The screen of my phone stared back at me mockingly as its light dimmed, taking away the obnoxious name whose owner I just agreed on a date with. It was a split-second decision that I was now hoping would not end in disaster. 

I rubbed my face in frustration as Mr. Yang lectured me on the downsides of impulsive behavior and how a chaste married woman should not date other men behind her husband's back. I countered that this was for a good cause but Mr. Yang remained unimpressed. 

Most of my classmates had, by now, dispersed, promising to be at the party venue on time. Truth be told, I was looking forward to it. I badly needed a distraction. Anything, really, to get my mind off things. At least, before I took a dive into the mess that was my life once more. 

I let out an exasperated breath and slumped further into my seat, closing my eyes as I mentally ward off nightmarish memories. They were my constant companion now. Always at the back of my head, ready to pounce uninvited the moment my mind was not preoccupied with something. 

"Tired?" 

My eyes instinctively opened. Marie was standing in front of me with her bag safely strapped on her shoulders. 

"Yes. Tired." Of my life.

"Let's go then. Michael will take longer with his beadle duties. Let's go ahead and get coffee. It's my treat." 

At the sound of free coffee, Ms. Yin nagged at me to get off my butt and get going. 

I took my bag and followed Marie towards our College's cafe, beautifully designed with yellow ambient lighting and pretty flower arrangements at the center of every table. Too fancy-looking for broke-ass law students, in my opinion, but was necessary for the image which the College was trying to portray.  

It wasn't long before both of us were sitting face-to-face with steaming hot coffee and slices of cheesecake. 

"So, what's with you?" Marie looked at me straight in the eye in her own unnerving way--not too intrusive, but was intense enough that it was hard to lie that, to be honest, was my first go-to-response. 

I lowered my gaze to my coffee. Mr. Yang was having an internal monologue about how yours truly was such a bad friend. 

"You don't have to tell me, you know. I'm just worried, that's all"   

I sighed but did not answer, preoccupying myself with stirring my coffee and gauging how much I could tell Marie. I should tell her something. I owed her that much, at least. 

"I do notice things, you know," Marie continued. "And I know about Micheal's police work now"--Marie smirked at me--"and yours."

I clicked my tongue. "Huh. I guess he had no choice but to tell you." 

"Unless he wanted something cut-off, he had to explain the late-night absences properly." Marie snickered. 

"Gosh, you're scary." I paused. "I know what to get you for Christmas."  I made snipping gestures with my hands. 

For the first time in a while, I smiled genuinely again. 

I took a sip of my coffee, looking intently at Marie. "I could remember my past now." 

Marie, who was in mid-sip, nearly spilled the hot coffee on herself. She stared at me for a while, perhaps gauging whether I was joking or not, then gingerly brought her coffee cup down. Afterwards, I was subjected to more unnerving scrutiny. 

"Oh my God, you're not kidding."

I smiled at her weakly. 

"Isn't that a good thing? Why do you look so devastated?"

I sucked in a breath. It was not usual for me to talk about my feelings, but if I were to do it, Marie would be the perfect person to talk with. 

"I'll spare you the details. It's just that, with the memory back, I feel like I don't know who I am anymore."  I shrugged. "It's very difficult to explain. But I feel like my life right now is just a big fat lie. Like, this"--I pointed at myself--"isn't me."

"Dude, I will need more than that if you want me to give you reasonable advice." 

Oh my God, Marie. I wish I could tell you everything.

I rubbed my face in frustration. "I fucked up, is what I'm saying, Marie," I said, distraught. The mental wards holding the voices captive loosened. I shut my eyes tightly as another torrential wave of my ghostly past manifested in the present, a curse made stronger by my photographic memory. My chest rose and fell, heaving for air as it swelled with the pain that always accompanied the memories. 

I felt the first warm streak of tears cascade down my face. I wiped them away quickly. "I'm sorry, Marie. I'll tell you everything once I get everything in order, I promise."  

"It's that bad, huh?" Marie eyes mellowed and filled with concern. 

I nodded, wiping more tears that flowed on their own. 

"Well, I don't know what happened and honestly you don't have to tell me. I think, whatever happened in your past, does not discount the fact that you're here before me now, still as "Reianne" as ever."

"More like, a cry-baby Reianne." I started massaging my temples at the onset of a headache.

"I don't know why you're suddenly having this identity crisis. But the Reianne I know would always get up to try again. You never had it easy but you're still here, right?"

