A Lover of Rain

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN:

I opened my eyes when I heard my alarm clock going off, but the thing was I haven't slept yet. How could I even sleep after everything that happened from the moment I woke up that day until the last minute of August 8th? A lot had happened during my birthday that every time I tried to fall asleep, I would end up reliving every moment of it as soon as my eyes closed. Aside from sleep deprivation, my head was killing me from the amount of soju Markie made us drink last night. I went out of my room after minutes of self-help to drag my body out, almost crawling just to reach the door. Fine. Maybe I was being dramatic about my hangover, but the reason for being sleep deprived ain't dramatic at all. I slowly walked down the stairs to find three of my friends looking exactly the same as me–drowsy, messy hair, and in need of lots and lots of water. Markie, on the other hand, was walking around the living room with her orange robe, a towel on her head, and an eye mask looking fresh like a daisy.

"Good morning!" Markie greeted me, unusually chirpy which was not part of her personality traits. Maybe after that formal date I sent her with Hiro she had a change of heart about her not being ready to commit.

"There's nothing good about this morning... my head feels like it's gonna crack any time soon." I said as I finally reached the table to eat breakfast. It's three o' clock in the afternoon but considering we were just about to start our day, calling our meal breakfast was still plausible. I poured a freshly brewed coffee in a mug that I didn't recognize until some memories flashed back into my brain. And as I looked at the back of my phone, that's when the memories started playing in my head like I'm watching a new episode of a Netflix series.

"Aryn." Kylo called my name carefully, aware that any moment I'd snap at him for making Jae pull Julian to the other gondola.

The view as we continued to circle around started getting familiar, but it was still beautiful nevertheless. The way you could see the sunset from a distance while overlooking the other rides and people enjoying every inch of this place with their loved ones. I had always wanted to go on this ride with someone special, maybe share a kiss when we're on the top of the ferris wheel like a scene in the movies. But no, even that romantic wish I had was not meant for hopeless people like me. With a heavy sigh, I avoided Kylo's hand from reaching mine. Tears started forming in my eyes, but I knew people sitting down from the other gondola were watching us, especially Julian. God! I let my guard down with Kylo after he told me he would try to be nice, to get to know the person that I like and now here we are, back to square one.

"Seven." I choked in my own words as I let myself open up, "Seven birthdays, Kai. I spent seven birthdays with you. Is it too much to let me spend this birthday with someone other than you?"

Kylo's hand reaching out to me slowly backed away, stunned from the words he heard come out of my mouth. We'd often argue, but mostly about trivial things; no to pineapple pizza or one of us whiffing from the games we'd play together, or that one time I asked him to tell my grandma I attended church with him but instead, I went to the movies with my high school friends and he accidentally told my grandma the truth. We're always bickering but not about real personal feelings. A lot of times when I'd feel disappointed with Kylo, especially when it comes to relationships, I always kept it to myself and told him we're fine because I'd rather hurt my own heart than give him an idea that I have unwavering feelings for him.

"You think I asked Jae to pull that clown–sorry, that guy away from you?" Kylo asked, squinting his eyes. "Okay, sige sinabi ko kay Jae na meron akong gustong itanong sayo pero hindi ko magawa kasi wala akong mahanap na tamang oras." He closed his eyes from the frustrations before brushing his hair upwards, "But that's it, Aryn! Is this how little you think of me that I'd pull something pathetic like this?"