Chapter 19: Yes I do the solacing!
"Good thing you only got bruises and a broken arm," I said to console Niko who was on the hospital bed with a cast on his left arm.
"What's good about it? Can't you see? I can't move my arm." He said quite cranky.
"What I mean is that it could have been worse... It's good that you can still walk." I affirmed.
"Your friend here is right, Niko... I'm still glad that nothing worse happened to both you..." His mother said who was sitting beside him.
"I'll head out and check on Miya... I'll talk to her parents..." His mom added.
"Okay, mom..." Niko said as he laid down.
"Kris... Can you look after him for me?" His mother asked me a favor.
"Sure Ms.Belmonte... Don't worry..."
"Thanks. Just call the nurse if you need something Niko, okay?"
"Yes, mom!" He answered like a kid and it made me smile a bit.
His mom kissed him in his forehead and walked out of the room. I thought this could be the best time to ask him about the accident so I sat beside his bed.
"So... What happened exactly? I know how good you are with driving, so how did this happen?" I asked him.
"Well, Miya and I decided to skipped classes this morning to stroll around town with my new motorbike." He looked at me and I can tell he's worried about something.
"We were passing an avenue when I saw someone..."
"Who was it?" I implored.
"Come closer... I'll whisper it to you."
I moved closer to him and listened to what he has to say.
"I saw Alex..."
"Oh... What Alex has to do with the accident?" I'm now getting confused.
"I saw him talking to a girl outside a restaurant... I had my eyes on them for a moment then I didn't notice the car that was coming towards us... So I made a quick turn and crash on the side of the road..." He explained.
"What? Are you sure?" I was a bit doubtful.
"Yes... I'm sure it was Alex but I didn't recognize the girl."
"I heard Alex's name... What's with him?"
We heard Jenna said as she walked in the room.
"Ah... Eh... Nothing..." I uttered. I don't think she needs to hear it without enough proof.
"Oh... Okay... I went to Miya's room... she seems fine... only bruises... I brought some fruits for you too, Niko." She said as she got closer to us.
"You better have your eyes on your boyfriend..." Niko was being insensitive.
"And why would I do that?" Jenna asked.
"Niko... Don't!" I tried to warn him but he doesn't seem to care.
"Well, she has to know it besides it's his boyfriend who caused this." His voice was quite aggressive making him sound sure with his allegation.
"What do you mean? Did he do this to you?" Jenna was getting emotional.
"Nothing Jenna... It's nothing." I said trying to convince her to not ask anymore.
"Well, this jerk has something bad to say about my boyfriend..." She told me then turned to Niko.
"I don't know why I got this feeling that you don't like him for me but it's my life... my decision... to chose him as my boyfriend."
"Guess what? Your dumbass boyfriend is cheating on you... I saw him with someone else this morning that lead to my accident." He just can't stop his mouth.
"We're not sure of that, Jen," I said to keep her calm.
"That's not true... I talked to him this morning and he's busy doing some work for his father..." She defended Alex.
"Oh really? So dating a girl is a business now... I see... Good luck with that."
"Will you stop it, Niko!" I raised my voice because I can't stand him being an ass over something that was not even clarified.
"Oh yeah? You know what? You're such a jerk... I thought you are my friend but with what you're saying I don't even want to talk to you anymore!" Jenna said as her voice cracked with anger.
She put down the bag of fruits on the side table and headed out of the room. I can see that Jenna was hurt by what Niko had mentioned but even I don't know the truth so I can't take any side on this.
"Why do you have to do that?" I'm mad at what he just did.
"What? I just told her what I saw. That's what a real friend will do..."
"But..." I stopped. I don't think I can talk it out with Niko.
I just scoffed and decided to follow Jenna.
"You stay here! I'll go after her." I said.
"Do you think I can loiter around with my condition right now?" He's being sarcastic in an arrogant way.
"Don't be such an ass Niko, just stay here.."
------
I walked out of the room and tried to find Jenna. I saw her in the corridor making a call on her cellphone.
"Jenna..." I called on her.
"I can't reach him... He's not answering his phone." She said with worry on her face.
"You said it yourself... he is busy."
I wanted her to calm down and think of it carefully but based on her expression she was having doubts now.
"But I need to know the truth."
"I know! But Niko could be wrong..."
"I'll find it out myself..." She put her phone inside her purse and walked away.
"Jen! Where are you going?"
She didn't bother to answer and just kept on walking.
Geez!!!
I went back to Niko's room to interrogate him.
