Between North and South

CHAPTER 12 - ANKLET

After singing a more upbeat song, Azren thought about dashing out of the area to avoid possible confrontations because she didn’t want her relatives to know about her ex-boyfriend. Before they reached their cousins, though, he excused himself to greet the hosts and get some food.

"That was great!" Denise squealed.

"Thank you."

Why is he here? Who is he related to? Should I text Ramona? I need to get rid of this nervousness! I need to express what I'm feeling before I explode! But is that really him?

"Ate, here's the video." Sabina showed her phone as they settled on their seats.

"You can already form a band, Ate Ren." Said Jeremiah, Sarah's youngest brother who’s as dashing as Mason. And they’re dressed the same except for the black V-neck he’s wearing.

Azren smiled at him but instantly returned her eyes to the phone's screen when the man she least expected to be here approached their table.

Damn, it’s really him! How could this happen? I mean, I acknowledge the possibility of us bumping into each other but definitely not like this and not this soon!

Her anxiety resurfaced. There's a strong urge tempting her to look at him but she restrained herself to avoid catching his eyes.

"Hi, Kuya Ice!" Sabina greeted.

Are they close? And wait. He's Ice? That means…

"Hello, Sab. How are you?"

I know it's been over two years but I definitely remember how he sounds like. She pressed her eyes together and gnawed her lower lip for the hope of shaking away their memories. Because even when her eyes were nailed to the video that she’s watching, she can suddenly see everything that's happened between them. Their dinner, stroll at the mall, the basketball at the arcade, the way he sweetly called her name, the way he gently held her hands, the way that he made her feel safe, secured, and wanted when he hugged her; the efforts they exerted on their monthsaries… everything! She can see everything on the screen!

"Same old, same old," replied Sab. "By the way, this is our eldest sister: Ate Ren."

Left with no choice, she raised her head and waited for him to offer his hand. But he didn't. Instead, he addressed Gus and Sab.

"Sister?"

"Yup," she chuckled. "She grew up in Manila. Long story."

"Ate Ren, this is Kuya Ice. Ate Sarah's other brother."

Sarah’s brother. Sarah’s brother. Oh my, God! That explains why Hector seemed familiar to me! He’s that guy from his Facebook cover photo! Ugh! How could our world be this small? And why do they call him Ice?

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ice," he smirked.

Staring at his extended hand, Azren froze from recognizing the watch around his wrist. I can't believe he kept it! After what I did? After I left him hanging, he chose to keep it? But why? Does he value it? I want to know.

Should I take his hand? It would be rude if I didn't, right? Tsk. What name should I use to introduce my self? Azren, Louiza, or… Izzy? No, definitely not Izzy. She cleared her throat before receiving his hand. "Azren. Nice to meet you."

Her hands were cold and numbing. She tried to break the handshake but Ice held on it tighter. She pulled it again and once he understood what she wanted to happen, he loosened his grip and let her withdraw her hand.

“So, Kuya, what did you get for Bella?”

Thank you, Sab! You just save me from a possible confrontation. I mean, now that he knows I’m here and our families are closely connected, it’s not impossible for him to confront me if he had the chance. Well, that’s if he’s still interested.

"What's the shade of your hair?"

She answered Denise happily and their conversion stretched until she excused to get herself some dessert. And as the music and indistinct chatter dominated the whole place, she took out her phone and busied herself in texting with Gavin.

Azren: You going out tonight?

Gavin: Yep. 9:00 pm.

Azren: With?

Gavin: The gang except Mona and Becca. They have dates.

Azren: Good. I'll only envy them.

Gavin: Bitter. Why don't you just come home? I miss you. :(

Azren: I miss you too. Call me later?

Gavin: I'll call you now if you’re free.
Azren: Sure!

She excused herself from the others and dashed to the kitchen to hear him better.

"How was their treatment?"

"Like I told you, very welcoming and I didn’t feel isolated."

"Are you sure? Or are you just sugarcoating your statements?"

"I'm not sugarcoating anything." She leaned on the kitchen island and gathered her hair to her right shoulder. "I want to visit Camiguin already. Remember the island that I showed you?"

