“No, it’s your Mom,” Darius replied melancholically. His reply took me by surprise as he lost himself in another train of thoughts.
“D-Do you know her?” Never had I heard anything about my mom ever since she left. To be precise, I couldn’t get my hands on her whereabouts. It felt as though she had disappeared into thin air.
Nathan once said Mom had eloped with another man, but I refused to believe him. I held a grudge against her for leaving me alone when I needed her the most.
If she had planned to leave me, she shouldn’t have brought me to into this world. I ended up suffering because of her—being bullied and missing my mother sorely.
Most of the time, I was jealous of Crystal because she had a protective mother—someone would look after her and support her in every stage of her life.
“Yes. We were schoolmates. I encountered her during homecoming.” Darius kept his reply short and simple.
I was confused. Christopher once told me his brother had doted on him since young due to their huge age gap—his brother was thirteen years older than him. In other words, Darius was merely eleven years older than me.
My mother gave birth to me when she was twenty years old. Thus, it wouldn’t make any sense for them to be schoolmates. Conscious of the questions I had in mind, he said, “I was part of the academic acceleration program. I admitted into college when I was thirteen.”
I gaped at his reply. When I thought no one could beat Christopher, Darius proved me wrong by telling me he was a college freshman when he was just thirteen years old.
Seconds after I snapped out of confusion, I whispered, “Do you know anything about her?”
Actually, I wanted to know if he had seen her over the past few years, but I thought that would be inappropriate since they were merely schoolmates.
Shaking his head, he glanced at the center of the hall and asserted, “If you need any help, feel free to approach me. Nothing can get in my way in Avenport for the time being.”
I looked in the direction of his glance and saw Lyle and Crystal. It was a huge favor, considering he was just a schoolmate of my mother. “Thank you so much for the offer, but that won’t be necessary for the time being. I’ll reach out to you if I ever need your help.”
The moment I walked away from the hall after the dance, Zachary showed up next to me. I was speechless. “Seriously?”
Zachary explained with a stern expression, “He told me to stop you from joining others for a dance because you’re way too gorgeous today.”
Obviously, Zachary was aware of the relationship between Christopher and me. Otherwise, he would never bring up such a sensitive topic. I feel uneasy knowing there’s a third party who knew about our affair.
Unable to carry on with the awkward conversation, I suggested, “Shall we head over to the deck and enjoy the sceneries? Others told me the Lane family had all sorts of fish in the lake meant for consumption.”
He nodded and said, “Since I won’t have to stop others from approaching you over there, that actually sounds like a great idea.”
“Were you a member of the army? Can you stop behaving as though you’re currently on a mission or something?”
That random speculation of mine turned out to be true. He nodded and answered, “He used to be my platoon commander. Perhaps it has become a custom. Now, I can’t help but carry out his order.”
Wait! Christopher used to be a member of the army? Is that the reason he’s equally skilled in combat skills? No wonder he’s able to climb over the fence at ease!
Although it was merely the second time I met Zachary in person, I could tell he was a good friend of Christopher through their interaction. I chuckled when the scene of Christopher teasing Zachary crossed my mind.
