Back to You || Maiden/Aldub

s e v e n

She didn't know what it was that had overcome her but as she began to get closer and closer to the house in which she once was no stranger to, the anxious feeling she felt the first time she first set foot in the abode came back - this time ten times worse.

She was never one to have problems with anxiety, not since she had met him. Sure, there were times when she would have panic attacks here and there, but that was normal. It came with the adrenaline that she got whenever she was about to embark in a new project or a new experience - it was all a part of being a celebrity. But there was also that little minor detail of him being the one to calm her whenever her anxiety levels passed the tolerance part of it all.

He just knew how to soothe her and bring her down from the peak of alert her mind has put her in.

But he wasn't here. Not physically at least.

Meng, breathe slowly. Easy lang. His voice echoed in the back of her head, something he often whispered lowly into her ear once he saw even one bit of panic flash through her eyes.

Though, this time, his voice didn't help. In fact, it seemed as though to have had made it worse, quickening the beat of her heart.

And as each house passed in her rearview mirror, Maine's grip on her steering wheel began to become tighter and tighter - her ears muffling out the Sam Smith song that blasted throughout the car.

"Sila Tito lang to." She mumbled to herself repeatedly as the black gate of Faulkerson's humble Santa Rosa home grew closer. And after the fiftieth time of self pep-talk, Maine finally pulled up to the house, slowly getting out of the driver's seat with the promised dish in hand.

Before she could even ring the doorbell, a familiar brunette swung the gate open - a large smile on her face. "Ate!" She beamed.

"Hi, Riz." Maine let out a nervous laugh - her anxiousness slowly subsiding after feeling the warm welcome.

"Kanina ko pa binabantayan ang pagdating mo. Akala ko daddy was lying." Rizza lead the way, taking the dish from Maine's hand as the two entered the house; heading straight into the dining room. There, Richard Sr. was busily buzzing about, trying to get the table set up.

"Kayong dalawa lang ni Tito?" Maine asked, noticing that there were no signs of the two elder sons.

Usually, all of them shared the responsibility of getting Sunday dinner ready, so it was very odd for Maine to only be greeted by the single-father of three doing it all himself.

Rizza nodded her head, a small frown on her face. "Late pa daw makakauwi si Kuya RJ sa shoot."

"Si Kuya RD?" She asked, referring to the eldest of the Faulkerson siblings.

"Business trip sa Hong Kong."

"O, Meng, dito ka na pala!" The once busy dad stopped in mid-track. "Kanina ka pa?"

"Kakadating lang po." She walked towards him reaching out for his hand to bless, but of course he pulled her in for a hug instead; making her smile.

"Kamusta ka?" He pulled away, putting his hands on either sides of her shoulder giving her body a quick glance. "Kumakain ka pa ba!?"

"Tito naman!" Maine playfully whined. "Parang hindi tayo nagkita nung isang araw."

"Joke lang!" He laughed. "Pero mukhang madami ang niluto mo at dalawa lang naman kami ni Rizza ngayon, so dito ka nalang mag dinner."

"Sure po ba kayo? I wouldn't want to intrude." She replied shyly.

Maine knew how much Sunday dinners meant to the Faulkersons - it was the only time of the week where all four of them could gather around the table and be together as a whole because of their busy schedules. There were rarely any times when one would be missing from the one or two hour of family bonding, let alone two.