Twice The Trouble Book 2 of 2: Twice The Love

Chapter 53: She's Real

Sophia

I've always wanted to talk to a stranger.

There was this.. rare kind of comfort when speaking to someone you didn't know and vice versa. They just.. listen without judgement. No personal details. Just a friendly sounding board, you know?

No strings attached.

But in my world, that didn't even pose as a possibility.

There were two weeks left before Lucas's return from New York when I met two interesting girls. Four days before Halloween, I made the mistake of choosing to shop for my costume at the last minute. Stacy had volunteered to sew up my own costume like she did with hers, but I didn't want to burden her with the work when I knew she had so much on her plate already.

At the mall, I hopped from costume shop to costume shop, looking for a suitable theme that I was in the mood for this year. Camp Costume and Cosplay Heaven were too crowded and all the good selections were wiped out by kids and teenagers and adults. My last option was Armor Castle, which, fortuitously for me, specialized in costumes for teenagers.

A gust of cold wind blew on my face when I entered the colorful store:The wall was decorated in plum and blue vertical stripes. The ceiling and floor were a simple white, and lining up a dozen mannequins and wooden shelves and metal racks were costumes of animals, avengers, Disney, and Anime characters. There were even multi-colored wigs on display! Jackpot! Luckily, the crowd was small and consisted of guardians with their children, whom I guessed ranged from six to ten years old.

Three hours later, I tried on just about fifty costumes and I still couldn't find one that I liked. Perhaps I should take a gander at the bargain bin. Stacy often told me that staff hid the really good stuff in undercover boxes.

I was about to duck down for a row of cardboard boxes sitting beneath a metal rack of Disney princess costumes when I spotted a little girl staring at me. She looked three years old and she had the most enchanting amber eyes, long, silky brown hair, and a red gingham dress with frilly ribbons on the neckline and hemline. She looked like a porcelain doll.

"Um, hello," I  said awkwardly while waving my hand at her. "Are you lost?"

The small girl shook her head.

"Is your mommy or daddy with you?"

Her big amber eyes blinked at me. "My papa is at home. My mama is in the bathroom."

I debated whether to approach her or not but I chose to remain standing. "Shouldn't you be with her? She'll worry about you," I said.

The little brunette just stared at me. "You're very pretty," she commented.

"Um, thank you," I told her. "But you're prettier. What's your name?"

"Kai," she obliged. "It's short for Kayla."

"We should really take you back to your mother," I said to Kayla. "Will you let me hold your hand?"

"Okay," she answered before offering me her tiny hand. When I took it, I was astonished by how soft and delicate it felt, same as the rest of her, I thought.

"Kayla!" someone cried out. "Kayla, where are you?"

"She's right.. here." I was taken aback by the sight of a young woman who looked no older than me. Probably nineteen or twenty years old. Her brown, lustrous hair was cut above her shoulders, her amber eyes were the exact same shade and roundness as Kayla's. They shared the same features, the exact same Aphrodite-like beauty, and the young woman wore a black and white checkered dress with a below-the-knee skirt and two-inched black heels.

I stared at the girl whose face was streaked with tears. She returned my stare. Then, at the same time, we said: "You look familiar."

She thanked me profusely for guarding her daughter,and she must have seen the wonder in my eyes because told me: "Yes, she is my child. I'm your typical teenage mother. Nice to meet you."

I opened my mouth to supply my name, but she stopped me. "No, don't tell me," she said. "I won't tell you my name either so it'll be fair." The lovely brunette winked at me. "Let's remain strangers for a while, if you don't mind?" When I nodded, she beamed. "Great! Thanks. I just wanted the feeling of talking to someone I don't know and doesn't know who I am as well. Have you ever imagined being in a situation like this one?"

Nodding my head, I responded: "Yes, I have."

We resumed our costume-shopping and managed to find something we liked after an hour passed: For Kayla, a Pocahontas costume. For her mother, a Jane costume (from Tarzan) and for me: A girl pirate costume.

After we exited the costume shop, Kayla, her mother, and I went to the food court for a snack.

While Kayla (I found out she was two years old) enjoyed her plate of two Hawaiian pizza slices, her mom and I had ordered burgers, hotdogs, and like Kayla's drink, iced tea.

"You're married?" I asked in between bites of my delicious cheeseburger.

Kayla's mom grinned happily, showing me her left hand,where her ring finger bore a shining, glimmering silver wedding band. She said: "His name is Kean. We got married in Greece last year, on my eighteenth birthday. He's very sweet and caring, that's why I feel lucky to have him in my life. Kean is the best husband to me and the best father to Kayla, so I'm terribly blessed."

I couldn't tear my eyes off her wedding ring. "If it's alright, can I ask how you two met?"

A kind smile graced her pink lips as she examined her ring. "That's the thing," she started. "We were in rival schools in America. School spirit can get messy, you know. Teenagers can be extremely competitive when it came to school honor. I was the captain of the girls' volleyball team, he was the captain of the boys' volleyball team. We didn't really notice each other until sophomore year in high school. During a game, I broke my ankle, Kean carried me to the infirmary. He was the one who tended to my injury, our eyes had met, and we hadn't been able to look anywhere else ever since."

I let out a dreamy sigh, resting my chin on the back of my hands. "That's so romantic."

"Isn't it?" she swooned, copying my pose. She fondly patted Kayla's head before focusing her attention to me. "I know you're curious, so I'll explain everything since I want to anyway." She cupped her cheeks on her palms and looked at me. "In our third year of high school, I got pregnant with Kean's child. I didn't hesitate to tell him because he had the right to know."

She paused, closing her eyes at the memories. "He told his parents.Like mine,they were furious and disappointed when they heard about my pregnancy. Kean came from a rich family while I was of humble origins. I was confident that Kean would defend me and take responsibility, and he did just that. He supported me and my baby, and when we turned of legal age, we got married."

I nodded slowly, letting her narration sink in my mind like a sponge absorbing water. "Why did you move here in the Philippines?" I asked her.

Kayla's mother shot me a sad smile. "I needed to talk to some old friends, and they're all studying here in Manila. There's quite a lot of them, and the only one who didn't end up hating me after graduation doesn't seem to be in town right now."

My heart played a frantic drumbeat as a sudden theory crossed my mind. The longer I stared at her, the more vivid my memory became. Her short brown hair.. those earnest amber eyes.. like a bucket of ice-cold water pouring over my head, it dawned on me who the young woman in front of me was.

"By any chance.." My voice trailed, but I soldiered on. "Is your name Courtney?"

Her amber eyes went wide. The color drained from her beautiful face.

"It's you," I said, my heart rate speeding up. "The girl in his painting." I drew in a sharp breath and momentously told her: "It said, 'To Courtney. With Love, Lucas.' He dedicated that piece to you." I gazed at Courtney's pale face. "Didn't he?"

When she found her voice, she managed to say: "Y-you.. how do you know Lucas?"

I leveled her with a serious look. "I'm his girlfriend."