"Why did you say that?" I asked feeling pissed.
"It's the truth!" He's being stubborn.
"You don't know that!... It could be true that Alex was with another girl but what if it's really about business... How would you explain yourself now to Jenna?"
"That's what I saw..."
"You're being judgemental! You may have seen it with your eyes but it's not the whole truth.."
"Whatever..." He muttered.
"Why are you acting like this?"
"Because she's our friend... I don't want to see her get hurt..."
"But you're hurting her right now..."
I got him silent for a moment.
"She's in love with the person you're accusing without enough proof... What were you thinking? You even compromised Miya's safety... Your own girlfriend..." I felt bad to talk to him like this but he's going too far.
"I just..."
"That's enough, Niko..." I interrupted him. For now, I don't want to hear any more excuses from him.
"I'll go ahead and call your mom, I have to go..."
-----
I just came home and saw Luke got out of the bathroom...
"Hey! You're home..." He greeted me but with the weight of what happened, I was not able to greet him back.
I sat on the couch and rested my back for a while. I closed my eyes for a moment to clear my head with all that happened today.
"I'm sorry I was not there with you... Ben needed me to be at the café to help him." He said as he sat down beside me.
"That's okay... It was chaos back there in the hospital."
"What happened? Were they badly injured?"
"No... They're fine... They can go home tomorrow..." I explained.
"That's good... But why you look so worn out?"
I can see that he was worried about me but I thought maybe he knew something about it since his brother is the one being blamed for the accident.
I took a deep breath and sat properly.
"Uhm... Have you talked to your brother lately?" I inquired.
"Alex? Well... I got a phone call from him this morning."
"What did he say?"
"He's meeting our father's secretary for some business matter..."
"Wait... You said he's meeting your father's secretary?"
"Yes," he uttered.
"So it's all about business... Nothing personal." I just want it to be clear.
"Yes... What? Personal? What do you mean?"
I pulled out my phone and called Jenna but she's not picking up my call.
"Jen... Please pick up..." I uttered as I dialed again but still got no answer from her.
"What's going on?" Luke asked bewildered.
"Well... It's Niko... He said he saw Alex with another girl and that caused their accident." I explained.
"That's nonsense!" He got a bit upset.
"I know... And the worse is he told that to Jenna..."
"What was he thinking?!" He's getting more apprehensive.
"I don't know... But I need to tell Jenna that Niko was wrong."
"Let me call Alex." He implied.
"Okay... I'll check if Jenna's online."
I went back to my room and turned my laptop on. I checked if Jenna was online on any of her social media platforms but she's not. I was getting worried.
I went out of my room to check on Luke hoping that he got in contact with his brother. I saw him dropped the call and let out a deep sigh.
"What did he say?"
"He's upset... Jenna wants to break up with him."
"No way..." I was so shocked to hear it. I can't believe Jenna resorted to that.
Luke grabbed his car key and rushed up to the door.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"Be a brother... He needs someone to talk to... It has to be me..."
"I'll go with you..."
"No... Try to get in touch with Jen... She needs to know the truth... The real truth..."
"Okay... I understand..."
He went out and closed the door behind him.
What was Jenna thinking? I need to talk to her.
I need to see her.
-----
I hit the doorbell twice before Jenna's mom opened their door.
"Hi there, Mrs. Cruz... Is Jenna home? She's not answering neither my calls, not my messages..."
"She's in her room... She came home a while ago... I tried to talk to her but she headed straight to her room. What's going on?"
"It's just a misunderstanding..." That's all I was able to say to Jen's mom. I don't want her to get upset.
"Okay... Please talk to her..."
"I will, Mrs. Cruz."
I came inside their house and went upstairs to her room.
I knocked three times.
"Jen... It's me... Kristofer... May I come in?"
I didn't hear any response. I knocked again.
"I heard you're trying to break up with Alex... He's devastated... But you need to know something."
Still no response.
I knocked again but this time it's harder. Then the door slightly opened.
"Are you trying to break the door?" She said as she peeked through her door.
"I will if you would not let me in."
She scoffed and opened the door.
She went straight to her bed and covered her face with her pillow.
"Jen... What happened? I know what Niko said must've hurt you but you should've dug deeper to find out the truth... You are my best friend and I know you're not the type who decides with no basis..." I comforted her. I sat beside her and held her hand.
She removed the pillow on her face and got up.
"I'm afraid to get my heart broken... He's my first boyfriend and I don't want to invest further feelings if there's something my boyfriend is doing behind my back."
