I'll Forget Him

"I'll pick you up tomorrow night."

Phoebe blinked her eyes. She couldn't believe hearing it from Zarkos Rozena.

The guy smiled and seek her eyes. "So?"

Well, at this very instant, Phoebe was quite disturbed of the things happening to her recently. First, it had been almost two weeks since she didn't see Evandros. Yes, he would go call and text her to know how she was but that was all. He no longer came for the tutorial class. He always had the best alibi for not coming... She knew there was something wrong. She couldn't just figure out what was going on and she was really, really agitated with it that it almost broke her apart.

Second, Zarkos had started to be visible at home. It started when her Ba-ba invited the young man for dinner to discuss some business matters... Business, as told by her father. Yet, as Zarkos' constant visit at the Perkos mansion, Phoebe came to realize that it wasn't about business anymore. It was about her.

And now, as she was facing him at the grand living room while both of them were seated on the sofa, she finally confirmed her suspicions. Zarkos had indeed an interest on her. In fact, right this moment, the guy was asking her out.

Phoebe bit her lower lip.

"Phoebe?" Zarkos called her up.

The girl cleared her throat before speaking. "I don't think Ba-ba will permit it yet. I'm still young and I don't think dating---"

The guy smiled at her. "Come on, Phoebe, we both know you're father already declared his approval of this... even before I'm thinking of asking you out."

"So you're doing this just for Ba-ba?"

The guy smiled at her again and she couldn't deny that he looked even more charming of that smile on his face. Zarkos was still hot... that she couldn't deny. He had been her crush for years. But now, everything was just not the same anymore. Evandros just took away all her admiration for Zarkos in just a short span of time. She couldn't believe how her admiration for years would cease in just a short time... all because of one man who no longer visited her in almost two weeks and it was freaking her out already!

"This doesn't have anything to do with your father. I'm asking you out because I feel like doing it. Well, hope you can figure it out now that I like you a lot, Phoebe."

Oh, the straightforwardness of this guy!

She bit her lower lip again.

If, Evandros wouldn't still show up today, she would go out with Zarkos and she would see how the former would react.

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"If you won't come this afternoon..." she warned the guy in the other end of the line. She just told him about Zarkos' invitation.

"Go ahead, Phoeb. Date this man. It's okay." Evandros' voice, as she detected, was calm and assured like there was no hint of even a little frustration or... jealousy.

Suddenly, it scared her young heart.

"What?" she muttered, disbelieving.

There was no reply.

"Y-You're kidding, right?" she asked, still in denial of the indifference in Evandros' voice.

She heard him taking in a deep breath.

"We know that we are both free to date others. We are not an item, Phoeb. You very well know that."

"Oh!" she muttered again in shock. "Really? Well, that's absolutely news to me!"

How dare Evandros say such thing? All she remembered was their exchange of I love you's the days after their getaway at Vouliagmeni. Things had been alright in between them like they were indeed in a relationship. He must be joking!

Evandros didn't make a reply.

"You are so unfair," she said, trying to control her voice from cracking. "You are just jealous, right?"

Suddenly, she heard a chuckle at the other line. "Why should I be?"

"What really is your problem? First of all, you're no longer tutoring me. Then, here you are telling me I should date Zarkos. What exactly is your problem, Evandros?"

"You want to know what my problem is?" Evan asked.

"Yes, what is your problem? I haven't seen you in days---"

Evan interrupted with a sort of an angry tone, "I've got loads of work to do here in the office that I have no more time for you or for whatever it is that involve you. Do you get me, despinis?"

She didn't expect his words. They just hurt her so badly that she almost couldn't speak anymore. She breathed in and out to control her composure.

"Zarkos Rozena is a fine young man. You'll enjoy his company," Evan appended, adding even more weight of pain in Phoebe's heart.

"Y-You're... How dare... Y-You promised me..." Phoebe stuttered. "You promised me you'll stay until my feelings for you will fade away... You promised me that, Evandros!"

She heard him sigh.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry, despinis, I can't keep that promise... Sorry..." Those were his last words before he hang up.

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"So, how is it? Do you like it?" Zarkos asked her when they were already seated.

She had been trying to nurse a heavy heart and she didn't feel like going with Zarkos the following night. But she felt the need to go out to relieve herself. There were lots of things she wanted to be enlightened with. She couldn't answer each of them just yet.

Zarkos brought her to one of the first class restaurants he had been  managing now that his parents were based in Milan.

"It's a nice place," she said briefly.

