Realize (PUBLISHED)

Realize (24)

James lived in an enormous house by the sea. He informed them that it had a Master’s bedroom, his bedroom, four guest rooms, TV room, his father's den, dining area, kitchen, living room, a garage which was big enough for five cars, and a wide-spaced veranda facing the ocean.

Janice had the first guest room for her and Mr. Samuels, while Todd took the second guest room. Next to that would be Maxine’s room, for Alex would be staying with Natalie in the fourth guest room.

As soon as they arrived, they unpacked their things. However, that took no time at all. That was why they had an hour to explore the house as they waited for James' parents.

Maxine decided to go downstairs in the living room, where there was a fireplace. The room was so cozy that she immediately felt at home. She walked around and saw picture frames by the fireplace. She went nearer and saw a quite adorable photo of two boys and a girl between them. They laughed happily in the picture that she couldn't help smiling as well.

The more Maxine stared at the photo, the more she noticed that one of the boys looked an awful lot like Todd.

“Yes, that’s Todd.”

Maxine jumped out of fright. She quickly turned around and saw James a couple of feet from her. His arms were crossed, as though he was watching her from where he was all along.

“Oh, you’re here,” said Maxine.

Well, duh, she thought to herself – mentally rolling her eyes.

She glanced at the photo defensively. “I was just looking at the, uh, pictures.”

James chuckled, walking towards the picture that Maxine was staring at.

“You must be wondering who this girl is,” he said, pointing at the short-haired girl between the two boys.

“Not really,” she answered truthfully.

She had a feeling that she already knew who that girl was. And if truth be told, she wasn't interested to find out if she was right on her hunch. But of course, James chuckled. It was obvious that he was going to say it anyway.

“She’s Maggie,” he informed, looking at the picture. “She’s our childhood friend.” He paused for a moment before turning his eyes to Maxine. “You’re not going out with Todd, are you?”

She blinked at the sudden question. “What?” she asked incredulously.

“Are you going out with my cousin?” he repeated carefully.

“No,” she said, her face full of indignation.

He nodded. “Okay, then.”

Before Maxine could ask where he was going with this, he continued with a sigh, “It’s safe to tell you this without Todd being furious at me.”

She frowned in confusion. “Tell me what exactly?”

“Todd and Maggie were childhood sweethearts,” he began. “Todd would only be here during summer and winter. Whenever school started again, Todd had to go back to New York. They were determined to be together, though. So I guess that was why they lasted for a while.”

Maxine wanted to say something – anything. She wanted to tell James to stop. She wanted to ask him why he was telling this stuff to her. And yet she wanted to know the story. Because somehow, understanding Todd's past was understanding a part of him. And she wanted to know all about him.

“The thing is, Todd and I have the same taste in girls. Then, he came back the summer before High School and . . . There's no other way to say it . . . He caught us — Maggie and I — doing something that you could call cheating. And Todd . . . He didn’t do anything. He just broke up with Maggie right then and there. Without another word, he walked out and he didn’t talk to any of us since then. Maggie felt so bad . . .” he trailed off, closing his eyes. After a few moments, he opened them again and looked at Maxine. “You weren't lying when you said you’re not together? I mean, the way he looks at you . . .”