"Here…"Eric handed Evangeline"s things to her from his locker.
"Thank you, Eric."
Eric took a quick peek at the woman. He secretly sighed in relief when Evangeline was back to her usual high and pompous self. Though something was different about her…. he couldn"t put his finger on precisely what.
If it weren"t for her slightly swollen eyes, Eric would entirely dismiss the memory that Evangeline just cried.
They didn"t talk much when they walked all the way to the lockers. For Eric, he didn"t have anything to talk about while Evangeline secretly rejoiced since she too didn"t want to talk about her embarra.s.sing weakest moment of crying out of the blue like that.
Eric just nodded before he too retrieved his backpack and raincoat from his locker before closing and locking it.
"….."
"..."
The two were awfully quiet.
Eric was busy putting on his coat while Evangeline was walking beside him, occasionally glancing at the man from time to time.
Until they reached the pathway leading to the gate, the two didn"t speak a single word.
Eric stopped, and Evangeline stopped as well, clutching her bag.
"That"s my bike. I"ll be going on ahead." Eric pointed towards the bicycle rack before giving a nod at Evangeline and walked towards his bike.
Evangeline just watched him. Though her face calm, her inner self, however, started to panic.
From what exactly, she refused to admit that she wanted to spend more time with the man.
At first, she waited for him after cla.s.s to have a final look at him before she went home, but now...
She just wanted to spend more time with him.
Didn"t knew precisely when did it start to blossom – her feelings.
Was it that time when he had held the bike during her weakest moment? Or that time when he had rejected her offer? Or that bittersweet memory that happened a while ago?
Or was it that time when she first laid eyes on those silver poles.
She didn"t know.
Only…. It was impossible to stop it now.
Eric walked towards his bike, utterly oblivious to Evangeline"s thoughts. He bent down to unlocked the chains and casually planted his b.u.t.t on the seat.
He was about to pedal when he noticed that Evangeline still hadn"t moved from her spot.
Eric blinked. He got off his bike and walked towards Evangeline, dragging his bicycle with him.
"What"s wrong?"
"Your bandages are hanging on your face." It"s rather comical.
Evangeline answered as she eyed Eric"s" face, trying to pry for his silver orbs.
"Oh."
Eric unceremoniously ripped the band-aids and gauzes from his face, exposing some wounds and patches of purple bruises while Evangeline"s brows twitched at the sight.
"Should I hail you a cab or something?" Eric asked when the woman still hadn"t any intention of moving as she kept on staring at him which made him slightly uncomfortable.
"I think it"s best if you bring me home." Evangeline casually chimed like saying those words were Eric"s greatest fortune.
Eric arched an eyebrow as he observed the woman, trying to pry what she was thinking.
"Because…?"
"Because, it"s almost seven. I heard it"s dangerous to ride a cab at night."
Eric frowned. "Then call that man."
Evangeline knew who he was talking about as she immediately replied.
"My cousin is busy."
She answered simply, emphasizing the cousin part. Not minding the many hidden complications and secrets from those simple words.
"…."
"…."
Eric inwardly sighed. He wanted to rub his temple as he watched the unbending gaze of the woman in front of him.
Without a second thought, he removed his raincoat and gave it to her.
"Put it on."
Evangeline smiled triumphantly, grabbing the coat before the man could change his mind.
"What about you?"
Eric was about to turn around and hopped onto his bike when he heard the woman"s question.
His lips somewhat quirked upwards as he answered. "I only have one coat. Since I"m wet anyway, it doesn"t make any difference if I"m wearing one or not."
Evangeline no longer argued as she felt her heart thumped in her ears. She didn"t even heard Eric"s voice as she was lost in his smile.
"Come on."
Evangeline hopped on the bike with the same position as the first time she rode with him. Since the raincoat was long, she didn"t need to worry about her exposed legs from her pencil cut skirt.
"Hold on tight."
This time, instead of just gripping his shirt like she used to, her hand automatically circled Eric"s waste which made the man slightly jolt in surprised.
But he wholly managed to calm himself and started to pedal their way out of the Academy.
Unbeknownst to the two of them, on the second floor of the management department building, there was a man who was silently watching them while frowning from the window.
Daniel who had rushed in such a hurry only to found that Evangeline was no longer there. But even still, he walked towards Evangeline"s desk and checked for her belongings. When he was sure that the girl had already left, he was about to turn around when something caught his eyes.
