Catherine

It was the sound like someone was being tortured that made my eyes open.

It took me a few seconds to realize that the groaning was coming from me, and that I ended up sleeping on the couch the whole night. It was about three in the morning when I woke up, hoping to see him snoring in his room. I opened his door carefully, not wanting to bother him and just wait 'til tomorrow if ever he decided to drive back and tell me his thoughts about what I said.

But he wasn't there.

And so were the rest of his belongings. Even the scent of him was gone. Which kind of left me with nothing but an empty room.

Just like how it used to be before he moved in.

A million reasons on why he would leave so suddenly came to my mind, only to end up with one conclusion; It was over. His job was done. Adios. No hasta la vista or get to the choppah for me.

I knew this day was coming. It's just that I didn't get to mark a calendar with X's while I was at it.

I found it difficult to react, and I just stood at his door for I don't know how long. I even tried calling his name out, thinking that maybe, he was just pulling my leg. But he never showed up and I almost had a heart attack when Mr. Fluffy stepped out of Damon's room.

Maybe he's busy at work. He's been gone for a few days before.

But I just knew something was going on. Something certainly was going on with me when he was around. And with how my brain started going back from day one, I noticed how he looked at me. With that stupid crooked nose and that stupid goofy smile.

I never really paid attention on what's happened during the times we were in each other's company. Not until now.

I thought I'd actually like someone who'd fit the criteria I so carefully listed down before. Way back when I was so sure I could accomplish anything I put my mind to. It always earned me concerned stares from my aunts whenever I enumerated the things that I wanted the man should have.

A nice family background. A man who knows his own weaknesses. A man of talent and patience. A man who would respect me, just as much as I would respect him.

Then there came this guy with the characteristics of someone I would have just stood behind in line to get a burger on a crowded joint.

He was loud and obnoxious and messy, yet still smelled like he lived on an apple orchard all his life. There are times when I'll catch him with a lollipop. I know it was difficult to stop smoking so I never really asked him about the lollipop sticks I would find around the apartment.

Damon's sense of humor varied from puns, to sexual jokes that would make me question my morals if I started laughing. He was never afraid to voice out his disagreement when he thought I was on the wrong side of the argument.

By now, it was obvious that he thought of himself as a superstar. His singing was always loud, but he knew whenever I didn't feel like singing along with him and he'd hum Smile while he cooked. It always worked like magic.

After discovering his sudden and unannounced departure, I sat back down on the couch and stayed there until I fell back asleep.

If Damon left without telling me, then it really was over and there's no use chasing him. Or maybe the reason I sat there was to think of what I should do next.

It's not like the guy lived miles away from me.

Maybe, the reason I didn't cry my eyes out was because things weren't over yet. And maybe I didn't drive in the middle of the night to find him because he was at work. And the kind of job he must have been doing couldn't afford having a woman running to him in the middle of a fight with demons, proclaiming her love to him, while he's trying to stay alive.

The soft knocks from the door made me jump, and I almost tripped just to reach the doorknob.

"Catherine!" He looked surprised, yet amused when he took in my appearance.

"Robert!" I tried to sound enthusiastic to mask the disappointment I felt when I wasn't greeted with dark eyes that turned as blue as the morning sky if I happened to stare for too long.

"May I come in?" He chuckled, handing me a bouquet of flowers. I stepped back and he walked straight to Damon's kitch - my kitchen.

"It's pretty late but I can prepare you brunch." He smiled at me, opening the cupboards to get a pan.

"He put them on the second cabinet, above the toaster." I sat down and eyed him as he found what he was looking for. This just seemed so wrong.

"Robert stop." I gripped the bouquet as he turned my way. Well here goes. "I- I can't do this." I placed the flowers on the table and looked at him.

"What do you mean you can't do this? It's just brunch." He turned off the stove and placed his hands on the table, probably confused on why I was rejecting scrambled eggs.

"Not - the brunch. Just this. Look, I don't know if you know what I know." I stood up and looked around for my shoes. They were all in my room but one quick look and saw a shoelace from under the couch. Stepping back, I continued talking. "But I need to talk to him." Crouching, I slipped a hand from under the couch and pulled the shoe out. Without wasting even a glance, I grabbed the other one and stood up, slipping the both of them on.

His eyebrows were scrunched together as he looked at me, when all I wanted to do was run out of the building.

"Why him?" I was tying my hair when he asked this, and he just sat there with a curious expression on his face.

I tried thinking of an answer. I honestly didn't know when and how it happened. When I met Robert's eyes, I raised my shoulders in a shrug. "I - don't frick fracking know." With that said, I ran out the door and down the stairs.

