sense. If you want, you can call me anytime." Reverend Anthony said and handed over a card that contains his contact details. Mariam took it as she smiled.
"No need. Can you do it now?" She asked as she cannot wait to become normal person and live a happy life with Lucas in the future without worrying about the souls.
"No need to rush, my child. Besides, I need to prepare some items that will be needed to complete the ritual. How about tomorrow, around this time?" He asked as he looked at his watch. Mariam nodded her head as she agreed.
"I am currently staying on the parish church in Del Carmen. Come there tomorrow. I will be waiting." He said and patted the head of Mariam.
When Mariam came back to the villa, Lucas is sitting in the sofa, seriously watching a movie in the wide television.
"What are you watching?" Mariam asked as she sat beside him and leaned her head on his shoulder.
"The Nun." He calmly replied and suddenly a jump-scare appeared on the television, and this made Mariam jump on her seat as she hugged the arm of Lucas.
"W-Why horror suddenly? Aren't you scared watching it alone?" Mariam asked with her trembling voice while still clinging to Lucas' arm with her eyes shut. Lucas looked satisfied because he liked how Mariam clung to him.
"No, I am not scared. It is fictional anyway." He replied and Mariam's grip on his arm loosened.
"If I tell you that I can see someone that normal people cannot see… f-for example, a ghost, will you believe me?" Mariam nervously asked that she stuttered a lot. Lucas thought this is just a test of trust by Mariam for him, so he answered half-heartedly as he does not believe in such surreal creatures like ghosts.
"Of course. Even if it is a lie, I will believe it. If it is you, I can believe all your lies." He said but Mariam remained silent before she lifted her head and gave him an awkward smile.
"Sorry for asking something absurd." Mariam laughed it off to cover up her disappointment on Lucas' answer who interpreted it as her spitting lies to him.
"How about you? Will you believe my lies too?" He curiously asked.
"My love and trust for you is deeper than what you think. I can even turn completely blind to cover all your lies with my love and trust." Mariam answered with sincerity that Lucas cannot take his eyes on her and forgot to watch the movie. And they did it in the sofa before they went to bed to continue it.
At around three in the morning, Mariam woke up and noticed that Lucas is not by her side. She gets up for her to drink water as her mouth feels dry. She wears a bathrobe to cover her naked body and left the room. When she went down on the stairs, she heard noises but to her surprise, Lucas and Amor are passionately kissing at the dining area, with Amor's arms clinging to Lucas' neck. The shock left her frozen and numb. She silently dragged herself back to the room and locked it. She covered her mouth as tears fell from her widened ebony eyes. The scene repeated on her head like a torture that drained her energy as she is now pitifully sitting on floor, silently crying her hearts out.
'In the end, I cannot win his heart. I cannot win their hearts. No matter what I do is meaningless. Damn with these feelings.' Mariam thought and felt nothing after. After hours of crying, she got herself up and dressed up casually before she went down. When she realized that the villa is empty, she took out the card and dialed the number of the Reverend.
"Hello… is it okay if I see you now?" she asked and as soon as the Reverend agreed, she cleared her call logs and contacts on her phone, grab some cash on her wallet, and left the villa.
No one have found her since that day, despite the connections of the two powerful families in the police force. She was later declared as a missing person and has not been found for years. All that she left is her grieving parents, guilty younger sister, and her devastated first love.