5 Mrs. Andrea Thursday, 1 August 2019 (1/2)

Just reminiscing the hard times that Apollo and his mom surpassed together gave him chills. Mrs. Rodriguez used to have nothing and had just recently succeeded in her career when her debut novel topped The New York Times Best Sellers and gained such positive and inspiring reviews in many platforms: Barnes and Noble, GoodReads, BookBub, Amazon, OnlineBookClub, and Google Books. Apollo hasn't read the book because he wasn't into reading. He felt that he hasn't been a good son; he depended on her mom too much, but her mom was never able to depend on him. How sad and embarrassing. He thought. And I referred to myself as a man? I should make it up to her. I have never felt so guilty in my life and now that she's in danger, I won't forgive myself if something bad happens to her. Please be okay, mom. Give me a chance to make it up to you. I'll be a man.

Betha's transformation didn't freak Apollo as much as it did the first time, but he cringed. Gab's reaction was more of amazement rather than the tiny bit of disgust Apollo was feeling towards the sight of an old wrinkly witch-looking woman. Bethany was standing in between the two guys. The process was the same; fluttering sound, heavy wind, long black hair evolved to silver, from such beautiful face to…would I ever be able to live with this? Apollo thought. Bethany wailed and interrupted his thoughts. He and Gab had to cover their ears and when it was over, Apollo felt a heavy weight in his heart like he was going to die of tension. He didn't want any harm to happen to his mom. Betha's shrieking was like an early warning for Luke who was saved from a heart attack. Maybe this is the same. Maybe it's not a curse. It's probably a gift. It's a warning of near death but it doesn't have to happen. More than the hope that Apollo was feeling, there was fear.

Betha was back to her human form but instead of being relieved, she was in distress. She turned to Gab and asked, ”This is my neighborhood and that over there is my house.” She pointed at the direction of her place.

”Betha, we haven't told you this, but this is actually Apollo's house. He's your neighbor. And he lives with his mom.” He explained in a sad tone.

Betha covered her mouth in disbelief. She looked at Apollo with sympathy and her eyes looked like she was asking for forgiveness. Apollo's body felt numb and was sure to die if something happened to his mom. He wouldn't know how to deal with it.

He opened the door. ”Mom!” It almost made him crazy just to call for his mom. Please be alright. Please be alright. ”Mom, where are you?” Mrs. Rodriguez wasn't in the kitchen or anywhere downstairs and her room was also empty. ”Mom!”

”Apollo? I'm here, dear!” Apollo was in his mom's room checking the bathroom when he heard her voice. His heartbeat quadrupled but he's never been so happy to hear his mom's voice.

”Mom!” Apollo hugged Mrs. Rodriguez upon seeing her resting on his bean bag. He forced his tears back.

”Oh dear. What's the matter? Did something happen?”

”I saw a lot of missed calls, mom. I thought there was an emergency or something. I thought something bad happened to you.”

”Well we do have an emergency.” Her eyes shifted to a dog. Apollo hadn't notice her petting a dog that was lying right beside his bean bag.

”Whose dog is this?”

”I have no idea. He was so weak, lying by our doorsteps. I let him in and called almost everyone from our neighborhood, but he was nobody's dog. Then the next thing I know, he managed to come up here in your room and he was too heavy for me to lift which is why I have been calling you. We need to take him to the vet.”

The dog was huge. It was the biggest that Apollo had ever seen. He then realized that Gab and Betha were downstairs, not having any idea about what's happening. ”Mom, I'm with Gab and another friend. They're downstairs. I'll call them up to help us with the dog.”

He rushed downstairs and sat, breathing heavily on the cerulean timber fiber sofa. ”Betha, I think it wasn't my mom you were wailing for. It was a dog.” She and Gab were situated quietly, fronting each other, both looking comfortable on the briar chairs with the same color as the sofa. The expression on their faces showed relief.

”Oh yeah. That's why the feeling was a bit different this time.” She answered. ”Now that you have confirmed another living presence in the house aside from your mom, I'm positive that your mom isn't the one who's life is in danger. I'm sorry I forgot to tell you both that my Banshee ability can sense any living thing inside the house approximately 5 kilometers away.”

”I'm glad that's the case, Betha. But I do want to make sure the dog is safe.” Apollo responded.

”Since when did you have a dog?” Gab asked, confused.

”I'll explain later.”

”Should we go upstairs now to help Andrea with the dog? She must've been so worried about it.” Gab commented, as if he's the man of the house.

Apollo rolled his eyes. ”Andrea?”

”Sorry. I meant your mom.” He tilted his head and awkwardly brushed his hair with his hands. Betha didn't quite get why he would call Apollo's mom by her first name, but she looked amused over it.