Loving You Too Long

Haisley sprinted from her classroom, glancing at her watch. She was over ten minutes past the time she had promised. All of this was because Mr. Flitwick had detained their class with a task that wasn’t important, while Haisley was already pressed for time because today she and Gilbert, along with their friends, were going on vacation as they had planned. She opened her locker in haste, swapping her book-filled bag for a tote bag containing her skincare routine essentials that she would carry during the trip. She didn’t worry about her outfit since her backpack would undoubtedly be carried by Gilbert.

Haisley grabbed her phone and tried to contact Gilbert while running back to the parking lot, where Gilbert and their friends had promised to wait for her with the rented minibus. But after trying three times, her calls failed each time, as it seemed he was busy making calls to someone else.

Upon reaching the parking lot, Haisley looked around anxiously. There was no minibus waiting for her; instead, there was a large bus towering as the only significant vehicle in the area. She tried calling Gilbert again, and thankfully this time her call went through. “G, I’m sorry I’m late. You didn’t leave without me, did you?” she asked, panicked.

“Nah, of course not, Princess. Where are you?” Gilbert asked casually.

“I’m in the parking lot. You said you would wait for me here. Where are you?”

“I see you, Princess,” Gilbert’s voice came along with someone tapping on her shoulder. Haisley turned and saw Gilbert grinning mischievously at her, and to her surprise, Loretta, looking as beautiful as ever, stood right beside Gilbert with her characteristic smile.

“Hey, M,” the girl greeted cheerfully as always. “You don’t mind if I join the group, do you?” she asked in her mother’s language. Haisley looked at Gilbert, confused, who simply shrugged nonchalantly.

“Come on, everyone’s already waiting. We don’t want to miss the sunset,” Gilbert said, mimicking Loretta’s call.

While Haisley continued to look around for the car they would be using, Gilbert leisurely made his way to the bus, which hadn’t moved yet.

“G?” she asked, puzzled.

“Someone sponsored our trip this time, Princess,” he replied casually. “Although there are conditions, but it’s not good to refuse a stroke of luck,” he continued, and immediately, the bus door opened automatically. “Welcome to the luxurious bus, Princess,” Gilbert said with his exaggerated style, while boarding the bus backward. Loretta linked her arm through his enthusiastically.

“Nathan rented this bus for us,” she said, pulling Haisley inside. Haisley was utterly surprised when she saw the inside of the bus. This was the first time she had seen a vehicle transformed into a luxurious living room.

Sure, here is the translated text in American English:

“Yeah, this is not just an ordinary bus. More precisely, Haisley called it a mobile home. Because the bus has been modified in such a way that it has sofas, beds, a kitchen, and even a toilet inside. Okay, he was indeed amazed, considering that cars like this are extremely rare, or maybe they don’t even exist in his home country. Gilbert’s friends who are going on this trip wave at him simultaneously. The happiness reflected on their faces instantly infects Haisley. Steven, who was the first to approach him, warmly hugged his shoulders.

“I didn’t expect that Gilbert’s brother is sponsoring all of this. Meanwhile, Gilbert and I were almost about to rent a van for ourselves,” the man said with a joyful voice he couldn’t contain. Haisley turned his head to Gilbert, who was sitting on a black velvet sofa in front of him, and the man just shrugged in response to his question.

“Alright, driver, it’s time to go!” shouted Gilbert and his friends. Loretta, who knows when she sat down on the sofa in front of Gilbert, joined in enthusiastically.

They spent the three-hour journey doing various things. Sharing stories, joking, singing, and some even fell asleep and were teased by Gilbert’s other friends.

Less than four hours later, they arrived at Crumplehorn, just north of the village they were heading to. From here, they would walk along small roads for about half a mile. One of Gilbert’s friends acted as their guide.

They stood in front of a souvenir shop painted in white and waited for Gilbert’s friend to go in and meet the owner. Afterward, they were taken to a two-story cottage, the house where they would stay tonight, because the next day they would set up tents on one of the beaches after getting permission from the local elders and making sure the weather was good.

Loretta, Haisley, and two other female friends of Gilbert chose to stay in the upstairs room, while the rest of the men, including Gilbert, chose to stay in the downstairs room and part of the living room.”

After cleaning up, they finally decided to find food at a restaurant near the harbor. Haisley, who was a seafood enthusiast, readily agreed when Gilbert ordered a large portion of seafood for her. When it came to food, she never refused as long as it tasted good.

Enjoying their meal accompanied by the sea breeze and the beautiful sunset was a pleasure in itself for them. For a moment, they shifted their view from the city’s hustle and bustle to the lively atmosphere of fishing boats. The lights and large sails that usually filled the streets now became a view of the sea, along with the lush green grass on the hills, truly a natural beauty. If only Haisley liked water, she would probably have loved to stay there. Unfortunately, among the many things she liked, water was the only thing she didn’t.

In the evening, they gathered in the large cottage room. The cold sea breeze forced them to light a fire. Steven handed her a mug of hot chocolate and chose to sit on her right side. Gilbert, on the other hand, sat contentedly on her left, holding a can of beer he had bought at the fisherman’s store that afternoon. He said it was to warm their bodies while sharing stories.

And indeed, throughout the night, there were always things they could talk about until Haisley couldn’t remember exactly when she fell asleep in Gilbert’s embrace.

Nathan entered the dimly lit cottage. The fire in the fireplace had started to die out. The teenagers were sleeping in somewhat peculiar positions in his view. Not peculiar in a negative sense because they were all fully clothed. It was just their positions that seemed quite amusing to him. Three of them slept on sofas surrounding the center of the thick carpeted floor. Some were still neatly lying down, while others hugged the back of the sofa with their blankets falling to the floor. The rest slept on the carpet, embracing each other as if cuddling with a pillow, their blankets in similar disarray. Some blankets were still wrapped around their bodies, while others had managed to kick them quite far away.

And what surprised him was that the only woman among the group of teenagers lying unconscious there was Haisley. Yes, the little girl who always messes with his mind. The petite girl seemed to be sleeping comfortably in the man’s arms. Who else, if not his younger brother, Gilbert? And the two seem comfortable with each other.

If he were currently a cartoon character, fire would appear above his head, and smoke would be billowing out of his ears. He walked quite quickly towards Gilbert. Pulling the blanket covering both bodies made Haisley curl up even more tightly into Gilbert’s arms and overflowed Nathan’s emotions.

Furiously, he tried to break free from Haisley’s tiny arms around Gilbert’s waist. He felt the girl’s rejection, but he didn’t just give up. He slowly moved his arm around her neck, then put his arm around the bottom of the girl’s knees and stood up, taking Haisley in his arms.

How could a little rabbit like her not be afraid of being among a pack of tigers like Gilbert and his friends?

Nathan took the girl to one of the rooms, which he was sure was empty, considering the men were all sleeping in the living room. Yes, he had counted the young men lying helpless, and the count was certain. After laying Haisley’s body on the bed, Nathaniel returned to the door and locked it from the inside. Slowly, he removed his coat, placed it carelessly on the bed, and lay beside the tiny body still sleeping.

The light from outside the window covered with curtains was the only light in the room. However, that didn’t prevent Nathan from seeing Haisley’s beautiful sleeping face. As usual, he grabbed a lock of Haisley’s hair, blocking her face and put it behind the girl’s ear. With her head propped on his arm, Nathan looked at Haisley’s face, tracing part by part of that beautiful face with his eyes. The drowsiness he had been holding in started weakening him until he finally fell asleep with his arms embracing the small body.