A Sneak Preview of The "Me" Rules

ThoughtsOnPaper

First of all, thank you so much for taking time to visit to read my post. I would like to thank our host, @KellyAnneBlount, for organising such a spectacular biannual event. It's such a marvelous project, and I'm proud and honoured to be part of the biggest party on Wattpad for the third time!

For this round of The Wattpad Block Party - Winter Edition III, I will post a preview of one of the chapters of the current project I'm working on for #RomanceClass2017, The "Me" Rules. To those who have read, or still reading, one of my Wattpad stories, Losing Cinderella, you might meet a familiar face in this story.

This is the working blurb for this story for now:

Another breakup. Another heartache to mend. Cedel Quiason wondered if the right person will ever come for her. She wished she could forget all about her failed relationships. But how was she supposed to do that when she invested a huge part of her in them? Every guy had part of her heart, and left memories embedded in her brain. She made sacrifices to please and make the relationship work. Well, since all the adjustments she did was not good enough for the men she's ever loved, Cedel decided to start following the first rule: Look after #1. That's right! It was time to look after herself. She was going to make her own rules and stick to them. Stop compromising. Stop pleasing. Stop taking their happiness over her own. She has to start finding the things that makes her happy, even if she has to do it alone. It all sounded to easy. It was easy...Until George Cavas moved into the apartment above her.

George Cavas is the Hispanic hunk from Down Under who came to the country to help run a music school with a friend. He thought a new challenge and change of scenery would help him move on from his grief. George has been grieving for the woman he planned to ask to be his wife. Unfortunately, she passed away even before he had a chance to ask her to be his girlfriend.

A broken heart and a grieving heart. Can they mend each other?

Without further ado, I hope you enjoy this sneak peak of on of my draft chapters.

CHAPTER 4

Never in his life has he ever felt a variety of seasons in one day. It was a comfortable, cool autumn day when he left Perth. In the plane, it was like winter. It was pouring in Hong Kong when he caught his connecting flight. Then smack right into summer weather upon arriving Manila. The humidity is as unbearable as the traffic jam. George adjusts the vents to the air-conditioner to face him. "So, this is Manila, huh?"

Elias rolled his eyes. "I know, right?" He feels almost embarrassed that the first experience he has to offer his friend is the horrendous traffic.

George looks out the window, his green eyes wide in shock at the bumper to bumper traffic which seems to go on forever. He whistles. "I don't want to imagine what rush hour is like!"

"Unfortunately, you'll have to get used to this for a while," Elias uttered with a sigh.

"God! I'm getting myself a bike first thing tomorrow!" His friend's laughter made him frown. "I don't know how you can possibly get used to this, but I am not wasting my time in traffic!" he declares emphatically.

"Let's take advantage of this time then," he suggests. "How's Mama Elena?"

The mention of his mother's name reminded George to call her as soon as he gets his phone set up. "She's good."

"Does she still make her famous leche frita?"

George nods. "She does, when we ask for it."

"I miss those days!" Elias salivates at the thought of Mama Elena's cooking. He sighs, reminiscing the times when he and his friends would go over to The Andromeda to rehearse. "Those were good times!"

"The best!" he concurred.

Elias was one of the first people George met on campus when he started university. Along with three other guys, they hit it off straight away. Their passion for music brought them to countless jamming sessions, until they officially started a band. George was the band's pianist, and Elias did the lead vocals and keyboard or cajon. They did gigs wherever they got a booking. After a year of balancing uni requirements, rehearsals, busking in the busy markets in Fremantle, things began to fall in place for them. They were getting a good following for their music. On top of that, they were going to have a permanent gig at The Andromeda after the renovations were done. Unfortunately, before the renovations started, Elias' parents decided to return to the Philippines to take over his grandparents' business.

"I've missed out on a lot of things!" Elias stated. "Makes me wonder what might have happened if I decided to stay."

"Well," George drawled. "We'll still be playing at The Andromeda. You'll be the famous heartthrob frontman–"

"Heartthrob?" he sputters. "Who's the guy who gets a wad of calling cards and serviettes with phone numbers in them?" He nods to his friend in reference.

George chuckles. "No, seriously." He clears his throat, trying to be serious. "If you hadn't left, we won't be stuck in this horrendous traffic!"

Elias snickers. "We won't have a music school," he points out.

He raises his forefinger. "Maybe we will still have a music school...In Perth!"

