Chapter 56: The Attraction Is Strong

Hershey took a deep breath and finished his lunch with Derek. As much as she tried to focus, she couldn't help but hope that Marco Fernando Jr. would be okay. I hope he will be okay. She listened until Marc's name fell from her lips. This caused her to pause in her thoughts.

Her attention was focused on what Derek was saying a while ago, "...and with the clothes he wears, you could tell he grew up here, I mean with that accent, he can't be from another place."

Derek turned his gaze to Hershey, "You actually went out with him?"

Hershey frowns, "What's wrong with him?"

"He doesn't seem like your type, that's all."

"What do you mean, Derek?"

"You know, he is..." Derek racked his brain for a word to describe him but came up empty. "I don't know. He doesn't even look like your type. His clothes are not fashionable and what about his hair? The creepy eyes."

Hershey smiled, "Are you jealous of him, Derek?"

Derek cleared his throat, "No, I just can't figure him to be your type, that's all. I mean, he's...not even doing anything in his life."

Hershey's smile faded, "Some people are harder than others, he's had some pretty rough times over the years and you don't know him personally."

"Well, I think it's time for him to get up and start living." Derek opined.

"And I think you need to stop there before I put your foot in your mouth." Hershey stated, her tone firm.

Derek shrugged, "Everything I'm saying..."

"And what I'm saying is mind your own business. What happened with him is none of your business!" Hershey replied gruffly.

Derek looked at the fire in her eyes, "Sorry."

Hershey had a protective glint in her eyes.

Derek took a sip of the drink he ordered, "So, how serious was your relationship in high school?"

Hershey looked down at his half-empty plate. "Too serious."

"Have you been together the whole four years?"

"I don't want to talk about it," said Hershey, her heart beating a little faster, remembering those people who had broken hearts and feelings with Marc Junior.

"Aw, come on Hershey, I want to know about the man who claimed your heart." He will tease.

Hershey sighed and looked at him, "I'm ready to go." Motioning for their waitress, who had just ordered for the two men at the bar next to their table, she asked for the check.

XXX

Marc Fernando Jr. looked around the room of Jeromy, his dead son, staring at the stark white walls, the floor swept and vacuumed, with the clothes cleaned from the closet, he felt the emptiness floating of flesh in the room and it entered the crevices of his heart. He already missed the handsome boy with thick hair. Swallowing, he turned off the light in the room and turned to his room. Glancing at the door of his dead mother's room, she gasped. He wasn't ready to take his things to the attic. Taking a deep breath, he headed to his room and lay down on the bed, closing his eyes. His thoughts returned to Shanghai, China.

Marco Fernando Jr. POV (Flashback)

"Who's Hershey, Chocolate?" Emily Reyes asked the beautiful lady from Batangas, the Philippines looking at him, her eyes red from the weed they were smoking. Marco Jr. laughed, he thought it was the funniest question in the world.

"Who is Hershey?" Marc asked with glazed eyes, a smile on his face.

"Yes, who is she?" Emily whispered.

"Why?"

Emily was curious, she stared at his sad face. She hates to say it, but Emily is one ugly chick. Big eyes like gray eyes, a wide gap separating his teeth at each corner. Although she had a honey-toned complexion, it was more than red with freckles scattered across her body like dots. There were many times he played connect the dots, just for the fun of it; just because he can. Her nose was too big, reaching more than half of her face. This made him laugh. My god, she's ugly. If it weren't for the fact that she was so "loose" that he didn't care whether he came or went, or the indifference in his attitude, he wouldn't have missed it. Besides, she's not that bad. She did enough to distract him for the time being, at least that's what he thought until she mentioned Hershey's name.

"So, are you going to tell me who Hershey is," she asked, drawing circles behind him.

"Why? Did I call her name while we were together or something?" Marc asked.

She shook her head, "No, you did in your sleep though. I was just curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat." He said.

"I think you killed my cat." She whispered, a blush forming on her cheeks. For a split second, this caused his heart to skip a beat. Something in her voice reminded her of Hershey. That's why he'd even talked to her.

"You think I killed it huh?" His voice was low and husky.

