Chapter 12

Dinner was awkward. And Trevor knew it had to do with how Tina was feeling.

Honestly, he never expected her to show so much guilt in her words and facial expressions. It at the the tip of his tongue to ask her why she felt guilty when she's the one who broke up with him and left. With no proper explanations.

He really wanted to ask her what the real problem was because he never took serious her explanation then.

"We're not good for each other. I've found someone special that I want to marry. And that person isn't you."

Que now, and she's single and on a dating app. And didn't even look that interested in dating.

He was too heartbroken back then to argue with her. He couldn't even properly question her because she'd left town quickly. He really didn't know if it's fate or just him being unlucky.

"Good night," he said after dinner and stood by her car as she looked at him.

"Yeah, good night," she said, avoiding his eyes. "Thank you for tonight."

He nodded, hands in his pockets as he stared at her. She really was so beautiful. Even more now than before.

He couldn't question her now. He wouldn't. He wanted to know more about her now that they're in the same city. Hopefully, she wouldn't runaway this time. And then maybe after learning the truth, if it's not so bad, then they could...

He shook his head, trying to get the hopeful thoughts out of his head. He needed to get a grip.

"Uh..."

He found Tina looking at him in surprise. "Sorry... My neck was hurting," he lied smoothly.

She smiled a bit, accepting his explanation. "So I'll get going now."

"Okay. Have a safe drive."

"I will."

He watched her walk gracefully to her car door and open it to sit down. He didn't leave the spot until she drove out, waving at him briefly.

Trevor could feel himself feeling cold now. He didn't know if it was because of the breeze from outside or the absence of Tina's presence.

"Probably the former," he muttered, getting into his car that's parked close by.

With his thoughts filled with Tina more than usual, he drove back home.

***

His phone was ringing, and seeing the familiar name, he decided to answer the call.

"I told her."

He raised a brow in confusion as he locked his door behind him after getting in. "You told who what?"

"What you told me to do. You're the one who said I should come clean to Coco, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," Trevor said, carefully taking off his jacket to place on his couch, and walking towards his kitchen without pause.

"So... I told her the truth, finally."

"And?" Trevor asked.

He actually didn't expect Sam to even listen to his advise. The man always did whatever he wanted, even when his parents ordered him too.

Could it be that...he's changing for good?

He snorted at the last thought.

"What's funny?" Sam asked, curiosity in his voice.

"Nothing," Trevor said, walking to the fridge to pick out a bottle of water that's half full. "So what did she say?"

"Uh..."

Placing his phone on speaker and on top of the fridge, he started drinking his water after opening it.

"She uh..."

He raised a brow after he disposed of his bottle. "Why aren't you talking?"

"She was pissed."

No surprise there.

"So you didn't tell her your plans initially, like you claimed," Trevor said.

"No! That's not true. I said somewhat of the truth from the beginning. I didn't expect her to want a relationship from me, you know. I mean, I'm still in school and-"

"Then just break it off and leave her alone," Trevor said, feeling exhausted.

"But I like her," Sam whined.

"Not enough to date her," Trevor pointed out.

"It's not like that."

He rolled his eyes. "Are you still at her place?" Trevor asked, stripping to his boxers the moment he got into his room.

He couldn't wait to take a warm bath, but he'd have to wait for his brother to finish first before ending the call. So he sat by the edge of his bed and listened to his brother talk.

"Yeah. I'm in the guest room. She said I'll stay for the amount of time we'd planned, but after this, she doesn't want to see me or talk to me ever again."

"Wow," Trevor mumbled. "She's a bit too kind."

"Hey!"

"Did I lie though? She's not happy with you, but she doesn't have the heart to kick you out in the streets. Couldn't be me."

"You're not helping the situation, you know."

"I think she's taking a big risk with you. She's a lady and you're a guy. I expected her to be a bit cautious with you. Like, what if you're some kidnapper or murderer? You really could be a criminal."

Sam protested. "Hey, I'm not a criminal though."

"That's something a criminal would say."

"Geez. I'm happy she's not here now listening to you, you know. She might kick me out if she were."

Trevor shrugged, even though his brother couldn't see him. "Wouldn't be the worst thing to happen to you. You could always go book a hotel or a flight back to school."

"You're so cruel."

Trevor smiled at that. "Nah. I think we've just established that you are."

He heard Sam sigh at the end of the other line. "She was so hurt. I guess I am cruel." He continued, "I'm going to do my best to make her happy while I'm around."

"That won't make a difference. You'd still leave her and she'd still be hurt," Trevor said.

He would know. And he'd experienced the pain for years.

"I guess so," Sam said lowly. "I just don't want her to be sad, you know. I usually don't care if the girl I meet is sad that I'd be leaving soon, but it's different now."

"Could it be that you're... Growing a conscience?" Trevor whispered, feigning shock.

"Oh, damn you, bro," Sam laughed. "Maybe I am," he said after a his laughter faded within a few seconds.

"Then that's a good thing. It's about time."

Sam never really used to deceive women that he'd meet that he'd stay or that he wanted a relationship or anything, and Trevor understood those situations because he told them, though he didn't like the way he slept around. It's just that these few times lately, he'd stopped being honest.

And Trevor really wanted to know what his damn problem was. If he hadn't demanded he told Coco the full truth, Samuel would never have said anything. He wanted to question him further about this change, but he wasn't sure his brother would give him a proper response.

So he said nothing.

"You know what, I'll call you later. Coco just came back from work."

"Alright then. Later."

"Later."

Trevor sighed as he took in the silence of his room, keeping his phone by his side. He contemplated texting Tina, but he decided not to. Maybe she wouldn't respond.

"Time to take that bath and then go to bed," he said after a while, getting on his feet and moving to the direction of his bathroom.

While still thinking about Tina, of course.