LUCAS 🍂 19
   Anya and I broke up a few days ago, and a person named Zevadiah is getting on my nerves. I should get rid of him. I don't want him to have Fawn - I don't want anyone to linger on my sister's friend. I'm screwed up after the night Fawn overheard our conversation outside the gate on Anya's birthday. I lied to Anya. I didn't see Fawn as Felly's friend or a kid; she's more than that to me. 
   Damn it! I hate to admit to myself that I feel something - a feeling I've been trying to ignore because I didn't want to hurt Anya. I buried it, but I couldn't stop thinking about Fawn lately, and it just got worse after my relationship with Anya ended. I want Fawn; it's making me crazy. She's driving me nuts. I don't know when it started. One thing I know is I want Fawn - I want her. I'll get what I want. No one will stand in my way, not even the Rizal person.
   "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I rub my temple as I look seriously at my sister. "Fawn's family can stay here for the time being if you should have told me sooner." My parents will let them stay, and if they don't, I have a place for them to stay while they figure things out.
   Felly rolls her eyes at me while sipping the half beer in her glass in front of me. "You have nothing to do with her, Lucas. Yes, she told me about everything that's going on, but that doesn't mean I should tell you about it too. She's my friend, and I don't want you for her, even if she has a crush on you. But I'm not sure if she still has a crush on you since Zevadiah came into her life. Don't try to deny it, brother. You have feelings for her, and as much as I love you, I don't want you for her. She's not a replacement, and I'm Team Faze," she puts down the empty glass on the table and walks towards me, tapping my shoulder twice. "You can't force someone to like you back," and walks past me before disappearing.
   My hands clench into fists at my side. I need to go back to that place after what happened yesterday. The bastard locked the main door, that was the reason I couldn't get in yesterday. I grab my car key and head to my car. My brow furrows when my phone notification pings; I pull it out of my pocket and read the message. It's from Anya, my ex. She wants to meet up with me. I turn my phone off. I don't have time for her.
   I still love her, Anya, yet Fawn has been occupying my mind, and it's driving me crazy if I can't see her today. I maneuver my car as fast as I can. When I reach my destination, I park the car near the house, head directly to the main front door, and knock on the wooden door, but her mother opens the door for me, not Fawn.
   My brows furrow. "Is Fawn inside the house?" I ask.
   Tita Tina shakes her head slightly, "She's not here. It's best if you go inside and wait for Fawn in the living room," she smiles and opens the door wider for me to enter, but I don't move.
   "Who is she with, Tita?"
   "She was with Zev this morning. Why? Is there a problem, Lucas?" I shake my head while clenching my jaw at what I hear. It's already seven in the evening, and she's not home.
   "Where are they? It's already late, Tita."
   "Fawn left her phone, but Zev told me she's with Fawn in Taiwan," Taiwan? What the hell are they doing there?
   "You let him take her out of the country?" My brow furrows. I don't like the idea of him spending more time with Fawn, but Fawn's mother seems okay with it, with that asshole taking her daughter to Taiwan.
   "I trust the man, Lucas. Fawn looks happy when he's around. I've never seen my daughter smile after the divorced and what she went through a couple of days ago," I was there when Fawn's stepfather molested her that night. I was there to call the police, and with the help of my parents, we put that man behind bars. Atlas Hidalgo must stay behind bars for Fawn's safety.
   "It's not safe for her to be alone with him, Tita. No one knows his true intentions towards Fawn. He might be a dangerous man. Who knows what's going on in his head? He might take Fawn away from you, or even do worse things to her. You can't just let him stick around your daughter like that," I'm fuming mad. How could she let her own daughter be with a man alone in Taiwan this late at night? It's not safe. 
   That's absurd, and Fawn should think clearly before she does stupid things that she might regret in the end. She's not thinking straight.
   "Lucas," Tita smiles slightly and pats my shoulder twice. "You should go back home. I'll tell my daughter you came when she comes home later," she doesn't let me utter a single word before she shuts the door in my face.
