The Painful Kiss of Augustus
Chapter 12
Heaving a sigh as I took a glance on the snacks I packed for today, I felt a gleaming satisfaction within me. Ivy was so hard to encourage to give it a try but after a long time of nagging her, she acquiesced. We will be meeting at Rachel's at 10 a.m. where the sun wasn't that painful on the skin. It was a pretty sunny day. Cloudless sky was at it. I guessed I picked the best day to surf.
After I packed the food, I immediately toted the cooler and ambled toward the car. Our driver helped me to put the cooler on the compartment as I wiped the dangling bullets of sweats on my forehead. The two surfboards were placed on top of our car. The smile on my lips did not falter as I pondered of the possible things that might happen. I had never been this excited in my entire life. Looking at my phone, I saw a message from her. She was on her way to the beach so I needed to hurry up.
When I jumped in the car, I suddenly wondered about something. Why was I doing this? Because Ivy was my friend— as simple as that. I didn't know why did my mind came out with a sudden burst of senseless question. I should have not asked that to myself because it was obvious. I valued Ivy so much as a friend and it pained me to see her being drowned on her thought that their company was her responsibility. She had to loosen up; she had to get unleashed and have some fun. Her responsibility she thought she should be carrying was taking something essential from her youth.
In months I'd been with her, I'd realized that at an early age, she was trained to set her mind into something; trained for her future; and trained to please her family. I was entirely oblivious of how her family treated her. She seemed distant from people around her— as though they will do something against her. The time rolled on as my thoughts entirely circulated about Ivy. She merely opened up about her family and when I was trying to open a topic related to it, she willed it away as though she wasn't ready to let me glimpse at her depth secrets. I understood. But every time she tried to elude me from that topic, the glint of repentance flashed.
Estefan Cortez. I suddenly contemplated about her brother. After his death, his family grieved and mourned silently. The news of his death wasn't ephemeral but his family seemed to neglect the fact that they lost a member of their family. What shocked me was that. Neither did Ivy show any expression with regards to the death of his brother. The way Cortez acted was giving me a definite perplexity. They got the huge name in the Medical world— surpassing the Del Castro— a family that was ranked as the most powerful in that field. However, after the incident of their heir, it slowed the progress of the company and the Cortez family took over. There was no rift between the Cortez and the Del Castro. They were both in good terms.
As the car came to a halt, adrenaline rushed through me as I immediately jumped out of the car. Our driver helped me to get the things I brought. As the sun gleamed majestically in the firmament with no sign of cloud, my eyes immediately darted to the woman who was waiting under the shade of the Narra Tree. Ivy was wearing a black rash guard. Her hair was made in a fishtail bun and some strands were dangling perfectly on her forehead. Her cheeks were now in their cute scarlet gleam as she scrunched up her nose. When her eyes found mine, the side of her lips tucked upward.
"How many minutes since you got here?" I asked.
She shrugged, "Just a minute." She smiled, "let's go?"
"What did you tell to your parents?"
"I have to do group work with my classmates."