I scoffed. If you only knew, Marie. If she knew about my suicide attempts, I was sure I would get an earful. "I don't know. I--It's very difficult to function at the moment, Marie. 

"Maybe think of it like, you've leveled-up. Things are more challenging once you leveled-up."  

I rolled my eyes at her. "Pft. Stop spending too much time with Michael when he's playing his games. What the fuck."

Marie giggled and I couldn't help but laughed a little too. She sipped her coffee before looking at me in the eye again. "Whoever you were in the past shouldn't matter, Rei. Whoever you are now is well earned and your past self can't limit that. If there's someone who could make everything right again, it's you." Marie emphasized her statement by holding her hand out in my direction.

That vote of confidence.

"Why are you going all Dumbledore on me? Geez."  I wiped the remaining tears from my face and sipped my coffee that had already gone cold due to my inattention. The images inside my head blurred. The voices calmed down. The headache subsided. My mind was granted a reprieve for the time being.

"Where's Michael, by the way? Shouldn't we be heading off to the party now?" I asked Marie. I was genuinely eager to go to the party. To let loose once again. To not think for a while. To forget for a moment. To live the next few hours as if I had no regrets. 

Then to go out with a bang in a true Reaper fashion. 

The sun was already peeking over the horizon like a shy perverted maiden when I reached my apartment building. I pointed three pointer fingers at the sun which, for some reason, was multiplying before my very eyes. 

"You're one repressed bitch, aren't you?" I snickered at the sun. It flashed, multiplied, then merged again in response.  

"Okay, okay. Psh. No wonder you don't get any." I waved my hand dismissively at the offending sun. It glowered.  

Having lost interest in the sun's sex life or lack thereof, I trained my attention to my building complex. 

Wait, is this even my building? I kinda remember living in only one, non-wobbly building, and this complex has, like, three towers. What was my unit number again?  

"Psh. Whatever." 

I stepped into the building, but realized that the floor was less stable than I had hoped. It kept titling and throwing me off balance. Like, it was an extra challenge or some shit. I giggled. I was always up for a challenge. 

Placing one foot in front of another, I trekked the traitorous floor bravely. That was like, ten footsteps. I was feeling smug until I saw the stairs,  with constantly moving railings and steps.  

"Whoa. What kind of Jumanji shit is this?" 

That moment, the world turned faster and I reeled, I had to lean on the wall for support. Somewhere behind me,  someone clicked his tongue. Surprised, I turned around too fast and the opportunistic floor titled suddenly that I was caught off-balanced. 

A hand caught me before the floor claimed me as its prize.  

"Just how much have you drank?" he blurted, annoyed.  

I focused my senses on the man before me, which would have been an easier feat if the perverted maiden sun would do its job at rising properly. Familiar features greeted me--smooth angular jaw, thin sensual lips, and eyes as dark as midnight. 

"You look like someone I know." 

I saw him clench and unclench his jaws. His grip around me tightened. 

"That's it. You can't drink from now on."

"Tch. Who are you? My husband? You can't tell me what to do!" I struggled against his grip, removing his hands from my waist, only to stagger back. 

Damn traitorous floors! 

Then I was hoisted up and my head found the crook of his neck. He smelled nice. His familiar scent was calming. It made me sleepy.  

"You smell nice." 

He didn't answer but he proceeded to go up the Jumanji stairs like the shifting steps didn't affect him at all.  

"Whoa! You're so good at this."

He still didn't reply. 

I snuggled closer to his warmth. "You look good too." 

His breath hitched and I felt his steps falter a bit, but he bravely trudged onwards.

"I'm already married, though. But we can be friends. You seem like a nice person," I kept talking even with my eyes close, basking in his comforting scent. Something in my last statement seemed to please the guy.  His steps suddenly had a vibrancy to it. 

There was a jiggling of keys and not a second after, I felt the familiar softness of my bed. It was so comforting, all I remembered was snuggling more into the warmth before finally succumbing to a deep sleep. Without nightmares, this time. 

I woke up to pounding pain and my skull threatening to burst open. Very vaguely, I remembered the events of the previous night and quickly regretted my decision to get into that drinking challenge--the one where I was made to drink successive shots, each one equivalent to a certain sum of money. Yes, there was more than one challenge. Yes, the drunk daredevil in me should not be trusted. Yes, I vowed never to drink again forever.

