Chapter 3

[Twelve years ago]

“I asked a question: why can’t you answer, or are you perhaps mute? I asked, ‘Who are you?’” the tall, lanky guy asked.

He spoke with a weird accent that Regina couldn’t recognize. His skin tone suggested he was Mediterranean.

“I was… I—” Regina stammered.

“Stop it, you are scaring her. She must have gotten lost somehow. Sweetie, don’t be scared. You can leave now,” the blue-eyed guy said, flashing a megawatt smile at her.

“Thank you,” Regina replied, struggling to put on her shoes without flashing her underwear due to her extremely short skirt.

As soon as she strapped her shoes properly, she wheeled the cleaning trolley slowly out of the room, but not before hearing the lanky guy say, “Xavier, what the hell? Why would you let her go like that?”

“Calm down, Giannis. She is just a cleaning maid, she isn’t even of our age, you didn’t have to be so rude. She must have been so tired after cleaning, and that’s why she crashed on the bed for a while. It’s no big deal.”

Regina left the room, thinking of the blue-eyed guy. So his name was Xavier. She liked his name, and she liked the fact that he was in support of her.

As much as she liked Xavier and was eager to meet him again, she dreamt of Giannis instead of him that night as she lay in the tiny bed offered to her by Mrs. Parker for the night in an old staff room.

***

The next morning, Regina took a shower, taking care to put on her favorite sundress and pack her unruly dark hair in a high ponytail.

It was possible that she could see Xavier once again, so she didn’t want to appear like some common maid.

“What is this? Are you going somewhere?” Sylvia asked, walking into the room that morning.

“I want to go to the beach and get some fresh air.”

“Alright, have you had anything to eat? How was work last night?”

“I’m sure you know the answer to those questions, Sylvia,” Regina frowned.

“I’m sorry, my dear. Believe me, if I could do anything to improve our situation, I’d do it.”

“I know, I’m leaving,” Regina said, walking out of the room.

She didn’t really intend on going to the beach, but it just came to her thoughts. She wanted to meet Xavier again, he was nice, as compared with every other rich person she had ever come across.

Regina took the elevator to go up to Xavier’s floor. Maybe if she lingered around there, she would probably see Xavier again, and then she could thank him for going easy on her the previous night.

Regina loitered around the lobby of the sixth floor for about an hour before realizing that neither Xavier nor his rude friend was coming out any time soon.

She sighed with her shoulders falling as she walked away. Knowing that she would have to go back to the tiny room doing nothing until later in the afternoon when she had to work, she decided to head to the beach.

Normally, people of her age went to the beach with their families and also with all the items they would require there, but Regina was all alone as she usually was.

Sylvia had been forced to cut all ties with her Catholic family as soon as they heard of her pregnancy, and hence, Regina had no relatives. It was just she and her not-always-present mother.

She sat on the sand, watching the waves and surfers, enjoying the beautiful beach. She felt a sense of calmness at the sight in front of her.

As she watched a girl of her age playing with her younger brother, Regina felt a stab of jealousy in her chest. She didn’t have that; she didn’t have any of it.

She had been forced to grow up quickly in order to assist her mother in making ends meet.

Regina got up and walked along the beach, feeling the sun on her skin and the sand between her toes. As she approached the water, she saw a guy sitting at the shore, staring out at the waves. He was tall and lanky. With his back to her, Regina couldn’t see his face, but she felt strangely drawn to him.

“Excuse me,” she said, walking up to him. “Do you mind if I join you?”

The guy turned to face her, and Regina gasped, realizing that he was the rude jerk from the other night. His orbs were even darker under the sunlight, but they had golden flecks around them. He looked her up and down, a scowl forming on his face.

“Who are you? I don’t need any company, neither do I require any refreshments,” he grumbled.

Regina was taken aback by his rudeness, but she didn’t want to give up just yet. She had to serve him a dish of rudeness, too, “Excuse me? I’m not offering any refreshments.”

“You’re not? Okay, then, I am not on the market. I have a girlfriend, Madison Turner, and no, I don’t want to take any photos with you or anyone else,” he said.

Regina gasped at his response. The Giannis guy was so full of himself. He couldn’t even remember her from the other night.

