Let Me Love You: A Novel Page 4

  “Zipper,” I proudly say.

  “Ha-ha. No. It’s Zacky, silly. You’re the letter Z.” She giggles, her whole body shaking with her laughter. I end up laughing too. And that’s when my stomach decides to join in the fun and growls.

  Moon glances at me and starts giggling even louder until she’s holding on to her tummy. I’m a little embarrassed that my stomach is misbehaving, so I just sit there smiling awkwardly at her. After a little while, her laughter dies down.

  “Do you have to give a shot to yourself too before your stomach growls?” she asks.

  “Huh? A shot?” I’m really confused. What’s she talking about?

  “You know, a little pen. You stick it into your skin before your tummy growls. I have to give myself three shots a day. Otherwise, I feel sick and go to sleep.”

  I’m a lazy-ass boy when it comes to subjects not relating to music, but maybe going to science class is really useful after all. I remember last year we did a project on medical conditions. Everyone went for the asthma and heart diseases. I decided to do something different and researched diabetes with Kai. Hearing the procedure Moon described to me, it sounds like she has type-one diabetes.

  I want to confirm my suspicion, but I’m scared I might offend her. Moon, though, explains everything of her own free will, like she’s talking about the sunny weather outside.

  “Mummy told me I’ve had it since I was a baby. And I’ll properly have to give myself shots for the rest of my life too. I just gave one to myself before. You want to see?”

  “Sure.” I nod numbly, stunned at the sudden revelation.

  She lifts her shirt to reveal her round tummy. On the side just about two inches from her belly button are a series of injection marks.

  “Does it hurt?” I ask, my voice shaking.

  Theory-wise, it’s all fun and games when you learn about this condition in the classroom, but when you meet someone face to face, especially one who happens to be a kid too, you know it’s no laughing matter.

  “At first it does. But now it doesn’t hurt at all. I’m used to it. Mommy, Gigi, and Vivi help me with the shots. Now I’m an expert. I even do my own blood test too.”

  I have to give credit to this kid. She’s gone through so much, yet she’s still smiling like it’s completely normal. Wait! Did she just say blood test?

  My body freezes. I’m not good with blood. When the nurse draws my blood for tests, I always get this feeling like I’m going to pass out.

  “You… you… said blood test, right?” I ask to clarify. I think I’m having ear problems.

  “Mmmm. I test to make sure my sugar in my blood is normal. Then before I eat, I take my shot. Do you want a demonstration?”

  “Umm, yeah, sure,” I fluff, reluctantly agreeing on the spot.

  What have I gotten myself into? No matter how cute this little girl is who’s begging me with big puppy dog eyes, I should never ever say yes, especially when I’m shit scared of blood.

  “It’s like this, see.” She takes my ink pen and positions it on the pad of my index finger. With quick action, she stabs the tip of the pen into my skin, causing me to yelp like a dog in pain.

  “Oww.”

  She giggles. “You’re funny, Zacky. I like you.”

  Well, if putting me through this much pain makes her like me, then I don’t mind being stabbed again.

  I look at her flashing grin. It’s like a ray of sunshine. I know now that nothing can rob this kid of her happiness, even the pain of injecting insulin into her body three times a day or having regular glucose tests with a needle.

  I feel ashamed of myself complaining about pain just being stabbed with a little pen. Maybe I should learn from her, adopt a bit of her attitude, be a bit more grateful about life.

  A moment of thoughtful silence passes between us, when the sound of someone shouting wakes me from my thoughts. Looking up, I see an old grandma rushing towards us, her face pale with fright, as if she’s searching for someone.

  I awkwardly stand up, ready to help her in any possible way, even in my limited state, when she collapses right into my arms, her body going limp.

  “Grandma! Grandma! Are you okay?” I call to her. “Someone, please help.”

  Jesus, what do I do? I’m in hospital, but there isn’t a single nurse around.

  Just as I finish with my alarmed calling, the lady lifts her head.

  “Moon, Moon. Where are you?” she shouts in shrill alarm.