"Yeah. Don't go just yet. We'll visit with the whole squad, remember?"

"Yeah, but you guys are all busy. I might convince my family to have a vacation there. Besides, I can always visit again with the squad."

"Well. But which family?"

She chuckled. "The Burgoses as of now. But I also want to go with mom, dad, and my brothers. And the Natividads as well."

"Cool. Hmm… tell me about your relatives."

"Okay. So I met my grandparents and mama’s brothers. First is Uncle Ben, the eldest who has three kids namely Hector, the father of my niece and husband of Sarah; Jonathan who's two years older than me; and their youngest and only sister, Denise who's twenty years old. Next to Uncle Ben is Uncle Tony who also has three kids. Benjamin who's also two years older than me; Trinity who's a year younger than I am; and Alistair, three years younger than me. Apart from Mama, they don’t have another sister. But since our Auntie Riz lived and grew up with them, they considered her as their sister. And that’s why we also consider her children, Harmony and Hubert, as our first cousins instead of second. Harmony and I are of the same age while Hubert is twenty years old."

"Eleven in total."

"Well, without Harmony and Hubert, there are actually only nine of us first degree cousins."

"That sounds cool."

"I know, right? And guess what, most of the visitors tonight are the members of our clan. Few are Hector and Sarah's friends because Sarah's relatives are living three hours away."

"So, it's like your family reunion."

"Semi. And I'm the latest addition."

"No, you're not," he disagreed.

"Why so?"

"By age, what's your order among your cousins?"

"Hmm… Hector, Jonathan, Benjamin, me… oh, I'm the fourth among the first degrees."

"See? So, you're not the latest."

"Point taken."

He chuckled sexily. "Enjoy your stay there, Az. I got to prepare now. Do you mind if I hung up?"

"Nope. You guys take care. Be responsible. Don't drink too much. Are you gonna drive?"

"Yeah, I'm picking them up."

She inhaled. "Okay. Take care, Gav. Bye."

"Okay, Boss. I love you."

She laughed. "Yeah. I miss you and I love you, too. Bye." She hung up without waiting for his response.

She pressed her back against the kitchen island and folded her arms into her chest while she listened to the acoustic song playing outside. She closed her eyes and tried to guess which of her cousins is singing this time. A minute of guessing passed but she couldn’t quite point who it is. In the end, she sighed and craned her neck. She thought about calling Ramona but she also didn’t want to disrupt her date with Phil.

I should just go back to my cousins. I shouldn’t be alone. Uriah might—

"Izzy."

She caught her breath. The familiar baritone called softly and even with her eyes closed, she can easily point where he’s standing. Oh, dammit. She parted her lids and met the confused and still dumbfounded Uriah who’s standing right across her.

"Izzy, Azren, Louiza, Ren… what should you really be called?"

"Hey. Ice, right?" She said, pretending not to know him. "You can call me anything as long as it's not offensive."

They ended up staring at each other when he didn't respond.

He's changed a bit. Buffer and manlier. His clean-cut hair is now colored dark brown unlike his natural black before. He's in a semi-formal get-up. Light blue polo shirt, denim straight-cut pants, and white Adidas sneakers.

He stepped closer, leaving her trapped in that position. "Is it really you, Izzy?" He kept on studying her.

"Huh? Who's Izzy?" She laughed nervously. "You must be mistaken."

He shook his head. "No. You said your name is Azren. Azren Louiza, isn't it? And just so you know, I asked Sabina about your surname and it confirmed that you were the Izzy I once knew. The only Azren Louiza Fuentes that I know."

Alright, Uriah, you’re not mistaken! "Well, Azren Louiza is truly my name but I don't… I don't understand why you're calling me Izzy." She shrugged and forced a smile. "Besides, aside from you, I don't know any other guys named Ice."

He raised a brow. "Really, Louiza? You're gonna pretend that you don't remember me? I let it pass because I was blown with what I was told," he paused. "Are Gus and Sab really your siblings? How did that happen? Why did you tell me that you had no reason to visit Cagayan de Oro?"

"Um… you're asking questions that are too personal."

He lowered his gaze. "You're right. I'm sorry. Forget about it. But could you please answer the questions about us?"

