Starstruck 35. Unexpected Turn

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35. Unexpected Turn

 

“You’re sulking Frio.” I stared at the ceiling of my room, wishing I could sleep for a long time. “Hey are you there? Don’t ignore me. You know I hate that.”

Shaking my head, I rolled my eyes to no one in particular. She was always like this, pestering me with a phone call. “I’m here Eris. And I’m not sulking. Whatever gave you that idea?”

Eris laughed from the other side of the line. “Ever since virgin girl flew to France a month ago, you’ve barely left your house. Emphasis on the word flew Frio because Dulce didn’t die. She studied abroad. Now quit your sulking and come meet me so we can talk face to face. I hate to admit it but I miss bullying you.”

“I don’t want to leave the house. Let me just stay here, sleep for 4 or maybe 5 years, and maybe, just maybe, when I wake up, she’ll be back in my arms,” I said with a groan, squeezing my eyes shut. “Besides, don’t you have better things to do than bothering me? Play with Patty or better yet, go back to modeling.”

“I am back in modeling,” she snapped. “But fashion week is two months from now so I’m on a well-deserved vacation. Also, need I remind you that I shot a commercial for this big brand a week ago? So yes I’m still desirable and yummy Frio. Thank you very much.”

“Whatever,” I muttered. “Can I go now? I want to sleep.”

I was about to end the call, my finger hovering on the screen of my phone, when Eris blurted something that made me stop. “Dulce called me last night,” she said in a hurry. “She wants you to meet me today. That’s why I called you.”

“She never told me anything the last time we talked,” I said carefully, remembering the conversation I had with my girl the other day. Maybe it was Eris tactic of getting me out of the house, using my Dulce as bait.

She sighed audibly, making me feel as if I was right next to her. “Look, I won’t lie to you about this. She really did call me. Just get your butt in my house so we can discuss about it alright? I’ll expect you to be here in 30 minutes.”

Before I could reply, the line went dead. God. . . I loved Eris as a sister but sometimes she was too nosy for her own good. Couldn’t she just leave me be and let me wallow on my sorrows? Apparently not, I concluded as I got out of the bed.

Walking inside my bathroom, I couldn’t help but halt when I passed the mirror. As I stared at my reflection, I wondered how many pounds I lost since last month. Since Dulce left. Frankly, I looked like a zombie. No wonder she sounded worried whenever we called each other.

 I just wished she was here right now to take care of me. If she was, I would trail my hands on her soft skin, whisper sweet and naughty things to her like I used to do, smash my mouth on her- Okay I really needed to stop before another cry fest started. With a subtle shrug of my shoulder, I proceeded to ready myself.

Thirty minutes later, Eris greeted me with a kiss on both cheek before I was able to stop her. She knew I hated that, yet there she was doing it to me. “It’s been a while since you’ve been here Frio. Welcome back to my home.” She stood aside, letting me walk inside the front door.

My eyes roamed around the place. “You got another sofa,” I said as I pointed to the grey colored cushion in the living room. “But aside from that, everything looked like the way it was before.”

Eris chuckled, dragging me to the chair I was talking about. Her home closely resembled mine, sleek and modern. Only hers was a little more colorful, with random artworks displayed all over the place. I was more of the minimalist type.

As we sat on the chair, she tucked her left foot underneath her other leg. “Patty hated the other sofa so I got rid of it,” she explained with a shrug. “You know I’d do everything for that silly girl.”

“How is she? How’s Tim?” I had to admit, I was a very bad friend. Ever since Dulce left, I haven’t been talking much to people or leaving the house for that matter. Heaven knows what happened to her two best friends. Oh God I was hopeless.

Eris patted my shoulder in an assuring manner, letting me know that everything was cool. “To answer your question, both of them are starting college now. They’re in different universities of course, but we still get in touch, especially Patty.” She gave me a look. “Frio, they’re so worried about you. Everyone is. Hell I’m worried about you, and I’m not the type to worry.”

I avoided her eyes, removing the arm she had around my shoulder. “I’m okay.”

“Liar. We both know you’re not. That girl was very special to you, and now that she’s away, you just can’t stand being alone again.”

“Well what do you want me to do?” I snapped, grabbing a pillow, squeezing it as if it was a person’s head in irritation. She didn’t know how hard it was to be oceans apart from the one you loved. “Do you expect me to party around? God Eris, she wouldn’t even allow me to visit her for a year.”

