Fan Fiction |
by elmo
“I’m going off by midnight, no later than that.” Raymond said, looking at his watch which showed him that it would be in another two hours’ time.
“Alright, fine. Stop being such a nag.” Bowie said, before shouting over to the bartender, “Hey, get a dozen bottles of beer here!”
As Raymond sat aside from the group, he noticed a familiar figure sitting at the bar counter alone.
“Bowie, I see a friend over there.” Raymond told his brother before walking over to the person there. “Bosco?” He took the seat beside him.
Bosco turned around and looked at him, “Oh, it’s you.”
Then, it was silence between both of them, as Raymond was racking his brains on what to say, whilst Bosco did not seem to care about his existence and continued drinking. After several moments, it was Bosco whom spoke first.
“Myolie…” Bosco mumbled with a tinge of sadness in his voice, “Do you know how we got together?” Hearing no response from Raymond, he continued talking, “She told me that she wanted forget someone completely. She wanted my help in it. She asked me to date her so that she could take her mind off that person. Guess what I told her…” Turning over to face Raymond, Bosco stared into his eyes, “I said ‘yes’. I pounced on that chance immediately when she offered it to me. Now that I think of it again, it seems like I was really foolish then. Desperate for her to take notice of me, naïve enough to believe that she will love me in return. Now that the situation has become like this, it’s entirely my fault, am I right?”
Raymond broke away from his gaze and looked away with guilt, “I’m sorry, Bosco. I’m truly sorry for causing so much trouble to you. It’s not your fault, and neither is it Myolie’s fault. Everything went haywire because of me, so it’s my fault. I’m the one to be blamed.”
Putting on a serious face, Bosco said, “She still likes you. How about you, Raymond? Do you…do you still have feelings for Myolie?”
Raymond took in a deep breath and nodded his head weakly, but he emphasized that Myolie had concluded that they could only be friends at the moment, “She’s comfortable with the present status quo. She doesn’t seem to want any changes at all, and I respect her decision. Moreover, you seem to be a better choice for Myolie, well at least better than me.”
“Why do you say so?” Bosco questioned with a frown.
“You’re a better lover. You understand her needs well. You always place her as the first priority above everything else, and most importantly, you’ll never hurt her in any way…” Raymond answered truthfully, before murmuring to himself, “Unlike me…”
Just then, their conversation was being disrupted by a call from Bosco’s cell phone. As Raymond waited patiently first, he turned around to find Bosco looking flustered and shocked as he kept on nodding his head before assuring the other party that he would give the person a call if he had news.
“Ray, we’ve to go now.” Bosco said after hanging up the call.
“Where are we going? What happened?” Raymond set down his beer bottle and questioned anxiously.
“Melissa just called me to say that Myolie had run away from their home after accidentally overhearing a conversation between Uncle Wu and her. It seemed to be connected with Myolie’s mum, but I’m unsure of the details. Melissa sounded really worried over the phone. I think we need to look for Myolie now.” Bosco related the phone conversation to Raymond.
Raymond nodded his head as his mind started to process the information which Bosco had just told him, “Alright, how do we go about searching then?”
Bosco pondered for a while, “You look around the neighborhood, while I check out her favorite haunts, and possibly, Sharon’s place too…and maybe my apartment area as well. Let’s remain in contact by our phones.” With that, both of them split up and went in search for Myolie.
__________________________
Occasionally wiping away the tears which had dried up on her cheeks, Myolie looked around her surroundings as she stood by the side of a deserted road barefooted. After leaving the house in haste, she ended up walking aimlessly around the neighborhood, before stopping by the roadside as she began to feel tired. Having no phone or money with her, she felt like she had no one or place to turn to, until she began to recall about a location……
[Flashback…An Hour Plus Ago]
She had wanted to talk to her father about something, but could not find him anywhere else in the house, meaning that he was most probably in his bedroom. But at the same time, she had also wished to avoid Melissa, since she was in mood to pick up a quarrel with her at the moment. As she approached their bedroom, she noticed that the door was left ajar, and the voices inside the room were pretty loud.
“……lower down your voice, Wu Dan…” Myolie recognized it as Melissa’s voice.
“How do you expect me to remain calm? This idiot came to blackmail me, and threatened to expose the relationship. He even wanted to tell Myolie about it.” Her father was trying his best to maintain his cool.
Myolie edged closer towards the door, as she wondered about whom they were talking about.
“He hasn’t provided any evidences yet. Maybe it’s just a scam, after all. I don’t think we should blow up this matter, lest Myolie finds out. We can’t let her know that her mum had an affair with this man before and that her suicide was because of him…” Melissa persuaded.
Her words hit on Myolie real hard. How was that possible? Shaking her head rapidly, Myolie did not believe Melissa’s words, because her mother had left her a letter stating that it was entirely Melissa’s fault that she had chosen to take this path. Why would her mother lie to her only daughter? Doubt and anger were overtaking her mind at the moment. Pushing the door open, both her father and Melissa were taken aback to find Myolie standing right at the doorstep.