Mr. Yang pointed out that as per Alice in Wonderland,  a "forever" could last for only a second, and that I should probably define the term with specificity if I was serious about my promise. Mr. Yang could be too insightful for his own good. 

My bursting head, notwithstanding, I couldn't help but noticed that I was tucked comfortably in my bed. How I got here, I had no idea. Then something heavy and solid shifted on my midsection and I realized I wasn't alone--if that arm wrapped around my waist was any indication. 

Fuck.  

Breathing held back, I followed the arm to its owner and heaved a sigh of relief at the sight of a sleeping Gio,  hair all ruffled from the way he made his head and body fit my cramped bed. He looked so peaceful in his sleep, like he was suddenly a boy again, years removed from the billionaire with a group of companies to run and thousands of people to keep employed. 

He must have sensed me staring at him because he suddenly stirred and opened his eyes, still clouded over with sleep. He took one look at me,  held me closer to him, and closed his eyes again. 

Someone wanted to sleep in. 

Then I remembered my later affair with Baron and suddenly felt uneasy. I nudged Gio a little. "Gio, you trust me, right?"

I felt him nod and gave a sleepy 'hmm,' his chest vibrating like a cat's purr at the sound. I felt him stroke my hair--long and lingering--once,  twice, thrice. "Sleep more. I'm here," he muttered. 

So I did and had the longest uninterrupted sleep in awhile. 

Two hours before eight o'clock and I couldn't help but feel anxious. I had paced the small confines of my apartment in an effort to calm my nerves. In all the years I had to dig for information, I had never resorted into this kind of plan. I was never that desperate.  

Not to mention, my head was still throbbing from all the alcohol I consumed last night. 

Gio, mercifully, had left some time earlier after I woke up to attend to his business empire. At least that was one complication which I didn't have to worry about.  

I rummaged through my closet for what I could possibly wear. My clothes were either casual, everyday clothes or corporate, law school attire.  

Geez. This is just sad. 

I eventually chose a frilly button-up white top and paired that with a high-waisted denim jeans that generously hugged the curve of my waist. Then I left more of my top's buttons open than I normally would,  because everyone knew I was not getting shit done tonight with just my wit and charming personality. 

I finished my look with an application of my year-old lip balm and a pair of wedge sandals. In these particular matters, it didn't take me long to decide  not because I had expert knowledge of make-up and footwear, but due to mere lack of any choice on the matter. 

I sent the much needed SOS message before I forgot all about it and got a reply in mere minutes.  

I looked at myself in the mirror once more. I still could not see how I would be able to charm the information out of Baron sans a truth serum. 

Oh well. This girl just gotta wing it. 

It wasn't long before there were knocks on my door. I cringed

Here we go.  

I plastered on a fake, sweet smile, opened the door, and restrained myself from kneeing Baron in the groin the moment I laid my eyes on him.

"Oh. You're that happy to see me,  huh?" Baron snickered.  

Do not, I repeat, do not, kick him in the balls, Rei. 

Baron offered his arm for me to take. I consciously shoved my disgust at the farthest corner of my mind and hooked my arm to his. He led me to his car--a red Lexus, which looked new. He certainly had upgraded his car since the last time I saw him. I remember how he mutilated Blue-chan and had to restrain myself from dislocating his elbow.

A sudden feeling of unease made me turn around and scan my surroundings. There was nothing unusual, though, so I returned my attention to the fucker beside me. 

"So, where are we going?" I asked with the best civility I could muster as I sat and buckled up on the passenger seat. 

"A restaurant, which I think you'll like." 

I doubt it, but okay.

Baron took his place on the driver's seat, put the car in gear, and sped off. 

"Sounds okay to me. But do you think I'm dressed appropriately for it?" I pointed at myself, letting my finger linger on the unbuttoned parts of my blouse first before gliding it off to the rest of my outfit. As expected, Baron stared at my chest area longer than what I would consider as comfortable. 

"Eyes on the road, lover boy," I finally had to tell him off before he got us both killed. He snapped his attention on the road again, grinning like a perfect maniac. My cringe-o-meter went wild and the throbbing in my head intensified. I had to avert my face and stare off the window to hide my disgust.  

"You looked perfectly fine, don't worry."

"Good," I said, still with my face averted. We passed some time in uncomfortable silence, which I hoped he would simply ascribe to first date jitters. 

"Matilda misses you, you know. She's sick." 

