Days After You's

Chapter 40 - Ex-Girlfriend

"Stella, your papa just called me. She said she was sick again, she wanted us to go there as soon as possible."

"Well..."

Stella who lost focus unknowingly released her grip on one of the picture frames she was lapping on. My hand reflexively caught him immediately before touching the ground.

My eyebrows are linked, "Stella, be careful..."

"Oh.sorry."

This is not the first time Stella has lost focus after hearing about her mother. It was also my fault for not letting him finish what he did before telling him the bad news.

"It's so bad, huh...?" Ask Stella Iirih. I'm sure he must be imagining the worst case scenario in his mind because it's rare for his father to call us to visit even though sometimes his mother's health condition also likes to go up and down. If it's just the usual ups and downs, such as fever or a small cough, his father would rather tell when his mother is better so as not to make a fuss. Sometimes Stella tells me she's not happy with her father's nature but she also understands her father just doesn't want to worry her by continuing to call when her mother's health is declining for petty reasons.

"Your father didn't say the details. He just asked us to visit them immediately" I replied. I put the picture frame back in my hand over the closet next to her other friends before facing Stella again, "Don't worry, your mama must be fine. Change your clothes, we go there now."

"D-yes."

Stella nodded and rushed up to her room. Fortunately today was a weekend, I was home and could go to her house. Otherwise, even Stella's father might not bother to call me who's still busy at the company at ten this morning on a typical day and will only tell Stella one instead.

In short, Stella and I traveled for about forty minutes until we finally arrived at the Wesley family residence. Just as I parked the car in front of the mansion's stairs and set foot outside, the loud voice of the middle-aged man who was none other than Stella's father excited the two of us.

"Go you! Don't ever set foot here again, I don't want to see your face again! Security take him away!"

Like watching the usual drama on television, a man was brought down by both super-strength body securities by force. My body suddenly petrified when I finally got a clear picture of the face of the man who was being dragged.

The guy at the Forty Eight restaurant. The unlucky guy who Stella said was just his old friend. Sure enough, it was not only me who was sculpting, but Stella who was standing next to me as well. His eyes were round and his mouth was gaping from watching the events up there.

"Stella, come on," called me as she grabbed her wrist to step back up. My voice ended up coming out heavier than usual. I don't want him to make any more contact with that man, let whatever happened between them in the past stay in the past.

But Stella still did not flinch. His eyes were fixed on the man who was getting closer and closer from the distance we stood. I watched the moment the man realized our existence—or I told him more precisely the existence of Stella—lewat his sparkling eyes and the smile that grew from both ends of his lips.

"Stella's! Stella's! I just want to apologize for everything I did. Please just give me five minutes to talk to you and I'll leave after that."

I shook my head, "Stella, come on."

"Luiz..." Stella bit her lips for a moment before looking up at me, "I'll talk to her for a while. You go in first."

Turn of my enlarged eyes, "But your father..."

Stella let go of my grip on her wrist with a smile, "Please hold my papa for me yeah, I promise it won't be long."

Then without saying anything more, Stella called two security who had now been on the lowest rung with the unlucky man earlier. To be honest I was so upset, but he said they just wanted to talk. If that man dares to do something bad to her, I will not hesitate to make her feel twice as much pain as he did.

After throwing a cold look at the man, I stepped up into the mansion. Sure enough, Stella's father, who saw me enter alone, soon found out that his daughter must be with the man she just kicked out of. For the first time, Stella's father raised his voice to me.

"Luiz! What are you doing here yourself?! Quickly get Stella in!"

"Pa take it easy," I said calmly, "Stella just wants to talk for a while, give her a chance to finish whatever she has to do with the man."

Stella's father shook his head and massaged her forehead, "You know who she is, Luiz?"

"...No."

"She's Stella's ex-boyfriend who cheated on her and tried to take advantage of her first."

"..."

I've guessed. I always had suspicions that the man was Stella's ex-boyfriend even though Stella lied by saying it was just her old friend. So he was betrayed by the man once and now the man has come to apologize to him.