“Shut up, you liar!” She glared at Melissa.
“She’s not lying,” Her father stepped forward and decided to come clean with his daughter, “Do you wish to see the man whom your mother had an affair with?! Melissa will rather keep the truth from you and take all the blame by herself! Why will we lie to you?”
Myolie was speechless. She did not know what to say. The harsh truth had come too suddenly. There were too many mixed emotions then – deception, guilt, anger, sadness…
“Then why did Mummy lie to me?!” With that, she turned and hurried off towards the staircase.
“Myolie!” Melissa called out as she quickly chased after her, and as she had expected, Myolie was definitely hurt from knowing about the truth. However, Myolie had proven too fast for her to catch up, as she disappeared from sight after Melissa had arrived at the gate, thus she called up Bosco for help.
[End of Flashback]
_____________________________
Raymond first stopped by Myolie’s house, but Melissa told him that she had not returned since.
“You must find her, Raymond. I’m really frightened now. Myolie…She knows about it already…” Melissa spoke incoherently.
“What does she know?” Raymond asked in anxiety.
And so, Melissa tried to relate everything that happened earlier on to Raymond, whom managed to grasp the gist of the event. Before he left, he assured both of them that he would definitely bring Myolie home safely.
Once he was outside her home, he began thinking hard on the possible places which Myolie may be at. Getting into his car, he started to ‘patrol’ around the neighborhood area but to no avail. Impatience and anxiety welled up within him, as he was worried for her safety. From what Melissa had told him earlier on, he knew that Myolie was definitely feeling terrible and upset. He could not bear to leave her all alone by herself. He needed to find her badly.
“Where would she go? Where…” He kept on pressing himself, before a location finally popped up in his mind at that moment.
Jumping out from his car, Raymond ran towards the direction of the beach. He could remember the path leading towards it pretty vividly, even though he had only been there once. The surroundings were dark and quiet, as there were only a few dimly-lit street lamps. Upon reaching the beach, he finally spotted someone squatting under the familiar huge, shady tree. Panting heavily from the running, Raymond walked up towards her, as she seemed to notice his presence as well.
Raymond said out in a slightly reprimanding tone, “How can you run away like this? Do you know that everyone’s looking for you? We’re all so worried.”
Slowly, Myolie stood up, and he saw the tears in her red, swollen eyes.
“Raymond…” She looked into his eyes and called out his name in a soft, trembling voice.
Raymond clenched his fists tightly for a moment as she continued to gaze tearfully at him. Moving closer towards Myolie, he placed his arms around her body gently, as she started to sob silently in his embrace. Somehow, he seemed to feel the pain that she was going through now, and he wanted so much to stop this pain for her.
“Myo, what can I do? What can I do so that you won’t cry anymore? What can I do for you?” Raymond wondered in his heart as he pulled her tighter into his arms.
__________________________
Raymond looked over at her occasionally, as he drove back to her house after finally successfully persuaded that he would help her, no matter what happened. She did not speak a word after they left the beach, and he did not wish to disturb her. However, at that moment, his car seemed to jerk a little, before coming to an abrupt stop. Myolie turned over and looked at Raymond, whom was clueless as well.
“Wait here first.” He said before alighting from the car and checked the engine.
After several minutes, Myolie got down too when she did not see Raymond return.
“What happened?” She asked, as she stared at Raymond examining the various car parts.
“I think the engine is dead. I guess I have to call for a tow truck.” Raymond replied, before looking at Myolie, “But I need to send you home first. I’ll see if there’s any taxi around.”
Myolie went over to stop him, “There’s no taxi around this area at this hour.”
“Okay, I’ll call Bosco then…” Raymond said as he took out his cell phone before he started cursing under his breath, “Bloody hell, low battery?! What rotten luck is this?!”
Myolie could not help but giggled at his reaction. Raymond looked up and smiled at her, as her giggles meant that her mood had somehow lightened a little.
“How about walking back? It’s not really far, I think.” Raymond tip-toed and tried to see if he could catch a glimpse of Myolie’s mansion from where they were.
“But I’m bare-footed.” She said, pointing to her feet.
“Okay…” Raymond began to think of other methods.
She flashed a mischievous grin at him, “I’ve got a suggestion though.” With that, Myolie stretched out both of her arms, and pointed to his back.
___________________________
“Are you asleep?” He asked softly, noticing the silence after she got onto his back.
“No.” She replied in a soft voice as well, wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders.
“Ray, I don’t want to go home.” She continued.
“Why? Are you afraid of seeing your father and Melissa?” Raymond asked.
It was several moments of silence before she answered, “Yes. I don’t know how to face them now.”
“It’s alright, Myo,” Raymond reassured, “They’ll forgive you. They’ll not blame you at all.”
