Chapter 8 Walking Away

• (TYRON)
• “A namesake,” she smiled at me, “With the infamously snub young billionaire.”
• My heartbeat raced in surprise. She knew Tyron. But she didn’t know I was that Tyron.
• Infamously snub young billionaire, huh? The media made people, even her, to describe me like that.
• “Deaf,” I said. “It’s Thyron, with slightly sound of “h.” I defend.
• “Eh, that’s just a letter different,” her gaze was suddenly far away “He’s a really lucky guy but I heard his father died recently. That’s sad, but he’s still lucky.”
• “It’s sad, really.” I confessed. “But how could you say he’s even lucky?”
• “He’s rich. He doesn’t have to worry about money,” she answered fast. “He was left with two big companies in his hand. Doesn’t that make a person lucky? I bet even you, at one point in your life, wished to be him.”
• It was the funniest thing I’ve ever heard in my life and I couldn’t help but laugh. I’ve always wished to be someone else, just not as Tyron. And being left with huge responsibilities was no way in eternity, fun. “Never. I would never envy someone who’s got no freedom. He’s no more than a caged prisoner.”
• “He doesn’t suffer financially. It’s enough reason for me.”
• “Not because he doesn’t worry about money doesn’t mean he does not suffer. There are many kinds of suffering,” I gazed at the rustling trees.
• “In what way do you think?” she challenged me through her raised brows.
• “Tough decisions, I guess.” Emotionally. Mentally…the list goes on.
• Our eyes met but I withdrew mine first.
• “Right. Decisions are hard to make. But he’s smart. And knowing him, he’s got resources and advisors. It should be easy for him.”
• “It’s hard to say until you go through what he’s going through,” I defended my concealed identity.
• She suddenly pinched my side. “Are you really going to disapprove everything I say?”
• I scrunched my forehead, “Because you’re making too many false assumptions about his life.”
• “You just don’t want to lose,” she pouted “Because you’re also rich.”
• “Fine,” I turned my back and slowly walked away.
• “Hey, are you walking out on me? I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings.”
• “Don’t apologize, you’re making a fool out of yourself,” I answered.
• ( Tyron )
• “You’re the one who looked like a dejected fool when I first met you. The dark rings around your eyes told me you’re worried about many things. But there’s nobody you could really talk to. At least speak to me because if you keep it all bottled up, you’ll go crazy.”
• Nonsense. I scoffed and resumed walking to the car. She followed after me and grabbed me by the arm.
• “I’m not here to argue with you,” she smiled “I’m here to listen to your problems. And don’t ever tell me you don’t have any.”
• I leaned in to meet her eye to eye. “Everybody has problems…”
• “Then...” she began but I pressed a finger to her lips to keep her from talking.
• “…But not everything should be told to anybody.”
• I leaned away when she looked back at me. “You need to sleep. Your eye bags look terrible.”
• “Are you going home?” I asked to steer the conversation.
• “Why?”
• “Just answer me?”
• “Depends...”
• “If you’re planning to wait here alone then just come with me,” I suggested.
• She fidgeted the strap of her bag and feigned the sudden need to go home. “Right…I have to go. It’s already late.”
• I shrugged and just continued walking, “Alright.”
• “Where are you really going?”
• “Never mind. Just go home.”
• I already started the engine when she came by the window.
• “Hey, I’m going with you. But take me home after. In one piece,” she said.
• In one piece? Did she really think I was a bad guy? I opened one door to let her in.
• “What made you change your mind?” I smirked.
• “Are you happy now?”
• I noticed she grew tensed when I leaned closer to her seat. Did she really think I was going to harass her…? I extended my arm to reach for her seatbelt and buckled it up. She sighed in relief, and although wordless, I totally knew why.
• Very well, let me do something bad.
• ( Tyron )
• Very well, let me do something bad.
• I drove off at full speed and it made her scream on the top of her lungs. “Slow down! Are we car racing or what? Do you want to kill yourself?”
• “Why not?” I drove a little faster and watched satisfied as her eyes widened in terror.
• “I said ‘slow down’!”
• It was a traffic-free highway and driving there at that speed could do no harm unless the driver was drunk or inexperienced. I was neither.
• “Tyronn!”
• That fake name felt uncomfortable to hear but I still went along. I continued on ignoring her and drove consistently fast.
• “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I might throw up inside your car,” she nervously said while she put a hand over her mouth.
• That made me instantly hit the brakes.
• The car swerved out of control before its wheels got stuck in a small muddy pit. It was a dumb luck; else the car could’ve had hit the electric post by the sideway. We almost flew out if it weren’t for the seatbelts. If I had been that careless to forget, both of us would either be dead or badly injured.
• I glanced at her face which turned purplish red in an awful mixture of fear, breathlessness, and nausea. Eriez’s lecture came to mind and I remembered high acceleration or sudden deceleration G-Force could cause some serious fluid imbalances and cerebral asphyxiation.
• And she wasn’t used to my type of reckless driving.
• “Are you okay?” I asked in panic.
• “Hey…” she slurred.
• The vomit was already in her mouth. I turned my head away when the gooey liquid spilled to her seat. I, too, felt like throwing up at the smell of her vomit.
• “You aren’t even pregnant!” I jumped out of the car.
• “Hey, I told you to ‘slow down’ but you didn’t listen!” she glanced at me angrily before wiping the stains off her dress.
• “Go clean the car,” I ordered.
• “A couple arguing in the middle of the street at this kind of place?” an old man said as he and his wife passed by us at the other side of the road, “How strange. They must be from the city.”
• “Don’t be silly, dear. You used to be hot-headed like him,” the wife replied and they both laughed.
• Hot-headed? I frowned and looked back at the woman in front of me. She already started the cleaning using her handkerchief. “Done.”
• I went in and sprayed some air sanitizer near her seat.
• “Don’t drive like crazy if you don’t want that to happen again,” she said like a mother.
• “Whatever.”
• ( Tyron )
• Minutes passed and everything grew quiet. We’re a few hours away from sunset but the sky was a gradient of purplish orange already. It was beautiful. I turned to look if she was also gazing at the picturesque view.
• But she was asleep.
• An annoying ringtone suddenly blared and destroyed the silence. Everything about her was just…noisy. I stopped the car and snatched the bag she was hugging tightly. The volume increased when I took it out so I hurriedly turned her phone off.
• I returned her bag and watched her in her sleep. She was the very first woman I ever took inside my car. But she was asleep so I guessed that didn’t count.
• She was probably tired from work. She dozed off from the moment we left in moderate car speed. I just sighed at the thought that I was borrowing her time, for free.
• The air was breezy when we got there, at the place I usually go to when I have some spare time. I turned off the air conditioning and opened the window to let some fresh air in. She was still sleeping so I didn’t bother to wake her up. I just took off my coat and wrapped it around her.
• The view consisted of a plateau that sloped down to a cliff and was overlooking the ocean. The water often turned to a dark orange hue whenever the sun sets and that was what I wanted her to see. All the effort I took to bring her there went into waste because she was asleep. But I went anyway and sat in between the dancing grass.
• Sometimes the cliff would tempt me to jump and plunge myself to my death. It was a beautiful place to die after all. Its deathly call was still there and has gotten worse since my father died. I’ve done my best for the past five years so he could be proud of me if ever he wakes up.
• But it wouldn’t happen anymore.
• He’s dead.
• Time passed and the drizzle became a downpour. I walked slowly and let myself be soaked. She was still asleep when I came back.
• @SenaMangampi