JEFF
Two days.
Two excruciatingly long days.
That's how long it's been since I last heard from him.
He never called. Never texted to apologize for his irrational behavior the other night. I spent all weekend checking my phone for missed calls or texts that I almost threw the damn thing against the wall.
And now, it's Sunday. I get to be stuck in the same car with him for hours and pretend that I don't miss him.
I grip my bag tight in hand tightly to stop the tremor at the thought of seeing Bible again and when the minibus pulls over in front of me, I almost don't climb in.
"Jeff, buddy," Apo calls excitedly when I climb into the bus. I smile and wave at him but there's no ignoring the man seated at the far end with his headphones in place.
"Hi," I say to Apo, fist bumping the rest of the guys before settling next to Barcode, flashing him a smile.
The car starts moving and even with the other guys loud chatter, I find it hard to ignore the silent figure seated a couple of seats behind us.
I miss him, I realize with longing.
I miss him so damn much.
"This weekend was Crazy," Apo says, interrupting my thoughts. "So, Mile took me and the boys to some exclusive club and I got to meet some of the celebrities. You guys missed out on this."
His eyes are on me when he speaks but I just shrug. There is a smirk on his face which I figure he assumes I spent the weekend with Bible.
"Where were you guys anyway?" Build asks. He is seated beside Bible and I use that as excuse to turn back and stare at Bible.
He is dressed in a black hoodie, so casual but he looks like a whole damn meal and I just want to...
"Busy, working." I shrug.
"Boring," builds say before nudging Bible with his arm. "What about you, Bible?"
"Uh?" Bible looks up, pulling off his headphones from his ears and turning to look at Build.
I find myself wishing his eyes are on me instead. I will for him to turn, just once and look my way but he doesn't shift his eyes from his seatmate.
And it's like, I don't exist.
"Did you ask something?" Bible asks, his voice crowded with confusion.
"Yeah, we were talking about our weekend. Where were you, I tried calling you but you weren't picking up my calls."
"Oh- sorry about that," he says sounding regretful. "I spent the weekend at Fai's place."
Fai? Is that his sister?
"Fai?" Apo beckons my thoughts. "Wait, isn't that your ex?"
My heart stops for a full second and my brain goes empty at Apo's words. No, it can't be true. Bible did not fucking run to his ex after our fight.
He should have come to me.
Given us time!
Bible looks up and meets Apo's shocked face. "Yeah, she and I hang out. We're still cool with each other."
For the first time in forever, Apo is silent as he stares at Bible, waiting for him to say that he's kidding but Bible seems to be serious.
"Why?" Apo finally asks what I am thinking. "Are you back together now?"
"I don't know, we'll see." And with that, Bible slides his headphones over his ears as if he didn't just break my fucking heart.
As if he didn't just crash my world with his words.
The thought of Bible touching... kissing someone else like he did with me....
I turn to stare ahead, my heat hammering in my chest I am terrified the other guys can hear it. My phone vibrates in my hand and I look down to see Apo's name flash on the screen.
Apo: Did you know?
I scare at the text for a full minute but I can summon the strength in me to text so I turn to Apo and shake my head.
Apo: What the hell happened between the two of you?
I should probably share my breakup with the person that helped bring us together but what the hell am I going to tell him when I don't even know what happened.
One minute we were fine and the next we weren't.
My head falls against the headrest and I close my eyes but all I see are images of Bible with another girl.
"Hey, are you okay?" Barcode asks, concerned when I don't get up to leave at the rest stop.
"I'm fine," I say, flashing him a smile I don't feel. Everyone leaves and I am left with Apo alone in the car and I know he's curious but I have nothing for him.
"Jeff..."
"I don't want to talk about it, Apo."
"What the hell happened? You guys seemed okay back at the club."
I chuckle at his words but really, there's nothing funny about his words.
"Drop it, Apo."
I need...
I need to think.
Maybe even forget this man who seems to have moved on barely days after breaking up with me. And for what?
Just because I didn't report to him about work?
His jealousy is unfounded. I did not cheat on him and his was an overreaction but...
I can't help but wonder whether I could have handled that better.
The atmosphere in the car changes when everyone gets back and they are less chatty than they were before. I know that Bible and I have put a damper into the mood but there's no saving the situations.
When we finally arrive at our destination, it's close to midnight and everyone is exhausted.
"Whose idea was it again for us to travel in the afternoon? We would have arrived sooner if we started in the morning." Build complains as he climbs out. I follow the guys out silently to the hotel we are going to be staying and since there is many of us, we are told we'll share the rooms in pairs.
I shrug my hands in my pockets and wait to be given my key. We'll probably be sharing our rooms with our onscreen partner and since mine is Barcode, I figure we are headed the same direction.
"Need help with your bags?" I ask him and he nods eagerly.
I grab his bag and follow him up the stairs, except he stops at the first door.
"This is my room," he says, taking out his key and inserting it into the lock. I look at my key that clearly states this is not my room.
Did they give me the wrong key?
"Wait, aren't we sharing the room?" I ask, watching him drag his bag in, my brows wrinkled in confusion.
"I don't think so. They had an extra room and Apo told them I could take it. It has only one bed."
I look inside and true to his word, it has only one bed.
A shiver runs down my back when it finally dawns on me... "Wait, did you say Apo was allocating the rooms?"
"Yeah, he did so before we left Bangkok. He called ahead to book the rooms and they said they only had one single left and he said I could have it."
Oh no!
Oh God no!
"Who did he partner me with?"
Dread fills my heart as I wait for his answer but I know what it is even before he speaks.
"Bible."
