Chapter 31: We Never Touched (Flash Back)

I enter my home and slowly move towards my parent's room as I reach the door, I peek inside the room and find my daddy sitting on his rocking chair with his head in his hands. I slowly come inside and close the door behind me without him realizing.

"I'm sorry daddy I'll be a good girl now," I speak, lowering my head.

"Oh, princess! I'm sorry for yelling at you." Daddy stands up and hugs me immediately.

"I made you yell over me if only I hadn't been stubborn," I replied, looking into his eyes as he releases me from his embrace. "I know you don't like such things still I was nagging about it."

"Now that you realized and understood your daddy maybe we should think over your wish." He says, holding my face in his hands with a smirk plastered on his face and I glee with joy.

"Really daddy?" I say, excitedly. Even though things were good now without Jamel's help but I can't refuse him from joining our family's trip so I decided to go with whatever decision my dad makes.

"Yes, thinking over it wouldn't hurt but I'm still not promising you."

"It's fine daddy! Thank-you, you're the best!" I hug him back.

"By the way where were you this whole hour?"

"A secret place, can't tell you." I giggle.

"My princess living in a secret kingdom and I didn't know about it?" He chuckles and we hear someone clearing their throat behind us.

"Hello Mr. Harris," Brat speaks while fidgeting in his place.

"Oh, it's you boy! Come here, why are you standing by the door?" Daddy motions for him to come inside and he hesitantly walks in and stands close to daddy. I release daddy, he ruffles brat's hair and he smiles weakly at daddy. "Feel at home son, I'm glad you came here again finally..." Daddy pauses for a while but continues. "We are here for you always like your family." Daddy smiles at him and he just nods at him, still a little hesitant. "Enjoy kids have your time of adolescent," Daddy says before leaving us standing in the room alone.

"Thank you. It's good to have you back brat." I say, slyly.

"Call me that again, I somehow feel good right now hearing that word from you." He replies, smirking at me.

"You don't mean that?" My eyes widened in disbelief.

"Want to test?" He yanks my hair and runs towards the door. "You have to catch me first!" He yells behind him while running out of the room.