I turned my attention to Baron once again. As usual, I could not gauge whether he was bluffing or not. 

"I'm not going back there, Baron."

Baron made a turn towards a known foodie avenue. "It's up to you. Just wanted you to know," he said while casually shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't care if you don't go back. We can always just spend time somewhere else." Baron flashed me a look that said more than it should. 

Jesus Christ. Can another person be creepier? 

Right at that moment, only the thought of my Dad's rescue kept me from opening the car door and jumping out to the busy street. 

Mercifully, we had reached the restaurant. I didn't even wait for him to open my side of the door. I was out of the car the moment the engine was turned off. I had to tolerate his hand on the small of my back though as he led me through the restaurant doors.  

La Coquina. The name of the restaurant was beautifully calligraphed on the menu. I let Baron order for the two of us. I couldn't care less. I could still taste the alcohol at the back of my throat and my stomach wasn't that eager for food. 

The restaurant aint bad. It wasn't pretentious and evoked a warm,  familial ambiance. If not for my choice of company and current hang-overed state, I would have enjoyed it here. 

Baron, in his true style, ordered more food than what two adults could handle. He started wolfing down the food the moment it arrived while I picked on mine. I ordered wine, because as they say, the best cure to a hang-over was more alcohol.  

"So, Baron, tell me, what do you like about me? I'm curious." Not really. 

Baron paused awhile, pondering my question. He leaned back on his seat, staring at me.  

"Hmmm. I guess because you're very headstrong and stubborn." 

I smiled at him, lowered my gaze for a second, and looked at him straight in the eye again--a trick I learned just last night from one of my flirty classmates. It seemed to work since Baron's breathing hitched and he seemed to lose interest in his food.  

"You're the coolest woman I know," he added and for a split second, a rare showmanship of sincerity was in his eyes. 

Geezus. I didn't know if I should be creeped out more.  

I cleared my throat. Plastering the sweetest smile I could manage, I swirled the glass of wine in my hands. "I don't think I'm the 'coolest' woman out there. I just know certain tricks, that's all."

This earned me Baron's full attention.  "Really? Like what?" 

I leaned in further to him. "Hmm. I can know things by just observing people. For example, I can maybe, guess your Facebook password."

"Oh, really?" 

"Yes." 

"Try it then." Baron crossed his arms defiantly. He put on his best poker face.  

"Most people put their name or nickname in their password, the date of their birth, their favorite color, the name of their loved ones. The point is, the password is usually connected to the person. If I know a person enough, I can more or less guess what his password is." 

"Uh huh. That's nice,  but I don't see how that could help you," he said,  followed by a challenging smirk. 

I stared at Baron for a good long while. This seemed to unnerve him and made his eye twitchy, but he held on to his poker face quite well. "Your password has your name." 

His eye twitched.  

"You're a gamer, aren't you?" 

Another twitch.  

I smiled. I got a pen and wrote something on a napkin and shoved it in his direction. He read what I had written and his eyes went wide as saucers. 

BaronOverlord23

That was his password. And everything I did was just pure bullshit. I knew his password a long time ago because I saw him enter it once.

"How did you do that?" Baron was completely dumbfounded, I almost found it hard to not laugh.  

"I told you, I know things." 

"Teach me." 

"Psh. This is already some high-level shit. You should start with something easier." 

"Huh? Like what?" Baron wiped his mouth with his napkin and tossed it aside, indicating that I had Baron's full attention. He had completely forgotten the food before him and a child-like enthusiasm swirled around him in excited bursts.  

"When I teach these things, I usually suggest starting with something easier. Like, getting a thumb print. That's the easiest to pull off." 

"How?" 

"Oh, it's easy. You can get a clear tape,  wait for your subject to doze off, and get the impression of their thumbmark."

I took a sip of my wine which, in my opinion, was far inferior to the wine I blessed Migi's head with. "Do you want to try?" 

"Huh. Sure. But I don't think people in this restaurant would doze off any minute now."

I laughed coyly. A fake one, but Baron didn't seem to notice. "Not here,  silly. You should practice at home. Let's see...Aunt and Matilda are too easy. They don't pay much attention to their surroundings. What about Uncle's?" I made sure to give him my prettiest, brightest smile. I leaned further in. His eyes went down to the unbuttoned part of my blouse. I repressed a shudder.  

"I bet you can't do it." I smirked. 

"Huh. And what if I could?" Baron challenged back.  

