Chapter 27: Something Real
Ander's light brown eyes glimmered with a hint of mischief, and for a moment, Reina couldn't focus on anything else.
She was so fully mesmerized that she even forgot about her stiff and itching leg in that stupid cast.
There seemed to be a pause from Ander too as he gazed at Reina.
Ander Muñoz. How did I get so lucky, having you in my life?
The thought sprung to Reina's mind without warning, taking her by surprise.
She was not used to being this thankful for anyone, really.
Guess she must've been feeling something real for Ander. The question was, what?
"Umm well," Ander eventually spoke, breaking the silence – and the spell.
Reina blinked, but didn't miss a beat in responding, "Yes. So what deliciously wicked plan were you thinking for Matteo?"
A crooked grin from Ander. "Okay, it's all still pretty rough, but –"
His words were interrupted by a knock on the door.
The next instance, the door swung open to reveal Reina's mom.
"Hello, dear. Is this a bad time?" she spoke in her soft, quavering voice.
"Hi, mom. No, it's fine," Reina answered. She was actually relieved to see her mother up and about.
Her mother nodded and walked further in. She gave Ander a warm smile. "I'm Rosa."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Ander." He got up. "I'll let myself out. Reina, we'll talk more about my, uhh, plan another day, okay?"
"Sure." Reina was also secretly relieved that Ander possessed the instinct to make his exit in the presence of her mother, who represented a home life that she'd rather not have on display – not for her friends, not for her piece of shit of an ex-boyfriend... And not even for Ander.
Once Ander was gone, Reina's mother went to sit beside her on the sofa.
"How are you feeling, Reina dear?"
"Not too bad. I just want to recover ASAP so that I can move about as much as I want. Without relying on anything or anyone."
Her mother nodded sympathetically. "You've always been a strong girl. You'll be back on your feet in no time."
"Hope so."
"So that Ander – he was the one whom you saved from the car collision?"
"Yeah."
"He seems very nice."
"He is." Reina bit her lower lip in thought. "One of a kind, honestly."
"I'm glad. There's this calm glow about you today. Could it be.. an Ander effect?"
"Mom!" Reina rolled her eyes. "Ander's taken. He's happy. So don't get any funny ideas. I'm not five where a boy is either my crush or my sworn enemy with cooties. Platonic friendships are totally possible."
"Of course." Her mother reached out to tuck a lock of Reina's hair behind her ear. "And I, as your mother, just want to make sure you're happy too."
"You don't have to worry about me." Reina exhaled. "You know what I worry about? You, and your own happiness."
Her mother's immaculately groomed eyebrows shot up. "But I'm perfectly fine."
"So you say."
"Reina," her mother sighed.
"Don't. We both know that you're unhappy. Every time Father flies off, you become a recluse and refuse to leave the bedroom. You just wait until he's back. Like a lost puppy."
Her mother's face crumpled slightly with sadness.
"And it's been going on for years. I don't get it – why don't you just give up on him? Things are never going to change," Reina said, exasperated.
"It's just what you do, my dear. When you – when you love someone. And I know he still loves me. It's just..."
"Just what, Mom? Just that he loves his other family more than us?"
There was no use trying to hide the bitterness in her voice. Reina could never, ever forgive her father for this.
"Reina," her mother chided her sharply.
Reina went on flatly, "His beautiful, perfect family in Monaco."
Even though Reina had never seen photos – that would be a nightmare – she always pictured a tall, golden-haired woman holding the hand of a toddler with the same golden hair. They waved from the front steps of a Belle Epoque villa as her father walked up to them with his luggage, fresh from the airport.
Her mother spoke, "You're getting too worked up over this, Reina. You should get more rest."
Reina shook her head firmly. "All I can say is, I'll never love someone more than he loves me. Why give them the upper hand and let them have so much power over you?"
Her mother leaned back and said gently, "And that was the situation between you and Matteo? You had full control of everything?"
Reina looked at her mom, quiet.
With a pensive gaze, her mother continued, "That didn't pan out very well, now did it?"
Reina didn't reply.
"Greetings from the other side," Ander called out as he strode into the pool house a few days later.
"And by that, you mean the burger joint, I hope?" Reina said with a grin.
Ander held up the brown paper bag in affirmation.
Reina did a small clapping gesture. "You're the best."
"I try." Ander grinned too. "Here you go."
As Reina unwrapped the burger, Ander added, "Yeah, you'd better fuel up before you look at today's homework. Argimiro's new assignment is particularly brutal."
