IN THE SHADOW OF OBLIVION

Chapter 12: Where the shits hit the fan

"Oh sweet Lord," Anntonia said, looking around the mess in their apartment and shook her head. "Maybe I should have a garage sale."

She heard Ruru laughed from his spot on the couch and she sighed harshly, confused how to deal with the unreasonable amount of stuffs on the floor.

"Or maybe you should just open up a store for useless shit. I'm sure people would go nuts. I mean, who doesn't want a set of Christmas-themed Alvin and the Chipmunks dinner plates?" He asked, now reaching down to pick up the said design of plate and hold it in the air.

"That's a collector's item!" She said, snatching the plate from the guy's hand. "I paid a lot of money for these."

"Well you got ripped off," Ruru said in a matter of fact tone, shrugging his shoulders.

She could only shook her head and started stuffing more things inside the cardboard boxes. She hadn't found a place to live yet, but she was already finishing packing her things up because it's just a matter of days before Michelle comes back, so she needs to pack everything, the quicker she could move, the better she would feel.

It wasn't that she didn't want to live with her best friend anymore. She just didn't think she could face the woman after what had happened. And after she'd rejected her and basically chosen to drive ahead to Iloilo and Samantha over her. The last thing she wanted was to be sitting on this living room couch when she strolled into her apartment. Either way, it was practically killing her to pack her stuff and think about leaving. She was here for so long, with Michelle. Just the two of them and those happy memories.

But there's a part of her that wondered if maybe Michelle really did have true feelings for her and that she was just too afraid to come clean, like what Ruru said. But still, an even bigger part of her knew that the woman only thought of her as a friend and they had made a terrible mistake by sleeping together. It was the only reason she could think to explain why she hadn't come home or at least called.

Her reverie was interrupted when an arm wrapped around her shoulders. She even jumped a little before she realized its Ruru.

"Michelle's gonna miss a hell of a show if you move out."

That made her sighed loudly and shrugged from under the guy's arm.

If. The thought of her uncertainty unnerved her and she hated it. Why wasn't it easier to make up her mind? She'd packed everything but hadn't found an apartment yet? Yeah, it sounded ridiculous and was obvious even to her that she was definitely avoiding the whole "moving out" aspect of moving out.

She broke away from Ruru's arms and started throwing books from under the coffee table into the box. Those are hers by the way.

"Yeah well, your cousin made her bed, so she can lie in it." She said metaphorically, only to earn a scoff from the guy next to her.

"If you're going to ask me, and if my opinion matters, I think you both made your beds. Or something. And now, neither one of you is lying in it. You two are either running away or running in circles. Or actually, I guess neither bed is made, considering the circumstances. Probably just a few rumpled sheets." The guy responded, with a little more amount of metaphor that it made her stopped and looked at him like he was some sort of crazy.

"Okay, first, that didn't even make sense. And second, I'm not running. Your cousin is the one who's all the way across the damn country, not me!" She even threw her arms up for emphasis. "It's her fault."

"Fine, fine... Keep on telling yourself that," Ruru said, shaking his head. "I think it's both of you who's at fault and you can't convince me otherwise."