Oh how much I've missed this stupid brat!

~~~

He was slowly realizing that bad things happen in the world every time but we have to let it go and look forward for other good things to happen. I never told brat about Jamel and my deal not that I was hesitant to discuss also he would've created a fuss over it but it felt somewhat guilty to plan this far in order to make things right or rather to make him realize. However my friendship with Jamel also grew stronger and he was happy, knowing that things between us were back to where it was. Sometimes brat still gets jealous of our friendship but no, can't help it, it is fun making him jealous though.

Weeks later daddy surprised us by bringing a mini pickup truck home which he exclaimed to be his own and this was the sole reason he had been skipping up the picnic plan. He was looking up for the right pickup truck and he did until he bought it home. Everyone was so surprised and happy to see it. Daddy would rent a carriage or ask any of his friends who had pickup trucks to lend them for a while so he could deliver the woods outside the town because selling something outside the town was more profitable. It was always hard for him to ask others, of course, he wouldn't ask them for free, he paid money whenever he used other's stuff which cost him more than usual so owning one of the trucks was one necessary thing to do for daddy.

We went picnicking in the truck with the Adams and of course, daddy allowed Jamel to join the picnic but he was very true to his words to not let us go far away from his sight and so he did that.

Days passed, months passed and years passed, D was getting used to his life with no father. He was happy again and my father did take special care of him, he acted as his guardian and I was glad for it. Things were normal, I and the brat were slowly growing up together without even realizing we entered our teenage period.

We both graduated from our school but of course, he was a senior so he passed out first before I did. Maria started working in the fields after she finished her school while Jamel worked as the carpenter, taking after his father but unlike a townie my brat decided to join college to further study and I followed him there being the best friend, Sally was my only friend who followed me there and the three of us ended up in 'The Groove Range College' together, the only college in our town. Although he was in the second year, unlike I and Sally. But I was happy because we were mostly together. Whenever we get the chance we would embrace it and hang out with each other.

As I was about to enter my class, I soon meet a dazed Sally.

"Are you alright?" I ask, looking at her with confusion but she doesn't look at me and remain dazed.

"Sally snap out of your reverie!" I say, snapping fingers in front of her face and she jerks up from her seat and finally looks at me.

"Sarah! Do you know?" She asks me with wide eyes.

"No, I don't?" I deadpan.

"Ronald just confessed his love to Nicole. I was at the ground while Ronald as always was escorting Nicole to her class but this time he stopped her in midway and told her that he loved her!" She speaks.

"Really?" I feel myself falling in a daze too.

"I know you can't believe that too! We are only high schooler's to do such thing! EWWW..." She makes a disgusted face. "But you know what happened next?" She continues without my answer "He held her hands in his and was nearly to kiss it then...."

"Then what!?" I gasp.

"Nicole slapped him and ran away crying!" She heaves a frustrated sigh. "I was hoping to see something more, you know."

"Typical of Nicole." I shake my head in disbelief.

"Well, who wouldn't do that? If I was in her place maybe I would've even kicked him and punched him and...." She puts a finger under her chin while thinking something "Ah! I would have done all the bad things to him for touching me or even thinking of kissing me!" She snaps. "No wonder where he learned to do such things from."

"He visits the city very often with his parents. The city is a bad influence after all." I say, shaking my head.

"Yes, and I heard people do this kind of stuff all the time there. Even in public!" She half shouts with her hands holding her head in disbelief.

"I would never do such thing!" I gasp.

"Me neither!" She heaves a sigh.

"And what happened with Ronald after that?" I ask, curiously.

"He stood there for a while holding the cheek that was slapped. He was too shocked to do anything and everyone was looking at him, dazed." I curve my mouth in an 'O' shape. How embarrassing would it have been for him? Sally waves her hand dismissively "Anyway what's the plan for your sixteenth birthday?" She nudges me in the ribs, changing the subject.

"What plan? There is no plan like always." I roll my eyes as she pouts.

"No plans with your brat as well?" She eyes me warily and again I roll my eyes and nod. She eyes me more briefly now.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" I ask her.

"How come you get to be with that guy all the time even when your father is so strict about hanging out with the opposite sex!" She glares at me and before I get to speak, she waves me off. "Oh, I know! Because he's the oh-so-adorable son of his best friend who he considers his own son! But culturally, it's wrong! Why in the world you get to hang out with a young boy almost your age when most of us are so shy and forbidden to do BECAUSE OF OUR CULTURE HERE!" She speaks, waving her hands in the air dramatically. "Just look at you, you've... Grown so much!" She points a finger at me while she eyes my whole figure from top to bottom and I cover myself, conscious of her eye-harassing me. "You've long wavy hairs that reach your hips now, your eyelashes are thicker and longer, you've groomed into a... beautiful girl! OH ALMIGHTY WE BOTH HAVE HIT PUBERTY!" She heaves a long exasperated sigh.

"I am glad you noticed it pretty soon-"