"I suppose." Elias thinks for a moment. "In an alternate universe, we'll be doing gigs on stage, uploading videos on YouTube. We might even get a record deal!"

"Or, we might actually end up going our separate ways. I'll be immersed in the family business. I might still be playing on stage, or teaching at the university...You"–he turns to his friend–"You? I don't know..."

Elias gives George a playful punch on the shoulder. "Gee! That inspires confidence!"

"Just kidding, mate! I'm sure we'll still do well." George stretches his arms forward. The fatigue starts settling in on him.

"Take a nap, mate," Elias suggests as he cranes his neck to try to see past the vehicles in front of him. No signs of an accident or anything obstructing the road ahead. "Welcome to Manila, my man! Behold your first experience of road culture!" he ends with his hands presenting the scene before them.

"Bloody hell!" he grumbles. George slumps further into his seat, shifting himself around to get comfortable. He feels like his exhaustion will soon take over. That's what he gets for leaving the packing to the last minute. He hasn't slept for nearly two days. The stress of packing, tying up loose ends, and the anxiety over leaving the country made sleep evade him like a plague. He yawns. He stretches upwards only for his arms to hit the roof of Elias' Toyota Fortuner. He crosses his arms across his chest instead. "Wake me up when we get there." He leans his head on the window.

"Sure thing, mate!" Elias complies, giving him a thumbs up sign.

Sleep remains elusive even after spending the next half hour with his eyes closed. He can't get his mind off Elias' question. So what if Elias didn't leave Perth? There were many possibilities, but the only possibility his mind zeroed in on was her. If Elias didn't leave, George would never have the need to find someone to replace him. Hayley Montgomery would never be their lead singer. They'd still meet, but their circumstances would have been different. That one change in history could have saved him. Maybe it could have saved her.

***

George takes another tour of his new apartment. Elias already showed him around when they arrived, but George wants to take everything in all over again. He scans the almost empty apartment. So! This is my place! He has never lived on his own before. The absence of the Cavas' noise will take a while to get used to. He surveys the room. It's an open plan. In his head, he's already planning how he'll set the place up. He visualises a couple of cozy sofas in the living area. On the opposite wall, facing the non-existent lounge suite, that's where his piano will be. He reckons, it'll be the perfect spot, right next to the double glass doors that open to the balcony. He walks over to the balcony. The view of the metro's cityscape pleases him. The lights coming from buildings and houses make it look like he's staring at stars. That's at night though. He wonders if the view during the daytime leaves the same impression.

George kicks his shoes off, and frees his feet from his socks. He breathes a sigh of relief "Ah! Much better!" He continues to amble towards the kitchen area. It's small, but functional. He inspects the amenities. Four-burner stove oven, a white double-door refrigerator, dishwasher...He opens the cupboards. It looks like Elias has already bought his supply of pots, pans, cutlery, plates, bowls, and glasses. He nods in approval. "Not bad. Not bad," he mutters. He studies the kitchen island. There are four red bar stools on the opposite side. That's when he realises that there is no room for a proper dining table, so the island has the double purpose of food preparation and dining. He doesn't mind it. It's all I need!

George then wanders to the bedroom. The smell of fresh linen hits his nostrils. It's nice of Elias to have this room fully furnished, and made to look like the rooms featured on hotel brochures. The only thing missing will be the folded towels with the complimentary toiletries.

"Toiletries!" he blurts out, knocking a fist gently on his his forehead. He forgot to pack toiletries! He dashes to the bathroom to check for supplies. Only a shallow basket of potpourri is sitting next to the sink. "Bugger!" he huffs, knowing his plan to have a shower before bed isn't going to happen. Then he recalls seeing a convenient store on the building's ground floor. Without a second thought, George darts out the apartment barefoot.

When he enters the store, he is greeted by the store attendant. "Hey," he greets back.

"Can I help you with anything, sir?" he offers.

