Chapter 13 part a

I dropped down onto the soft violet bed as soon as we got a room at the Grand hotel. I was exhausted…it felt like I hadn’t been able to sleep well the whole week.

“Hey, aren’t you going to call back home?” Robin asked as he lay down beside me. He was just as tired as me if not worse. I groaned but managed to get up to make a call.  

Mum picked up immediately…asking if everything was alright. After assuring her that everything was fine, I talked to Brenda for a while, and when I looked over to check on Robin, he was already fast asleep.

I took that opportunity to take a long hot bath and then got dressed in blue shorts and a white tank top. I brushed my hair and dried it off. Then I nudged Robin gently, until he managed to open his eyes.

“Don’t you want to shower?” I asked.

 

He shook his head and went back to sleep. “You need to change at least. Come one, get up!” I dragged him up into a sitting position but he just pulled me back down with him. His hands wound tightly around my waist and pulled me so close to him that I could feel his warm breath on my neck.

Although my back was to him and I couldn’t see him, I could imagine him smirking. I tried to pull his hands away but he was too strong and I couldn’t help but feel really small and weak against him.

“Robin!” I hissed. I hated it when people didn’t change into comfortable clothes when going to sleep. How can he just fall asleep in those jeans? “Hey!!”

“Can you just sleep now? You can complain about whatever tomorrow…” he said. I half suspected he was sleep-talking.

“No, Robin! Change first, then you can sleep.”

 

“You do it for me then. I’m sleeping…”

My jaw dropped and I had a sudden urge to turn and smack him, but when I did manage to turn to face him I couldn’t bring myself to wake him up again. He looked so angelically cute, so vulnerable even. Sometimes I forget that he actually looks very cute…I used to tease him about his cute looks back in 7^th grade. I remember telling him he could pass as a girl if he just put on some make-up and a dress.

Ever since then, he’d acted tougher and even started going to the gym frequently which is how he got his hard abs. He looked much tougher now…he could pass as hot easily, but I can still see the cute him. I ran my fingers through his light brown hair. It was surprisingly soft. I kept stroking his hair until at some point I also fell asleep.

--------------------------------------------------------

I woke up at around 10 AM. Robin wasn’t there. I walked to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. I changed into black skinnies, and put on my black cardigan over my white tank top. I walked out to the balcony to see the view outside. It was beautiful. There was a fountain with an angel statue on top and trees all around. My favorite roses and tulips were planted on one side, and daffodils on the other.

I watched as people walked back and forth. At some point I saw someone quiet familiar walk up toward the roses. I kept staring at him until he looked up straight at me…as if noticing I was watching him. A knowing smile formed across his face.

Oh God!! Mark…it was definitely him. I could tell from his blonde hair and that smile. It almost felt as if he was someone I knew all my life. He waved while I just stared. Why is he here?

I ignored him and went back inside to look around. There were two bathrooms, an open kitchen with a small table and two chairs. There was a huge plasma TV and velvety sofas all around it. It looked comfy.

The strange thing was that Robin wasn’t here. I tried to go out to look for him and that’s when I saw a note stuck to the door. ‘Come to the lobby when you wake up. I’ll be waiting for you.’

Really? He sticks it here? I mean usually they put notes somewhere next to you so you would know immediately once you wake up. How long has he been waiting anyway?

I made my way out and asked directions until I got to the lobby. The place was pretty big, and I wasn’t used to it yet.

Yesterday I was too tired to think straight. I found Robin sitting on one of the red plush chairs, his head down…his hair covering his eyes as it usually did when he didn’t push it back. His elbows were resting on his legs. He must have been waiting for me for a long time.

I walked up to him and he finally looked up. Was he angry? I couldn’t tell. He just stared at me for a while before getting up and brushing his lips gently against mine. “About time you wake up. I’m starving,” he said with a smile.

I felt a blush creep up to my face. He never did that before. At least, the last or first time he did was a long time ago. “Y-you haven’t had breakfast yet?” I asked while cursing myself for being shaken up by a small kiss.

“I was waiting for you. It’s boring to eat alone,” he replied. I raised an eyebrow and gave him an are-you-sure look. As much as I know, he used to not care about such things at all.

“Hey, what’s the point of getting married if we don’t at least eat together?”

He had a point. Even if we just ‘admire’ each other, and there is no love, we can still make the best out of it. After all, we were once upon a time friends you know.

“Hey, wait up!” that voice made me stop in my tracks. Robin tensed beside me and I could see his hands curl into a fist. Not now… Why is Mark here again?

“Hey…Mark,” I said, trying to make things a little less awkward. He ran a hand through his blonde hair and looked at me. He seemed amused, and maybe a little … happy?

“You still remember me?”

Duh! I just saw you yesterday, and you were pretty much flirting with me; was what I wanted to say but one look at Robin, and that shut me up.

“What do you want?” Robin snapped.

“Whoa! Chill man, I’m just glad there’s someone I know here,” he said while nodding towards me. Oh no, not a smart thing to say. The last time I checked, he didn’t even know my name. So what makes him think he knows it now?

 

I put a hand over Robin’s arm and he seemed to calm down a bit. “What did you say? Why are you here anyway?”

“Excuse me? It’s not like I can’t be here,” Mark said with a smug smile.

“I know you moron, but what I mean is why are you following us?” Robin asked again.

“Oh I’m not following you…I’m here for my cousin, Clarissa.”

Huh? My God…why is it that my life is full of surprises? Everything that happens has to creep me out. How is he my cousin when I don’t even know him? Or is he my cousin from my dad’s side? Or is all this just a prank?

“I’m sorry, but I’m not so sure I know you. As a matter of fact, I don’t remember having a cousin called Mark.”

 “Well, you were young and probably forgot, but we-”

“Hey! How about you don’t bother us while we’re here, because we’re supposed to be on our honeymoon,” Robin sure was angry now, and despite having been in a good mood earlier, he practically dragged me away.

Somehow I wanted to know why all of a sudden this guy came out of nowhere, and just declared we’re cousins. Now that didn’t make any sense did it? “Maybe I should ask mum…” I mumbled.

“Don’t!” Robin hissed. “Don’t even think about him anymore. We’re leaving tomorrow…”

“What?! We just got here yesterday…”

“Yea well, I didn’t think I would see that stalker.”

“You also think he was lying?”

“I know he’s flirting with you despite the fact that he knows you’re my wife, so he’s not normal.”