"That's it? You're just going to leave me here?" He was shouting from the top of the stairs and I turned to look up at him, catching my breath.

"Could you lock the door when you leave, please?"

And I was off.

He waved me goodbye. I was in Damon's truck when he ran his fingers through his hair, shaking his head."And here I thought cupid gets all the ladies."

***

Now when bringing a truck as old as Damon's, you should always, always anticipate the fact that it is old, and that it is Damon's.

It was barely fifteen minutes when the engine started acting up, and I had no choice but to park it on the side of the road. Slamming a palm on the steering wheel, I squeezed almost half of my body outside the half-opened windshield. Looking up to the sky, I raised a hand.

"Really?!" Shoving the door open, I opened the trucks hood. "Great. Just frick fracking great." I stopped checking after a couple of restarts knowing that it's a goner. Battery's dead.

"Just a couple of blocks." Closing the hood, I turned around and re-tied my ponytail. "Piece of caramel cake."

I was pretty sure I looked like an idiot, what with running the streets on my pajamas and shoes that felt too loose on my feet. What was it that they say about taking risks? Ah yes. Go big or go home.

And when going big, you might as well go home if you're not going to look at both sides of the road before crossing the street.

I'd write a note about it next time. And maybe alert the owner of the black sedan that just so happened to be the last thing I saw before the lights went out.

***
"Wake up dear."

I groaned and placed a hand on my forehead. It felt like I just closed my eyes and was disturbed by the sounds from the senior's bingo night.

Slowly opening my eyes, my heartbeat felt like it tripled when I saw the man before me. If I haven't lived with Damon for so long, I would have told this guy the speech I had in my head. Why, you ask?

Because he looked exactly like Damon!

Minus the acne marks, and the crooked nose, and a remembrance from when he had chicken pox on his temple. This was like Damon 2.0. He was physically perfect I was tempted to ask which beauty clinic he's been visiting.

"Hello." He smiled and sat in front of me.

Well that kind of ruined it. The man had an accent.

"You're not Damon." I cleared my throat, and looked at him. He fixed his tie, shaking his head.

"What made you say that?"

I tapped my fingers impatiently on the armchair I just realized I was seated on. "The accent. The endearment. The lack of traces from teenage years." With this, he laughed.

"Of course."

"Twin brother?" My eyes roamed the room I was on and noticed that the two chairs we were sitting on were the only furniture. There were no doors. But we were both seated by a window. He shook his head again and smiled at me.

"His father."

My eyes widened a fraction, all the while trying to look as composed as possible.

"The guy who made his mom forget, and made sure he always remembered? The same guy who had his wife try to kill a kid because daddy couldn't get his busy patoot to visit his son on his birthday? Not even a card? That guy?"

He gave an audible sigh before turning to the window. "Not quite, my dear."

The sound of a closing door made me direct my eyes to the window. I quickly stood up when I saw Damon holding boxes of what looked like his belongings, into his car. Mitchelle was behind him, with a huge suitcase. He handed it to Damon, with him putting it inside the car's trunk.

"Where is he going?" I turned to the man beside me.

"Relocating."

"What do you mean relocating?" I grabbed the tie he so carefully placed and looked him in the eye. He never made eye contact with me. Instead, he took out his phone and dialed a number. I looked back at the window to see Mitchelle reaching for his phone.

"Now." Mitchelle nodded and tapped Damon's shoulder. Mitchelle's expression changed drastically, like he was panicking. I couldn't hear anything, but what he said made Damon get in his car so fast, he was out of sight before I could even say fast.

He pried my hands from his tie and fixed it again, clearing his throat.

"Would you like to know more about Damon?"

Glaring at him, I tried opening the window. "No. I want to get out of here. What did Mitchelle tell him?" I tried lifting the window sill, but it wouldn't budge.

"No? But I could show you."

Grabbing a chair, I looked at him. He seemed so composed, so sure of himself.

"You know what, whatever it is that you call yourself - "

"Morris."

I put down my chair and frowned. "Seriously? Morris?" He shrugged.

"Okay then, Morris." I lifted my chair again and licked my dried lips, eyeing the window.

"You know why I don't want to hear about Damon?"

"Why, do pray tell."

I smiled at him and moved my arms. "It's because I want to know him myself. And I kind of do now. Did you know he doesn't like chocolate? And he sleeps like a log? He likes reality shows on TV. And he likes the dishes sorted out by size?"

That made him frown, looking at me as I moved the chair.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get to him." With that said, I threw the chair towards the window as hard as I could manage.

I covered my eyes as the sound of shattering glass filled the room, the same time something tugged my body downward, I felt my back landing on something soft.