   I'm left standing there before taking a deep breath. Felly didn't tell me that Fawn was in Taiwan. I turn my back on the house and head to my car before turning my phone back on. I received seven missed calls from Anya. With another sigh, I dial her number, but it goes to voicemail. What does she want from me? We already broke up. She was the one who ended our five-year relationship. So, what does she want from me?
   I go home, find my sister in the living room with Shaun, Anya's younger brother. My own parents set them up. I'm not sure if they still want Shaun to be with Felly after Anya and I broke up.
   As soon as she sees me, Felly approaches me. "We need to talk. Privately." I nod and follow her until we're in the kitchen room. She turns to face me.
   "Where the hell have you been?"
   "I went to see Fawn, but it turned out she's in Taiwan with the guy named Zevadiah. Why didn't you tell me this morning?" I ask.
   She scoffs, massaging her temples, "Why would I tell you the whereabouts of Fawn? You know what matters right now, Lucas? It's that Anya tried to call you, to reach you, but you're out of reach. I know I didn't like Anya back then, you two have been together for I don't know how many years, but for fuck's sake, I care for her, Lucas." My brows furrow, seemingly puzzled as to where this conversation is heading.
   "Don't leave me confused, Felizitas. Tell me what happened when I was gone." She shakes her head, unable to even look me in the eye. "Felizitas," I warn her. She seems to be struggling to tell me something important.
   "Shaun," she starts and looks at me directly. "Shaun told me that Anya got an... abortion," she sighs.
   "What?"
   "Their parents didn't even know that she was pregnant, and now the abortion just happened, and another problem is that she's gone, that's why Shaun came here. Only Shaun knows that Anya was pregnant, and it was yours, Lucas." I... I feel like I've lost a part of myself after I hear what Felly says. That baby is gone because of me. Anya killed our baby. I don't know what exactly to feel, regret? Hate?
   She got an abortion without trying to talk to me. That was my baby. How dare she make a decision without me? And now what? She's gone after the horrible thing she did. It was her decision; we already broke up. She's old enough to handle herself. She killed our baby; it already happened, I can't change what has already happened. Exactly.
   "Let her be," I say and turn my back on Felly, but she grabs my wrist, stopping me from walking away.
   "What the hell, Lucas? What do you mean 'let her be'? She's your girlfriend. You didn't even care about her even after you two broke up?"
   "Was, Felly. She 'was' my girlfriend for five years. She broke up with me first. Killed our baby without talking to me. I mean, I can't change what's already done. She's gone? Well, she's old enough to find her way back home. She's no longer a teenager."
   "Don't you still love her at least?"
   "I still love her, but..."
   "Is it because of Fawn?"
   "Fawn has nothing to do with it."
   She scoffs, "I know you, Lucas. You don't just go somewhere without a reason, like you did hours ago. You don't just have feelings for Fawn. You... love her. Since when did this happen? I'm trying to figure out why you love Fawn while still being with Anya. I'll ask you again. Did you love Anya?"
   "I did love Anya, but I just got screwed up one day when I realized I loved Fawn while in a relationship with Anya." I run my fingers through my hair out of frustration.
   "Since when?"
   I shake my head slightly, "I don't fucking know, Felizitas. Maybe the time I saw her with a new guy lurking around her. Or the time I picked you guys up from after school and saw Rizal, your new transferred classmate. Or maybe the time I saw her on the street late at night, looking so helpless with Arlo after their stepfather hurt her, them. Or the time inside the skating rink where I saw her with Rizal being so close that my own mind wanted to punch him, pull him away from her. I don't have a clue when it all started. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to clear and sort my mind out about whatever this madness is going on. You go and find Anya; she's not my responsibility anymore." I pull her hand away from my wrist, walk past the living room where Shaun looks at me. I ignore him and head directly to the stairs up to my room before locking my door.
   I sit on the edge of my bed and run my hands over my face in frustration. Damn. I'm a mess. My life is a mess; so is my mind. I'm going to rest up, and tomorrow I'll be able to see Fawn at school.
   I need to have a word with her, with Fawn.