13.
Broken
Etymology: Middle English breken, from Old English brecan; akin to Old High German brehhan, which means to break
Over the week, Adrienne finalized the contract with ABW. True to his word, Jin sent the signed contract to her within one hour of her sending it to him.
Jada sounded pleased. She was even surprised that Adrienne managed to get the contract without a discount.
“I just offered a page feature, that’s all.”
“Wow! You must be charming!” Jada said. Adrienne didn’t know whether she meant it or she was just being sarcastic.
She told the news to Jill as well.
“What did he look like?” Jill asked. “I read in a blog that the heir of Starck Hoteliers is an absolute stunner!”
Adrienne narrowed her eyes at her best friend. “What blog is this?”
Jill bit her lip and shyly admitted, “The one that…blogs about steaming hot bachelors with…bright futures ahead of them.”
Adrienne raised a brow. “You mean with huge bank accounts and unlimited credit card limits?”
Jill giggled. “It isn’t bad to dream about one of those kinds once in a while, you know.”
She raised a brow at Jill. “Is Justin Adams on that list?”
Jill grinned. “Topnotcher!” She went over to her desk and typed something on her keyboard. Then Jill gasped. After a while, a naughty grin spread across her face. “Well, hello, competition!”
Jill turned her monitor towards Adrienne and she saw a picture of Jin Starck staring back at her. He had a boyish smile on his face and his eyes were a bluer shade of green.
“You have his number?” Jill asked.
She frowned at her friend. “Confidentiality agreements in my contract preclude me from giving you any of our clients’ contact numbers, Jill. No matter how much you beg me, you won’t get it.”
Jill pouted. “You’re such a bore!”
Just then, her eyes drifted to something behind Adrienne and she fell quiet. Adrienne turned and saw Justin walking in the halls. He looked in their direction, and his mouth slightly curved.
Jill gasped. “Did he just smile at me?”
Adrienne turned to her friend guiltily. She shrugged.
“One of these days, I am totally going to start a conversation with him! I may not get to have him, but it’s good enough just to talk to him. Even just a little chit-chat. Do you think that will work?”
Adrienne shrugged and turned away from her. Guilt ate her insides and slowly bore a hole through her.
She walked back to her office. She thought she’d give Troy a call. He didn’t answer her last text message. She really needed to talk to him. And fast! The sooner she breaks up with him, the sooner she can get her mind straight about admitting to her friends what she’s been up to these last few months!
She hated lying to Jill and Yuan, especially with something big about her life. And this is not just big. She: Losing her virginity to the City’s so-called rakehell on a one-night stand and then later falling in love with him! This is bigger than big!
She didn’t know if they could forgive her if they found out. Hell! They wouldn’t even forgive her if they found out that he lived across her apartment and she didn’t tell them.
When she tried Troy’s number, she only got a voicemail. He must be out of coverage or his phone may be off.
She went to see Garry for the layout of the article she wrote. She was surprised to see Justin there.
She didn’t greet him. She pretended that she didn’t notice he was there at all. She told Garry everything she needed for him to do. She tried to muster all her confidence. She felt so nervous and excited at Justin’s presence. He sat on a couch, wearing those pitch black shades of his, but she had no doubt that he was staring at her.
Her knees shook a little when she turned on her heel and left the room. She saw Jill and some of the girls chatting in the corridor. She stopped by to join them. After a few minutes, Justin passed by them. They all fell silent. When she looked up, he had an eyebrow up and he gazed in their direction.
When he was gone, the girls sighed.
“My God! He looked at us!” Meena, the girl from Circulation, said.
“He is just bloody hot!” another girl said.
“He doesn’t even have to be the heir of Adams Industries. I’d take him any day even if he was poor!”
Adrienne smiled when she went back to her office. The other girls were drooling over him when she knew his eyes were on her. Sometimes, she still thought she’d just been dreaming. And she just hasn’t woken up yet.
After fifteen minutes, she received a text message from him.
Justin: You’re a fox! Let’s go out tonight? Let’s break this rule of yours a little and go somewhere. I promise, minimum risk of being named.
Adrienne heaved a frustrated sigh. Justin said that he can wait, but she knows that his patience just may run out one of these days. And she also became aware that no matter how hard they tried to hide, one of these days, Jill and Yuan just might run into them in the streets, or in her apartment and she would be in deep shit, big time!
That evening, she got ready for her date with Justin. She wore a pair of white skin-tight pants, and cropped black sleeveless top. She tied her hair in a pony, and she put on light makeup.
She smiled at her reflection. Each day that passed by, she saw more in herself what Justin has been saying to her at least once a day. She’s a fox. She felt more confident.
She grew up always being overshadowed by a prettier and smarter older sister. But she didn’t care about that anymore. She had started to appreciate herself and how amazing she could be, once she let go of her inhibitions.
The doorbell rang.
He came early. Fifteen minutes. Normally, he’s exactly on time, which she loved, because he doesn’t pressure her to hurry up and he’s not making her wait either.
She got her tiny purse and headed for the door.
When she opened it, she was shocked to see Troy and Kimberly standing in front of her.
“Shit!” she muttered.
“What’s that, sweetie?” Troy asked.
She stared at him. She remembered that he didn’t curse at all. “I said ‘Shit! Holy shit!’”
An eyebrow shot up. He was about to say something, when Kimberly cut in. “Expecting somebody else?”
God! Was she right!
“No. I just didn’t expect to see you,” she said. “Come in. I was just on my way out. I was supposed to dine in this place I will feature in our next issue.”
They went inside her apartment. Immediately, they looked around, as if examining it for safety violations.
“Nice place,” Kimberly said and Adrienne almost clapped at the fact that she threw a compliment her way.
Kimberly lost weight. She was wearing a skirt that goes all the way to her knees and a long-sleeved blouse. Her blond hair looked blonder. Adrienne had to admit that she looked prettier than the last time they saw each other. But still, so prim, so proper. So angelic.
“What are you wearing?” Troy asked staring at her from head to feet.
“Yes, I’m fine too, Troy. It’s so nice to see you!” She smiled sarcastically. “Yes, you can sit down for a moment and I will go get something to drink.” She motioned for them to sit on the sofa.
She took deep breaths as she took out two cans of Pepsi from her fridge.
“Bad news, Kimmy. I don’t have diet,” she said.
“You never needed to diet,” Troy said.
Good! He can say something nice to me for once.
“It’s okay. I never needed diet, either,” Kimberly said. “Sorry, to drop in without warning. You were heading out to do that…” she trailed off. “That work you do.”
Adrienne nodded. “I will write a feature for this place on Sixth Avenue.”
“Exciting job!” Kimberly beamed too enthusiastically. But she knew her better. Kimberly never had much affection for her. She always tried to put her down to lift herself up. And Adrienne got so accustomed to it. There was no use in trying. No use in fighting.
“What about you guys, what are you doing here? This is so unexpected.”
“Well, we have a medical conference here for a week. We decided to surprise you,” Troy said.
And I was shocked!
“So thoughtful of you!” she said instead, smiling. She caught a glimpse of the time on her wall clock. Exactly eight. Justin has synchronized his watch with hers, which she thought was quite sweet, but that’s not the point here. She knew that he would knock at her door any second.
“Shit!” she murmured.
Troy stared at her, raising a brow again.
She smiled. “Let me just go to the lobby to check whether my boss left me the passes I was supposed to get tonight. Be back in a sec.”
She dashed for the door, not giving them a chance to argue, praying that Troy would not follow her.
When she opened the door, Justin was just about to ring her doorbell. She pushed him gently and closed the door behind her.
“Quick! Inside your apartment,” she hissed.
He quickly fished his keys without asking and then they went inside.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
She screamed in frustration. “Kimberly! And Troy! In my apartment!”
Justin didn’t say anything.
“My God! What did I do today to deserve this ordeal?” she asked desperately.
“Troy… the current and official boyfriend?” Justin asked quietly.
“Troy, the ghost of a boyfriend, and Kimberly, the ghost of a sister, yes!”
Justin took a deep breath. Then he said, “All right. Go out there. I’ll just call some of my friends tonight then.”
She stared at him. She couldn’t make out any expression on his face.