George shakes his head. He proceeds to scan through the aisles. He finds what he's after on the second aisle, and starts browsing through the choices of haircare products and soaps. While flipping the bottle lids open for a sniff test, his ears pick up a stern-sounding voice. He finds the source of the voice straight away, and she's standing about five metres away from him. Her back is turned to him. Her jet black hair cascading over her right side campaigned for his attention. It's as if the perfect sleek, long hair pictured on the shampoo bottle he's holding has come to life. He notices an earpiece clipped over her left ear. She's on the phone. What kind of person has a phone conversation at two a.m.? People like her! the voice inside his head answers him. Her figure-hugging white tank top makes his eyes stay glued to her. He stares intently at her exposed shoulder. Her skin is so smooth. It kind of reminds him of light toffee. He strays further down. He can't help but appreciate the nice curve her waist and hip is making as she leans against the shelf. In contrast to the tight top she's wearing, her pyjama bottoms were baggy with the hems folded up to the length of her ankles to keep them from sweeping the floor. Judging by the Transformers print and the size, he can only assume that those bottoms didn't belong to her. He releases a quiet snicker at the sight of her slippers, which were shaped like the huge blue and white Pokemon whose name he doesn't know. She must be a resident in the building to come to a store dressed in her sleepwear.

"No! Stay on route!" she tells whoever is on the other line. I don't care if EDSA is congested, you're not taking a detour!"

George cringes upon hearing the words congested and EDSA. Amazing! Even at this hour there's traffic!

"Oh, my god! Don't be stupid? You're not driving a ten-wheeler through the backstreets! Stick to the route! Once you're on NLEX, you'll be fine."

George eavesdrops on her conversation. What is she? A human Google Map? He's quite impressed of her road knowledge. If ever he needs directions around Manila, he knows his go-to person. But of course, he has to meet her first. She taps the side of her earpiece, and continues scanning the shelves. Now, he sees her profile. He steps back and quickly averts his eyes from her. Sunglasses at this time? Is she on drugs or something? Feeling exhausted and defeated, he exhales heavily. Great! Heat, humidity, traffic, and someone under the influence...Welcome to Manila, George! Part of him wants to walk away to avoid her, but his feet stays in place as he carries on stealing glances at her. Even with the saucer-like sunglasses, he can tell she's a pretty girl. A firm angled jaw, generous pink lips, cute button nose...and he can't seem to get over how smooth her skin is.

She bends over to pick up her shopping basket from the floor. George sucks in a sharp breath as he gets a glimpse of her cleavage. He snaps his head forward. All of a sudden, he feels his blood rushing south. Son of a...He hasn't been in the country for six hours and his brain is going towards a different kind of "down under". He blames it on a lack of sleep and fatigue.

The sound of a ringing phone grabs his attention. It's coming from her shopping basket. The ringing continues. A grimace wrinkles her cute little nose. He senses that she doesn't want to answer the call. What kind of person rings during these ungodly hours anyway? Apparently, people like the one on calling her now! that voice in his head answers again.

She lets out a heavy breath before tapping the side of her earpiece. "I don't want to talk about it right now," she greets her caller dryly.

George's ears perk up. The nuance of misery lining her words intrigues him.

"No, but I'm buying dinner right now."

Dinner at two a.m.? He raises his eyebrows at the contents of her shopping basket. Thats dinner? The amount of junk that's in there surprises him. Chips, cookies, chocolates...lots and lots of chocolates! It's like she shoved every brand of chocolate in there!

"Hey! It's not like this is the first time! I'll be fine...Really!"

The quiver in her voice alerts him that she's distressed. He shakes head, and reminds himself that he should mind his own business. He returns his attention to the haircare products, but his ears remained stuck to the sound of her voice.

"Noni, can we not talk about this right now. I'm not in the mood," Cedel pleads. She feels her chest tighten again. She already cried herself out earlier, and with Noni's prying, she feels like she's about to burst into tears all over again. The last thing she wants is to make a crying fool out of herself in front of the shop attendant again, just when she managed to sum up some courage to come back. "I don't really feel like going out...I'll just laze around. Catch up on sleep. I might finally check out 'Game of Thrones' and see what all this hype is all about." She listens to Noni's litany of suggestions from retail therapy and self-pampering to hitting the social spots for drinks.

"Who knows, you might meet someone," he sings.

She pinches the bridge of her nose. "Noni..." That's the last thing she ever wants to do right now. "Don't even go there!" She's done with men. The anger that she has been trying to keep at bay since she said goodbye to Daryl starts to boil. She shuts her eyes, holding back her tears. She's not one to swear, but Cedel's heart is clawing through her chest right now, desperate to escape and explode. She breathes in. She holds on to that breath, building up the pressure in her chest until it hurts her. No! Don't make a fool of yourself in here again. She bites her lower lip to restrain herself

"Ced! Are you okay? Are you still there?" Noni taps on his phone's mouthpiece

She releases that breath. "Yes. I'm here."

