Torn Between Twin Brothers

"Do you like James as a big brother, or do you have some other kind of feelings for him? Let's say, a crush. Do you think he would be a good boyfriend someday, or husband maybe?" There she finally said it. Ashley was hoping that Ava's answer was the one she was looking for.

"I'm sorry, aunty, but I'm not really sure how to answer your question. I know I like him but as a big brother. But as a crush, I'm not sure. I'm still a teenager and don't know what is what. I hope you understand what I mean." Ava answered to the best of her abilities.

"Sure, sure, it's fine. I completely understand. I was just curious and being nosy." Ashley said, reassuring her. 

After explaining to Ava and also learning how the young girl feels about her son, Ashley was overjoyed and couldn't wait to call her husband before they took off. She quickly excused herself and went back to where she was sitting before and dialed Tanaga's number.

Tanaga: [Hi, sweetheart, you're not in the air yet? If I knew that, I would have come to see you off.]

Ashley: [It's alright, we're about to take off anyway. This is going to be a short call; I just want to tell you a piece of good news.]

Tanaga: [Oh? What is it? Are you pregnant?]Tanaga bantered over the phone while Ashley could hear laughter.

Ashley: [Yeah, right! Anyway, I was just speaking with Ava because I noticed that she was sad when she found out that James was not with us. And guess what?"] 

Tanaga: [WHAT? Don't stop like that; you're going to give me a heart attack.] He let out a heavy sigh.

Ashley: [The girl is infatuated with James. And I think your son also likes her, doesn't it sound great? If they end up liking each other while they're in college, after college, they can get married right away. Right?] She was anxious to hear what her husband had to say.

Tanaga: [Hmm, it's not bad, but we have a problem. Because James had made me a promise back when he was 8 years old that he would never take her back from Ashton.] He blurted it out, not realizing that his wife had no idea about his agreement with James.

Ashley: [What do you mean he would never take her back from Ashton? Clarify that!] She was now upset because her husband never told her what James had promised, and the deal was that Ava was now betrothed to Ashton.

Luckily, the Captain of the Jet had made an announcement that they would be taking off in a minute and that she needed to turn off her phone. So Ashley could do nothing but bid Tanaga goodbye with the promise that they would talk as soon as they were up in the sky.

===

Once they were up flying above the sky and they were allowed to make calls, Ashley swiftly called Tanaga to find out what was going on. However, Tanaga was pretty smart, knowing his wife would call right back, so he called for a meeting, ensuring he had a valid excuse when he didn't pick up the call.

Ashley was incredibly frustrated by the time they landed. As soon as they were clear, she called Tanaga once again, this time on facetime, so she could show him how upset she was at that moment. Unfortunately, Tanaga still didn't pick up her call. Smoke was now coming out of her nostrils, and she was ready to just bid the children goodbye and head straight back to Japan.

It's a good thing that Ava saw her features as she was cursing Tanaga in her mind, "Aunty, are you ready? They're waiting for us." She said sweetly while helping Ashley with some of her personal belongings.

Ashley could do nothing but get up and let Ava help her descend to the tarmac where a vehicle from the Royal Resorts was waiting. A smile showed on her face when she saw her older brother on the way up to meet her. Probably to help her with her belongings.

Right behind Arman was James following him going up the stairs. Ava didn't see him because she was busy holding Ashley, ensuring she didn't trip and fall as they went down the stairs. Finally, halfway down the stairs, Arman and James reached them.

Arman helped Ashley, so Ava could let go of her hand. James reached out for Ava's hand to help her, but she ignored it and continued on descending. There was nothing he could do but walk down side by side with Ava. 

===

Everyone was already inside the bus, waiting for just the four of them. All their luggage was already loaded, and they were ready to go whenever they boarded.

James was trying to help Ava with some of her belongings, but she also declined and continued walking as fast as she could and boarded the bus. She went ahead of Ashley and Arman, so James couldn't say anything, afraid his mother would notice Ava was ignoring him.

Once they were inside the bus, James looked where Ava was sitting. But, when he saw that she picked a seat at the far end of the bus away from everyone, he hesitated if he should purposely go there, for it would be too obvious for everyone to see. So, in the end, he ended up sitting by himself at the front.

The drive was less than 30 minutes, but it was the longest time James had to endure as he waited for a chance to speak to Ava. He was at a loss as to why she would be upset at him when she was the one who didn't want to be bothered during the holiday.

He had made plans to visit her in the Philippines during the holidays, but things had changed since she didn't want to have anything to do with everyone, so he decided to accept Prince Edward's invitation.

Therefore, it was her doing and not his. Now, she was acting as if it were his fault, and that irritated him the most. He didn't have the patience to play her games. He couldn't wait until they arrived at the resort so they could have a serious talk.

===

James was in deep thought about approaching Ava later when they arrived at the resort, while Ava was also thinking of avoiding him at all costs. Her pride was hurt, and with her young heart that didn't understand, all she could do was to avoid him if she could help it.

She had been thinking of Ashley's question, and she herself didn't know how she truly felt. She had been racking her brain trying to find the answer, but she came up with nothing. However, ever since she laid eyes on James, she had been mesmerized already, and when she found out that he was the big brother that had been playing video games with her all these years, she was very happy.

However, she was unsure what the happiness she had been feeling was all about. Was it because she liked him as an older brother, or was it because she had a crush on him? That's what she wanted to know too.

She remembers that although they had identical features when she met Ashton, she never felt the same closeness with him as she did with James. She could easily tell who was who, and she could feel deep inside of her that she preferred to be around James than Ashton. What did it mean?

She was still in deep thought when the bus arrived at the resort, and Arman announced it to everyone. She was suddenly jerked into reality, and then she slowly gathered her belongings.

===

James let everyone descend ahead and waited for Ava. Unknown to him that she was waiting for him to leave before she planned to make her move to get out of the bus. Both of them were waiting for each other, but for very different reasons.

When everyone was out of the bus and Ava still wasn't making a move, James found his courage to approach her. They couldn't stay inside the bus forever, and everyone was waiting for them outside. He didn't want to attract any attention, so he briskly went towards the end of the bus.

"I don't know what you're waiting for, but we need to get off the bus so the driver can go." He grumpily said with his brows almost colliding with each other as he started taking her belongings before ushering her out of the bus.

"It's alright! I can carry my own stuff; you don't need to help me or wait for me. You can go ahead." She complained while trying to take her things back from his grasp.

"I know that! You don't have to remind me. I stayed because I'm waiting for you, so let's go!" He growled at her, half pushing her out of the bus.

Ava's face turned sad, and she looked as if she was about to cry. She couldn't understand why he was mean to her; all she wanted was to be left alone. Couldn't he know that? She almost blurted it out to his face. It was a good thing that they were visible already to those already outside the bus. She just shut her mouth and let him guide her.

===

"There you are! I thought we had left you at the airport because you were taking such a long time, and you haven't come out yet." Arman bantered as the two stepped out of the bus.

Akira came to Ava's side and put her arms around her shoulder, "Sis, what's going on with you and my older brother? Is he being a jerk? Don't worry; mom is here. She can straighten him out." She proudly said in a whisper. 

Ashley was curious as to what was going on with his son and Ava. It seemed that they had some kind of misunderstanding from the look on their faces.. She will need to find out and take care of them before she leaves.