Chapter 122: Apologizing To Malo
"Okay, he’s gone. What were you doing in Jessie’s room? And no lying, because you’ve been acting strange since you arrived in my house," Haley said, facing me, expecting an answer. She stood with her hands on her hips, her eyes sharp and focused.
Well, I couldn’t make up excuses. Not with her staring me down like that. I had to tell her the truth. My shoulders slumped as I let out a breath.
"Jessie said she was going to show me a picture of me in some school yearbook. I was trying to look for the book."
"That’s trespassing. My brother could have reported you," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper as if Antonio might still be listening from the hallway.
"Well, are you going to report me?" I challenged, looking her in the eye.
"I wish I could, but I don’t want to get on Princess’s bad side... but my brother doesn’t care."
Obviously, he doesn’t. He’s not afraid of Princess at all. It was annoying to think about. First, he controls what she wants, and second, he’s dating her ex. He had all the cards in his hand and he knew it.
"Look, I’m really sorry. I never meant to trespass. It’s just that I don’t have any memories of my school days here, and I thought if I could find it, it would be a step toward getting them back." I felt a pang of desperation as I spoke. I just wanted to know who I was.
"You should have just asked. It’s not like I was going to say no..."
"I was going to, but you weren’t approachable. You’ve been all grumpy since I arrived. It made me feel like you didn’t like me."
"Well, that’s because I was expecting Sasha, not you... This assignment really means a lot to me, but it’s also the only time I get to spend with... her." Haley said, her face turning red. She looked down at the robot parts on the table, her fingers fidgeting with a loose wire.
I stared at her, trying to process what she meant. The way she said her with that shaky breath. Then it clicked.
"Oh... you have a crush on Sasha."
She paused, the silence stretching between us for a second, then she let it out.
"Yes. I’ve had a crush on Sasha for a long time, but I don’t have the courage to tell her. Even when she got seriously ill and everyone thought she was going to die, I secretly prayed to the moon goddess to take my life instead. Then one day she came back to school, perfectly fine... and I was still alive..."
I listened as she went on about Sasha. She was surprisingly talkative when it came to her. The grumpy wall she had built up completely crumbled. At the same time, she finished building her robot. It looked like a tortoise. A fast tortoise with gears and wires peeking out from under its shell.
Later, she gave me a yearbook to check. I flipped through the pages so fast I almost tore them. I scanned every face, every name, but there was no sign of me in any of them. It was like I was a ghost. Haley said her sister must have taken the one Jessie mentioned, since it was personally made by her.
Great. What a waste of time. I should have just stayed in bed and stared at the ceiling.
Then that led to my second problem.
After we were done with the assignment, I was about to leave when Kiara cornered me again. This time, we were by the poolside.
"Never knew you were friends with Haley. Finding another target, I see..." she sneered.
I swear, today this bitch is going to feel my wrath. I could feel the heat rising in my chest, a low growl starting deep in my throat.
She stepped closer to me. If she knew how I was feeling inside, she wouldn’t have come within ten feet of me.
From Malo avoiding me, to Princess being busy with her family, and now this... my fuse was already short.
"So where is my apology?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Kiara, I do not need to apologize to you. You remember everything about me, and you never drank the water."
"Oh really? I wonder what will happen if Princess finds out the truth. Will she still look at you the same way?" Kiara said, trying to intimidate me. She had that smug look on her face that made me want to scream.
I didn’t have time for this. Not today.
"Well, at least I’m not the only one going down. You knew for years, and you kept it a secret," I scoffed. I took a step toward her, forcing her to look up. "Now that you two aren’t together, maybe she’ll finally knock some sense into that head of yours."
Long story short, she just wouldn’t let it go. We kept going back and forth, her words getting sharper and meaner until I snapped. I didn’t even think about it. I just lunged and punched her. The impact vibrated up my arm as she went flying backward, landing with a massive splash into the swimming pool.
Not my fault. She just doesn’t know how to read people’s faces when they tell her to back off.
I could have stayed to mock her, to watch her struggle out of the water in her expensive clothes, but I had somewhere else to be. I walked away before Antonio could come out to see what the noise was.
A little later, I stood in front of Malo’s house and knocked on the door. My heart was thumping. A little girl, about three years old with messy pigtails, opened the door. I asked for Malo, and she yelled for him at the top of her lungs.
The moment he stepped outside, I held out a box, my peace offering.
"Donut?"
"What are you doing here?" he asked. He was still wearing that angry expression he’d been giving me all day at school. He wouldn’t even look at the box.
"Malo, I’m sorry for what I did to you. I shouldn’t have done that. I was angry that you were keeping secrets from me, and that was the only way I could think of to make you talk. I’m sorry... truly." I meant it. Seeing him like this made me feel like crap.
He just folded his arms and leaned against the doorframe.
"What took you so long?"
"Huh?"
"That’s what I’ve been waiting for... your apology. And it took you days."
"Dude, I sent you several messages every single day apologizing." I felt a little indignant. My thumb was practically sore from typing.
"I wanted it in person, not through texts."
"It’s still the same thing..."
Before I could finish, he reached out and took the donut box from me. He flipped it open and grabbed a chocolate glazed one, taking a huge bite.
"Does that mean you forgive me?" I asked, hope rising.
"Not yet. We have something to do first. Then I’ll forgive you."
Well... at least he was considering it. He wasn’t slamming the door in my face.
"Okay, what do you want me to do?" I asked lazily, leaning against the porch railing.
"Princess gave me a quota. I’m supposed to distribute Leo’s pills in a neighboring town. I need someone to help me. Since you’re here... you can join me."
He took another bite of his donut, acting like he hadn’t just dropped a bomb.
Fuck. Now I’m a drug dealer.