“I don’t want to go out there, Justin. I really don’t.”
“She’s your sister. You can’t do anything about that. The boyfriend… you could ditch anytime…actually, should have ditched a long time ago…but still, for now, you have to go through with this.” He oddly tried to encourage her.
“Are you sure it’s okay with you?” she asked.
He smiled. “Positive. If you can’t endure it, give me a call. I’ll think of something.”
She smiled and reached up to kiss him on the lips. “I’d probably do that, just to see what you could come up with.”
He laughed.
She headed for the door. “You look great, by the way,” he told her.
She looked down at herself. “It’s a waste now, isn’t it? I didn’t dress up for them.”
He went closer to her and pulled her waist. “Just make sure you mean that.”
“Mean what?” she asked.
“You dressed up for me. Not for him,” He smiled sheepishly.
She giggled. “I mean it. I was supposed to go out with you, remember? If I were meeting him, I would have worn a pair of trousers, long-sleeved, ruffled blouse, and a pair of eyeglasses.”
He kissed her again before she went out of his apartment. She took some time, took deep breaths and then opened her front door.
Troy and Kim still sat on the sofa.
My God! They were like the king and queen of good conduct and behavior!
She found them right where she left them.
She remembered that many times in her life she actually felt intimidated by Kim because of Troy. Because she thought that the only way that she could keep Troy is to be like Kim.
But now she couldn’t say for sure why she wasted three years of her life, trying to be something and someone she wasn’t. When she could have been herself all along. Free-spirited. Fun. And according to Justin, foxy!
“Want to go have dinner instead, guys?” she asked them.
“What happened to the work you need to do?” Troy asked.
“My boss couldn’t get me the passes. I called her up and told her that I could do that tomorrow.”
Kim just smiled.
“But you have to change your outfit, sweetheart,” Troy said. “You can’t go out in that!”
She looked down at herself and raised a brow at him.
“Oh jeez, Troy! Grow up!” Kim said. “It doesn’t show much flesh! Come on, I’m starving.”
Troy didn’t argue. Like he regarded Kimberly as his teacher. Ma’am, yes, ma’am.
They all went to Casa Mexicana.
Troy and Kimberly talked about their convention and their escapades at med school. It seemed that they have been members of the same clubs and they belonged to the same crowd. Adrienne sat there wondering how many hours a day Kim and Troy spent with each other.
That thought should have eaten her alive, left her reeling with jealousy. But since Justin came into her life, she felt happy about herself. And she no longer felt that tinge of insecurity. That awful feeling inside her that she couldn’t keep Troy because she wasn’t good enough had totally disappeared.
When their orders came and when their drinks got refilled, Adrienne noticed that the waiter kept looking at her. She felt self-conscious. Like she felt there was something wrong with her face.
“Excuse me. What’s your problem?” Troy asked the waiter. He also noticed the number of times he stared at Adrienne.
“Troy, please,” Adrienne pleaded. She didn’t want to cause a scene.
“I’m sorry,” the waiter said.
“No. Tell me. Why were you staring at my girl?” Troy asked…a little too aggressively this time.
The waiter looked apologetic. “Sorry, sir. I just thought you’re a lucky guy. Your girlfriend is very beautiful.”
Trying to avoid a scene, Adrienne smiled at the waiter. “Thanks, sweetie. Now, could you get me my margarita?”
He nodded. “I’m sorry. Right away, madam.”
Adrienne turned to Kim and Troy. “So, back to the pep squads you do at med school.”
Luckily, Troy decided to let it go. Kimberly engaged them again in a topic about a vulvar cancer and Adrienne just plainly lost her appetite. She fiddled with her fork and wondered when she would get Troy alone to finally break up with him.
It has to be tonight! So tomorrow...
She smiled. Tomorrow, she can tell Justin that they no longer needed to hide. He might need him to come with her when she tells Jill and Yuan about them. She couldn’t forget the last time when they laughed in her face when she attempted to come clean about Justin.
Her phone beeped and she was thankful.
Justin: How are you holding up?
Her: I’m still surviving. But God! I miss you!