This caused a dark cloud in Emily's eyes, "Yes, I think an examination is needed."

He gave her a seductive smile, causing her to forget Hershey, which was her goal. The second time, her legs opened, letting him in, and for a moment, he was still.

Marco Fernando Junior's eyes widened and he stared at the ceiling, his heart saddened. He couldn't believe he used it, not only her, but April Chan, and Rose Villanueva too. The three girls were good girls to him while forgetting Hershey, and somehow Hershey reminded him, but after Emily's clinging, which left her feeling suffocated and April's bossiness, which left him feeling dominated, and then Rose lewdly, from one man to the next they were like a freight train, he couldn't stand it. He had to get away from them. All of them are nerve-wracking in their own way.

He sighed and thought of his own stupidity to think that all those women would feed the broken heart inside him, but no. He thought it was going to be weed, but when Emily started tying him up with PCP and leaving him doing something silly even though he didn't understand, he stopped. He found it hard to believe that anybody would sell him anything that wasn't laced.

He swallowed weakly, turning to his side as he pushed through the familiar pain in his heart. He's moved on, so he needs to too.

Hershey's POV

Hershey turned on the light and woke up at about three in the morning. Go to the same table that has been her since she moved to America. She found it at a local garage sale and she liked the oak material, which was stored with a pin board, small shelves loading for books and then a larger area in front, which is deep enough to put her computer. Sighing, she reached into a drawer, pulled out her diary, she wrote inside:

Diary,

I know it's silly, considering I'm twenty years old, and I've read two of these books so far, but I can't help it. I have to write down my thoughts, my ideas, my feeling, and everything in my life has to go on a piece of paper. I've found that very therapeutic over the years. Tonight, I will explain to you what is happening in my heart, not thoughts as usual, but feelings...

I feel like every part of me is going to explode and I'm going to be left feeling like I've been thrown against a wall. That's how bad the pain inside him is. I thought I would fix it, but obviously not. Ever since Marc Junior arrived here in Bacoor, Cavite, I feel like a fifteen-year-old girl when I first saw him standing across the cafeteria watching me. It's kind of ironic how life plays out I believe. It's strange that when you first meet someone, you don't understand the force or full impact they have on your life at the time. But, it's been four years and I think I love him more than when we were in the basement. That day is one of many that stick in my mind. Is it possible to love someone more than you loved when you were together? Is it possible to like someone more than the first time you were intimate? Could it be that so much desire to be with that person, that pain in your heart makes everything seems dull? The only time there seemed to be any life in my heart, was when he was near. The only time there seemed to be any flow was when we were around each other.

Earlier today, as I watched him smoke that cigarette and the fire teasing his eyes, I wanted to feel his mouth on mine. I wanted to be the instrument he played. So, tell me Diary, why do I want to be in his presence? Why do I want him wherever he is? I do not get it. I wonder if he will get bored of me?

He seems very different from before. He was quieter than before. He's not as dare I say- passionate as before. Did I really suck his life? Did the fact of his mother's death, and the death of our son Jeromy really kill who he used to be?

I saw in his eyes yesterday, that he seemed inferior to Derek. If there's one thing I can say hasn't changed, it's his eyes, the windows to the soul. He always allows his emotions to show in his eyes, so that his body is completely still like it was in the restaurant, and I can read every emotion. Except that he was very pissed off and then his eyes just bulged with anger. It was one of those books I never wanted to see again. I don't think I've ever seen him so angry that day, that I told him I was leaving, going to America.

I mean, Lord knows, I've pissed him off many times before, but the storm that passed through his eyes at that moment turned black. I was so scared, I swore that was the last time I could breathe. But, no, he didn't kill me, he just chased me to America.

If there's one thing that can break any fear, it's getting hit. I had allowed myself to be controlled and abused by Marco Junior all these years ago, but when I was free, I vowed never to allow someone to give me that kind of power again. At that moment I saw red and felt a pain that no matter how many times Marc Junior hit me, it still didn't reach the pain I felt when he hit me a few times.

Well, I know this kind of an interrupted entry, but I must go, it's three thirty right now, time for me to go to bed, desperately.

That's all,

Hershey

XXX