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35: SUDDENLY
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The Mate Agreement 36: PICKY EATER
Well this is awkward.William Ravenstone is sitting next to me, Bibah and Akio across us like it’s a double date. We’re in a restaurant downtown, a few blocks away from The Sizzling Grill and the hotel, where we would've been getting out of our paint-splattered clothes and resting our sore muscles, if it weren't for Akio’s insistence on being hungry and Bibah patronizing him.Well to be honest I’m sure all four of us were hungry, but I didn’t want to grab a late lunch in post-paintball clothes with William in a cramped booth next to me.“What’s taking so long…” Akio complains, his leg bouncing under the table, his neck craning towards the corner our waitress had rounded and disappeared almost ten minutes ago.“Maybe if you hadn't ordered half the menu, our food would be here by now.” I glare at him, crossing my arms.He pouts, looking to Bibah for help but she simply shrugs, and goes back to tapping vehemently on her phone screen. Three empty bottles of water were arranged on the tabl
The Mate Agreement 37: POISON
I finish eating my fries dejectedly, unable to savour or enjoy them because I’d lost my appetite. And yet, I’m still hungry. Opting for something healthier, I take Bibah’s fruit bowl that she’d left behind, contemplating asking the waitress for any type of alcoholic drink they might have. I sigh, glancing over at William who’s still asleep. Maybe it’s best to stay sober. Three spoons of sliced watermelons, apples and grapes later, I lose my fancy for it too. I drag over a plate of untouched spicy noodles, removing the chopsticks from the napkins and tasting.It’s no longer hot, but it’s not bad, I guess.“Enjoying the meal?”I look up at the waitress who had asked; all blond hair and pearly white smile, the same girl that had served us our food. She has a heart-shaped face and an air of natural sweetness, like a Southern Belle.“Um, yes, thank you.” I answer politely, trapping more noodles in the chopsticks and hoping she gives up on being polite and making conversation.Unfortunately
The Mate Agreement 38: THE GIRL WHO SHOULD'VE DIED
It never should have happened that way. We never should have gone out that day. But I’d insisted. And because I insisted, Wilma insisted. Our father could never say no when both his daughters teamed up on him. If only I’d changed my mind. If only the prospect of going to the mall for some silly clothes had felt distasteful to me. If only I hadn't insisted on riding in the backseat with him.It had been raining, heavily. The kind of rainfall that sounds more like a storm; wind howling, windowpanes trembling, and the droplets hitting the roof, the glass, the earth with a vengeance. Mom had been too lazy to join us, curled up in bed with a romance novel and a mug of hot mint tea. Maybe that’s what had saved her. If only it’d saved Dad too. If only he’d been adamant on being left alone in his office, playing chess and sipping whiskey.But no amount of wishing, no amount of ‘If onlys’ can change the past. I’m powerless to stop it. All I can do is remember.I’d been annoyed with Wilma when
The Mate Agreement 39: EDIBLE
I’m vomitting.That’s not even the wild part. Listen to this.I’m vomitting, and William Ravenstone is holding a large bowl under my face. I can smell the pungent, acidic odor of whatever I’m throwing up, like rotten cheese. I throw up more. His wrist is holding up my limp head, my hair gathered in his fist.“This is gross…” I groan in-between heaves. “It’s so- I’m so-”“Shh,” he replies, and I fall back into slumber, shuddering and gasping while he wipes my face with something cold and damp.Time passes.I think time passes, although I have no sense of it.The clock says 3:05 A.M when I sit upright again. A wet compress falls into my lap. I glance over and jerk in surprise at the weight on the bed next to me.“How are you feeling?” William asks, shifting a chess piece on the chessboard in his lap. He’s sitting against the headboard, lit up only by the glow of the lamp next to him on the nightstand. I notice a stack of medications arranged there neatly too. My gaze moves back to the c
The Mate Agreement 40: CHOCOLATE