I do get her point but since I know the truth already. What she's doing will ruin everything for her.
"Did you let him explain?"
"I believe in Niko..." She implied.
"But he got it wrong..."
"He got hurt because he thought of me... For my sake... Why should I not believe him?"
"I do understand that Niko was being a friend to you... He doesn't want you to get hurt... But he got it all wrong... He misjudged."
She looked at me with questioning eyes.
"If only you let Alex explain himself... You would get to hear the truth... It's true that he met someone this morning..."
"See? Niko's right!"
"But she is their father's secretary... They had a meeting to discuss some business matters."
"What made you so sure?"
"Luke told me about it. He knows her... Niko didn't know that... that's why he misjudged Alex."
I saw guilt on her face after hearing the truth.
"Jenna... I knew the feeling of being scared to get hurt. But you told me to listen to my heart... I think it's time for you to listen to what your heart is saying."
We stayed quiet for a while... Then I saw tears falling to her cheeks... She wiped them off with the back of her hand and sniffed.
"Where is he?"
"Luke went off to be with him... He's trying to be the big brother for Alex. You don't need to worry about Alex... Everything will be fine."
"Thank you..."
She hugged me and I hugged her back. I'm happy that she finally realized it and I'm really hoping that this would fix everything for both of them.
My phone rang and I checked it. Luke was calling.
"I just need to take this... It's Luke."
"Please ask how's Alex."
I nodded.
"Hello, Luke? I'm with Jenna... She knows everything now. How's Alex"
I listened to Luke who sounded a bit uneasy.
"What? E.R.? Why? What happened?" I asked.
"Who's in E.R.? Is it Alex?" Jenna became anxious.
"Okay... Okay... We'll be there in a jiff."
-----
We came rushing into the emergency room of the hospital.
I saw a nurse that just came out of the
emergency room.
"Hi... Excuse me... We're looking for a patient that was rushed in here."
"Full name... please?" She asked.
"Alexander Fuentabella," Jenna said.
The nurse checked on the paper on her file board scanning all the patient's names.
"Yes... He's here... You can check inside."
"Thank you!" I uttered.
We rushed inside checking every hospital bed in the E.R. We stopped on a patient who got his face covered with bandages. Jenna stepped closer and began to cry.
"No! Alex! I should have believed in you! I'm sorry!"
"Jenna..." I felt something was not right.
"No! It's my fault this happened to him... I should have listened to him... I love him so much!" She said then burst into tears.
"Jen..." I wanted to comfort her but there's really something off in here.
"I love you... Alex." She murmured.
"I love you too!"
We heard Alex's voice and the curtain on the right that separate each bed opened.
We saw Alex sitting on his bed with a small bandage on his forehead.
"I knew it!... Who is this guy?" I asked.
"I don't know... He was already here when we came in." He explained.
I noticed Jenna sobbed and quickly went up to Alex and hugged him.
"I'm sorry Alex... I'm sorry." Jenna said her sorry and kept on crying.
Alex caressed her head with a smile on his face.
"What's going on?"
I heard Luke's voice who just walked towards us.
"Where have you been?" I asked.
"I went out to pay at the cashier and get his medicine."
"So he's going home tonight?"
"Yes! He just busted his forehead. I told him about the reason why Jenna wants to break up with him that she doesn't know the truth. He insisted to see her but he's too drunk to keep his balance and fell down."
"Oh, I see... It's good to know he's okay."
"Well... He does seem okay now..."
We looked at them and saw them smiling at each other. At least, now everything will be fine.
Wait there's still one more thing.
-----
I knocked on the door before I came inside Niko's room...
"Hey bro... How are you doing?" I greeted him.
"I'm bored... I want to get out of this place." He said getting up on his bed.
"Uhm... Someone's here to see you."
"Huh?" He uttered.
Luke, Jenna, and Alex came inside and greeted him.
"Jen! Why are you with him? He's..." Niko was interrupted by Jenna.
"You got it all wrong Niko." She said.
"I'm with my father's secretary this morning to discuss some business matters..." Alex explained himself.
"You believe him?" Niko still doesn't get it.
"It's true Niko... This is her... right?" Luke showed his phone with the secretary's picture.
"Her name is Kim... She's our father's secretary." Luke added.
"That's her! So that means..." Niko scoffed and scratched his head.
"I know you just want to protect your friend... But I will never hurt her... Never." Alex made a promise and held Jenna's hand.
