Call from Destiny | COMPLETED | English

CHAPTER FIFTY: Vanessa's Call

E T H A N

Mom's eyes were like a viper once I parked up front.

I could already feel my legs being frozen and unable to move out of the car. No, something felt really off right now. My eyes tried to look for Yen but my sister was nowhere to be seen — which was already suspicious for me.

She was supposed to be the one waiting for me, considering that she was the one who warned me about Mom. However, she was nowhere to be found.

Mom quickly approached my car as soon as I turned off the car's engine. I was shocked to see her knocking on the window so I decided to take the seatbelt off me and talk to her outside.

"Where have you been? Vanessa was here a few minutes ago," Mom told me in shock as I decided to take my sports bag from the trunk.

If she was here then I'm sure that she'll come back if mom tells her that I returned. Being silent, I slung my bag on my shoulder and walked inside — my mom's eyes widened when she noticed I ignored her statement.

Putting the bag down on the sofa, Yen quickly reacted. "Oh, you talked to mom already?"

When she noticed that Mom had followed behind, her lips quickly curled into a frown. I guess she wanted me to talk to her first before going inside our home.

"Ethan, we need to talk about Vanessa. You walking away won't solve it."

That was what Mom told me as soon as she reached the living room. Dad, who was in the kitchen, finally went back to the room and decided to include himself in the conversation.

"Maybe we can call Vanessa again. Let these two settle their problems, you know?" Dad concluded but I quickly shook my head at this. That's the last thing that I want to happen. This suggestion of his won't work.

I wanted to tell him badly but Mom had already reached through her phone and called Vanessa. The only thing I could do was to snatch it away from her and end the call again. There was a look of astonishment on her face before it turned dark.

"Now, Ethan, why would you do that?" Mom asked me with a raised eyebrow as I put her phone in my pocket so she won't be able to call again. 

"Ma, calling Vanessa's not going to solve everything," I answered her. Unfortunately, she didn't believe me.

Instead, she tried to get my sister's phone. "Well, that option is better than cheating on your girlfriend behind her back, don't you think so?"

I frowned at them as I saw all of them looking disappointed in me. To be honest, I was already expecting this. But, when they are all in the same place and not in a one-to-one talk, it's hard to convince them. 

"Is this what it is all about? Is this about Vanessa, mom? Dad? " I asked them, eyebrows furrowed and arms crossed. They nodded suddenly, not even saying a word afterward. My fingers brushed through my hair in frustration. 

"Do you really think of me as a two-timer? She never even became my girlfriend," I exclaimed. Mom immediately tried to cut me but I didn't let her. No, she needs to know that I've been acting sweet with her but there's nothing between us.

I just don't want them to get angry at me every day so I had to act like we're sweet to each other. Even if I wanted to cut my tongue from the sweet yet bitter lies I always tell Vanessa.

Instead of my parents, it was Yen this time who called my name. "Ethan—"

"Don't interrupt me, Yen." I raised my hand to stop her but instead, she stopped me. Yen suddenly showed her laptop that she had been holding for a while on her lap. Before I could speak, I heard a voice that I never thought I would hear again.

"Did you mean that? Do you mean all of those words? " Vanessa was right there on the screen, looking directly at me with an awestruck gaze. Her voice, on the other hand, was cold. It was like she was going to kill me if she was here at my house. 

"V-Vanessa? Is that really you? " I asked her, still unable to believe she was in my sister's video call.

"Do you really think that I wouldn't find out?" She even tried to show me Claire's picture from her Facebook. Vanessa probably stalked Benedict since he already added her as a friend as well as Claire.

But I don't really want her invading the privacy of others just because of jealousy. She had already done this before and I had to apologize to the poor girl since she messaged that past girl she got jealous of — my classmate who had failed our quiz since she was trying to get notes from me. 

"There was nothing between us, really, Vanessa. I even tried telling that to you ever since our match," I replied, trying to convince her well that she was just a friend. Though, she took it the wrong way and decided to bring up the past.

"Then why did you even call me those sweet names—" The words that she was going to say were already obvious, so I had to cut her off immediately.

"To stop you from coming back to this country." There was a slight pause before my parents and my sister gave me a look. It was true. I lied so Vanessa won't follow me here.

I need my space too, for damn sake.

"The only way to make you stay back in the States is to pretend that we're alright." Her hands were placed near where her heart was, eyes wide as soon as I said that. But, the expression quickly changed in a few seconds.

She glared at me through the screen before shaking her head in disbelief. "Fvcking liar."

"Now that I've cleared things up—" I was cut off, however, by Vanessa mumbling right under her breath. Though, her words were clear for me to understand. And I assure you, it made my blood boil. 

"Your fake girlfriend wouldn't last for a week, I assure you." Her voice was laced with malice and I could tell that since she was here in the Philippines, I'm sure that she'll do everything she can to separate us.

"Don't you dare lay your hand on Claire, Vanessa."

She then smiled afterward. But, it was not an innocent smile. 

"Oh, I have other plans for her."

After that, she ended the video call.