Sharon shoved Reim into the next room. "You didn't tell me he would be here," she hissed.
"You like him, don't you?"
Sharon blushed furiously. She was eighteen and Break was twenty-six. He wasn't an undergrad like her and Reim. He wasn't even in college anymore. He'd graduated with a degree in physical education but so far hadn't done anything with it. Instead, he hung out with Reim and ate all his food. And yet, ever since the first day her cousin Reim had brought Break over for summer vacation back when she was thirteen, she'd loved him.
"Reeeeiiim? The cake's gone."
Not that he was perfect.
Reim's eyes went wide at the sound of Break's call from the living room. "I just bought that this morning!" Leaving Sharon alone in the bedroom (the previously mentioned "next room"), Reim stormed out. "And it was a nine by thirteen sheet cake! How do you eat a whole nine by thirteen sheet cake?!"
"One piece at a time?"
Sharon smiled, tears filling her eyes. She should be out there, laughing. And then she'd say she'd pay for it. She had enough money, after all. And Break would joke that maybe he should become a gigilo instead of focusing on only one rich girl, and Sharon would hit him with a pillow and he would laugh. And she would fight the need to kiss him.
"Where's Sharon?" she heard him say. Break's question paralyzed her.
Two days ago, she wouldn't be hiding out in Reim's bedroom. Two days ago, no matter how much of a crush she'd had on him, she'd always managed to keep it in check. They'd laughed and teased and had a lot of fun.
Two days ago, she didn't know her mother was dying.
Oh, she got tired sometimes, but her mother had called it "old age." And sometimes she looked pale. But it didn't last. And then Sharon had left for college and had a wonderful first year and all the while her mother was getting worse from a cancer that might mean months or years. "With treatment" had become her mother's favorite phrase. She tried to say it brightly, but Sharon could hear how tired she was. "Have fun," her mother would tell her.
Sure, she would say. But inside, she wasn't sure if she could ever really have fun again. Not here.
And so, without telling anyone, she'd quietly dropped her classes yesterday and bought a ticket back home. She was leaving tonight.
Reim would understand. She knew that. But Break…Sharon couldn't leave without telling him, and if she told him, she didn't trust herself not to break down and confess everything she felt. And not just about her mother, either. Because the truth was that she wanted him near her while she went through this. She wanted him on the flight, holding her hand. She wanted him sitting next to her at night while she wondered if her mother would live long enough to see her finish college. If she finished.
There was a light knock on the door. Reim said, "Hey, Sharon, are you okay?"
No, she wasn't. "Fine."
"Do you need to finish your talk?" Break poked his head in. No eye-patch today. He simply let his white hair fall down in front of that half of his face, hiding his missing eye.
"Actually, I forgot…I have some things I have to do. So…I gotta go."
"I'll walk you to your car."
"No, thanks. I'll—"
"It's a nice day out. And I need to buy another cake for Reim anyway."
"Don't you mean two? One for him and one on the way?"
"What kind of glutton do you think I am?"
She wanted to laugh, but she could feel the tears forming already. "I really don't need you to come with." She walked out the room and toward the front door. Break followed.
"Fresh air is good for the soul. I'll be back in a sec," he waved to Reim who nodded. "See you later, Sharon."
"Bye." They walked side-by-side down the corridor. "Fresh air, huh?"
"Well, as much as you can get in a parking garage. Hey." He touched her arm. "I lied earlier."
"Really?"
"I'm not walking with you to get fresh air."
"That so?" She hoped her sarcasm was coming through.
"I have two confessions to make."
Sharon folded her arms over her chest. "What kind? Does it have to do with the missing candy I bought for Halloween last year?"
He stared at her. "All right, three." He took a deep breath. "I don't hang out with you guys just for fun."
She blinked. "What?"
"I know this is possibly the worst time to tell you this, but I've never hung out with you guys just for fun."
"What, are you going to tell me you're some secret agent or something?"
He shook his head with a grin. "I wish. It could be this big twist ending and I know you've always liked those." He played with something in his pocket, then said, "I was asked to hang out with you guys by your mom. She thought you two were lonely, and my family lived nearby, so…why not? I enjoyed it. And when your grandmother found out I was into martial arts and that I wanted to join the military, she was ecstatic. 'You can be my granddaughter's bodygaurd,' she said."
Sharon ducked her head. That must have been before Break lost his eye during a mugging two years ago. He was strong and quick, but not quite quick enough. Not that time. Personally, considering he was unarmed and the two guys weren't, she thought it lucky he didn't lose anything more.
"When you left for college," he continued, "she had me try out for the position."
Sharon looked up. "Try out for…?"
"Your bodyguard. I'm not always hanging around you, of course. You don't always need me. But when you and Reim go out, or when you're over here, because, let's face it, this is not the best section of town, I make sure I'm nearby."
"Reim wants to save the money. Stand on his own." Sharon shook her head, not sure if she were hearing him correctly. "You've been hired to protect me?"
"That's confession number one." He pulled a piece of her Halloween candy out of his pocket. "Confession number two," he said, holding it up. From his back pocket, he pulled out an airline ticket and held it out to her. "Confession number three."
She opened it up. It was the same flight as hers. He had the seat next to hers. "How—"
"I talked to your mother. I guess there should be a fourth confession, shouldn't there?" When she looked up at him, his single visible eye was soft and sad. "I'm so sorry, Sharon."
She covered her mouth, praying the tears she could feel welling up wouldn't show. She was supposed to be strong now. And besides, her mother wasn't dead. Wasn't it wrong to start crying when your mother wasn't dead? "She's getting treatment," she whispered. "I can't be here if she's…I can't."
"That's what I thought."
She handed the ticket back to him before she got it wet or crumpled it. When he took it back, she hugged herself, her chest heaving with sobs she still refused to let go. "Hey," he whispered. "Hey, come here."
His arms wrapped around her and she buried her face in his shirt, clinging to him, only trying to stay quiet now as she cried into his shoulder. He clung to her just as tightly. When her tears finally slowed, she wiped her nose on her sleeve. Break pulled a handkerchief out from another pocket in his jeans.
Sharon laughed, wiping her face gently. "Your jeans are like my grandmother's purse."
"Do you want to tell Reim before we go?"
She shook her head, then nodded. "You were the one I was worried about." They began walking back to the apartment.
"Why's that?"
"I thought I'd cry."
"Nah. You'd never do something like that." Silence. "I wish I could fix this."
She shrugged. "So do I. You're very good at fixing things."
He chuckled, though she could tell something else was weighing on his mind. "I'm staying with you, you know. Through all this." They were at Reim's door now.
"You think I'll be kidnapped while we're on the estate?" But when she looked up at him, he was staring at her with a look that made her heart stop. Gently, he took her hand and kissed it. "I am your humble servant, milady. I follow you wherever you may go and I do whatever you may ask. Within reason."
If he did anything more, said anything more, she'd spill her whole heart to him right there. Before she could say another word, he reached out and brushed the hair from her face. Her lips parted, and she found she could hardly breathe.
He paused, his fingers brushing her soft skin. "Sharon." He seemed about to say something, then only smiled.
Heart beating fast, she said, "You have another confession to make?"
"Maybe later. When our emotions aren't running so high." He reached up to knock on the door.
"Break?"
He paused. "Yes?"
"I love you, too."
For a moment, he stared at her. Then, he smiled. The fingers of his other hand brushed against hers, their fingers intertwining. I can do anything now, she thought, and waited for Reim to answer Break's knock.