To Eternity and Back

Chapter 10

Every time I'm with Yuki, I end up having the best time of my life.

The restaurant she chose was in fact one of the best. The interior design was opulent and elegant, taking my breath away as soon as I stepped in. The food was savory and delicious, and if it wasn't for my stomach, I would've eaten more.

But of course, what I really loved about the whole ordeal was the desserts afterward.

I ate one after another and the taste of milk, chocolate, flour, and more exploded in my mouth that I felt like crying.

I didn't even notice until I was done with the desserts that Yuki was looking at me with a smile.

She ended up telling me that I looked like squirrel filling up their cheek pouches when I was eating, and she found it very cute and wanted to pinch my cheeks, so I had to cover them with my hands to prevent myself from getting embarrassed further.

Even so, I had a great time with her and I was sad that we had to depart shortly after, but in this case, I have her phone number now so I can text, call, or even face time her. Oh, this was definitely a great day. I didn't bother checking the time when I went back to the hotel because my mind was too preoccupied with Yuki.

I was humming to myself softly as I entered my room and noticed Aurelio sitting in one of the lounge chairs with his arms and legs crossed, his eyebrow arched as he heard me stop humming at his sudden presence. If I'm being honest, I completely forgot about him, and that I gave him a spare keycard in case he wanted to visit again.

"Hey, Aurelio," I greeted him nervously, already prepared to hear him scold me.

"Don't 'Hey Aurelio' me. Defending that strange and rude woman and making me leave so you can hang out with her? And to top it off, coming back to your hotel past your scheduled sleeping time? What is going on with you? You're acting weird."

He's not wrong, but it's not exactly pleasant hearing him say that.

"Alright, so I came later than I normally would. That doesn't mean I'm acting unusual," I retorted as I unbuttoned the top buttons of my shirt.

"That's exactly what it means," he snapped back, standing up from the couch and walking towards me. "Akira, you never go off schedule, unless something comes up, like your overdosage. You would also never come back late because you were on a fancy date with a woman you just met."

"It wasn't a date, we were just hanging out."

"Call it whatever you want, but there's obviously something amiss ever since you met her."

I furrowed my eyebrows at his words and clenched my fists. "There is nothing amiss about me. There is nothing weird about me. I'm perfectly fine! There's nothing wrong with me!"

Aurelio widened his eyes and slightly faltered, and that's when I realized what I just did and turned away, covering my mouth as I was ashamed for suddenly snapping at Aurelio when he didn't do anything wrong.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to raise my voice at you," I apologized.

He didn't say anything and only stared at me. The silence between us was getting really uncomfortable and I knew I had to at least say something.

"Look, you know I'm always under pressure and I always try to do everything right and on time. The only times I feel I can relax is when I'm with you." I glanced over at Aurelio and saw that he wasn't going to say anything and was listening to me, so I continued. "However, ever since I met Yuki I've felt that same feeling when I'm with you. I feel alive with her and she never judges me, even when I accidentally do something stupid. It's been a long time since I've felt like this with another person. I'm sorry I came back late, but there is nothing wrong with me. I just wanted to be with her a little longer."

After I finished, I kept my gaze at Aurelio and waited for him to say something or do something. Anything really, but he just stayed still. My expression started contorting into an anxious one little by little, until he suddenly grabbed my shoulders and looked at me seriously.

"Akira, I'm going to ask you a serious question and I want you to answer honestly," he said, his tone firm.

I hesitantly nodded, wondering why he suddenly became serious.

He paused before he opened his mouth and said, "Akira, do you like that woman?"

That's an odd question, but I nodded anyway. "Yes, I do. I just told you why."

He rolled his eyes and exasperatedly sighed. "I should've known to be more direct with you," he grumbled with a frown on his face, "you're always so dense when it comes to stuff like this."

I raised my eyebrow and now, I seriously don't know what he means.

"I didn't mean like her as a friend," he said. "I meant like her as a woman, or better yet, are you in love with her?"

I blinked at his question and it took a moment before a hot, red blush flushed my cheeks. "What? W-Why would I be in love with her?" I asked louder than I intended.

Aurelio let go of my shoulders and slapped his forehead, seemingly frustrated. "What do you mean why? You just talked like she was the only person you wanted to be around! Not to mention, that sounded like a confession too!"

"Confession?!" I shouted, not being able to wrap my head around it.

He's not serious, right?

"That was not a confession! I was only saying that I like being around her!"

"That's the same thing!" he shouted back.

"No it isn't!"

Aurelio rolled his eyes again and pulled down the skin under his white eyes. "You are so painfully oblivious, sometimes."

For some reason, that stung a little. Maybe it's because I know that deep down it's true, but I don't really like it when other people point out my flaws.

"I'm not oblivious," I muttered, turning my eyes away and crossing my arms.

I felt Aurelio boring a hole in me with his stare, but I still didn't look back.

"Look, Akira," he started, his voice serious again, "you may not know it, but I do. I've seen you once act like this with Aurea, and I kept telling you that you liked her, but you didn't listen and said she was only a friend."

I flinched at the mention of Aurea's name and my defensive mood started to deteriorate, my head and arms lowering. I then felt Aurelio grab my shoulder again, but gripping tighter than before.

"And when you finally did realize, wasn't it already too late?"

...

It was.

I still regret everything to this day and maybe if I noticed my own feelings earlier and had been there for her, she could've still been here with us.

I still didn't look at Aurelio in his eyes as I bit my lower lip.

"Aurelio, this wasn't like in high school. So... please don't bring up Aurea ever again."

He stayed silent before sighing, letting go of my shoulder. "I know it's not like high school, but I don't want you hurting yourself again because you couldn't figure out your own feelings." He paused before continuing. "I'll let this go for now, but you need to figure this shit out and make sure if you really see that woman as a friend."

I heard him stepping away and leaving the hotel room, slamming the door shut behind him as I continued to stand there, my body slouched and scratching the side of my right index finger with my thumb nail.

I groaned out loud and crouched down, hugging myself and burying my head into my knees.

Do I really like Yuki not as a friend, but as something more?

"Why does everything have to be so complicated when it comes to me?" I whispered to myself as my mind kept trying to unravel itself, wanting to find out the answer desperately.