She wondered why she wasn’t walking away in excitement at that but was instead compelled to sit with him. Maybe he could link her up with Xavier. Dismissing her thoughts, she sat down on the sand next to him and took a deep breath.

“Look, I’m sorry if I’m bothering you,” she said. “I just thought it would be nice to have someone to talk to. I don’t know if you remember, but I was the cleaning employee in your room last night,” she confessed.

“You were?” he asked, frowning while looking at her as if he couldn’t see the resemblance. “What are you doing here, then? I see you finally got back your tongue,” he snapped.

“I just wanted to apologize once again. It was wrong of me to sleep in a guest’s room,” Regina replied, ignoring his tone.

“It’s fine. I don’t really care. It’s not like you disarranged anything in the room. I would have been pissed if you did.”

“I’m glad I didn’t. My name is Regina Matthews,” she said, stretching forth her hand for a handshake.

“How old are you, by the way?” he asked, eyeing her hand before shaking it.

“I am fifteen. I will be sixteen in two days. I guess this is the part where you tell me what your name is,” she smiled.

Giannis sighed and looked out at the water again. “I expected you to know who I am, but it’s fine. I’ll introduce myself,” he said. “I am Giannis Seven Drakos, but don’t expect me to be friendly just because I told you my name.”

Regina nodded, and they sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the waves crash onto the shore. Eventually, Regina spoke up.

“What about your friend, Xavier?” she asked.

“Xavier?” He frowned.

“That’s his name, isn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s his name. He is at the mall with Madison,” he replied in a low voice.

“But she is your girlfriend. Why did she go with him instead of you?”

“They are twins,” Giannis chuckled at Regina’s confusion.

“Oh, I get it now,” Regina laughed, realizing that Giannis actually had a nice laugh.

“So tell me, why were you cleaning after hotel guests? You aren’t even sixteen yet, is that right?”

“What?”

“You shouldn’t be working at such a young age,” Giannis explained.

“I don’t really have a choice as compared to you rich kids.”

“I am sorry,” Giannis apologized.

“It’s fine.”

“So you’re into Xavier?” He smirked.

“Uhm… I uh—” she stammered.

“It’s fine; you don’t have to feel ashamed of the fact. I must warn you that you are too young for a relationship.”

“Really? How old are you guys?”

“We turn eighteen at the end of next month. We have the exact same birthday.”

“That’s cool,” she remarked.

“How about your parents? Family? Did you all come here to Greece on a vacation?”

“No, it’s just my mom and I. We are here on business.”

“Oh, I see. You can hang out with us whenever you feel lonely.”

“Really? Thank you so much.”

Just as she said that, her stomach rumbled loudly in hunger, and Regina felt like digging into the ground and hiding.

Giannis stretched out a basket she had not even realized was by his side. Regina felt her mouth water at the scrumptious snacks she saw in the basket.

“Help yourself,” he smiled at her, pointing an inviting hand to the basket in front of her.

“Can I call you Seven instead of your other name?” she asked, taking a bite of a croissant.

“Why do you ask? Giannis is my first name,” he frowned.

“It’s because Seven is a number of perfection. Your life seems kind of perfect. I feel bad for pegging you as a rude jerk. You are nothing like that.”

Giannis laughed out loud before asking what school Regina attended. The conversation about schools totally ruined her mood. Regina ignored questions about her schooling. She was too ashamed to say that she had dropped out of school for about three weeks now.

They chatted for a while longer, discussing their lives and interests. Regina found that Giannis was actually quite interesting and had a lot to say. They even shared a few laughs.

Two hours went by, and then they stood up and brushed the sand off their clothes. Regina turned to Giannis and smiled.

“I’m glad we got to talk,” she said. “Maybe we’ll run into each other again, my new friend.”

Giannis smiled back, a rare sight. “Yeah,” he said. “Maybe we will,” watching her walk away with a smile on his face.

The little girl hadn’t even recognized him as a famous teenage model. He liked her cheerful nature, and he couldn’t believe they had become friends just like that.

She turned around suddenly and yelled, “Hey, Seven! Tell Xavier I said hi. Talk about me to him, okay?”

Giannis simply shook his head in laughter at her childish nature.