When I wake up again, it’s morning, sunlight streaming into the room through the large windows and opened curtains. I blink a few times o clear away the bleariness of my sight, looking around and feeling a twinge of disappointment upon noticing that the space on the bed close to me is empty, and so is the couch. I stretch and hear my bones crack like my joints are rusty and in need of oiling.With a stifled yawn, I sit upright.The maddening headache is gone, and so is most of my fever, although I can’t remember much what has happened in the past twenty-four hours. My stmach still feels queasy, and very, very empty. It growls, as if to acknowledge my thoughts.I glance around the room for anything to eat, and my gaze zeroes in on an ancient-looking wooden bowl on the nightstand. With a series of twists and crawls and groans, I make it to the other side of the bed, and notice a small note with neat cursive handwriting. It says: EAT ME. Vaguely, it makes me recall the things that Alice
The Mate Agreement 41: RAIN
Unfortunately, I cant stab Mr. Ortega, or Mrs. Valerie, or the Doctor they came to see me with. William had given me one of his shirt -which was too large and too gray in my opinion, but I wasn’t complaining because it smelled like him and only common decorum was keeping me away from balling up the shirt and deeply inhaling it until I pass out of breath.I sneak a peak at William who’s leaning forward and talking with Doctor Foster. He’s not shirtless -to my bitter disappointment and dismay, he’d pulled on a black shirt before letting them in. These three adults standing in the middle of the room like they had teleported there, had robbed me of a shirtless Ravenstone.Still, he looks quite dashing in that black t-shirt.“Caillou?”I snap back, looking to Mr. Ortega. “Yes?” I answer, my throat still sore, my voice mostly croaky.“I asked if you can remember what you ate and drank before passing out back at the restaurant.” He repeats, shifting from one foot to the other, and staring do
The Mate Agreement 42: BRAND NEW
I awake slowly, blinking and staring up at the hotel room ceiling that’s now starting to look as familiar as the one back in my dorm.The first thing I feel is the bitterness in my throat and the heavy sadness in my chest. Memories of the previous day slip back into my mind like unwanted phantoms. The parts of myself I’d kept glued together had come apart; shattered, in the rain. My tears had turn hysterical fast, and William had been there, asking me what was wrong and then holding me close as I wailed, once he realized I was far from being able to form coherent words.The pain of the accident, of losing my father, of my family being fractured beyond repair, had felt raw and fresh yesterday. But it was beyond just that. I’d cried because I was sad, because I was confused, and angry, and happy to be alive. The silver could’ve killed me, but it didn’t. I’d survived a tragedy once, and I’d blamed myself for being alive after it, but then I’d survived a second time, and I realized that s
The Mate Agreement 43: CHEATING CHESS
The awkwardness is almost debilitating.I get dressed in the corner, quietly shrugging on my shorts and the polo shirt before pulling on the socks. William is gentleman enough to turn his back to me but apparently not gentleman enough to leave the room entirely. Would that be asking too much? Well, it didn’t matter anyways. I wanted him to stay, and I was done dressing.I run my fingers through my damp hair, loosening the few tangles. It will have to stay like that. I’d forgotten to add a blow drier to my packing list, and Wilma had been too busy being evil to notice.In the small vanity mirror, I look like myself again. And I have to say, Wilma did pick a really form-fitting outfit. Granted, I look like a preppy private school mean girl on her way to play golf and ruin lives, but I did make a very attractive preppy private school mean girl on her way to play golf and ruin lives.The fabric of the polo shirt is thin, and the temperature in the room a little chilly. And you know what t
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- The Mate Agreement 108: MOTORBIKE
- The Mate Agreement 107: SPEEDBOAT DINNER
- The Mate Agreement 106: LUCKY GIRL
- The Mate Agreement 105: YOU’RE KINDA HOT WHEN YOU NAG
- The Mate Agreement 104: LOST TO WHIMSY
- The Mate Agreement 103: IMMERSED