Eris raised her hands in surrender, only lowering it once I glared at her. “Dulce called me about that,” she said calmly. “Apparently, she wanted to explain it to you but you ended the call before she even had a chance.”

“So it’s my fault?” I growled.

“No. But you should have let her say her piece. Listen to me Frio. Dulce doesn’t want you to visit anytime soon because if she sees you in France, she’d just pack her bags and beg to go home with you. She won’t be able to handle your presence there. She’ll quit.”

As I was listening to her, I felt my shoulders sag lower, my heart beating weakly. They had a point. I was too devastated to understand it. “Oh,” was all I could say. Way to go Glace, you pathetic fool.

“Now that it’s out of the way, let’s talk about another topic.” Raising herself from the couch, Eris disappeared from the living room for a few minutes and came back with two glasses that were half-filled with white wine. She handed one to me with a smirk, gracefully sitting back on her earlier position. I placed the untouched wine on the table. What was she up to?

“Let’s have a meeting about what you’re going to do with your life for the next 4 years,” she started, then took a sip from the glass.

“We’re really going to discuss this now?” I groaned.

She shrugged. “Why not? Dulce wanted me to talk to you about it, so we’re going to talk about it whether you want to or not.” She swished the glass subtly, watching in enjoyment as the content made a small swirl. “So?”

I stared at the ceiling, then back to her. “I don’t know. My thoughts are filled with her. She’s everything I see Eris,” I said sadly. “You know that feeling? That feeling that every time I’d look over my shoulder, I’d expect her to be there? Yet when I actually do that, she’s not. And that’s what kills me each time. It stops me from doing anything else.”

“You’re experiencing so many emotions right now.” Eris nodded, as if she understood completely what I was going through. Maybe she did. After all, Patty wasn’t here. The big difference was she could always see her girlfriend whenever she wanted, while mine was so far away that I couldn’t reach her even if I screamed her name. “Let’s use that emotion.”

My eyes went up to hers. “What do you mean?”

“I meant you can harness beautiful acting from that anger, sadness, and loneliness that you’re feeling.” She placed the empty glass on the coffee table beside us. “Go back to your career Frio. It’s what you’re good at. It’s your passion, your happiness. You shine best when you’re in front of the camera.”

I shook my head, gripping the glass with my left hand. “I don’t think stars are meant to shine on their own Eris. Without Dulce, I’m lackluster.”

My companion clicked her tongue in disagreement. “Remember, stars are dead, so don’t use that metaphor for yourself. You are Frio, the celebrity. You’re not just any star, you’re the sun.”

“You really should create a quotes book,” I chuckled. “I bet lots of people will buy that.”

She tossed her hair over her shoulder, cocking an eyebrow. “They won’t be able to afford it. Anyway, I have some more options for you.” She got up, holding a finger. “Wait right there. I have something to show you.” Without another word, she sashayed out of the living room again. When she returned, Eris had a folder tucked under her arm, which she placed on the coffee table as soon as she was seated.

“What’s this?” I murmured, looking with interest at the brown folder she brought. Eris opened it, revealing a picture of me in a photo shoot. I rolled my eyes at her. “You know I don’t like seeing my own pictorials. What the hell?”

She ignored me, taking the bond paper sized picture. “Subject one,” she said. “If you want to take a break from acting, you can try the catwalk with me.”

“No thank you,” I objected. “I’ve tried that once remember?” My thoughts strayed to the time I had to go on the runway for a top brand. I nearly slipped and banged my head on the floor, not to mention my feet killed me the next day. Who knew 6 inches heels hurt like that? “I think I’ll pass on the catwalk and stick to commercials and photo shoots.”

“No problem,” Eris muttered as she tossed the picture behind her, uncaring where it landed. Taking the next picture from the folder, she held it in front of me to see. “Subject two. You can be a musician. This can actually work. Your playing is amazing, plus, Dulce also agreed on this when we talked last night.”

I stared at the picture of me sitting in front of the piano, my hands poised over the keys. I didn’t even know when and where she took it. In a way she was as much of a stalker as Tim was. Shaking my head, I said “Being a musician means that I’ll be on the road a lot. I simply do not have the strength to do that. Aside from that, you need heart when playing, and we all know that Dulce took it with her.”