"Calm down first, pa. I understand why you're upset but you know Stella is a good woman, she just wants to hear the guy's apology. That's all."

Although I was also angry after hearing about the man, I tried to calm down in order to ease the anger of Stella's father. If everyone was angry, things would only get more murky, so I shifted my question to another important thing that was the main reason we came here.

Stella's father sighed, "...He's in the room. This morning he was short of breath and had a seizure before he was unconscious, so I panicked and called you to bring Stella here. Usually the shortness of breath is not that bad..."

It was worse than I thought. I never really expected Stella's mother's condition to be this severe. Stella's mother had a chronic illness in her respiratory tract and throat. Shortness of breath is often the case but never until the seizure or make him unconscious.

"Luiz..you're coming?" Stella's mother's raucous voice greeted me as I entered the room. He smiled slightly and stuck out his dry hand to gently wipe my shoulder as I sat down beside the bed, "Oh Robert must have called you and Stella here."

Stella's mother turned to her husband, "Robert told me not to trouble those who live far away from here. I just passed out and you made a furore..."

"I'm freaking out, baby, it's a holiday anyway, so Luiz isn't at work, is she?" Stella's father was standing next to me.

I nodded and smiled slightly, "Yes ma, me and Stella should have stopped by last week, just because I was busy so I haven't been here yet. Sorry yes."

"It's okay..." Stella's mother tried to laugh but only a short voice came out, she then circulated her gaze towards the door, "Where is Stella then? Usually he's the one who runs here first when he comes to visit."

Long-lived, Stella came in right after her mother asked the question. He then rushed from the door to his mother's arms.

"Ma! Mama's okay, her throat hurts? Breathless?"

"Shhhhhhhhhhh. Alright, I'm fine. Look..." Stella's mother smiled and rubbed her daughter's delicate tubers.  Stella who had just passed her father and me to approach her mother nodded. I was quite sensitive to him for lying about his ex so rubbed his arms to try to calm down.

"Are we staying here for tonight...?" Stella asked, glancing at me for a moment.

His mother raised an eyebrow but shook her head, "No dear, Luiz will have to work tomorrow. If you stay here, it will be far from the company, you know stuck in the street how could he be late."

"Then I stay..."

"Stella can't do that, time to let your husband go home on his own..."

I'd like to say if I don't have a problem staying here or being told to go home too, but there's no point in hoarding over Stella and her mom's chat. As a result, Stella lost and had to obey her mother's request so that we just go home and do not have to stay overnight.

During half a day at Stella's parents' house anyway, thanks to the busyness of accompanying and taking care of her parents, Stella and I so avoided the topic about her ex-boyfriend earlier. In addition, Stella also behaved so calm as if there was nothing meaningful from the results of the conversation and if it was all forgotten just like that and only I kept thinking about it.

That was when we left, Stella's father thought about bringing up the man again, who turned out to be named Alex.

"Stella, don't see Alex again no matter what, you understand? It's not good to have your husband leave to leave you alone with another man" Stella's father scolded in a subtle tone.

Stella nodded, "I understand, Dad. It was the last one. He just wanted to apologize."

"Good then. If your mom finds out that guy came in earlier, she could be convulsing again."

"Dad!" Stella was not happy.

"Maybe don't deal with him anymore."

"Yes.I understand."

I glanced at Stella and rubbed her shoulders slowly, "Pa, we go home first then. Later we will visit as much as possible often here," I said.

Stella's father nodded and led us to the front door. We were already together with Mom earlier.

It was six o'clock in the afternoon when Stella and I arrived at the apartment. The clumsiness that germinated from still on the solid journey continued as it had stepped inside the apartment.

Stella started talking, "Luiz that guy was actually..."

"Your ex-boyfriend is."

I smiled bitterly, "If you don't want to tell me from the beginning, you better say so. Just so you know, I don't like people who lie, Stella."

Stella's eyes were round and I knew I must have shocked her with the cold tone of my voice.