YOU ARE MY BLOODY VALENTINE

CHAPTER 16: I LOVE YOU

"Hi, A-dawg."

"Why'd you call, Hina?"

"You still haven't apologized to Joel."

"I'm not apologizing to him. He's acting like such a baby. I didn't do anything wrong."

"Come on, you fucking kissed his first girlfriend, you knew how hard it was for him to get her. And to make matters worse, you disappeared to the mathematics school without saying a word to him. He was frantic, searching for you everywhere that day, saying you couldn't have done that to him. How could you say you did nothing wrong?"

"I didn't kiss her, she kissed me. I did nothing wrong." Ayden stubbornly retorted, his voice filled with defiance.

"And who is going to believe you?" Hina asked fiercely, her voice laced with anger as her eyes narrowed.

"Okay fine. What do you want me to do?"

"APOLOGIZE!! You scumbag." Hina's voice boomed with frustration, echoing through the phone. With that, she abruptly ended the call, knowing that Ayden would be left with a heavy burden of guilt.

'Apologize? Seriously? How the hell am I supposed to do that?' Ayden's mind raced as he vigorously rubbed his face with a towel, trying to gather his thoughts. With a mix of frustration and determination, he reached for his phone and dialed Joel's number. As the phone rang, Ayden muttered countless words to himself, practising how he would apologize. But after several attempts, Joel didn't pick up.

"Of course, he wouldn't pick up, stupid. Go to his house." Hina said to him when he called her and told her what had happened. She spoke to him like he was stupid, and he couldn't bear being spoken to like he was stupid.

"Screw you, Hina." He muttered, his voice filled with anger, as he abruptly ended the call.

After what felt like an eternity of restless pacing and engaging in activities that were far from his usual routine, Ayden found an unease grow within him, so he decided to go to Joel's house, even in the early morning darkness of 5:35am. The drive was brief, but the remnants of the snowfall painted a serene landscape. Despite the stillness, an icy grip lingered in the air, sending shivers down Ayden's spine, and he instinctively rubbed his hands against each other.

"Good morning Phillip,"

"Good morning Mr. Synclair." Butler Phillip responded, his tone respectful but tinged with formality.

"I told you not to refer to me as that, my name is Ayden." Ayden's frustration simmered beneath the surface as he reminded Phillip.

Phillip, ever the embodiment of decorum, bowed respectfully and gestured for Ayden to enter the grand mansion.

"Whatever," Ayden muttered under his breath, his voice laced with indifference, as he stepped through the imposing door.

"Ayden! What on earth brings you here at this hour?" The sound of his name being called snapped Ayden's attention upward, and there, descending the grand staircase, was Joelle. Clad in her night robe, her hair tousled in a messy ponytail, she yawned, her delicate features still adored with the remnants of sleep. The soft glow of the chandelier above cast an ethereal light upon her, illuminating the weariness in her eyes as if she had just woken up.

"I came here to see Joel."

Joelle sneered at Ayden, her piercing eyes locking onto his. Without uttering a word, she turned on her heel, silently commanding him to follow. Ayden quickened his pace, his footsteps echoing through the grand staircase as he hastened to catch up with her.

"You really should have called ahead," Joelle remarked, her voice dripping with a hint of reproach.

"We both know that would never happen." A wry smile tugged at Ayden's lips. Joelle suddenly turned to him, causing Ayden to come to an abrupt stop.