"Name your prize then." I was so sick to my stomach that all I managed was a brief smile. I made a pretense of sipping my wine before my smile faltered.  

Baron grinned from ear to ear.  "Challenge accepted."

It was past eleven o'clock when Baron parked in front of the Shen's house. Conveniently, Uncle was home that day, and Baron didn't want to waste time. I was sitting idly inside his car while he tried to complete his "challenge." 

Not a half hour had gone when he emerged from the house with a victorious smile on his face. He excitedly sat inside the driver's seat before waiving the tape with Uncle's print on it. He then showed me a video on how he managed to pull it off as proof that he actually did it. 

I took the tape from him. "Good job."

"Now,  for my prize." He flashed me a lascivious look that made me want to retch. He put the car into gear and sped off.

Mere ten minutes after, we were in front of a motel, as expected. The sudden uneasiness was back again--a feeling that something dreadful was about to happen. I shoved the feeling back and followed Baron inside the building. 

The lobby was decent enough. At least Baron had the sense to book a decent looking motel, at least. He got a room and I let him lead me to it. 

Room 200

I noted the room number. 

I took in a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves and entered when Baron held out the door open for me. 

Get a grip, Rei. It's not like you've never been in dangerous situations before. This should be easy-peasy.  

Despite that, however, my emotions were starting to spiral out of control, especially when my mind went back to that dark room, waking up to that face and to those hands. Reacting out of pure instinct while realizing the futility thereof. 

I broke out in cold sweat and my hands began shaking, something that hadn't gone unnoticed by Baron. 

"Are you nervous?" 

Keep up the pretense, damn it!  

"A bit, yeah," I answered back. 

I took several deep breaths. I needed my hands to stop shaking.  

Calm. 

Calm. 

Collected. 

Baron held my shoulders against the door. He was so close I could smell his cologne, already mingling with his sweat.  It was disgusting.  

He smirked in victory and lowered his head in for a kiss.  

I placed my hands at the back of his neck and pressed a nerve just below his ears suddenly, firmly, and watched him crumpled on the ground.

I dialed a number on my phone. It was picked-up after the first ring.  "I'm at Room 200," I said while heaving a sigh of relief. 

"You want me to get in that bed with him?" Gab glared at me for like, the tenth time since he entered the room.

Gab had stripped the unconscious Baron down to his boxers and placed him on the bed with little to no help from me. I had to bribe him with Reaper pictures just so he would agree to it. 

"Yes. Just do it, though, please. For me." 

Gab huffed. "You do understand that I have standards?"  

"I do. And I'm awfully sorry. But this is the only way I could get him to leave me alone." I took a polaroid camera from my clutch bag. 

"I could get in trouble for this, you know."

"Why?  Would someone get jealous because of this?" I asked, genuinely surprised.

Gab didn't say a word and averted his gaze instead.  

"Oh my God! Do you have a boyfriend? Tell me the details." I sat down on a chair, crossed my legs,  and rested my chin on my palm with the dresser supporting my elbow.

Gab raised his hands in the air in seeming surrender.  

"Ugh. How do you want me to do this? Should I remove my shirt too?"

"Nah. Forget about Baron. I'll figure out something else. Tell me all about this boyfriend of yours." 

Gab had, on his own accord, took off his shirt and laid on the bed. Taking pains to avert his face from the camera. "Just take your goddamned pictures already." 

"Fine. Why don't you move closer to Baron? We're going for a lover-vibe not a bro-vibe." 

"Eww. No way. What do you take me for?" 

I clicked my tongue. "I bet I know your boyfriend personally. I mean,  no need to hide it from me, otherwise, right?" 

"Jesus Christ. You're scary." Gab sidled up to Baron closer. "Just take the pictures so I can get out of here." 

"Fine. You're no fun." I huffed. 

I took several compromising pictures, making sure that Gab's face was hidden in all of them. Printed the most embarrassing one using my polaroid camera and stuck it on a dresser mirror. I scribbled my threat on it too: Leave me alone, or else. 

Two can play this blackmail game.

I left the motel doors with a hop on my steps, patting my back for a job well done but my smile faltered when I saw the figure leaning on a white Mustang with a scowl on his handsome face. 

Rei and Gio has an official shipname now: GREI. 

Yes,  shade that however you like.

😂😂😂😂😂

Drunk Rei is the best! 

Gab is a sweetheart.

Muahugs, 

RF

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