They ordered food and, while waiting, Zarkos told her of his future business plans. She was still sixteen, she wanted to emphasize it to Zarkos to tell him that business was just not her thing yet.

She stared at the guy in front of her and her mind wandered. First, she thought of how this guy became her crush in the past days as she discovered that his physical looks had been her only basis before of admiring him. Now that she was listening to him as he talked about business, she felt like Zarkos had nothing in his mind but business alone. She wondered if the guy had even time for other things.

But he still managed to invite her out. At least.

Still, as she listened, Phoebe started to grow bored. If Zarkos would be her constant companion, she'd surely go insane. How could a man be so engrossed in business?

She sighed and, then, thought about Evandros.

Well, all men must be this engrossed in their work. Wasn't it the reason that Evandros no longer had time for her? She felt like his work was even more important than her. But, who was she to object? She was not even his girlfriend to demand time from him.

She sighed again. She wanted someone to talk about him. She needed some sort of release.

For sure, she couldn't tell her Mamá about it, much more her Ba-ba or else everything would turn out to be very complicated. She wanted to tell Camilla, her closest friend in school, but she was not sure whether telling her about her feelings for her tutor --- former tutor, she corrected herself --- would be a good thing.

It looked like she had to keep everything to herself.

And she felt like breaking.

"Here comes the food," Zarkos said when they were served and Phoebe woke up from her contemplation.

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Totally exhausted, Phoebe slumped herself on her bed. Still in dress from her date with Zarkos, she lay on the bed and gazed at the ceiling. She wanted to console herself and make a lie that she enjoyed the night. But she knew the truth and she was not going to rest from it.

While in deep pondering, Phoebe was interrupted from the knock on her door.

It was opened and Cynthia, her nanny, came in.

After closing the door behind, Cynthia moved towards her bed.

"How was your night?" There was concern in the voice of the woman as she sat on the side of Phoebe's bed.

Phoebe looked at the woman sadly.

"What's with that sad look in your eyes, dear?"

"Have you ever felt wanting to cry and, for some reason, you can't because you don't even know what to cry about, Ntantá?"

"Dear..."

Facing her nanny, Phoebe curled her legs as she lay in fetal position. "I'm sad and hurt and felt so deprived..."

Cynthia patted the girl's shoulder. The older woman didn't know what to do. She could feel the pain in the girl in the past days. She just couldn't ask the girl about it. "What makes you sad, dear? Tell me about it..."

Phoebe breathed heavily and gazed at her Ntantá's concerned eyes. "I..." she paused and thought if she had the confidence to disclose what she felt but she decided to tell anyway after a few seconds,"I... I am in love..."

"In love? My little girl is now falling in love? But... but why would it make you sad?" Cynthia asked, very surprised, as she brushed the girl's hair. "Is it Zarkos, dear?"

"No... it's not him..."

"Not Zarkos?"

"I'm in love with my tutor, Ntantá. I'm in love with Evandros."

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After minutes of being shocked, Cynthia finally spoke.

"Yes, it's true, that the guy is loaded with sex appeal. Do you know that the girls in the mansion would always look forward to his coming every afternoon? I didn't know he also has that effect in you..." the older woman wondered helplessly. "But Evandros is eight years older than you..." she reminded the girl.

"Yeah... that's why it's crazy, right?"

"But you can't choose who to love. Well, I do believe he is a very nice guy... a gentleman..."

"But he hurt me..." Phoebe buried her face in her pillow. "He's no longer seeing me and he even suggested that, yeah, I should go out with Zarkos."

And Phoebe told her nanny about the promise they made for each other --- to stay together until her feelings would be gone.

"Whatever it is that made him stop seeing you, I know it's all for the right reasons. Just move on, dear. I'm sure, you'll forget him eventually."

Phoebe became silent for a while.

"You know that it's just alright to cry, my dear," Cynthia told her. She observed that Phoebe had been battling herself to cry.

Phoebe sat up on the bed. "He didn't keep his promise... so he's not worth my tears..."

"Oh... Well, don't worry, you'll forget him eventually..." Cynthia reiterated, trying to console the girl.

"Yeah, I'll forget him..." Phoebe mused, trying to convince herself. "Can I have apricots now, Ntantá?"

Cynthia smiled. "Okay, I'll get some for you."

As her nanny went out of the room, Phoebe decided that she'd drown herself with apricots tonight. Perhaps, that would make her soothe her bleeding heart.

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A/N

Hi, I'm back!!!

I know it's been years. Thank you for your never-ending support in spite of my long absence. I miss you all!

Alwayz,
(sapphiregirl22) ~_^