The Code of Aries ?

(36) Atlas

"Sometimes I forget that I'm the oldest brother," he complained before turning to me. "Looks like our conversation ends here, Dom. Thanks for sharing a drink with me. Next time, you should join us in one of our family outings. It would be fun."

"Thank you," I replied, and Apo patted my back before turning to Aries and pinching his cheeks. "Always so bossy," he then told him, and Aries just pushed him away as Apo finally returned to his wife.

As soon as Apo was gone, Aries looked at me while I awkwardly scratched the back of my head, unsure of what to say. I thought he was just gonna leave, but after putting the bottles down, he got closer to me and said, "Come on. I'll drive you home."

"Oh, no, it's fine. I'll just—"

"I'm not asking you," Aries replied, and I know him enough to know that when he starts acting like this, fighting with him will lead to nowhere.

"Fine, let me just say goodbye to Art and your mom," I said, and Aries sighed and nodded his head.

I went to Arthur and instantly got mobbed by his cousins, but thanks to Aries, I was able to break free from them before thanking Art for even inviting me to such an intimate gathering with his family. I also got to thank Apo and his soft-spoken wife. They were definitely a beautiful couple.

After that, we went to the dining room where Aunty Ana was. She was drinking wine with a few of her friends, which Aries mentioned were members of the Homeowners Associations.

"It was so lovely to meet you, Dom. Please, you're welcome to join us and visit anytime," Aunty Ana says, reaching out to give me a warm hug, which was such a nice feeling because it reminded me of Mama.

"Happy birthday again, Aunty. I promise when I visit, I'll bring you a gift this time," I then told her after we broke free from the hug, and Aunty laughed and gently hit my shoulder in response.

"Don't be ridiculous," she replied before turning to Aries. "Are you driving him back? You can use my car if you want. It's already parked outside," she then stated, which surprised me because I wasn't expecting her to know that Aries was driving me. Did he tell her, or does Aries just drive all his friends home like this after a party?

"Where's the keys?"

"It's inside the bowl beside the telephone."

 Aries looked at me again and said, "I'll just get the keys. You should head out and wait there."

I nodded my head and turned to Aries's mom again to give her one final goodbye. After that, I walked towards the exit like Aries asked me to, but when I was about to reach for the door, someone suddenly appeared in front of me. It was none other than the man of the house, Mr. Anthony Buan.

"Oh, hello there. A friend of Aries?" He suddenly asked, and for some reason, I instantly felt tense. His presence was just so suffocating and intimidating. I couldn't even look at him straight in the eyes.

"Uhm, I'm classmates with Arthur, but Aries is also my senior partner, so we know each other," I answered, straightening my posture while I tried my best not to look too terrified of him.

"Is that so?"

"I-I'm Domingo M. Adlawan, by the way...sir...I mean...Mr. Anthony. Also, thank you for having me in your home," I then told him, which almost made me slap myself because I definitely sounded like an idiot.

"Domingo M. Adlawan," he repeated, making me gulp this time. "You heading out to smoke?" he then asked, which was a question that I wasn't able to answer immediately because it was a question that I wasn't expecting to hear from him.