Chapter 20: Chapter Twenty
Hugo eyed her. He knew better than to shrug it off. But he tried to look unaffected. Her words still rang in his ears.
"What if I say whoever gets close to me dies?"
Hugo shrugged, although his heart was beating loudly and furiously. He was not afraid. But he was intimidated, too intimidated.
He was afraid Rhea knew too much.
"So, someone is trying to kill me because I am close to you?" he asked. "Look around you, Riri. Even if it's true, you can never tell. There are too many eyes on you. On us."
"First of all, it can be anyone and it can be true. Secondly, you should stop calling me Riri before it is your dead body they will look at."
"What's so wrong with it?"
"You are not my family."
'So, I have to marry you before I can call you 'Riri'?'
"Alright," he threw his hands up in surrender. "Rhea, it is then."
She gave a small nod and stood up.
"Is your dad home?" she asked.
"He should be. If he is not at the hospital," Hugo replied. "Or, maybe he is at work."
"Your dad is trash."
"Thanks."
She started walking and he followed her as always. She walked fast and her steps were… a little strange.
"My steps are never straight," she said without turning her head as if she knew he was observing her.
"Since childhood?" he asked.
She nodded. It was when he was by her side that he noticed they were walking the same direction where they came to school from Rhea's place.
"I should take the bus."
"Just stay at my place. There is no shortage of food, or room, or anything," she said.
"Why, Rhea? Are you afraid someone will kill me?"
"I am not afraid. I told you. I won't like it if my first ever friend dies," she said.
"If someone wants to kill me, they can kill me in front of you too."
"How are you so sure? I pushed your ass once out of the truck's way. I can block once more too, unless you start annoying me and I decide to kill you myself," she said.
He chuckled. "Thanks again then, for saving my life."
"Why are you thanking me when it is something I have decided?"
He shook his head in disbelief. "It is only natural to thank someone, even for small things. Saving someone's life is no small matter."
"Alright."
"You say 'you are welcome', or, 'it's okay'," Hugo said.
"It's okay," she said.
"You choose the less welcoming one."
"I don't do 'welcome'," she said grumpily.
He smiled.
"Are you never angry?" she asked.
"I am. I was when you said I slipped in the bathroom," he said. "Why did you have to say bathroom?"
"Bathrooms can be slippery. That's easier to explain than saying you were almost killed for unknown reasonsby the truck temporarily owned by your friend's father."
"I would have said on the road or something."
"Bathroom is still better. Why? Are you ashamed?"
"… It's uncomfortable?"
"Why? You can fall in the bathroom," she said, truly confused.
She always failed to understand why some people felt uncomfortable and ashamed of something that was normal. Well, she was too, about one particular thing.
"But, I really should go home. You can never be more comfortable," Hugo said.
"You are going to die, dude," she threw her hands up and sighed. "Alright, go home. I won't make it to your funeral, by the way, as I will have more things to do."
"And by the way…"
"What?"
"Did something happen? Like, did you get hurt?"
"Not really."
Nothing happened.
That day, Hugo went home and did what he usually did. His father was home, but he left for work soon after. His father, Jordan Barrett, was an occupational therapist. The relationship between Hugo and his father was never good. There was no verbal or physical fight, however, they just were never close. Hugo could point his finger at his father for this without hesitation. A child could never be blamed for a distant parent.
Hugo started to meet up with Rhea every day in school, at least, tried to, even though Rhea acted distant. Verdell and Clara were shocked and were against it, but he did not care.
"Why are you with her?" Verdell asked. "She clearly doesn't care."
"She just acts that way," Hugo said. Even he was not sure if he was right.
"Why her? Didn't you like Rose?"
"Who is Rose again?" Hugo asked and then immediately remembered it was the blonde girl in their class. She was Ronan's girlfriend.
"You never had a crush on Rose, did you?" Verdell asked, shaking his head.
"No," Hugo replied. "I always said so."
"You just talk so… mechanically…," Clara muttered. "We thought you were trying to hide it. Then… Do you like Rhea?"
"I do," Hugo replied nonchalantly.
Verdell looked like he could pass out and Clara's mouth was hanging open in utter disbelief.
"What's so wrong with liking her?" Hugo asked.
"How long?" Clara asked. She was now eyeing Rhea, who was talking, probably arguing with the coach, in the field. Hugo was pretty sure Rhea was trying to persuade the coach to not make her play at anything that required too many movements.
"Years," Hugo said.
Rhea's hair was tied into a braid. Hugo had to smile at how she, with her small stature, argued with the huge-built coach. He could lift her with one hand and spin her with little to no effort. But she did not look like she was going to back away.
"You fell hard, dude," Verdell mumbled, making him realize Hugo was just smiling at the girl he liked like a fool in love.
"What do you see in her?" Clara asked. She was annoyed and still could not believe Hugo liked none other than Rhea.
"She is just… I don't know. I just love her," Hugo said. "You are not going to tell her anything. None of you."
"Love? Not just like? Shit, Hugo! That's really…," Clara exclaimed.
"Have you told her?" Verdell asked.
"No. I am not going to," Hugo said. "Not yet. She doesn't like me that way."
"Honesty, you could go out with literally anyone, but you got to choose the one person who doesn't like you?" Verdell sighed.
"It's not like she doesn't like me," Hugo defended. "She just doesn't like me that way."
Hugo felt like he made a mistake by telling Verdell and Clara, but then again, he could not just lie when they asked if he liked Rhea. He did like her. He loved her. No matter what, he was not going to lie about that.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone