My Kind of Perfect (27 page)

I always had a way of getting interrupted.

“So...” Sandy's words lingered in my ears. She took a seat
on the couch and put the can of cola that she was drinking on the coffee table
at my side, slamming it hard so that she could catch my full attention.

Well, she did catch my attention as the droplets of cola
splashed all over my face. Wiping it away, I looked up to glare at her. But
instead of doing so, I was taken back because she was already staring at me
intently. She kind of got the upper hand in this situation because she had that
one meaningful look in her eyes and I knew full well what she was thinking.

“...are you going to accept it or not?”

Looking away, I put down the gold nail paint that I was
holding and looked at the velvet box on the table. She cleared her throat and I
exhaled. I knew that she wouldn't let this pass so I lifted my face to her
direction and feebly answered, “I don't know.”

“What's holding you back? It can't be John Emerson Brooks,
right?” she asked me skeptically, saying out loud Johnny's name.

I looked down at my half-done nails. We both knew that it
was still him who was keeping me from saying yes to Aaron. Well, apparently, my
ex-boyfriend came back and said that he hadn't proceeded with his wedding.
Thing was, it was all because of me. And last night, four months later, the
words I wanted to hear all my life and dreamed ever since I as little came
true.

“Kayla, I thought you’d already decided to do him this
favor. That you will try your hardest to move on and let him marry the rich
gal. Uhmm... what's her name again?” she reminded me.

I sighed and took one more glance at the velvet box that Aaron
left at my door this morning. I absentmindedly answered, “Amanda Frost.”

“Right that one. So, are you planning to interfere or let
them be? Take John back or let him be with her? She was pretty serious that if
John would marry her, she would give him all her asset that would surely help
him in gaining back all his loss and strengthen his businesses once more,” she
said, sipping her cola.

“I don't know, Sandy. I'm confused. But I don't want Aaron
anymore. I want him. But then...” I faltered, lost in my own thinking.

“Then go with your heart,” she muttered, glancing at me as
she turned on the TV. “Drag him to the normal world and have a happy life.”

“I can't!” I exclaimed, messing my hair in frustration.
“That hotel is important to him. It was his grandfather's.”

“See? When I tell you to go with your heart, you get angry.
And when I tell you to just go ahead and accept Aaron's proposal, you act like
you are being sentenced to death. So what should I actually tell you?” she
asked in disbelief, shaking her head in confusion.

“I don't know,” I mumbled.

“Oh, what if you just forget about those two and start
again? Dump Aaron and let John marry that Amanda girl. Then go somewhere far
from this place and forget about what happened,” she suggested. “You’re pretty,
Kayla. Enough to catch a guy in three days.”

I stared at her, frowning. “If I could forget everything
just by blinking, I wouldn't be here and sulking all day.”

“You know what you need? A place where you can clear out
your head,” she said to me, flipping the channels. “Go and take a vacation.”

Almost half a million in my bank account, I was pretty much
having a good life now. Don’t get me wrong. I denied it at first. But John and
some other men-in-black authorities, in place of Dorothy, insisted that I should
take it.

And another good news was, I got everything back. Sandy's
and my own savings were both retrieved from
All is Good
Company
. I also received a call yesterday and got a good offer from a
known advertising agency. I could even get Aaron back if I wanted to. But
still, I didn't feel like everything was in their rightful place.

Like a big part of me was still missing.

“How about consult your horoscope? Like before?” she
suggested.

I exhaled. “I don't believe in that anymore after all those
things that had happened. You know what my horoscope said was when Dorothy had
a heart attack? It said that I would win the lottery if I’d adopt a cat.”

“Did you?” Sandy’s face was suggesting that I did.

“Sandy! No! Of course I did not!” I said quickly.

“Oh. I thought you did.” She shrugged. “You really didn’t?”

“Of course not. Dorothy was in the hospital. How could I
adopt a cat?”

“Good for you. You haven’t lost the sense of humanity just
yet,” she told me, implying that I sort of lost a big part of it.

I exhaled. “Dad was right. I realized that basing your
decisions on those words was foolish. And how could I adopt a cat at that
time?”

Sandy nodded in agreement.

“Life pretty much has a plan after all. And it's yours to
take. In the end, whatever happens… happens. That there will always be a
reason. Like one and one equal two. And it’s not just of luck but a greater
drive that holds everything together.”

She blinked.

“Did I say anything wrong?”

“Are you being philosophical now? What happened to that
Kayla who frantically searched for her horoscope first thing in the morning?”
she teased, almost laughing.

“She disappeared. Kayla here is pretty much exhausted with
everything that she’d rather not count those four-leafed clovers or the
five-leafed ones,” I answered.

“You're insane,” she incredulously replied, shaking her
head. Then she threw me a pillow and said, “Get lost!”

I faintly smiled in response.

Well, from the looks of it, two months hadn't done me any
good. All day, he was on my mind. After that press conference, we had decided
to not see each other for a while. He needed time to recuperate from everything
that had happened, his business going down and Dorothy still recovering in the
hospital. And I also needed space to breathe and stop on being choked up every
time I saw Dorothy's worn out figure.

But it was unfair. He was all over the news. And I was like
what? Someone whom he could totally avoid without even trying?

Turning my gaze to the open window, I stared at the blue sky
and got lost in my thoughts once more. Back here in Creeksburg, the sky was more
vibrant. The white clouds hovered in the sky, adding life to the solid blue
firmament, just like how my muddled feelings added contrast to the once perfect
life I thought I had. Somehow, those things that had happened taught me how to
feel.