  Moon runs to her and hugs her. “Gigi, I’m here.”

  Oh, so that’s Gigi. Now who’s Vivi?

  “Moon.” Her voice calms down a bit. “Don’t run away from Gigi again, okay?”

  “I’m sorry.” Moon apologizes to the old grandma.

  Old grandma turns to me then. I smile. And before she can say a word, I explain the whole situation.

  “Thank you very much, young man, for looking after my Moon,” Gigi says while patting Moon’s head. She looks tired and her voice sounds strained. “She’s here for her monthly checkup. I was busy talking to the doctor. She was standing beside me a minute ago, and in the next minute, she was gone. I was so worried. That’s why I ran out and shouted like that. If it weren’t for you, I’m not sure what I would do.”

  I feel slightly embarrassed for receiving such praise. I’m not used to it. I didn’t really do anything. I just stayed and talked to Moon.

  Looking at Gigi’s pale face, I go to grab some water for her. Even with my limited mobility, I still praise myself for looking after the elderly. Gigi looks like she might pass out any minute. Water will help.

  Filling a cup at the fountain, I give one to her, when Moon says, “Where’s mine?”

  “I’m sorry,” I say, smiling, then go to collect another cup for Moon.

  “Do you black out often, ma’am?” I ask when I come back. I look at her holding the cup of water in her hands. They are all crooked and slightly twisted like they’ve gone through some hard times.

  She takes a small sip of the water, looks at me, and smiles tiredly. “I’ve always been like this. There’re some things in the past that still affect me now.” She glances down and sees my leg in the cast. “How about you? What’s a young man like you doing with those crutches?”

  “Well, it was an accident.” I smile. I don’t want to tell her the cause of my broken leg is that girl and the kiss. Instead, I say, “I drove into a tree.”

  I look at the time. It’s near four already. Kai should be here anytime. I think I should wait for him in the car park so he needn’t come into the hospital.

  Kai hates hospital. If the circumstance is avoidable, then he will avoid it at all cost.

  “Well, I think I should get going now,” I say, standing up.

  “Thank you again for looking after Moon, young man.”

  “No problem, ma’am.”

  “You can call me Nancy.”

  “Okay. Bye, Moon. Bye, Nancy.” I wave at them before heading off.

  “Bye-bye, Zacky.” Moon waves back at me. Nancy gives me a smile.

  I’m in deep thought. I’ve forgotten to give Nancy my name. I feel a bit guilty now. Maybe I should turn back and tell her. Yeah, I think I’ll do that. It’s not polite to not give your name to an elder.

  From the distance, I hear someone calling out. I’m not really sure who is it, and personally, I don’t really care. But the sound of that voice has a nice ring to it, a bit like the soft melodic music I like to listen to. And that’s when I get curious.

  Maybe I should—

  Bam! I go crashing to the floor when a body collides into me.

  Oh shit! I think I broke my other leg too.

  “Jesus Christ! Watch where you’re going,” I swear when I get my bearings.

  So what? I’m pissed. I’m allowed to be, aren’t I? After all, I’m hungry and tired. On top of that, I smell like a skunk who’s been sleeping in the dumpster for the past two days.

  I’m a real clean freak. It’s just that the hospital doesn’t
have proper bathtubs. And I like baths more than showers. So I didn’t bathe at all for the past two days. I think I’m going to stay in the bathtub for two whole months after I get out of this place, just to get rid of the smell.

  While I’m busy collecting arms and limbs into appropriate places, there is still silence from whomever it is that collided against me.

  Don’t they know it’s impolite to run into people with limited mobility? I should give this someone a piece of my mind.

  “You can’t—”

  I’m speechless. All the remaining air whooshes from my lungs. All I can see are those lips, those lips that bit me that night.

  This girl, the one that just collided into me, she’s… she’s…

  “Juliet?”

  Chapter 4

  IVY

  A Fated Encounter

  “Her blood sugar is in the normal range. She’s doing great. But just make sure she takes her doses thirty minutes before her meals,” Dr. Marshall advises.

