Chapter 3

It was six o’clock in the morning when Alessa woke up. She took a shower and got dressed to go to the hospital. She combed their hair before leaving her room. Her parents were not in the kitchen when she arrived, so she looked around.

Checking the time on her wristwatch, Alessa saw that it was only half past seven in the morning. She smiled when she saw that breakfast was already prepared on the table. She took a bite of a hot dog before sitting down and continuing to comb her wet hair.

“Where is mom?” Alessa asked, then walked out of the kitchen.

As Alessa stood in the big living room of the mansion, she heard the sound of cars entering the huge gate. Two cars had arrived. Alessa saw her parents posted at the entrance of the mansion, but she didn’t go over to see who the new arrivals were.

A black car stopped in front of Alessa’s parents. She frowned as she recognized the newcomers.

“Sheila,” said Alessa’s mom, then happily hugged the lady.

“Alice… How are you?” said Sheila, returning the hug to Alessa’s mom. The hug ended, and Sheila looked at Alessa’s dad. “Romino.”

“Welcome home,” Alessa’s dad greeted. When he looked back at Elijah’s father, he shook his hand. “Jose.”

“Thank you,” Sheila had a sweet smile on her lips.

“How are you here, Romino? I’m sorry we came home too early.” Jose patted Alessa’s father’s shoulder, and the latter smiled.

“We’re fine here. No problem. How was your trip?”

“Where is Elijah?” Alessa’s mom asked suddenly.

Alessa wasn’t sure what she saw, but the smiles seemed to disappear suddenly. They were replaced by sadness, and the couple looked at each other.

Then another car door opened. A tall, dark, and handsome man got out. Alessa frowned because she didn’t recognize that man. This wasn’t Elijah, she was sure of that.

After a while, someone else came out with support. Alessa covered her mouth and couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She slowly walked closer to her parents, but her eyes were on Elijah.

“E-Elijah…” Alessa called her old friend’s name softly, and it seemed he heard it. He turned towards Alessa’s direction.

“Who are you?”

Alessa couldn’t answer. She just stared at his face. She was staring at his once handsome face that now had a big bandage on it, and his eyes were also covered. The bandage was huge and almost covered Elijah’s entire face.

“I’m asking you! Who the hell are you!?” Elijah yelled at Alessa. The man who had first gotten out of the car now had a firm grip on him.

Alessa backed away when he yelled at her again. Her eyes widened as she looked away from him. She turned to her parents and to the Villaruiz couple when he was pulled away.

“Elijah, stop it!”

“Then she shouldn’t have called my name!” Elijah shouted again. “Armando, let’s go to my fucking room!” His voice was cold as ice, and Alessa was almost terrified.

“I’m not your nurse, Elijah!” roared the handsome man.

Elijah turned to face Armando but didn’t face him directly. He seemed angry, as Alessa could clearly see how Elijah’s jaw was clenched. “Then go back to the United States!” Elijah said, then hurriedly entered the mansion together with Armando.

Alessa gasped and clutched her chest, feeling scared from earlier. Heat welled up in the corner of her eyes. She had never been yelled at like that in her entire life.

“I-I am so sorry,” said Sheila.

Jose stroked his wife’s back. “We’re very sorry about what happened, especially to you, Alessa.”

Alessa looked at them, still in disbelief and speechless. “W-why is… Elijah like that? What happened?” Alessa’s mom asked, obviously surprised too.

“Is Elijah okay, Jose? W-why is that… why is that boy like that?”

The couple looked at each other, then avoided looking at Alessa’s parents.

“What… what happened to his face?” Alessa asked weakly. She didn’t want to ask, but she was truly surprised. She hadn’t expected Elijah’s entire face to be wrapped in a bandage.

“Alessa, maybe we should let them rest first. You still have work, don’t you?” Alessa’s dad said, then patted her arm.

“A-alright, Dad.” Alessa didn’t do anything else but say goodbye to them and leave the mansion.

***

It was afternoon, and someone occupied Alessa’s mind while she was on duty at the hospital. She couldn’t imagine that Elijah had changed so much, far from his natural and old habits.

Alessa felt pity for him when she remembered his face.

She would admit that she was very surprised to see Elijah’s face, but she would also admit that the truth was still there — he was handsome. Plus, he had mustaches and a beard and quite long hair.

Alessa didn’t like men with long hair, but Elijah used to be different.

“Hey! You look like an idiot while staring at nothing!” said Bea when she elbowed Alessa. She hadn’t noticed that Bea was right next to her because she was so deep in thought about Elijah.

“W-what was that? Are you saying something?”

“Huh? Nothing! What are you thinking? Are you okay?”

Alessa took a deep breath. “Elijah has gone home.”

Her friend’s eyes widened. “Really? Is he still handsome?” Bea asked, full of curiosity.

“I didn’t think the damage to his face was that big. The size of the bandage on his face and—”

“What? Well, is he ugly?”

“No, of course not. He’s still handsome!” Alessa said. “Well, maybe for you, he’s not handsome since—”

“Hey! I’m not an insulting person, am I?” said Bea.

Alessa just laughed at her. After a while, she got serious and thought about it again. “I feel sorry for him. He must be in so much pain,” she said.

“I know!”

“What is his ex-girlfriend thinking now? Is she happy? I mean, does she feel guilty?”

Alessa felt her friend tap on her shoulder. “Alessa, don’t think about that girl. She probably has no conscience. She left Elijah because of what happened.”

Alessa didn’t say anything more. She felt even more pity for her former best friend.