I came to realize that love was more than just feeling
butterflies in your stomach or feeling weak on your knees. Or dating the most
handsome guy around. Sometimes, it also involved a lot of heart and
understanding. And at times, letting that person go if needed. No matter how
bad you wanted to stay with him. When you loved someone for real, the world
didn't revolve around what you wanted. You started to give thought to every
single thing there was.

That was something that the old Kayla would never know. But
all things had changed when I met him... again. He changed everything.

We all had that. That one guy whom you’d unconsciously think
of in the middle of the day and could make you smile just because. Or that
person who popped into your head when you heard that love song playing on the
radio. Probably, he would also be the reason why you were crying in the middle
of the night, biting your pillow so that no one would hear. The one whom you’d
suddenly miss when the cool winds of December seeped into your skin or when the
summer heat perched into your soul. We all had that one person who got the best
of us and touched our hearts in a funny way. And we were never the same again.

What on earth had happened to him?

I incredulously stared at John Brooks whose hair was muddled
and looked like he hadn't combed it for days. I also noticed that his tie was a
little bit crooked and he got those deep bags under his eyes. A faint smile was
kept on his face and I was certain that every viewer knew that he was
noticeably forcing himself to be okay.

“Mr. Brooks is it true that you're going to accept the Ms.
Frost's proposal?” asked one of the reporters who was intently following him.

“No, there is no truth behind those humors,” he confirmed.

I immediately exhaled in relief, releasing my thumb from being
clasped in between my teeth. Then I realized that I shouldn't be exhaling for
that. What was I even doing? Logically speaking, John should accept Amanda
Frost’s proposal. Amanda could save him. She was right for him.

“Then do you have any other plans to keep the business
going?” asked the reporter again.

John stopped from walking and faced the camera as he
answered, “Yes, the business is still hanging on. We made some new investments
in the past weeks.”

“How about that girl...” the reporter tried asking again but
John cut him off as he held his hand in front of him.

“Let's not talk about her,” he said, avoiding the camera and
heading on his way. His security team soon took over and the news about him
ended just like that.

I couldn’t help but smile. I owed him for taking the entire
spotlight for himself and saving me from the misery of having to face reporter
every day. He specifically asked them to not interfere with my private life and
made sure that no reporter would get the chance to peer into my privacy. He had
those two or three men-in-blacks outside my apartment to keep me from those
meddlesome reporters. And two months after, they were still there and following
me around.

This was the last glint of the spotlight that I had once
taken.

And for me it all ended that day. But for him, it was still
going on. A couple of months after that day, he was still being questioned
about every single thing. And right now, he was caught up in another mess as
the only daughter of one of the most prestigious family had taken a liking on
him.

That would be Amanda Frost.

That girl had offered her help to him by asking him to marry
her in live television while doing one of her regular talk shows. Everyone
swooned and thought that it was all romantic—girl saving a guy from falling six
feet down the slump. But all I got was goosebumps and hefty sighs, feeling that
my existence became less by the minute. What could a girl like me offer to him
now?

‘Drag him into the normal world,’
Sandy's words echoed in my head.

And then what? Make him lose everything he had thoroughly
kept until now? That was something that even my twisted conscience would not
allow.

I turned off the TV and lay my back on the sofa. Turning to
my side, I saw that velvet box again. Three days later, I hadn't even said a
word to Aaron nor answer his second attempt of proposing marriage to me.

Two months of nothing but complete lost in your own thoughts
made me think about everything that had happened in my life. It was like I was
reminded of what had really occurred rather than what I thought was happening.
For one, I thought about what Aaron did and how I made a fool out of myself for
even considering to forgive him and take him again. He was nothing but a total
douche-bag. I made myself a fool once. And I would never consider making it
twice.

And then there came Mr. Brooks whom I had known since we
were young. The same one I disregarded before and had recently made a
spectacular comeback.

Talk about the irony of love.

I heard my phone beep, instantly pulling me out of my
thoughts. Picking it up from the table, I opened the message and the world
turned blank afterward. No. Actually, the world was still there but my soul had
already departed from it.

It was because he sent me a message.

After days and days of no show, he had finally texted me. I
had been enduring it for the last two months and it was him who finally gave
in. That was just my wishful thinking that he finally yielded to that overwhelming
feeling of missing me so bad that he finally sent me a message. It was how I
felt. And somehow, I also wished that it was also the same for him. But as I
said, it was just my wishful thinking.

John:
Can you come out for a while?
I'm waiting at the park near your apartment.

I had read the message again and again for who knew how long
until it finally sunk in that he had sent me a message. Picking myself up, I
hurriedly grabbed a brush and combed my hair. Putting on some lip gloss, I
looked at myself in the mirror. I saw a blonde girl whose eyes were sparkling
with happiness that even if she tried composing herself, her feelings were
oozing out on its own.

Almost running my way out, I locked the door in haste and
headed out of the building. Walking towards the park near my place, my heart
went wild with my every step. I stopped on my tracks and fixed my hair before
turning to the corner where the park was.

Catching my breath, I rubbed my hands together. I suddenly
felt cold even though summer had already started. Just the thought of seeing
him made me feel unwell and it was like I was losing my feet on the ground. I
exhaled and told myself to stay calm and keep sane. I reminded myself that it
would be all too weird if I jumped out of joy in front of him.

After making sure that I was not freaking out anymore, I
walked towards the park. But I stopped again when I saw him sitting there on
the swing, lightly pushing himself back and forth. And just like how I had seen
him before in the news, he was as distorted. Seeing him from a distance, it was
like he aged ten years in just several months.

Walking towards him, I kept my footfalls as quiet as it
could possibly be. I did not want to startle him or make him know that I was
already here. I wanted to have this few more seconds to gaze at him like the
way I wanted to. Not being bothered if I looked too weird or entirely
dumbfounded.