  “Thank you. Should we make another appointment next month?” I ask.

  “Michelle will sort that out for you,” Dr. Marshall says, leading me out of his consultation room.

  I make an appointment with Michelle for Moon’s next checkup appointment, then go into the waiting room. I see Moon and Gigi waving good-bye to some guy in a blue shirt. From this distance, it’s very hard to make out who he is.

  Our family has only been in Dunedin for two months, so to see Gigi and Moon waving to people they don’t know, I become curious.

  “Vivi,” Moon comes and takes my hand when I get close to them. “You should have seen Zacky.”

  “Zacky?” I ask, looking at Moon in confusion.

  Gigi replies instead. “That’s her new friend. I saw Moon playing with him.”

  “Yes, Vivi.” Moon looks up at me. “He wears a white thing on his leg. He said his leg was broken. That’s why he wears it. I even got to write my name on it.”

  I laugh and crouch down to her level. “So you made another friend, then?

  “Mmmm.” She nods. “He’s my new boyfriend.”

  I laugh again. This time I know what she means.

  “Lord help me!” Gigi exclaims suddenly, her hands running along the length of her jacket as if she’s trying to search for something.

  “What’s wrong, Grandma?” I ask, a little alarmed.

  “I think I lost our money, Ivy.” She turns to me with frightened eyes.

  I go pale. The doctor’s fee hasn’t even been paid yet, and we still have to take the bus home. But with no money, how are we supposed to do these things? I know I have the strength to walk all the way home, but Gigi and Moon would be too tired.

  We don’t own a car, so we go everywhere by bus. I told Gigi before that we should consider getting a car since I already have my driver’s license, but she was adamant, saying walking and using the bus would do good for the community instead of polluting the environment by using a car. So now with no car and no money to pay for Moon’s treatment, I panic.

  I curse myself silently for forgetting to bring my cell phone and wallet too. Otherwise, I could ring Mandy for her to pick us up or pay for the taxi home.

  Gigi searches in all her pockets without success.

  Having no result with our current problem, my mood turns foul and I start thinking someone must have stolen it. Then the thought of that guy Moon mentioned before arouses my suspicions.

  I know there’s a small chance he might not have taken it, but I can’t come to any other logical conclusion. He must have lured Moon and then waited for her guardian to pick her up. Then when he saw Gigi, he thought he’d strike.

  “Grandma, that guy I saw you wave to before, did he come close to you?”

  “Well, yes, Ivy. I almost blacked out, so he helped me. He led me to this chair and gave me water.”

  “That explains it, then,” I say in flustered anger. I crouch down to Moon’s level and start questioning her.

  “Was he in a wheelchair?”

  “No, Vivi. He has crutches.”

  “Good, now you stay with Gigi. Vivi will be back with our bus money, okay?” I instruct them and then whiz away to try to catch the thief that stole our money.

  “Okay, but Zacky is not…”

  I don’t hear the rest of Moon’s sentence because I’m already running along the corridor toward the exit, trying my best to catch up to the culprit. Luckily, that culprit is on crutches so his mobility is slow.

  Turning a corner, I catch sight of a guy wearing a blue shirt with a white cast on one of his legs. He’s hobbling along with his crutches at a snail’s peace.

  I smile. Knowing I’m only a short distance away from him, I summon my strength to run even faster.

  “Hey, you. Stop right there!” I shout, hoping he’ll hear me and will stop.

  He doesn’t stop. Nor does he take notice of my call.

  So he wants to get away. Not this time. I must catch him. I need to catch him. He isn’t going to get away with stealing our money like this.

  Money is in short supply in our family. With hospital bills for Gigi and Moon mounting, we can’t afford for some random stranger to snatch our money. After the incident with my parents and brother, I vow to find justice and stand my ground, even in these smaller cases.

  I’m in such a rush to catch up to that him that I end up running too fast and now I can’t stop myself. The force of momentum is too great, and when his body appears, I literally crash into him.

  “Jesus Christ, watch where you’re going,” he says, his face kissing the linoleum floor.

