Past and Present: Intertwined

Chapter 4

Vincenzo's POV

It has been a month since I came to this place from my time, which is the past. Life has been hard at first, but I managed to adapt and I even got a phone that Emilia bought for me, so it is easier to communicate over a long distance. I couldn't understand the instructions before, on how to use it, but now, I can say that I am good at using a phone. Although I couldn't utilize all its functions.

"What are you doing there?" Emilia asked

"Just thinking about something. This phone really amazes me." I replied

"You are always spacing out these past few days. Is there anything you want to tell me?" she inquired and I couldn't answer at first.

After a few minutes of contemplating, I finally blurted out, "I like you! It's just, I don't know how to tell you. I'm afraid that you will stay away from me."

Saying those words made me flustered, so I started lowering my head. But I didn't expect that what she said next would really break my heart and make us both uncomfortable.

"I.. I.. I have a boyfriend already," she said, her eyes downcast.

"It's been a week since we got into a relationship. And I didn't know that you like me... That's why I agreed with him, aside from the fact that I like him." She carefully voices out her thoughts.

"It's fine. It's not a big deal for me, I just said that to test you and to joke with you." I said with a dry laugh to relieve the tension between us.

She exhaled a sigh of relief, and said, "Vincenzo, you-"

"Just trying to lighten things up." I laughed

"Thank goodness, it is a joke. If not, I don't know how to face you later," she replied, a little embarrassed

"When can I meet him?" I asked to change the topic.

"This Friday, we can have dinner together. I will introduce you both to each other since you are my best friend" she said happily

'Yes. We have been best friends in the span of one month that we are together, and only she claimed that, without knowing my feelings for her. But I can't blame her because she doesn't even know that I like her.' I thought in my mind

"That's great. I will go with you on Friday." I happily agreed

...

Friday came and we went to the restaurant where Emilia introduced her boyfriend to me.

"Vincenzo, let's go to our table now. He already made reservations for the three of us" Emilia declared

"I'm fine with that, let's sit," I replied

"He said that he will be a little late because of a meeting, so we should start ordering some food," Emilia said, getting the menu.

"I'd rather wait for him, so I'll just have a refreshment." I sighed

"Okay." she agreed, saying our order to the waiter.

Almost a quarter to an hour later, she received a call that her boyfriend had arrived. She went out of the restaurant to greet him and guide him to our table.

Being shocked was an understatement when I saw the guy that Emilia was dating. He looks a lot like my deceased brother who died many years ago in my time. It's just that he is more mature-looking and a refined man. When Emilia introduced me to the man, he was also shocked and I heard him utter, "Vince.."

My expression changed and I asked, "How did you know my name?"

"Only one person calls me that. And he is already dead!" I instinctively voiced out, my pitch higher than usual.

"What is happening here?" Emilia asked, looking all confused.

"This boyfriend of yours, looks a lot like my brother, making it seem like they are identical. To make it worse, he even called me by my nickname 'Vince', and only my older brother called me that!" I hastily explained to her.

"Vince, let me explain.. I'm so sorry that I left you." he started

My brother, who I have been missing for 7 years, is standing in front of me, alive and well. I didn't know what to feel, because all this time, I had been mourning his sudden death. I have been sad all my life, blaming myself why I didn't cherish my time with him before.

"You two... I think we should all calm down and eat dinner. We can talk later in my house because you two are getting the attention of other people." Emilia mediated

I looked around and what she said was the truth. I can see the other people inside the restaurant looking at us and whispering to each other.

"Okay, let's talk about this later," I said, complying with Emilia's idea of having dinner first.

We made an order and started eating when the dishes came. No one talked about anything to avoid opening the subject earlier. After an hour of awkward silence, we finished our meal then we headed to Emilia's house, but in my case, my temporary house.

Emilia parked her car and we alighted the vehicle. Followed by Paolo, who parked his car on the roadside. We went inside the house and opened the topic that we had been avoiding in the past hour.

"You two should sit and talk, I'll just change my clothes," Emilia said, giving us the privacy that we most probably need.