It was Evangeline and Eric.
As he watched the two, he didn"t notice that he was clenching his fists. The pain didn"t even register as his emotions were in turmoil. Many feelings surged forth, disbelief, curiosity, anger, and above all – unwillingness.
He didn"t know what feeling he should be feeling. He couldn"t let go of the fact that Evangeline was smiling at a n.o.body, a genuine smile that she never gave to him.
What was more, the woman hugged the guy, hugged a nerd! While she never once allowed him to touch anything except her hand!
Daniel closed his eyes as anger and unwillingness to accept that he had lost to a nerdy, geeky, n.o.body!
Wait. Why am I feeling this way? I have Sisley now.
At the thought of his girlfriend, he somewhat calmed down. He slightly shook his head to erased all those complicated emotions from his system.
However, until he went home, the sight of Evangeline together with Eric still haunted him even in his dreams.
----?----
Evangeline and Eric remained silent throughout while Evangeline occasionally pointed the way towards her condo unit.
Actually, it would only take fifteen minutes by car, but Evangeline purposely led Eric to the longer route. If not for she felt the man"s slightly shivering body, she would have made Eric pedal for an hour.
After more than thirty minutes, they had reached Heaven"s Tower where she was staying.
She led Eric to the bas.e.m.e.nt parking.
"Eric, why don"t you come upstairs to dry yourself first? I"ll treat you to dinner as my thank you for helping me. What do you think?" She flashed her dazzling smile that no boys could resist, but Eric just stared at her suspiciously.
Evangeline servants only came during Fridays and weekends to clean, and Asher would call her if he was inside her unit.
Thus, she knew that n.o.body was upstairs at the moment.
"No need to trouble you--"
"I insist."
Evangeline cut Eric short and turned around to walk ahead.
Eric slightly shook his head before he parked his bike and followed the overbearing woman.
The moment they arrived in Evangeline"s unit, Eric didn"t move a single step inside, until Evangeline said, "come in and make yourself at home."
The moment that Evangeline stepped in, Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter immediately came rushing in on her.
"Hey! I"m home!"
But to Evangeline"s surprise, Winter just ran pa.s.sed her and jumped towards Eric"s arms. The surprised man fell on the ground with the fluffy Winter wiggling and licking him like he was her long-lost owner.
"That"s strange… Winter doesn"t like strangers." Evangeline mumbled it more to herself.
Eric tried to get up as he calmed the wiggling dog.
"I"m good with dogs." He merely explained as he smiled towards Winter, caressing and rubbing the furball"s chin.
Evangeline shrugged her shoulders as she released Fall from her embraced and walked towards her room.
"Wait here for a moment."
When Evangeline was gone. Eric bent down and rubbed Winter dotingly.
"I"m glad you"re doing fine. I guess leaving you to her was the right choice." Eric chuckled when Winter started to licked his face once more.
But soon, he abruptly stood up when he saw Evangeline went out from a room holding a bunch of towels.
"Follow me."
Evangeline led Eric to a guest room that had some things already inside it.
"This is the guest room. My cousin is occupying it sometimes." Then she strode towards the bed and placed the towels there before she sauntered towards the walk-in closet.
Eric roamed his gaze around and couldn"t help but approved the woman"s taste.
It was simple, modern and cla.s.sy. Not to vulgar, just the right balance in elegance and comfort.
Moments later, Evangeline came out from the walk-in closet. "This is my cousin"s clothes. Though it"s big, it will have to do for now. There"s the toilet and bath. It has its washing machine and drier. You can wash and dry your clothes there."
Evangeline beamed towards Eric that left the guy a little baffled.
"Hurry up and take a bath. Your wet clothes are staining my marble floor."
Then she went out of the bedroom, dragging the wiggling whimpering Winter. But before she closed the door, she added like she could read Eric"s thoughts of locking himself inside the room to avoid her. "I"ll order dinner so don"t stay too long in this room."
SLAM!
Eric blinked. Didn"t know what just happened.
He finally realized what was wrong with the woman.
Her tone and smile!
Though Evangeline would still have that arrogant voice, it no longer felt cold and distant.
And that smile….
Eric could sense that she was smiling more often now, and a genuine smile at that.
He sighed as he shook his head while walking towards the bathroom. His thoughts were hidden beneath his stoic face, and only he knew what was going on inside his head.