"You sure? I know! Let's go on a food trip! Let's do fifteen restaurants in a day! Remember that? It's been a while since we did it. Come on! Get some sunshine. Get fat. It'll be good for you!"

Cedel frowns. Noni's perkiness and enthusiasm is too much for her to handle at this time. "I don't feel like going out," she grunts

"I'm not getting anywhere with you, girl!" Noni huffs in frustration. "Come on! Tell me where you want to go, what you want to do, and when! Something! Anything!"

"I want to be alone."

"Not what I had in mind, but okay!"

After her eyes rake through a a row of skincare products, she turns her attention to the shelf that has the feminine hygiene sign dangling above. She snatches a few packs of sanitary pads. With Daryl gone, what's the point of taking the pill? She spits out a series of profanity under her breath.

"Oh! Oh!" Noni pants as another idea surges through his brain. "What about we come over. We'll bring food and chick flicks. Then, when you're ready, you rant and vent all you want and we'll listen. You need to let it out."

"Doesn't matter. Thanks for your concern, but I'll be fine. I just need to be alone."

Noni lets out a heavy sigh. "You sure?"

"Positive."

Noni gasps as another idea comes to mind. "What about I pick you up tomorrow–" Realising what time it is, he corrects himself, "Later this afternoon. Let's rent out a karaoke room. Belt the pain out! We used to do that! Remember? We had so much fun!"

Karaoke. Screaming the high notes. She already has a list of sad songs in her head. How pathetic! Her ears perk up as Coldplays' Breakeven plays through the store's speakers. "Woo! They're playing the theme of my love life," she scoffs. Listening to the words makes her wonder what Daryl is doing now. He must have enjoyed breakfast while she was close to throwing up. Was his day as awful as hers? Probably not. Definitely not. He's free from her; that must be worth celebrating.

"You know you can tell me anything," Noni assures her. "If it will make you feel better, you can take it out on me."

Cedel pauses for a moment. Finally, she gives in. "It's so unfair," she laments. "Not just with Daryl, but with all of them. They all walked away scot-free. They've all moved on, while I'm still...I'm still." She's still what? Cedel bites her lower lip. She's finding it hard to admit that she still carries the pain Neto, Rigel, and Jordan left her with. Now, the biggest heartache of all is what Daryl has inflicted her with. "Forget it!" she throws a hand up in surrender. "If they managed to move on, so can I." She shakes her head, trying to dispel any thoughts of her past. Forget all of them! Forget Daryl. Seven years is just seven years.

"You'll get through this, girl. I know you. You're strong."

"Thanks, but..." She winces.

"I know it's not fair, but just you wait. Justice will be served! You'll meet someone way better than Daryl. Way better than all of them combined!" he ends with emphasis.

Cedel reaches mindlessly for a bottle of feminine wash. She reads the literature on the bottle. "Life isn't fair. Why do you guys have it so easy?" she grumbles.

"Say what?" was Noni's pitchy drawl.

"It's so unfair! Almost like a bottle of feminine wash."

"Femi...what?" Noni is confused. "I don't get it."

"Think about it." She rolls the bottle in her hand. "You can pick any girl you want–"

"Uuhhh, Cedel? I'm not a girl person–"

"You get better salaries, getting better jobs with less the effort..." And she carries on.

How the conversation suddenly turns into a potential battle of the sexes is beyond Noni. "Are you losing it, girl? I-I don't see how this relates to what you're going through, or fem wash for that matter."

"Simple. You don't get periods. You don't have to be so careful about how you act, how you dress, how you look, or how you smell." She pauses briefly. "I mean, it's not like you guys smell like a bed of roses down there!" The sound of a bottle dropping on the floor makes Cedel jump. Oh! No! She isn't the only one in the aisle! Cedel holds her breath in. Please be a girl! Please be a girl! Afraid to lift her head up, she slowly pivots her head. A bottle of shampoo lying on the floor, next to a pair of white feet, comes into view. Oh! She feels her face warm up in an instant. The next thing she sees is the owner's hands picking the bottle up. Cedel turns around in a snap. She flees towards the opposite direction before she gets a chance to come face to face with Mr. Feet and feel the wrath of his judgement.

Again, thank you so much for reading! I am more than happy to answer any questions you may have. The only one that I won't be able to answer are questions that may ring the Spoiler Alert bell.

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***********

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