  That voice. I remember it from somewhere.

  And then he lifts his head. And time practically stops for me.

  I look at him, those emerald irises, feeling an odd familiarity, as if we’ve met somewhere before. My heart skips a beat. In turn, my eyes drop to his lips. One looks a bit swollen, like he’s been stung by a bee. And from those lips comes the word, “Juliet?”

  That word makes time move again. I shake my head to get myself out of this imaginary fog and stare accusingly at him.

  “Give me back my grandma’s money.”

  He shakes his head then, as if he’s in the same fog as I. His face is a mask of confusion after that. He asks, “What are you talking about? What money?”

  Looking for his crutches, which now lie on the side some distance from him, he stares at me and says, “Aren’t you going to be a good citizen and help me pick up my crutches?”

  I’m stunned. For a moment, I don’t know how to react. By instinct, I lean down and pick up one of his crutches and offer it to him.

  He lays it beside him and then flicks his eyes to the other, which is still sitting near his foot, as if saying, Aren’t you going to get the other one?

  I pick that one up too and give it to him, then stand back, not sure of what else to do, my first mission of getting justice and standing my ground all forgotten.

  Those emerald eyes… where have I seen them before? They are so green in the sunlight, like green flames filled with life and energy.

  “Aren’t you going to help me up?” he asks when I just stand there looking at him.

  “I gave you back your crutches,” I tell him.

  “I need help standing up. I can’t use those crutches to stand up. I don’t have the strength in my leg. Help me up. Quick,” he demands.

  When it comes to quick demands like this, I’m not sure what to do. So I hold my hand out for him to take so I can support him.

  He literally heaves over me, and I almost topple over under his heavy weight. Pushing him back upright so he’s standing against the wall with his crutches now supporting him, I stand back and ask, “Are you all right now?”

  “Yeah,” he says, smiling. Looking at me, his emerald irises dilate and spark.

  “Good,” I say. “Now give me back my grandma’s money.”

  “Again, what money?”

  “Don’t play coy,” I say, standing my ground. “I know you
took it from her. Her money went missing straight after you held on to her. Now give it back.”

  “Hey, don’t start accusing people like that. What evidence do you have that I took your grandma’s money.”

  “You held on to her.”

  “When?”

  “I saw you waving good-bye. Grandma said you held on to her when she almost blacked out. The last time I saw her was when she was in the consultation room with me. The money was there when she was with me. So you must be the one that took her money. Now give it back.”

  “You can’t accuse people with only speculative evidence. Do you have any other witnesses to testify that I took her money?”

  “No.”

  “Then you’ve lost your case,” he says, smiling mischievously, and then starts walking away.

  “Wait! I’m not done talking yet,” I call out.

  I block his path and even take one of his crutches to stop him from moving farther, but he only grins when he faces me. His eyes even sparkle brighter than before.

  Is he trying to play with me? I’m not in the mood to be teased right now.

  “Have you found another witness to testify that I did it already?”

  “No, but we’re not through with this,” I tell him sternly. “I’m taking you to the police station. We can sort this problem out over there.

  “Police station?” he asks in surprise, his eyes losing their shine a little. For a minute, I think I’ve won the battle, but then he only smirks again. “You know what? Let’s settle it right now.”

  What? And to make matters worse, he starts calling out for the security guards.

  “Guards! Guards! Hey, are you a security guard?” he starts asking random people who happen to walk past us.

  All they see are two teenagers, one with a broken leg in a cast and another holding a crutch, busy having a verbal fight, so they take no notice of us.

  I don’t know what to do in this situation. I’m prepared to take him to the police station, but I don’t want to make a big ruckus out of this in public. Without thinking, I clamp his mouth shut. He mumbles a bit more and then, when he realizes his mouth is clamped shut by my hand, he turns towards me. Right now, his face is so close to mine that I can feel his warm breath on me. Feeling like my body is being electrocuted, I let my hand drop and move back, trying to make sense of what just happened. He gives me a smirk, as if enjoying my moment of indecision, when I just stand back, unable to move.