"Niko... I'm happy that you care for me... But I can take care of myself now... And I'm really glad that I have a friend like you..." Jenna stepped closer to Niko and held his hand.
"I guess I owe you guys an apology then..."
I nodded.
"I'm sorry Alex for doubting you... Luke... Kris... I'm sorry that I got you in this trouble... And Jenna... I'm sorry if I misjudged the person that you love..." Niko apologized to everyone and it's really relieving.
"That's okay Niko... That's what friends are for... We protect... But next time you have to be sure first..." Jenna told him and gave him a smile.
"I know... I know... And I will..." Niko answered with a smile as well.
"So everyone's cool?" I asked then everyone agreed.
"Wait happened to your head?" Niko asked Alex when he noticed the bandage on his forehead.
"It's a long story..." Alex said.
"Well, I got all the time to listen to that..."
Everyone laughed and Alex told us about what happened. Niko felt bad but he's been forgiven already. The misunderstanding between them is over and I'm very happy about it.
-----
Luke and I got home later that night. Alex and Jenna got home safely as well. Niko and Miya still need to stay at the hospital for another two days to monitor their health.
I laid down on my bed to rest but I can't sleep... I stood up and decided to stay late tonight. A cup of coffee will be good too.
I went out of my room and saw Luke in the kitchen brewing coffee...
"You can't sleep as well?" I asked as I approached him.
"Yeah... You want some coffee?"
"Yes, please... Add a bit of sugar... Thanks!"
After a while, he joined me on the couch handing over my coffee.
"Thank you," I said as I took a sip.
Luke just kept quite enjoying his coffee as well.
I stared at him and got the chance to watch his face again. He really got a handsome face. His lips are very kissable. Then I remembered the night at the beach. I felt my face getting warm.
"Keep looking at me like that..." He said as he looked back at me but those words seemed familiar.
"And what? You will kiss me till I drop? I heard that line already from a series that I watched... so you should try something else." I said feeling good about winning over him.
He let out a smirk and said.
"Keep looking at me like that..." He paused and moved a bit closer to me.
"I will tear down your clothes and make you mine..." He sounded very alluring and it made me hot.
"What a pervert!" I blurted out as I snapped out of it.
He moved back a little with a flirtatious smirk.
"Well... You like it..."
"Of course not." I asserted.
"I know you do... Your face is all red." He teased as he laughed.
"Shut up..." I rolled my eyes and took another sip on my coffee.
He rested his back on the couch and pulled out his phone from his pocket.
He really can see through me. I wonder if we end up together, will he still be the same?
Then I thought of Alex and Jenna. What happened today made me realized that all misunderstandings can be resolved just by talking it out with each other. Keeping no secrets. Judgment can kill happiness if it was done recklessly. I'm happy that Luke has been opened to what he feels lately and I really hope we don't face the same problem in the future. But we can't be sure about that. For now, I just want moments like this to last.
Alex must've had it really hard. Being accused of something that he didn't do. He's just helping their father for some business matter then all of it happened without his knowledge. Wait. Should it be Luke whose doing that for their father? He's the eldest son but why Alex had to do it?
"Uhm... Luke... Can I ask you something?"
"What is it?" He asked while doodling on his phone and sipping coffee.
"What kind of business matter did Alex discussed with your father's secretary?"
He nearly choked on his coffee. He put the cup down on the center table. I thought he's acting weird but maybe he just choked for no reason at all.
"Why did you ask?" He implored.
"Well... It's kinda odd. Isn't he too young to deal with those things?"
He took a deep breath and put down his phone to face me.
"Fine... I guess it's okay to tell you."
"Tell me what?"
"Alex asked Kim to help him find a dress for Jenna... for the homecoming..."
"What! That's sweet!"
"You should not tell it to Jenna or his surprise will be ruined."
"Promise... I won't... Your brother is really sweet."
"Well, he learned from the best."
"Who?"
He sat properly and raised his chin up.
At first, I didn't know why he did that but then I got what he meant.
"Nah... It could be someone else but definitely not you." I teased him.
"Oh... So you don't think I can be sweet?" He raised his brow and let out a grin.
"I can't think of anything sweet about you" I said trying to annoy him.
"My lips are sweet... Want to taste it?"
I don't know how it happened but after he said that my eyes were pinned on his lips. My heart was beating so fast as he get closer. His face was inches away from mine. I swallowed a lump on my throat and I gazed up to his eyes. I got this feeling inside that I can't explain. His eyes were drowning me. I felt like being hypnotized as I uttered...
"May I?"
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