Chapter 49

After the long cold glare he held against me, he averted his eyes and walked towards the stairs. His steps faded while I still stand here figuring out what to do. But I knew in my heart what I wanted to do. My feet took action overtaking my heart. I ran upstairs and when I finally see him few feet away from me, I stopped. He stopped when he heard me. I didn’t pay no heed about intros and greetings. "Can we talk?" I say through pants. The heels made me feel heavy and tired. Minutes passed, he never respond. He just stood there with his back facing me. It looked like he never planned to turn around and face me. I was getting impatient. I slowly walked towards him. The clicking of my heels echoed through the hallways even though I was careful not to make that sound. He noticed my movement. "What makes you think I’d talk to you?" A harsh tone was evident in his voice. He still didn’t turn. I stopped at my tracks. I expected him to be cold to me but it still made me surprise. I wasn’t always scared of him cause I know I could handle him. But right now, I could feel fear. Fear of what really? "Stefano-" "Don’t call my name!" He shouted angrily. I gasped, shocked from his outburst. I bravily walked towards him. "Please..." He then abruptly turn towards me. I stopped almost bumping him. I craned my neck to see his blazing eyes. "Shut up! You wanna talk?! Well, I don’t. The moment you walked out of my life, you lost your right to." The glint in his eyes was filled with rage. My heartbeat increased feeling scared and nervous. The lump in my throat grew. My heart suddenly ached like it was punctured with needles. "I just want you to listen to me." I desperately said, trying to hide the fact that I was hurt. My eyes begging him to give me a chance. "No." He then turned around and walked away. "I’m sorry!" I yelled at him. "I miss you... so much." He still walked further. "I should’ve talked to you and told you the truth." My voice wavered at the end. I feel like crying but I held it in. Everything was my fault and I deserved it. The night ended with me having tea with Angela in their garden. Much to our light hearted conversation during dinner, with a few jokes and giggles. We had a bit of serious and personal topic in the garden. Angela asked me how I was doing now- especially that I am now in college. She asked me about how I was in military school. I couldn’t seem to be silent about my answers. It was hard to ignore her. Though the topic was sensitive for me, I was able to tell her what she needed to hear. I was ready for her judgment. I always expect people to judge me because truth is no one could be blamed but me. Surprisingly though, she was impressed- proud even. She listened to my story like a friend. That’s when I also realised that Angela was very particular with people. She chooses who she befriends with, who she associates with. She was careful and meticulous. I noticed that when she asked me about my life and gave me advices too. She never does that to people. No matter how much I tried to forget our encounter that night, I couldn’t seem to shake it off my mind. Stefano was so much like his mom. It pained me to see his features in the very person before me. My heart constricted but I tried to ignore it anyway. I have time to wallow myself in pity when I get home. It was almost midnight that we decided to rest for the night. She wanted me to stay in one of the guestrooms but I kindly declined. I wanted to go home and probably contemplate on how I wallow my self with utter pity. She had her driver drive me home since it was already late. --- "Hello? Earth to Avery. Are you even listening to what I said?" Sierra waved her hand while I spaced out. Sierra was mentioning how I’ll celebrate my birthday. She was mentioning a lot of things which I vaguely heard cause I was in a daze in the middle of it. My eyes moved to look at her. My chin propped up on my palm. "Yeah..." She furrowed her perfectly arched brows and crossed her arms. "No you didn’t. What’s wrong with you? You’ve been spacing out lately, Avery. Did something happened?" Concern written all over her beautiful face when she let go of her arms and leaned on the table. The cafe was buzzing with people. Jade couldn’t sit in with us like she used to. She was busy entertaining the customers. My coffee was untouched and now cold. "I’m just thinking..." I answered emptily. "Of what?" "You know... Mistakes... Regrets..." I shrugged. She narrowed her eyes again. "Of what exactly?" I shrugged again. "Oh you mean how you dump Mr. Ranallo because you’re so selfish?" She said sassily. I raised my brow at her, bemused. Always the sarcastic and just plain blunt Sierra. I really don’t know if I should be mad or laugh at her sometimes. "Well, it’s your fault. You’re too stupid and caught up with yourself that you left a perfect man. A perfect man who’s actually in love with you." "Maybe that’s the reason. He is perfect." She rolled her eyes. "You know, Ave. I’m not here to advise you. I’m here to discuss about your upcoming birthday. So flick away that stupid thoughts in your mind cause let’s face it, it’s your damn decision that brought you here. Now, stop sulking and let’s discuss your birthday." I roll my eyes. Seriously, this girl is so candid that I wonder if I should hate her or not. Because honestly, you’d rather hear the truth rather than listen to those flowery words and then you get stabbed from the fucking back. What hurts the most, it is one of your close friends. Take it from me who had to experience it so many god damn times at high school. "Okay, okay." I said exasperatedly. "So what do you want to do for ’my’ birthday." I had to give an emphasis on ’my’ because this girl acts like its her birthday we are planning. It’s probably her first time planning a friend’s birthday. "I’m thinking we get you a man like those girls do during bridal showers." She said excitedly while clapping her hands. I splurted the coffee I was drinking almost hitting her face. "Hey! What the ****, Avery! Eww! You almost hit my face!" She backed away so instantly. Her face morphed disgusted with my little accident. "Oh you do not get to say that word, girl." As I cleaned my mouth with the napkin. "Are you fucking kidding me?! I’m not going to have a stripper." Sierra laughed. Damn her. Why does she have to have an angelic laugh and angelic face I might add. I puffed an air out of my mouth comically. Of course, this is one of her times when she gets me with her stupid jokes. "You know I was just joking, right?" She was still laughing. Should I strangle her right now?