***

"Miss? Are you alright?" The small voice of a woman spoke near me. I opened my eyes, feeling an oxygen mask covering half my face.

I was feeling perfectly fine. I frowned, raising my hand to get rid of the mask. The nurse tried stopping me from getting up, but I was having none of it. I jumped off the bed, shaking my head. Gasps from my right made me turn, seeing an old lady looking at me, wide-eyed.

"Miss, you got hit by a car. You shouldn't be moving." The nurse grabbed my arms.

"Wait wait! I have to pee." That made her let go, contemplating if I was telling the truth. I even groaned, just to make her see how bad I had to go. "My bladder's killing me."

She pointed me the nearest bathroom and I smiled at her.

Instead of turning left, I turned right. Straight to the exit. I was almost there when the door to the emergency room opened, a man in an overall running inside.

"Car accident. Female. Brown hair. Freckles. Cute laugh. Killer dance moves. Where?!" He was aimlessly walking around before approaching the nurse I woke up to. Even from here, I could see him shaking. An older nurse walked towards them. She spoke to Damon calmly and lead him to the hallway, right in front of the emergency room.

Frowning, I started following them.

I saw him sitting on the floor, pulling at his hair, his head down.

Slowly, I walked towards him.

"This isn't happening." He took a shaky breath. I wanted to touch him, but he was too focused on staring at whatever's on the floor. His body shook and I noticed little drops of water falling on the floor.

"Déjà vu huh? I remember saying the same thing when I saw you in that darned apartment." That made him look up.

I'm not much of a sentimental person, but if you ever see a guy like Damon crying...

"Bonbon?"

I wiped the wetness from my cheek and nodded.

"Catherine?" I laughed as he placed his hands on my cheeks. His eyes were so wide as he looked at my face. His nose was runny and he kept sniffing just to keep it together

"Unless you know other Catherines with killer dance moves." Placing my hands over his, I helped him up.

"I thought - Mitchelle told me you got into an accident." He moved his head to the side, rubbing his cheek on his sleeves.

"I thought you were relocating." His hands moved down to my waist, resting his forehead on mine.

"Relocating?" I nodded, his eyebrows scrunching together. "The only relocation I'll be doing is going to be is at our apartment." He stepped back and took in my appearance.

I yelped when he carried me, his jaw set as he called for a doctor.

"I'm fine!" He ignored me and placed me on the bed I just woke up in.

"Your shirt's covered in blood!"

"Wha - oh." I really was covered in blood. Looking inside my shirt, I was confused when I found no scars, or open wounds. Damon was still shouting for a doctor and I had to cover his mouth with my hand to shut him up.

"Damon! I'm fine." I let go of him and raised my shirt. "See?"

Okay so maybe raising my shirt wasn't the best proof. And his face looked like he got dumped with pink paint when I looked at him. Quickly pulling my shirt down, I got off the bed.

"I have to tell you something."

He was looking at my feet. I looked down to see him with a small smile.

So I was wearing his sneaker and his leather shoe. That's why it felt too big.

He shook his head . "No, I need to tell you something."

It was my turn to shake my head. "The last time I let you reply, we got interrupted. I mean can you not figure it out yet?"

"Shush, bonbon. The last time I planned on telling you this, I always had to wait until something comes up again."

"It would only take a minute."

"It wouldn't take long."

We took a deep breath, both determined to say our piece.

"I'm not sure when and how it happened but - "

"What I've been meaning to tell you is - "

"I love you."

Saying it at the same time caught the both of us off guard.

"What?" Again, at the same time.

"I said I love you." His voice sounded raw from crying.

"And I said I love you." He smiled when my voice broke.

"Copy cat." He murmured before bringing his face near mine.

The curtain from the other bed parted and a doctor came rushing in, the nurse Damon harassed to know where the lady with killer dance moves was. "What's the emergency?"

He frowned when Damon and I laughed, saying something about crazy kids wasting his time as he left.

"So why were you by the emergency room?" I asked when our laughter died down.

"They told me a woman was there. Got into an accident while dancing. I was too anxious that all that registered in my head was accident."

I smiled at him and took his hand. He smiled back.

You gotta hand it to me when it came to having patience. We were on the parking lot and it was too late for him to say no when I pulled him in for a kiss. I was on my tip-toes as he smiled, deciding to kiss me back.

Not exactly the most romantic place to be. But the basics were there.

The guy who showed up in my kitchen, half-naked, three magic words, and his lips on mine.

You just never know who you'll end up with. And the prewritten script wouldn't always be followed.

With Damon's hand on my cheek, and the other on my waist, I opened one eye to look at the sky.

I say screw the frick fracking script.