Chapter 138: Paye Apologize
After Paye apologized for calling me his problem the other day, the room felt lighter. I also apologized for hurting his feelings, and for a moment, the tension that had been building between us just dissolved. We sat down on the edge of his bed while we made up, the mattress dipping under our weight. When he leaned in and hugged me, I could hear him sniffing. He was actually crying. He squeezed me tight, calling me his little puppy in that shaky voice.
I can’t believe he still calls me that. It’s embarrassing, but at the same time, it felt like home.
After settling our differences and wiping away the stray tears, it was finally time to ask him the question I had been wanting to ask for weeks. I needed to know what was going on in his head.
He had moved back to his desk, hunching over again. He was completely focused on the papers he was filling out, his pen scratching against the wood. I stood up from the bed and walked over to see what he was writing so intently.
"What are you doing?" I asked, leaning over his shoulder.
Immediately, his posture stiffened. He gathered the papers into a messy pile and adjusted them so the text was facing away from me.
"Just filling out some paperwork," he said. He was trying not to let me read it, but my eyesight was quicker than his movement. I caught the bold letters at the top.
"Are you trying to buy a house?" I asked. It looked like a formal request for the right to buy property in Oakland.
"Oh, I see you now have good eyesight, huh?" he said, sounding genuinely disappointed that he couldn’t keep the secret a little longer.
Is my brother actually trying to buy his own house? My face widened with a smile. The idea of us having a place that was ours felt amazing.
"You want to buy a house!!" I shouted, nearly jumping.
"Shh, keep your voice down. I haven’t bought it yet. I’m only making a request to the GPF. If it’s approved, then I’ll look for a place and buy one. Eriko has been a good friend, a great one. He hasn’t complained once about us taking over his space. He let us stay here, and he even cooks for us. But buying my own house will be a relief for everyone. I’ve always wanted a place where the Grande family can really live. A place that belongs to us."
So that’s why he had been working those night shifts and coming home with dark circles under his eyes. He was trying to buy a house. He was trying to reduce the burden on Eriko and give us some stability.
In Oakland, things are strict. You have to make a formal request to the GPF before you can even think about buying any property. It’s all about control.
It was a good thing my brother was finally getting something for himself and for us. I felt a pang of guilt for being so hard on him lately. I wished I could use my savings and add it to his pile so he could get a better house, maybe something with a big yard. I watched as he went back to work, his hand steady as he continued filling out the form.
"Recently, I realized I don’t remember my school life here... or even the friends I had before we left Oakland. It’s like a blank space," I said. The moment the words left my lips, his pen stopped moving. He didn’t look up.
So he does know something. He’s not surprised.
"Do you know why you don’t remember?" he asked. His voice was too calm.
"Well, Malo and Kiara confirmed that I caused it myself. They told me I made everyone drink some potion I mixed into the school water. I wiped the whole slate clean," I explained, watching his reaction.
He wasn’t looking at me. He was just staring at the paper, his grip tightening on the pen.
"Oh... I see," he muttered.
"Were you aware of this? Did you know I did that?" I studied his behavior, watching for a twitch or a shift in his eyes, trying to catch any mistake in his story.
"Of course I wasn’t. You were always hanging around Pali and his girlfriend back then. I didn’t know every little thing you were up to. I don’t know what you did, but when we were leaving Oakland on the bus, I asked if you said goodbye to your friends. You didn’t answer me. You just stared out the window. I never thought you would actually wipe your own memory just to forget them..."
Was he telling the truth? He sounded sincere, but something felt off. And wait, did I just hear him mention Pali?
"Uncle PP has a girlfriend?" I asked. My mind was reeling because I’ve never seen him with anyone except Kali.
"Had," he corrected, finally looking up. "They broke up a long time ago. What was her name... hmm... Shelley Grace."
The name clicked instantly. Oh, I know that lady. I don’t remember her from before the move, but she’s Sasha’s big sister, the one who told Sasha to stay away from me.
"Why did they break up?," I asked, wanting to dig deeper into the history.
"Why should I know why people break up? You should ask Pali or Shelley if you’re so curious. I don’t even talk to Pali anymore. We’re done," he said, his tone turning sharp.
"Why? What did he do that was so bad?"
"What is with this interrogation tonight? Seriously, Faye. Anyway, he broke my trust. That’s all you need to know. I trusted him with something important, and he and his ex used it for their own advantage. He doesn’t even deserve my friendship. I’m glad we’re on separate paths now."
Well, he happens to be my boss now, I thought, but I kept that to myself. Uncle PP said said he never thanked him and now Paye says he broke his trust...
I let my brother talk non-stop after that. This was it. He was in that rare phase where the walls come down and he just talks without holding back. I had to take advantage of it.
"So... why did you make us leave Redwood so suddenly? What was the real reason?"
This was my chance. I leaned in, really hoping he would finally tell me the truth instead of some vague excuse.
"Look, Guru is not who we thought he was. He’s someone different than the man he pretends to be. And he has a family," Paye said.
I looked at him. He sounded dead serious, his eyes dark. I wasn’t shocked by the family part. He was older than my brother, so it was completely possible he had another family somewhere. But was that really enough of a reason to pack up our entire lives early in the morning? Couldn’t he just talk to him instead of leaving like we were running from a fire?
"So... how is that supposed to make me lose respect for him? Guru is still a great guy in my eyes. You were knocked up by some guy you don’t even remember, and he took you in when you had nothing. He played the role of a father to Kaye when his other father couldn’t," I muttered.
The room went silent. Now he was looking angry. His face was flushing a deep red, and his jaw was set tight.
I quickly stepped away. I didn’t want to push him too far tonight or make him start crying again. I had gotten some answers, even if they weren’t the ones I wanted.
But I still felt like there was more to the story. That couldn’t be the only reason he left his boyfriend and a stable life. There was a missing piece, something bigger. I’ll figure it out later when he’s not so wound up.
When I got to the living room, Malo had already left for the club without me. I looked at the clock and realized I was too tired to go anywhere, let alone a crowded club. I’ll just find out what happened and what Princess’s big plan was tomorrow morning.
I just sat down on the couch between Kaye and Dina. We spent the rest of the night watching TV, the flickering blue light the only thing moving in the room.