Reina took a bite before responding, "Oh you mean the essay and video project on Aristotle's metaphysics?"
"That's the one."
"Oh, I've already come up with a skeleton draft of the essay and sketched a rough video storyboard."
Ander looked at Reina, incredulous.
"What? I have a lot of free time, and Argimiro had emailed me the assignment this morning itself," Reina said defensively.
"In that case, can you complete the assignment for me too?" Ander joked.
"It's pretty interesting once you delve into the topic."
"Okay, class nerd."
Reina's slender fingers picked up a fry and tossed it Ander's way.
"Hey!" Ander yelped when the fry smacked his forehead.
Reina smirked before unpausing the movie on the TV.
Ander joined her on the sofa. "What are we watching today?"
"The Fault In Our Stars. It's supposed to be this insane tearjerker, but I don't know."
"Oh, I've seen it." Ander chewed thoughtfully on his bite of burger before adding, "Gotta admit, the ending got me the tiniest bit misty-eyed."
"Really?" Reina glanced at the scene playing onscreen. "So far, I haven't had any emotionally-stirring moments."
"Just wait till you get to the later parts," Ander told her confidently.
We'll see.
By the time Reina had polished off her burger, fries and Coke, her eyes remained free of tears.
"That's it?" Reina voiced out as the movie end credits began rolling.
Ander peered curiously at Reina. "So – nothing?"
"Nada."
"Geez, you're more heartless than I thought."
Reina scoffed. "I am just not a crier. Nothing wrong with that. I save so much on tissues!"
"When was the last time you cried?" Ander asked.
"I honestly don't remember."
"You're such a weird girl, Rein."
"Can you like get your ass closer so that I can punch you?"
"As you wish."
Reina turned and watched as Ander grinned and scooted over from his seat on the sofa until his face was right in front of hers.
She was frozen in place, struck by the nearness of Ander. She could feel his every breath.
Her gaze went to his mouth, still holding a grin. And she recalled how he always had a smile on his lips when they kissed.
Reina would give anything to go back to those moments.
Was Ander thinking the same thing?
Just as Reina's gaze moved up to his eyes, she saw him blink once. Twice. His nose scrunched.
Then – "AH-CHOOO!"
Reina recoiled from the shock of Ander's sneeze. "Jesus, Ander!" she cried out.
"Sorry, sorry," Ander mumbled, rubbing his nose. "You really got to do something about the freezing A/C."
Despite herself, she began to laugh. "You're such a weird guy, Ander Muñoz."
"For sneezing?!" Ander protested.
His attention was then seized by the beeps from his phone.
"Oh, Omar is on his work break," Ander announced as he checked his messages. "If you don't mind, I'm going to call him, okay? Be right back."
Reina stared at Ander who retreated to the kitchen.
There's definitely a massive fault in Ander's and my stars.
When he returned ten minutes later, Ander said, "So hey. About the plan for Matteo..."
Reina nodded. "Yes. Let's hear it."
Ander perched himself on the sofa's arm rest beside Reina. "I want to propose a change to the dare. Instead of going into San Patricio to steal the basketball trophy, it would be a challenge that Matteo participates in too. I was thinking of setting it at Las Encinas – a competition to steal the top student trophy during the upcoming school year end party. The trophy will be placed on stage, in plain sight to everyone."
"Hmm interesting. But Matteo may point out that you have home advantage and refuse to play."
"I can get him the floor plans of the school building. And give him access to whatever he needs. Do you think he'll bite then?"
Reina shrugged. "It's worth a shot, I think. And what does the winner get?"
"Same with what Matteo decided on – the winner will blindfold the loser and bring him to an unspecified location, where unspeakable things will be done."
Raising an eyebrow, Reina asked, "What unspeakable things might that be? I have to confess that Matteo didn't divulge that part of his plan to me. He just said it was going to be something really good and satisfying – to him."
Ander grimaced. "Yeah, so that part I haven't quite figured out. Maybe something along the lines of shaving his head bald and getting him to confess on video all the horrible stuff he had done. He wouldn't even need to say anything. We'll prepare cardboards containing words for him to hold up."
"Ooh that's cruel. You don't know how much the guy loves his hair."
"Perfect." Ander laughed. "Anyway, let's see how Matteo responds first. I'm going to text him now."
Within the hour, there was a reply from Matteo.
"He's in," Ander announced, more than a little stunned.
A frown formed on Reina's face. "That's not good."
"It isn't?"
Reina shook her head. "If I know Gianmatteo Herrera as well as I do – he's got something up his sleeve."