"Do you know my mother?" I suddenly muttered out loud to her father.

"A-alexa..." she stuttered. Maybe she was shocked because of the sudden question I asked her father.

But I need an answer now. I am sure that he is the man that was with my mother earlier. I want to confirm it. I don’t need to think about politeness right now.

"Who is this girl?" he asked while getting out of his car.

"Dad, she's..." I don’t know what’s wrong with her. She became nervous. It shows in her actions and the way she speaks.

"I am Alexa, daughter of Leila Martin." I said without hesitation.

His eyes widened and he stood there with his mouth agape. He studied my face and he looked like he was out of words. I just stared at him and waited for him to utter any words.

"Dad!" called by her daughter, brings him back to reality.

“Oh, sorry about me spacing out. You are the daughter of Leila?" He apologized with an awkward smile on his face. He asked me with his curious expression on his face.

“I know you heard it clearly, but let me repeat it. I am the daughter of Leila Martin. Do you know her? " I’m getting pissed, but I need to calm myself. I need an answer. I don’t know why I am so curious about this. I can tell that there’s something going on that I need to know about.

"Dad, we need to go home now. You know…we had an appointment. Let’s go! " She said, and her face became pale. I looked at her with confusion. Why is she acting so weird? I am just asking her dad. Why is she acting like I’m going to take her father away from her? I sometimes wonder what it is like to have a father, but I will not steal someone’s father for my own benefits.

"Sorry Alexa, but we need to go now." She pulled her father towards the car.

"But I only asked a simple question. Tell me, Mr. Sanchez, if it is a yes or a no. " I said. Why can’t he just answer me right away? He doesn’t have to explain anything. What I want right now is to know whether he knows my mother or not. It's as simple as that.

"Stop it Alexa, please, we’re in a hurry." I looked at her with a more confused look. I have never seen her like this. I always see her all happy and she never gets upset. What I’m seeing right now is far from the Ria that I knew.

"Why are you tense, Ria?" I stared at her, then she gulped, "Then let me just ask you, do you know my mother?"

I’m getting irritated because of her. I am always irritated with her, but what I’m feeling right now is beyond that. I can shrug it off how clingy she is, but I want to shut her up now.

"W-why would I know your mother?" She gave me a stern look.

“Then why are you acting like that? I’m just acting as your father." I looked at his father with pleading eyes and said, "Tell me, sir, do you know my mother?"

"Calm down, girls. Why don’t we have a little talk in a nice place? In a coffee shop, what do you think? " He asked calmly, as if there was no tension between her daughter and I.

"I don’t think that’s a good idea, sir. I need to go home, and in fact, I just need your answer. It doesn’t need a cup of coffee to talk about it. " I said plainly. We’re all startled by the loud roar of thunder. In just a few minutes, the rain will start to pour.

"Dad…" Ria held her father’s hand with a worried look on her face.

"Yes…I know your mother and I have heard about you for quite some time now.” He said, while looking directly into my eyes. I can say that he’s not lying.

"Y-you know me?" I asked. Maybe because of Ria.

"Yes, but this is the first time I've seen you." Right now, I don’t think I just need a yes or no answer. I have lots of questions that I want to ask, but I don’t think I can do it right now. Ria is sending me a murderous look right now.

"Thank you, sir, for answering my question. You can go now and I’ll take my leave now." I turned my heels and started moving away from them.

"Aren’t you going to ask me another question?" He asked, and makes me stop. I look over my shoulder.

"No sir, just like what I said earlier, I will just ask you that question. And I don’t think your daughter will let me ask you more questions." I glanced at Ria, but she lowered her head.

I start to make my way to the bus stop. Mr. Sanchez offered me a ride, but I declined it. It’s not a good idea since her daughter is still glaring at me. I sit uncomfortably at the bus stop and wait for it to arrive. There are only a few students who take public vehicle. They all have their own cars or they have friends that have a car.

I don’t know what to feel right now. It’s not a big deal if he knows my mother. Of course, there are people who know her, but what intrigues me is the way they reacted. It feels like there’s something in his answer. It's just a simple yes, but it feels like it contains a lot more answers to many questions.

Droplets of rain started to pour. Unfortunately, there’s no roof or anything here to shield me from the rain, and I don’t have the energy to run back to the campus. I just sat here soaking in the rain. Tears fall from my eyes just like the rain falls from the clouds. I didn’t notice that I was already crying. My chest feels heavy. My mother keeps things from me. It looks like I’m just here to survive. I don’t have any idea about my mother’s life. I don’t know who’s my father, my relatives or anyone from my family, or do I really have a family? I’m living alone even though I’m with two people at home that I barely know.

The honk of a car stops me from thinking. The driver gets out of his car with his umbrella. I tried to blink away my tears and some raindrops in my eyes to see who this guy was, but before I could recognize him, he was now in front of me. Where I can see his worried and confused face. I look at him without any expression. I just stared at his eyes. There’s a lot of emotion I can’t tell by just looking at his eyes. I’m drowning in his intense stare at me.

He hugged me and I didn’t stop him. I clung onto him and started sobbing. I can’t stop myself from crying. He’s like a trigger that pulls my emotions out. I buried my face in his stomach since I’m still sitting and he’s towering in front of me. He didn’t mind that he was getting wet because of me. He drew circles on my back and whispered some words to me. And I can say honestly that it calms me. I pulled back from him and looked at the floor. I can’t look at him. I feel so embarrassed. I don’t know what’s gotten into me.

“Don’t feel embarrassed just a second after doing it. Come on, you’ll get sick if you stay here." He said while pulling me to my feet.

"No, I will wait for the bus." He chuckled.

"Do you think the bus will still come? The rain is quite heavy. Drivers will not be taking the risk of driving their bus." He managed to pull me and I just let him do it.

I got in his car. I watched him go over the driver's seat. He took off his jacket and gave it to me, but I didn’t take it. He shook his head and forced me to wear his jacket. After doing it, he buckled my seatbelt. I looked away from his face. I don’t like how close he is to me. I saw him smirk and I just rolled my eyes.

"I don’t have a towel here. Just use my jacket for the meantime." I looked in his direction. He started his engine.

He’s now just wearing a white t-shirt that hugs him perfectly. I can tell he has a good body. I like how firm his torso is, and it's not as bulky as those who spend their days at the gym. Same goes to his arms. I’m not like those girls who were dying when they saw a man with a well-fitted body. But I can say that his body is just perfect. Did I just check him out? No, I’m just describing what I’m seeing.

“Did you memorize every inch of my arms? Want to have good access to it?" he asked. I think my face is now tinted with pink. I looked away from him and I frowned.

"No." I said firmly. I don’t like the looks on his face. He’s gonna tease me non-stop for sure.

He laughed at me, "Are you sure? But you’ve been staring at me for too long.” He said, and winked at me. I looked at him with disgust to hide my embarrassment.

I punched his arms without any effort. I felt my energy drained by the rain earlier. But I badly want to punch his face. I don’t like the look his giving me right now.

"Oh, you even wanted to feel it." I glared at him, and he just laughed.

"Don’t worry, when we arrive home, I will give you full access to my arms if you want to see my body too. "It is nicer to see than my arms," he said cockily. I just looked outside the window and watched the rain pouring outside. There’s no point in talking to him; he’s crazy.

But wait, “What do you mean, home? We’re both dead if my mother sees us together. Just stop the car and I will take a bus." I don’t need an additional problem right now. There are things I want to discuss with my mother. Even though I’m aware that it will never be easy.

“Who said I’m taking you to your house?" He said this without looking at my direction.

"What?!" I exclaimed.