You're Always In My Heart

Chapter 26

“Hi!” DJ beamed at Kath as she walked out of her front door and towards him.

“Hey!” she waved.

“Looking gorgeous—as always,” he winked at her. She was wearing a cream flowing dress and flats. It was nothing next to stylish but she just looked radiantly beautiful with it. He couldn’t help but admire her effortless beauty. She looked like she never aged. She was the exact same 16 year old Kath he met. And her smile—her smile was just so captivating.

“Thanks,” her cheeks turned scarlet red.

He noticed the blue sphere necklace Kath has been wearing everyday. “That’s a pretty necklace. Must be a favorite,huh?”

She glanced at the jewelry and gave him an accusing gaze. “Didn’t you give this to me?”

He raised his brow and shook his head. He saw the sudden confusion on Kath’s face as she held the necklace as if questioning its existence. “Is there something wrong?”

She tried to say something but shook her head in the end before giving a small smile. DJ wore a concerned look as he asked her if she was really okay.

“It’s nothing. I just thought uhh.. I thought you gave this to me. It just gives me this sentimental feeling,” she said shrugging.

He nodded and shot the necklace another look before saying, “Well maybe it came from your parents....or Quen.”

Kath was absentmindedly scrutinizing DJ’s polo shirt when the sudden mention of Quen’s name caused her to look up at DJ. There was silence as Kath returned her gaze to his polo shirt again.

“Is there dirt on my shirt?”

“Oh, no. I was just—You look good on that shirt you know,” she chuckled with guilt.

“Okaaay, thanks?” He drawled, confused whether or not she was telling the truth. “So where do you wanna go?”

“I actually wanted to see Gracie now but Manang Fe told me that Quen brought her somewhere,” she sounded upset. “So how about we just drive to Tiffany’s house—she asked me to come over if I had time.”

“Tiffany?” he was not sure if she was talking about Tiffany Santos—who used to be the muse all-year round in 3rd year high school.

“Tiffany Santos. The Tiffany Santos,” she put proper emphasis on the ‘the’. Tiffany was quite well-known back in highschool mostly because of her looks. She was the apple of the eye of the crowd but she was so down-to-earth that it was easy for Kath to get along with her. They were seatmates in Physics and Algebra and she remembered how they would usually help each other out during exams.

“Oh yeah, I remember,” he nodded.

“I actually saw her a few days back at the resort. I almost didn’t recognize her but she introduced herself to me. I was glad I remembered her during Physics and Algebra,” she laughed as she made her way to the car.

DJ followed her and sat on the passenger’s seat. He always made it to a point to remember Quen’s words. And “Let Kath drive.” was one of them. He was like barking the words right on his face—the reason why he never forgot about it.

“She told me that if I had time—I should visit her and just catch up you know. I said ‘sure’…” Kath went on telling DJ about how her conversation with Tiffany went as she started the engine and drove their way to her house.