?WINGLESS AND BEAUTIFUL?
?EPISODE 47?
“You’re a beautiful creature, inside out. But unfortunately forall those vying for your hand…” She gave a meaningful
glance at Chaise.
Then she turned back to me. “Somebody got to your heart first.”
Chaise sighed. “Stupid ba$tard just won’t leave, huh.”
“Come on, guys, let’s talk about something else,” I said,
changing the topic. “I will take care of the band, make sure they perform up to your standards, D.”
Denise smiled at me brightly. “Great!”
The three of us planned to grab a pizza after I closed up
but when we stepped out of Alibri, Denise’s mom was
waiting for her.
“Oh, I’ll be up early tomorrow. You, kids, have fun
without me. Ta-ta!” she said happily. I was pretty sure it was a setup.
Was she trying to push Chaise and me together this
time?
I looked at Chaise when Denise went off. He was looking
nervous and uncertain.
“Do you still wanna grab that pizza?” he asked
sheepishly.
I shrugged. “I’m hungry,” I admitted.
He led me to his car and before we drove to the pizza
place, I started saying, “This is not…”
“I know,” he said, cutting me off midsentence. “Not a
date. Just two friends grabbing something to eat after Hitler
ate up all our brain cells.”
I smiled at him. “Just making that clear.”
He heaved a sigh and even though I knew he was not
quite happy with that, he smiled at me before starting the engine.
When we arrived at the pizza place, I realized how bad
the idea was.
The first thing I saw was the familiar blue-
eyed devil, who haunted my dreams for more than a year,
and was still haunting my waking hours now.
As soon as I saw Tania sitting next to him, I turned away, touching my scarred cheek to remind myself that I had been through worse in my life and I got through all of it just fine.
‘Hunter-and-Tania-kissing-under-a-tree’ was not even a
fifth of the he..ll my stepfather put me through when I was younger. I’m older now. Stronger. Wiser.
“What doesn’t kill you, only makes you stronger,” I
whispered.
“What doesn’t kill you makes you want to kill it in
return,” Chaise suggested, overhearing me. I raised a brow
at him. “Sorry, I’m more of a ‘do-unto-others-what-they- do-
unto-you’ kind of guy.”
I laughed. “No wonder God made you cute. You will not
handle criticisms and insults well.”
“Cute is a huge understatement, don’t you think?” He
winked.
“Cute is actually a very generous compliment,” I said,
teasing him in return.
“I will grow on you. One day, you’ll see.” He smiled,
reaching across the table to pinch my nose.
“Maybe. So let’s order before I starve to death and not
live to see that day, shall we?”
“Come on, man! Where’s your sense of humor these
days?” We heard somebody say a few tables away from us.
We turned to see Hunter leaving the group’s table. Tania
stood up from her seat and went running after him.
“Tania, when will you stop?” another guy asked her.
Tania shook her head and I thought I saw sadness cross
her face. “Never say never, remember?” She smiled at the
guy bitterly and then ran after Hunter.
I didn’t know what was going on between Hunter and Tania. Whether they were still together or they were
fighting.
But whatever it was, I only knew that at this moment, it was her running after him, trying to calm him down, easing his pain and making him feel better… not me.
I looked up at Chaise slowly.
He was looking at the door
after Tania. Then he turned to me. “I don’t understand how
any girl can keep up with that moron.”
I sighed. “Maybe he wasn’t always like that. Maybe he
was just having a rough day.”
Chaise actually laughed. “I think he was having a bad
year!”
“Well, Denise already told us what he went through. It’s
not easy,” I said. “Trust me. I’ve been there.
There are some wounds you don’t recover from.”
Chaise reached for my hand across the table.
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