Her voice started to croak up a little, “Why will they forgive me so easily? Even I can’t forgive my mum for lying to me all these years. I hated the wrong person because of her lie.”
Raymond stopped for a while and said, “Because you’re part of the family. Whenever we make any mistakes, you’ll find that your family will always be the first people to forgive you. When you ran out just now, they were so worried for you. From what I saw, they’ve already forgiven you, so don’t blame yourself anymore.”
“Okay.” She replied softly after hearing his words, before Raymond continued walking back to her house.
___________________________
“I’m sorry…” Myolie apologized with intense guilt, not daring to look at both her father and Melissa.
“Gosh, silly girl, there’s nothing to apologize about. It’s not your fault anyway. We should have told you earlier about it.” Melissa hugged onto Myolie.
“But still, I’m really sorry.” Myolie said weakly, before her father came over and patted on her shoulder to reassure her that everything was fine now.
Raymond smiled in relief as he stood at the side. Just then, he realized that he had not contacted Bosco yet, and quickly went to inform him that Myolie was safely back home.
____________________________
Bosco alighted from his car, and pressed onto the doorbell. He had sped over from his apartment area after receiving Raymond’s call. Even though he had Raymond’s reassurance that Myolie was alright now, he still wanted to see her badly. For the past few hours, it had been hell for him when he could not find her, since he harbored a slim hope that she would be around his apartment area after failing to locate her at her favorite haunts. Melissa hurried out of the mansion, and unlocked the gate for Bosco to enter.
“She’s upstairs in her room…” Melissa said, but before she could complete her sentence, Bosco had already rushed past her, running towards Myolie’s bedroom.
However, Bosco suddenly stopped dead in his track a meter outside Myolie’s bedroom. The door of her room was not shut. She was lying on her bed fast asleep, whilst Raymond was sitting on the chair beside her bed. He watched on in silence as Raymond gently stroked her hair away from her face before he pulled the blanket higher up and tucked her hand under the blanket. Just then, Raymond stood up from the chair and turned around, finding Bosco standing outside the room.
“Oh, you’re here,” Raymond whispered softly, “She just fell asleep. I’ll leave her in your care then.”
Bosco nodded his head, before sitting down on the chair which Raymond occupied earlier on. Gazing down on Myolie, Bosco could not take his mind off Raymond’s actions just now. He even tried to dismiss the fact that it was Raymond whom had found Myolie from his mind. After tonight’s incident, Bosco seemed to find that Myolie was slipping away from his grasp, no matter how hard he tried to hold onto her. She was just lying so close to him right now, but somehow, her heart seemed to be miles away from him.
“So what if I understand her? So what if I’m supposedly the better lover? And so what if I’ll never, ever hurt her? The person whom found her tonight wasn’t me at all. The person whom comforted her tonight when she was upset wasn’t me as well. Why isn’t it me? Why isn't it me, Myo?” Tears uncontrollably flowed down his cheeks upon this thought, as Bosco kept his teary eyes focused on Myolie.
_______________________
When Myolie awoke the following morning, Melissa told her that Bosco had kept her company till dawn before he was willing to head home for a rest after constant persuasion from her.
“He looked pretty upset, Myo.” Melissa said.
Myolie tried calling him, his home or cell phone, but he did not pick up the call. Maybe he’s sleeping, she concluded. Knowing that she still had the bunch of keys to his apartment, she decided to drop by first to ensure that he was alright. However, upon reaching his apartment, Myolie found him lying outside at his doorstep, and there was a strong stench of alcohol on him, whilst a few empty cans of beer lay around him.
“Bosco? Bosco, are you alright?” Myolie bent down, and shook him lightly on the shoulder.
Bosco began to stir a little upon hearing her voice. Trying his best to stay sober, he gave her a smile and nodded his head.
“I’m…fii…fine…” He murmured in a slurred voice, attempting to stand up on his feet with her help.
“Why are you drinking at such an early hour?” She questioned whilst supporting him into the apartment.
“Baddd…bad mood…I…I’m unhappy…” He said, as he lay on his bed.
Myolie hurried over to the bathroom and got a damp towel, before placing it over his forehead, as he continued to mumble incoherently. Just as Myolie thought that he had finally fallen asleep, Bosco suddenly caught hold of her wrist.
“It isn’t me…not me…isn’t me…” He muttered, with his eyes still shut.
“What about you?” She asked, as she tried to take Bosco’s hand away.
“Why is it Raymond? Why not me?” This time, Myolie could hear Bosco’s words pretty clearly, and she knew that he was upset over last night’s event.
Bosco was never someone whom drunk frequently, and neither would he ever use alcohol to numb himself of any troubling matters. It was her first time seeing him in this state ever since she knew him. After ensuring that he was asleep, she left the apartment after putting a note behind to inform him that she had placed the bunch of keys, which he had given her for access to his apartment, on the coffee table. Myolie knew that she should make a decision soon.
__________________________
ok, 1 more chapt to go~