Justin: I’m at the Oxygen, with Mike and James. We’re waiting for my cousin, Gian’s twin, Ian. Vacation from college.
Her: At least your night sounds more fun.
Justin: I’m not with you, where is the fun in that?
She smiled and she was certain she started blushing.
“Everything okay, sweetheart?” Troy asked her.
She nodded. “It’s just Jill. Another one of her escapades.”
Troy raised a brow. She thought he didn’t believe her. She just smiled at him nonchalantly.
She figured, tonight when they drop her off at her building, she would talk to Troy alone. It will be quick and easy.
But when they got out of the restaurant, Troy said he would get a cab for them and he would go back to their hotel alone. Adrienne looked at them in confusion.
“I’m staying with you tonight, Adrienne.” Kimberly stated suddenly.
“What?”
Kimberly shrugged. “Dad suggested I spend the night with you. I figured, why not?”
Shit!
“Yes, Adrienne. It would make your parents really happy to see both of you together. You haven’t seen each other in a while, right? And Kimberly could use some girl talk for a change.” Troy grinned and Kimberly giggled. Adrienne, on the other hand, found none of it to be amusing.
But her parents…yes, her parents would be happy to know that she and Kim had some sister bonding time. They never do that. It would warm her parents to know that she’s trying to spend time with her sister.
“Okay,” she said to them.
“Yay!” Kim reached out and hugged Adrienne. Adrienne actually smiled and hugged her back. “You’re the best sister!” Kim said sweetly. Adrienne wanted to cry because it was probably the first time she felt Kim show some affection for her. Maybe not seeing each other often made her realize she wasn’t a bad sister after all.
Then Adrienne turned to Troy. “Can we talk?” she asked.
“I’m tired, Yen.”
“I won’t take much time,” she insisted.
“I’m picking up Kim early tomorrow. We start at eight and you know I hate to be late for anything. I’ll see you when we get back. Kim and I have two days off. We can talk for forty-eight hours if you want, sweetheart.”
“But Troy, there’s something I really need to tell you.”
“It can wait, Yen.”
He hailed a cab, not giving her a chance to argue.
“No, Troy, it can’t. We really need to talk.”
Kim got into the cab.
“Come on, Adrienne. The cabby’s waiting. Hurry up!” Kim said impatiently.
“Go. We’ll talk later,” Troy said. Then without warning, he bent down and kissed her lips.
Her first thought was: Bad kisser!
Her second thought was: Shit! I’m never cheating on Justin!
God, what is wrong with me?
She doesn’t feel guilty about sleeping with Justin behind Troy’s back, but she feels terrible about being kissed by Troy behind Justin’s back. Troy is the official boyfriend. Justin was…well, he is Justin… and she’s in love with him.
She didn’t kiss Troy back. She gently pushed him away and willed herself not to vomit in front of him and Kim.
“Good night, Troy,” she said and went inside the cab.
They rode the cab in silence. Kim was looking out the window, enjoying the scenery before her. And Adrienne really didn’t know what to say to her.
As soon as they entered her apartment, Kim turned to her, “So which room do I stay in?”
Adrienne showed her the guestroom.
“All right…good night,” Kim said.
“Wait! Didn’t you say, we should… bond?”
Kim actually laughed. “Come on, Yenny! We don’t have to pretend we actually get along when we’re alone,” she said. “Let’s just tell Mom and Dad that we spent almost the whole night catching up, then I had an early start the next day. Get the program?”
Then she closed the door behind her.
Adrienne stared at the door for a long while. Then she thought to herself, Nah! We weren’t really close anyway!
She took a shower and brushed her teeth about three times to make sure there was no more trace of Troy in her. The thought of kissing somebody else besides Justin made her want to puke.
When she left her room to get a glass of water, she found Kimberly on her living room watching Medical Detectives.
“I thought you were sleeping.”
“And I thought I didn’t have to talk to you for the rest of the night,” Kim said flatly.
Adrienne gripped her glass tightly. She prevented herself from throwing it at Kim’s beautiful face.
“You’re actually in my apartment, Kimmy,” she said coldly.
Instead of feeling ashamed, Kim just smiled sweetly at her. “And I’m helping you score points with Mom. You’re welcome!” Kim turned back to the TV.