Oh, damn he's persistent. "I'm sorry, Ice, but I really don't—"

"You don't know what I'm talking about?" He cuts in. "Fine, you don't know me as Ice but I'm sure that you know me as Uriah. Louiza, please this is enough. I'm tired of guessing why you just left me hanging. Could you please explain it to me? What did I do?"

So, he got Ice from Isaac. How could I not realize that sooner?

“You know…” a smug look settled on his face. “You won't succeed in convincing me that you don't know me. Your appearance may have changed but I recognize you. And I believe that you're not suffering from amnesia because how would you explain your shock when our gazes met while you were singing? What is your alibi about your ice-cold hand when we shook? How would you explain your surprise when you saw the watch I was wearing? And the anklet you have, are you gonna deny that I gave you that on the first and last night that we saw each other?”

Game over, Az. You lost! Oh this freaking anklet! How could I forget that I was wearing it? If I'd only known that our paths will cross tonight, I would’ve taken this off. I have no way out of this. Even if I let it pass tonight, I'm certain that he won't stop until he gets answers. Especially that I'm in his city. And most especially that we are forever connected because of our families. She sighed. Is it really the right time for confrontation? I don't wanna ruin our niece's first birthday. I don't wanna make a scene.

"You're speechless because everything that I'd said was true, right?"

"Enough, Uriah." There. I just confirmed that his accusations were true.

"So, it's really you," he exhaled. "God, I wanna hug you."

“Don’t.” She warned quickly, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach.

He nodded but he reached for her elbows to make her look at him. She couldn't. She bowed her head but the light touched on her jaw made her look at him again. She shivered when their eyes met and when he rested his left palm on her cheek and caressed it. "What happened to us?"

She shrugged off his hold and coldly replied, "It's been so long. Let it go."

He sighed. "I swear, I tried but without your explanation? Without closure? It was just too hard to forget."

"Closure? Do we really need that?"

"Louiza, you were my girlfriend. I know that for you it was only valid for one night but for me it wasn't. For me we didn't break up."

"Then it's not my fault. We had a deal and it was your decision to break it."

"Listen to me, please."

She held the island's edge for support as he moved another step closer. Seriously! Is this proximity necessary?

"I held on because I was serious about you. I was ready to commit to LDR but I didn't even have the chance to tell you because you turned your back on me the next day. You even bailed that day we were supposed to meet again. You even stopped texting me. Why, Izzy? Please tell me so I could move on."

"Move on?" She exclaimed in disbelief. "This is absurd! Were you really that in love with me? I don't believe you."

"Is it because we've only known each other for a short time? You know what, that was your problem. You base a thing's quality on the length of time. Louiza, not everything that lasts is true."

I hate that he's right.

"And deny all you want… call me assuming but I know that you felt something for me too. You're just denial because it's difficult for you to trust and you're often dominated by doubt."

Yes, I doubt a lot. I have trust issues and I don't deny that. It's also true that I rely on the length of time before believing something. Especially when it concerns my emotions. But how can you blame a person victimized and broken because of giving too much trust, right?

"Please answer my question," he begged as he held both of her shoulders.

"Look. I promise we'll talk but not—" her eyes darted to the kitchen entrance where the voices of two people laughing came from.

Jonathan and Trinity halted, stunned by what unfolded in their eyes. Azren sighed and subtly removed Uriah’s hands from her. He understood her and cooperated by taking a step back. Azren bit her lip, worrying about what her cousins are thinking.

"Uh… hi." Trinity stammered.

"We're just getting beers," Jonathan added.

To save herself from the awkwardness and embarrassment, Azren hurriedly excused herself and rushed outside.

I can't believe I'm thinking this but… I hope this night ends sooner. I hope we leave earlier so he wouldn't have another chance to talk to me. I need space and time because I'm still taking in the fact that he's Sarah's brother.
Seriously! Among the millions of men around this planet, why him? What's this? Game of fate?

Her anklet glistened as she looked at her right leg. She filled her lungs with air and released it through a heavy sigh.

Universe, by constantly wearing this anklet, did you assume that I wanted us to meet again? Or was it his wish that you granted?