“Suit yourself,” Eris said, once again throwing the picture behind her. “Okay, for the last subject, and I really hope you want it. You can be a composer.” She shoved a picture of me, staring in concentration at a piece of paper, ballpen in hand. I really should know where she got these pictures.

“No, no, and no. If I compose something now, every song I make will be sad and gloomy. It will make me depressed, it will make the listeners cry, yada yada yada, so no.”

“But it will be great for sales,” she whined, pointing to the picture.

“I don’t care about the money.”

“You’re a really difficult person to please. Super talented but difficult. I wish Dulce is here to kick your ass Frio.”

“I wish that too.”

Eris didn’t know what to say to that so both of us kept quiet for a while, just staring at the floor. It was a good thing my phone rang when it did. Was it Dulce? I thought in joy, my stomach flipping instantaneously. Taking my cell from my jeans pocket, I immediately answered the call. “Hey baby!” Eris looked with interest.

“Actually, you are my baby. Literally,” came the amused voice from the other line.

“Dad?” The knot in my stomach was removed as soon as I heard him. “Is there something wrong?”

“No princess. I’m just calling to ask you for a huge favor.”

I raised my eyebrows. Dad has never asked me for something before. Maybe it was important. “Sure what is it?”

“Can you meet me after two hours? I want to go camping with you,” he said nervously. “You know, to have a father-daughter bonding. We’ve never taken a trip before and since Andrea told me that your girlfriend left the country, I thought it would be a good chance to cheer you up.”

“Oh. . . Okay dad. I’ll pack my camping gear and meet you after two hours. Should I pick you up?”

“No! No!” he objected forcefully. “I’ll come and get you. Toodles!”

I stared at my phone as the call disconnected. That was weird. I turned back to Eris. “Listen, I need to go. My dad wants to go camping. Let’s just talk once I get back.” Both of stood up and walked to the direction of the front door. As she opened the wooden door, Eris had the silliest smile on her face.

“What’s that goofy smile for?”

“You said we’ll talk when you get back. I’m just happy that you’re willing to negotiate,” she smirked. “Dulce will be so happy when I report this to her. Have fun on your camping trip with Henry. Look at the flowers Frio, look at the flowers.” Her eyes glinted.

My lips perked up into a smile. “You’re such a weirdo. Okay I’ll be going now.” Stepping outside, I shielded my eyes with my hands as the glare of the sun made contact. Wow, I haven’t seen that in a while. Turning into a vampire are we? I thought.

“Oh and Frio,” Eris called out when I was entering my car.

“What?”

“Dulce has a message for you. She said it’s from Peter Pan. It goes like this. You know that place between asleep and awake; that place where you can still remember dreaming? That’s where I will always love you. That’s where I’ll be waiting.”

My heart fluttered furiously against my chest. Even whilst Dulce was thousands of miles away, she could still make me so happy. “Thanks Eris. Tell her I got the message.” I entered the car and went back to my house where my Wendy wasn’t.

After two hours, I was ready for the camping trip with dad. True to his word, he drove just outside my gate and sounded the car horn. Taking my camping bag and things outside, I quickly shoved my stuff in the trunk and got on the passenger seat, settling myself comfortably beside him. He immediately started the car and speeded ahead, like he was being chased by demons. What was up with him?

“Hey dad! Why the sudden urge for camping?”

“Hey princess,” he said nervously, staring straight at the road. “Oh you know, bonding and stuff.” Unbelievably, the car picked up more speed. Were we still within the city limit?

“Daddy I think you need to slow down.” By the rate we were going, if we crashed into something or someone, we’d both be dead. I secured the seatbelt on my waist and braced myself for whatever was coming. “Dad,” I warned, as another speeding car came into view.

“Yes honey?” he answered anxiously, not even appearing to have heard my warning. All of a sudden, a motorcycle appeared out of nowhere and nearly collided with us. I grit my teeth and said my quick prayers, thinking that I was going to die. It was a good thing dad was able to maneuver the car.

“Dad!” I yelled to him, sweat trickling down my body. “Are you trying to kill us?!”

“What’s all the shouting for?! I was sleeping!” someone said from behind.

Oh fudge. . . As I looked at the rearview mirror, Denise met my eyes disbelievingly, both of us staring at each other in horror. “She’s with us?!” we said at the same time.

Dad laughed nervously, gripping the wheel tightly with his hands. “The three of us are going to have so much fun on this trip.”

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