Accidentally on Purpose

Chapter Forty-Nine

It took me two hours too long to get there.

It wasn't that I got lost—the address on the back of the picture, though faded, was clear enough to read and my mom's GPS worked miraculously. It was just the fact that I drove like a turtle.

I was being too careful with my driving, but this was the best I could do. Especially that it had been almost two years since the last time I'd been in the driver's seat.

My phone was blowing up with unanswered calls and text messages from Jonah. I didn't read the messages at all and decided to turn it off so I wouldn't get distracted. Thankfully, he didn't try to follow me or anything, because there was no way I could get away from his sight at this rate.

A part of me was curious and wanted to turn the phone back on, but I didn't. My parents probably had arrived home by now and were freaking out by the fact that I was gone. Leann was also home with them, and I felt a bit guilty for running away since I hadn't seen my sister in a while.

But this was something that I had to do, and I wasn't letting anything stop me. Not even my deathly fear of driving.

I stopped by a café when I started to feel anxious again. According to the GPS, I was about ten to fifteen minutes away from my destination, and I was slowly freaking out. I didn't want to keep driving when my hands kept shaking violently. I needed a break.

I didn't know what to expect from this visit. Would I be disappointed? Would this actually lead me to what I had been wishing for?

Good thing I still remembered how to park the car, because it would be one hell of an inconvenience. I got out of the car and rushed into the café before the cold wind hit me.

The café was crowded and busy, and I had to get into a long line of queue to order my drink. Being in the line helped me calm my nerves. I looked around the room, studying the people inside and making up their stories in my mind to keep my brain occupied.

There was a lady sitting with two of her little hyperactive kids, and I could tell that it exhausted her to keep up with their children's antics. There were dark bags under her eyes. Maybe she was a single mother. Maybe her husband divorced her or died, and she had to take care of her kids by herself.

That girl in the corner of the room with a steaming mug in front of her kept on staring outside with a frown on her face. Maybe she didn't have any friends in this town and was feeling lonely.

Across the room, there was a young couple who looked like they were in the middle of an argument. Their eyes were ablaze and the girl's arms were crossed in front of her as the boy spoke with a heated expression. Maybe they were breaking up, just like Jonah and I.

Were we even breaking up right now?

I looked away from the couple and focused on the line in front of me. It was getting shorter, and there were only two people in front of me. My eyes followed the man who just got his order—he was carrying a cup carrier filled with four cups of warm beverages in one hand while his other hand was holding a plate of two slices of rainbow cake.

I curiously watched as he approached the table with the lady and her two kids I had stared at. He sat down next to her with a smile and the lady responded with a grin as the kids jumped excitedly at the sight of the rainbow cake the man was bringing to the table. My cheeks burned when I remembered the story I had made up about her. She had a happy family, unlike my previous assumption.

There was a sound of ringing bells from the entrance of the café as the door opened, and a group of girls walked in, toward the corner of the room where the girl with the steaming mug was sitting. Her face immediately brightened when she stood up to hug her friends, and they immediately sat down and began to chat animatedly.