The Island Girl

8 | Like The Mountain

4 months later...

"Brooke, stop eating too much. You're getting fat. If you keep eating this much, you'll get fatter and Matthias won't like you anymore, "my neighbor who is also  my friend, named Ella, told me while we were sitting on my front lawn. 

I roll my eyes at her, throwing a piece of takis in my mouth, saying, "Please."

"I'm serious," Ella groans, snatching the bag of chips from me, "This is unhealthy." Then proceeds to take some for herself. Sometimes she tends to contradict herself, its annoying and a little funny at the same time. 

"Ever since I started dating Matthias, we've been eating a lot," I shrug, "I guess it's true when you get married, you get fat. You've seen those memes right?" 

"Yea, but honey, you're not married," She said smugly and I groan in annoyance, standing up after I snatch my bag of chips back. 

"Forget it," I tell her, turning around and heading back into the house with her laughing behind me. I couldn't help but smile too as I think about it. 

When I got  back into my room, I ended up stopping in front of my full length mirror. Turning to the side, my eyes widen when I see my belly. Ella is right. I am gaining weight. 

But then, food is hard to resist.

It's all Matthias' fault. 

Joke. 

***

Matthias pulls up at my house in his car, blasting music as he waits for me to get out of the house. I make sure I look good before taking my time to walk out. 

"What's wrong?" He asked when I stopped near the car, not getting in with a frown on my face.

We've been dating for over 2 months already and I've started to fall in love with him, but I have to admit, I want to hit him right now. When we started dating, he would spoil me and be a gentleman. He'd bring me flowers, food, and give me kisses. He'd open the door for me. 

What happened to that?

I kept staring at him, waiting for him to come to his senses. I mean, I can open the damn door, but you know, I just want him to open the door for me. 

"Get in," He said, "What are you waiting for? Christmas?"

I groan, "I'm waiting for a gentleman."

"What was that?" He asked, lowering the music.

I shrug, "Nothing." Rolling my eyes, I open the door and got in. 

"By the way," He starts, reversing back, "You look beautiful today."

"You didn't tell me that yesterday. I guess I was ugly," I utter with an attitude, making him look at me in confusion.

"We didn't see each other yesterday because I was at the family reunion, remember?" He asked me, driving out of the neighborhood. 

"I wasn't brought to the reunion," I sigh, checking my nails, "Maybe because I'm ugly..."

He arches a brow at me weirdly, "Okay, what did I do wrong? Did you eat lunch? You're giving me an attitude since I pulled up."

"I don't know," I shrug, looking out the window. 

"Tell me, babe," He reaches for my hand, but I pretend to search for something in my bag.

He sighs, shaking his head, "Ok babe."

***

"Here," Matthias smiled, placing a bag of banana chips on the table.

We were just hanging out on the side of the highway, enjoying the beautiful view of the ocean and the fresh air. I had my eyes closed, enjoying the caress of the wind against my skin. Its getting cold now. 

"Its your favorite," He added, placing a bottle of orange juice beside it as he looks at me. 

I roll my eyes, but take it anyway, feeling butterflies in my stomach. At least he remembers I love this. Taking some, I put some in my mouth and start chewing. I absolutely love banana chips. Its has always been my favorite since I was little. 

"So are you going to tell me what's wrong? Something feels off," He starts off, sitting down beside me.

"Maybe its you," I mutter under my breath.

He whips his head in my direction, looking at me with wide eyes, "Me?"

I nod at him.

He chuckles, "Why?"

I shrug at him, giving him a hard time to annoy him. 

He suddenly snatches the bag of banana chips from my hand, making me glare at him. "That's mine. Give it to me."

"Not until you tell me what's wrong, Brookie," He leaned in with a smile, making me hold my breath at how close we are. My heart then decided to start beating fast at our close proximity and I turn away into the other direction. He chuckles and was going to say something until someone interrupts our time together.

"Matthias! Hey!" A girl shouted, running over to us.

She was wearing a crop top and jogging shorts. She appeared flushed and out of breath, probably just jogging around here. Many people come to jog here. Its been awhile since I've done the same too. The girl walks closer, biting her lips as she pulls her hair over to one side of her shoulder. I try not to arch a brow at that while I sit there. 

"Chloe, hey," Matthias greets her, standing there.

"O my god, I haven't seen you in forever," She told him, not even bothering to say hi. Like, hello there. I exist.

"This is my girlfriend, Brooke," Matthias introduced me, and I quickly put on a smile. "Babe, this is my old classmate, Chloe."

"Hi!" I said nicely.

She smiles, looking me up and down before looking back at Matthias, "Anyways, there's a party tonight. You should come."

"I'll think about it," Matthias replied, glancing at me. 

"You better show up, I'll be there waiting," Chloe said with a wink before leaving. 

Did that bitch just wink at my boyfriend? 

Once she left, Matthias turns to me and I turn away as if I wasn't just glaring daggers at the both of them earlier. 

"I'm not going," He told me when he sat back down beside me.

"I know you want to go, so go," I tell him, sounding nice.

"I don't know what's wrong with you, Brooke. Are you going to tell me what's got your panties in a twist?" He asked me patiently and I shake my head no. He groans, but says, "Look over there." 

He points into the direction of Nett. I look there, seeing the lovely green mountains. I'm so happy to have been born here on the island. I love being surrounded by nature. There's not much tall buildings and I can breathe well here. Not much pollution like other places. 

"What do you see?" He asked me.

"Nett, duh," I answer, glancing at me.

He chuckles quietly, reaching for my hand. I let him, feeling tingles. 

"You see Brooke," He started, looking off into the distance, "Look at the mountain, the shape. It goes up and down, you get what I mean?"

"Yea," I nod at him.

"That's what our relationship is like," He continues, looking at me, "...there will always be ups and downs in our relationship, but we should always be open to communication. In order for our relationship to last, we need to be honest and open to each other. Can we do that?"

I sigh, but give him a small smile, "Yea, let's do that."

"So won't you tell me what's wrong?" He asked curiously.

I shake my head, "No, forget it. It was immature. From now on, I promise, if there's something, I'll tell you."