Bittersweet

Chapter 14

The weekend has come. I decide to go to the shopping center just near my subdivision to look for some new books to buy and read.

The security guard of the bookstore I regularly visit greets me as I enter. He recognizes me already. I'm not surprised.

I go through each bookshelf, particularly the where the fictional ones are. Then abruptly, my cell phone starts ringing. I almost drop the book I'm holding out of surprise. I take my phone out and see Amy's name on the screen.

"Hello?" I say. I continue scanning the bookshelf I'm at.

"Sica," Amy says. "What's up?"

"I'm at the book store," I say. "Why did you call?"

"Um, nothing," Amy says. "I'm bored."

"Amy," I say, sighing. "You have 5 siblings and almost all are teenagers. Why get bo---"

I trip over a book on the floor and bump into someone, dropping my cell phone. "Oh, sorry!" I say, not looking at the person. Silly people who leave books on the floor. I get my phone back and face the person I bumped into.

She is smiling at me. A familiar face I'm looking at. Yes, I know this lass.

"Kate," I say. Cameron's beauteous older sister.

"You got it," Kate says.

I almost forget that Amy is still on the phone. "Amy?" I say on the phone.

"What the heck happened?" she asks.

"Nothing," I say. "I'm fine. I'll talk to you later. Bye." I put my phone back inside my pocket. Skittishly, I turn my gaze back at Kate, who happens to be scanning the same bookshelf as I am.

"Sorry, I was being clumsy," I tell her. "I didn't mean to---"

"I know. And you don't have to apologize," she says, breaking in. "It was the stupid book's fault."

Both she and Cameron have this habit of not letting the person talking finish their sentence. Yep, siblings indeed. "Uhm, okay," I reply, with nothing else to say.

"Are you going to buy a book?" she asks.

"Yeah. It's in the other bookshelf," I say. "Why?"

"Go buy it now. Let's have some coffee or milk tea or milkshake," she says, then winks.

We choose a coffee shop. After ordering, we settle down. I am feeling jumpy and insecure---Kate is so pretty, I'm afraid she is criticizing my face in her mind.

"How were the cupcakes?" she asks.

"They were good," I say, smiling. "Thank you."

"No problem," she says. "But to tell you, I couldn't stop laughing at my light-minded brother when he asked me for some help with girls and apologies. It was the first time he asked such a thing from me."

"But... Mae, I mean, Laina," I say. What does she call her brother's ex? "He has an ex-girlfriend. Didn't he ask from you before?"

"No," she says. "And I don't know much about Laina. Cameron never brought her to our house."

I wonder why he never did. Was he still too shy? Or maybe Laina didn't want to go.

"But I do know that Cameron used to be deeply in love with Laina," she continues. "I even saw him once or twice, quiet in a corner. Crying."

"Don't you think... 'deeply in love' is a little... exaggerated to use?" I say, trying my best to look her in the eyes.

She pauses, just looking at me placidly. I look away, embarrassed. Just before she could even say a word, a barista from the counter calls our names. I stand up but Kate stops me. She gets our beverages for us.

Kate hands me my frappé and goes back to her seat. "You know what?" she says. "I like you already."

"Me?" I say. "Why?"

"I can feel that you are very smart," she says. "That you are unlike most girls of your age, Jessica."

I smile. This is the first time she said my name for this day.

"Hey, that's the first time I said your name," she says, as if reading my thoughts. "Oh, yes. We haven't introduced each other properly yet. I'm Kate Alyson Herras."

"Anna Jessica Diaz," I say. "Nice to meet you." She laughs, and I

find myself chuckling too.

"You know what? My siblings and I have one thing in common regarding our names," she says. "All of us have second names that start with the letter A. I am Alyson, Cam's is---"

"Alexander," I say, interrupting her. She smiles.

"Yep, Cameron Alexander," she says. "Then there's Zyan Andre and Skylynn Abigail."

"You all have nice names," I say. "Especially Skye. My name is... pretty mainstream, I think. Even my brothers'."

"Anna Jessica isn't so bad," she says. "You have brothers?"

"Yeah," I say. "Kieran Matthew and Shawn Jerry. Matt and Shawn." I look at her face for a reaction. "Sorry if they aren't as nice as yours and your siblings'."

Kate laughs. "Of course not. They are all nice, too."

We keep quiet for a while, just enjoying our drinks. Kate is so nice---she's warmhearted and quite friendly unlike her brother. Well, Cameron is matey, but not as much as Kate is.

"Jessica, I have a question," she says, finally speaking. "Do you like my brother?"

I stop sipping my frappé, and look at her. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean," she says. "You don't have to be shy about it. I won't tell him."

"I... I don't know. But I like being with him, because he's really fun to be with. And when I'm with him I feel happy and protected," I say. "When I see him in school for the first time each day, I always have this urge to smile."

I look at Kate, who is grinning. I look down, a little shy of what I have told her.

"You do like Cameron!" she says. "Listen to me, Jessica. I know Cameron. He likes you a lot. Just please don't do what Laina did to him. I don't ever want to see my brother so inconsolable again."

I press my lips together, unable to think of anything to say.

Kate smiles. "Don't get me wrong, Jessica. I'm not forcing you to reciprocate his feelings for you entirely. What I only ask of you is to be gentle to him. My brother has quite a fragile heart, apparently."

I nod. "I understand your point. Don't worry, I'm not that kind."

"Thank you, Jessica." She beams, and I do the same.