"Hush!!" She eye's me again with a finger on her lips. "I'm not done yet!" And I purse my lips to let her continue to whatever she is blabbering about.

"I feel jealous sometimes. I too want someone around me of the opposite sex."

"You should get married soon then," I say, tilting my head to one side and forming an innocent smile on my face.

"If it were my plan I wouldn't have taken admission here in the first place." She scoffs. "Besides I'm in no hurry to get engaged just like Maraca with no love story behind," she says, dryly.

Thinking of Maraca who is our friend back then from grade school, after she graduated with us, she started working with her father who is a well-known tailor in the town. One day a man came to her father's shop while she was dusting off things and when the man saw her, he remained star struck by her beauty and thus the man asked her hand in marriage from her father. Maraca agreed for the guy's proposal and so his father announced their engagement before making some checks on the guy.

"Is it necessary to have a love story before marriage? People also fall in love after marriage just like my parents did."

"It's like taking the biggest risk of your life! How can they do that?" She says almost in disbelief.

"Even knowing the person before, some marriage's still don't work out," I say, shrugging and she nods slowly to my words before thinking.

"Would you marry the person of your parent's choice?" She asks me.

"Probably before meeting the person myself." I continue before thinking. "If I find him like... Nice and caring then he'll be worth marrying."

"I see, it's mostly all girls do here, it's in our culture but about.... would you really consider marrying someone else? I mean haven't anyone, in particular, come in your mind when you think of marriage?" She asks me, hesitantly.

"Uhh... no?"

"Okay, Umm... if the BRAT marries someone how you would feel?" She asks me, emphasizing the word 'brat'.

"Probably glad for him?" I say in a 'duh' tone and a little confused at her question. Where is she taking everything?

"Wouldn't you feel even a little bit of pain in your heart when he wouldn't be with you most of the time but with some other person more valuable in his life?"

"I've never thought about it but..." I say, smiling and looking down at my hands, thinking of the possibility of the future, what it might bring us. It is something inevitable that I never thought about before but somehow I don't want to think about it and instead, I want to cherish each day. "If he'd be happy, I'll be happy for him too."

"There was a pause in your answer." She says, eyeing me and pointing at my direction.

"Ummm... so?" I ask, eyeing her back.

"You are confused!" She pauses. "Did you ever feel something whenever he touches you or talks to you or something?" Curiosity evident in her tone.

"We never touched! I mean we touched when we were young but it's not the same now." I say, rolling my eyes.

"You didn't answer my question." She crosses her hands against her chest and tilts her head to one side. "I asked, did you feel something towards him?"

"At times like this I really doubt you, how come you are a love guru when you, yourself haven't experienced a single thing at all?"

"C'mon! I thought you were smart enough to notice that." She says, rolling her eyes. "I live with a big family! Uncle's, aunts and kids everywhere. I'm more of an adult than anyone of my age." She waves her hand in the air. "Beside's you still didn't answer me" She eyes me.

What should I answer her to the question that I'm avoiding since longer than 'long enough'.

I really don't know, we have been with each other since childhood like brother and sister and that's what our relationship is right? This girl is making me think ridiculous things about our relation, making it impure.

I'm sorry brat for thinking this way even for a tiny second.

"He's my brother Sally," I answer her.

"OH, Almighty! You aren't answering my question!" She shouts at me then huffs out a breath and speaks slowly. "I know you're confused right now but you have to sort out those feelings before your father finds a guy for you and I'm having a feeling he has found one."

"Oh no, he already did. Yesterday he told me about a proposal." I roll my eyes.

"Say what?!" Her mouth hangs open.

"But of course I rejected him. I'm in no mood for marriage right now and knowing my father, he won't persuade me either, he loves me too much." I say, waving my hands dismissively.

"It's the third proposal you're rejecting already, don't expect your father to stay calm for long." She says, nonchalantly. She pauses for a while "Listen, just like Ronald and Nicole I've seen you guys together from afar and when you two are together the world doesn't exist to both of you, hell I'm always neglected when you two are together and it saddens me." She mocks, wiping her unfallen tears. "But in case of Ronald and Nicole, they were both opposites. Ronald was too bold to make such move on a country girl like us while Nicole was too shy to accept the fact about her feelings but you guys can make things work your own way, think about it."

I just look at her when she finishes and before I could move my lips to speak the bell rings and the people start dispersing through the hall. I move my legs towards my class without saying a word to Sally while she does the same.

Sally has always been saying such things about our relation, making me think more and more about the possibility but I feel afraid, confused, happy and sad all at the same time. Happy that I'm actually thinking about someone in some other way, sad if I'm the only one that's thinking, afraid if I might lose him on the way, confused if I'm mixing up my own feelings. It's hard to decide what I actually feel towards him but I let my fate decide what's going to happen next because I'm just fine being this way and too lazy to care about the future that lay ahead.