My Last And My Only

Chapter 64: Unseen

The ride home was unusually quiet.

Aiah rested her head against the window of the taxi, watching the familiar streets of Manila pass by one after another. She had always liked looking outside whenever she traveled. Somehow, it gave her mind something else to focus on. Today, however, nothing seemed interesting enough to distract her.

She kept replaying the events of the day.

Not because anything extraordinary had happened.

In fact...

Nothing happened at all.

She went to class. Submitted the revisions of her graduation project. Spoke to a few classmates she hadn't seen in days. Even Sir Lauren looked relieved after seeing her back in school.

Everything went normally.

Too normally.

Yet for some reason, she couldn't stop thinking about how close she had probably been to Khae without even realizing it. She let out a quiet sigh and closed her eyes.

Stop thinking about her.

She had already promised herself that coming back to Manila was for one reason only. To finish what she started. Nothing more. Nothing less.

The moment the taxi stopped in front of the house, Aiah immediately saw Gwen standing by the gate with her arms crossed. She looked as though she had been waiting for several minutes already.

Aiah couldn't help but smile.

"Why are you outside?"

Gwen shrugged before taking one of Aiah's bags from her.

"Mom's still at work. I got home earlier than you, so I figured I'd wait outside."

The two quietly walked inside the house together. The familiar scent of home immediately welcomed Aiah the moment she stepped into the living room.

It still amazed her how quickly this place had become another home. She placed her bag on the sofa before stretching both arms above her head.

"I'm exhausted."

"It's only the first day." Gwen laughed softly.

"I know." Aiah smiled sheepishly.

"I forgot how draining school can be."

Gwen disappeared into the kitchen before returning a few seconds later with two glasses of cold water. She handed one to Aiah before sitting on the couch across from her.

Neither of them spoke. It wasn't awkward. Silence had always been comfortable between them.

Gwen took a small sip from her glass before finally breaking it.

"So..."

Aiah already knew where the conversation was headed.

She lowered her eyes.

"You want to ask about Khae."

Gwen looked at her in surprise before laughing.

"Am I really that predictable?"

"You've been trying not to ask since we left school."

Aiah smiled faintly.

"I could tell."

Gwen let out a defeated sigh.

There was really no hiding anything from her cousin.
She carefully placed her glass on the center table.