C L A I R E 

Ethan didn't leave any messages after our dates.

He wasn't answering my calls. Of course, being the girlfriend, I decided to give him some space. I thought that it was normal for him to go silent like this. Maybe he was just busy, I always tell myself.

There was no way that this guy would stop texting. He was always the talkative one in our relationship. I always try to reciprocate that affection so our bond would go stronger. But this time, I was just shocked that even with one message, there wasn't any. 

Sam probably noticed how bored I was since she took off her attention from her phone just to face me. Right now, she was sitting on my bed and I was on the other side of it. I was holding my phone, waiting for Ethan's call to come in. I was still hoping that he had received my messages a bit late and was ready to at least tell me that he was just preoccupied at the moment. 

"He hasn't called you yet?" Sam couldn't help but ask me as she frowned. Benedict then came in, surprising us both. He even asked the same question, sitting right on the small bean bag that I have in the room. 

I shrugged, trying to call Ethan's phone again. It rang again but it immediately went to voicemail.

Hello! This is Ethan. If you want to talk to me, just wait a little bit longer. Currently busy right now. Just leave a message after the beep.

I immediately looked at Sam as she nodded at me. I took a deep breath before I spoke into the phone.

"Ethan, if you can hear me, please leave me a message. You haven't left a single message this past week. I'm worried about you," I said, trying to keep my tone of voice steady.

"I'll be waiting," I exclaimed before I ended the call. When I put my phone next to me, my hands immediately covered my face. No, I wasn't crying. But I'm not happy either.

Sam immediately hugged me while Benedict stood up and came out to give us time to talk about the problem.

No message, no call. I'm not overreacting, I'm just worried. I wasn't curious, I was concerned.

In all the news and reality of the world today, long-distance relationship is the hardest thing to manage. Imagine that you have a boyfriend or girlfriend and then they won't let you know where they are. No goodbye messages or kisses at all. They're just gone.

What kind of boyfriend or girlfriend wouldn't worry about their loved ones? 

Of course, you will worry because you know that anything can happen when your communication is not receivable at the other end. 

"Claire, someone's here." I immediately looked at Benedict, who returned to my room. Judging his furrowed eyebrows and even a frown plastered on his face, I could tell that the person downstairs was bad news.

I got up immediately, combed my hair, and took my phone. I was wearing a blue cotton shirt and white shorts. I also wore the reading glasses that I had. Actually, I prefer wearing these glasses. It suits me. 

I immediately went out of the house and opened the gate, Benedict and Sam behind me - looking at each other before they followed soon after. The older guard smiled and I took a peek at who was outside. 

A Range Rover was parked in my driveway and I wasn't sure who the driver was. I immediately raised an eyebrow at it as I saw the door open. When Benedict saw who came out, he immediately gave it a bad stare before approaching the man with crossed arms.

Why does he seem familiar? 

My eyes squinted at first. I didn't recognize him because he was wearing a cap. When the stranger finally raised his head, I could see clearly why Benedict was angry.

It was his brother. 

"Why are you here? What do you need?" Benedict asked while Sam dragged him back. I was sure that this was a sibling misunderstanding so I decided to keep my mouth shut until they solve this. 

"Actually, I wanted to talk to Claire," Ray replied while Benedict was ready to complain. I told them that it was alright and Sam decided to pull Benedict back inside to give us some time to talk privately.

"Claire, don't." It was obvious that Benedict didn't want me to have any sort of conversation with his brother. Even though I waved my hand as reassurance,  he ignored the gesture and glared at his brother. 

As soon as Sam and Benedict had finally gone back inside, I looked back at Ray as I put my phone back right in my pocket. I didn't want him to know that I was calling Ethan at this time.

Though, he probably had already noticed it since he sighed and asked me, "You're still trying to contact him?" 

I could only avoid my gaze and huff, not wanting to answer him. He noticed that I was trying to ignore his question so he chuckled and decided to change the topic at hand. 

"Well, did you get a message from him?" he asked me. I shook my head and he crossed his arms, leaning right on the door of his car. "Pity, I guess he had too much fun in the States."

When he said that, my eyes widened immediately.  Wait, what does he mean by that? There was no way that Ethan would just leave immediately. There was still a second semester coming. 

Ray probably knew what I was thinking at that time since he waved his hand in assurance. "His mom already settled everything. He'll be studying there in the States." 

Before he opened the door to his car, possibly leaving me to wonder, he turned back to me and smiled. "Oh, right, I almost forgot."

"Vanessa's with him."