Adrienne closed her eyes. In her head, she took a firm hold of Kim’s hair, pulled it so hard and then slammed her face on the coffee table.
When she opened her eyes, Kim was still there. Still in one piece.
Adrienne walked to her bedroom without another word.
“You should change your television set!” Kim called to her. “It’s not good for your eyes to watch on such a small screen.”
Adrienne smiled at her acidly and then slammed the door behind her.
She looked through her window and found that Justin wasn’t home yet.
She sent him a message: Kim is at my place! Really trying my best not to murder her!
Justin: If you can wait up, I would do it for you. :) Seriously, what did she do this time?
She replied: Just being herself. Apparently, her staying over was gaining me points with our mother. So she thought she’s actually doing me a favor!
Justin: I’m coming home with my cousin. Want to come to my place? I could introduce you to each other.
Her: I would love to! But the thing is, Kim seems to be camping in my living room, watching TV, which she said by the way was too small for her taste! Anyway, I can’t go out. Kim can smell things from within a mile away! It’s safer if I stay here. You know…until…
She trailed off purposefully, hoping Justin would get what she meant.
Justin: Okay. Sweet dreams. I’ll miss you tonight. It’s been a while since I slept alone. ;-) And by the way, I have a surprise for you. See you tomorrow, hon.
When she woke up the next day, Troy was already in her apartment. He and Kimberly drank coffee in the living room.
“We have an early start,” Troy said, smiling at her. “We were about to leave. Guess you two stayed up late with your girl chit-chats, huh.”
Kimberly winked and smiled at her sweetly. “I wish we could have stayed up longer. But we have this early morning thing.”
Liar!!!
Why was she lying? Am I the only one privileged to see what a real bitch she was?
“After the conference, my parents have invited both of you to join us to a weekend at a resort here. Your parents may come too,” Troy said.
“Oh my God! That’s so lovely!” Kim shrieked but Adrienne knew she was being overenthusiastic.
Troy went to Adrienne. “We need to talk, sweetheart.” He gave her a bright smile. And then he leaned down and kissed her. At least he attempted to. Adrienne averted her face so that Troy’s lips just landed on her cheekbone.
“I guess I’ll see you,” she murmured. “Text me when and where we’re going.”
When they left, she hoped that Troy got her subtle messages. He didn’t give her a chance to break up with him. For all it’s worth, she wanted to make this as clean as possible. If they can end up being friends, it would be better. That could help her mother forgive her.
She took a shower. Then she put on a pair of jeans and mini tee. She dried her hair, took her keys and rang Justin’s doorbell. She needed to clear her head. She needed to plan how to breakup with Troy and she needed to execute that plan well.
She rang the bell twice.
No answer. She tried again.
Finally, the door opened. She had prepared herself to fly into in his arms. She missed him so much. Last night was the first night she spent without him in many weeks. And she was happy when he said he would miss her too.
But what she saw made her stop. Wet blonde hair. Perfect skin. Blue eyes. Barbie doll in the flesh. And she’s wearing one of Justin’s robes.
“Excuse me, can I help you?” she asked.
God, even her voice was a perfect pitch!
Adrienne bit her lip. She didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t find her voice. She looked like she wore nothing but Justin’s robe and she still managed to stun Adrienne with her beauty. And she’s not even a man!
“Who is that?” She heard Justin say from inside the room. When the girl didn’t answer, he went towards the door. He was topless, with only a towel wrapped around his waist. He looked like he just gotten out of a shower.
No! It looked like ‘they’ had just gotten out of the shower.
Adrienne took a deep breath and summoned all the strength she had left in her body just so she could raise her chin and say something.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were busy,” she snapped. Then she quickly spun around.
“Honey, wait!” Justin shouted and ran after her. But Adrienne was quick enough to slam the door in his face, refusing to give him a chance to either spin lies for her to believe, or break it to her gently that they never had a commitment in the first place, they weren’t exclusive, so he’s free to screw somebody else.
She had a boyfriend. He had waited for her to break it up with him. Maybe his patience finally ran out and he went after what he deserved: A girl as perfect as the one standing in his living room.