Breaking Vows • LT

29 || Mobile

Faith was ready to leave for home after hearing the news. She wanted to return to Manila as soon as possible, but Louis told her that he would be joining her on the trip so she postponed her trip for another hour.

For some reason, Louis expected Faith to have a breakdown, but she didn't. If anything, Faith was mildly catatonic. She was mostly staring into space—almost robotic, and only came to life when she was on the phone talking to her mother's lawyer. She refused to talk to her other relatives and demanded to handle all the funeral arrangements herself.

"They might hold a month-long wake or something," Faith said. "And my mother told me to skip all that."

Having attended counseling classes, Louis knew that people dealt with grief differently. Some people bawled hysterically while some people refused to shed a tear. Supposedly, he should know how to communicate with Faith. But as usual, he was a clueless git when it came to his own girlfriend.

Faith was literally the first woman he had pursued a relationship with and this was new territory for him. Overnight, he literally went from worrying about "labels" to wondering if it was appropriate to embrace her every time she had a sad look on her face. Knowing they just made a promise to resist their sexual desires for each other, lingering gazes and touches were always a risk.

But, he scolded himself in guilt, you've managed to abstain for years. What's another few days, weeks, and months? Gulp. He wasn't planning to prolong the wait, that's for sure. Louis was certain he would go nuts if he didn't marry her in the near future.

Spending alone time with her was a delicious disaster waiting to happen, but Louis knew he had to be with her during this difficult time. Faith might have said countless times that she wasn't attached to her mother, but family was family. In fact, Louis believed that his girlfriend was in shock because she didn't think actually losing her mother would hit her that hard.

Hence, Louis knew their relationship had to take a backseat, and he had to be there for her as her best friend... Not her sexually deprived ex-priest-in-training boyfriend who was confused as f***. Suddenly, worrying about Harry's abrupt appearance and anger didn't seem too pressing at the moment.

When Louis entered the office to ask Manang Mila for some time off, the first thing he saw was the two women already hugging. The only difference was that it was the older woman who was crying her eyes out. Faith was the one consoling their boss; she was rubbing Manang Mila's back like it was the woman who'd lost her mother.

"Don't forget to tell me when and where the wake will be," Manang Mila sobbed.

"I won't," Faith reassured her. "I'll call you as soon as I finalize the details." Thanking her one more time, she excused herself from the office and left, only sparing Louis a glance.

When Manang Mila finally noticed him in the room, she wiped her tears. "Oh, Father Louis..."

"Um, I wanted to ask for a few days off—"

Manang Mila nodded. "Of course you can! Faith needs someone who really cares for her right now, and I know you care for her a lot."

_____

"How long until we get there?"

"It's going to be 3-hour drive—or longer, depending on the traffic," Faith said.

They all had their own places in the van. Faith sat in front of him, he took the middle part, and Niall sat on the back. Faith had called in a driver to get them back to Manila as soon as possible. He had asked Niall to join them because he didn't trust himself to be alone with her all the time. Louis was always itching to touch her, especially now that she was grieving, and he had a feeling that any warm, heartfelt caresses would lead to something else. Niall had to be their friendly distraction for now. Their Irish guardian angel.