Chapter 16: Wake-Up Call
“What are you doing here?” Kathline remarks with a hint of anger in her voice.
The people that were happily talking a while ago seem to be non-existent now. Silence engulfed all of them.
Clarence excused himself and walked towards Kathline.
“Why? Am I not allowed to be here?”
With the smile on his face, Kathline wants to erase it.
‘How could you smile like that? How could you be happy when someone is still stuck in the past and can’t move forward? As if you didn’t feel any pain at all.’
Those are the questions Kathline wants to ask the whole time. But she never dared to do so. She doesn't have the courage.
‘How can you date different girls in front of me and be sweet to them, when I on the other hand didn’t even receive a single reason the time you broke up with me?’
‘How?’
‘Am I not worth it?’
‘I don't even date any man again after we break up because I'm afraid. I'm afraid what you've done to me will happen again.'
Tears were rolling down Kathline’s face while she’s staring at Clarence. Kathline didn’t realize she was crying because she’s too engrossed in her thoughts.
The smile on Clarence's face fades away the time he sees those tears.
Pain.
Hatred and bitterness.
Longing.
Broken heart.
Love.
and Sacrifice.
Their eyes mirror the emotions they have been feeling towards each other.
Clarence moves his hands to wipe away her tears, but she steps back to avoid it.
“Don’t touch me.”
Her eyes that were full of hatred faced him. It would be a lie if he would say he is not hurting at all. Because it fucking hurts.
Kathline doesn’t wish to see him any longer. She steps back and turns around.
Clarence can’t withstand it anymore. He followed her and hugged her from behind.
“Please Kath… don’t be like this please?”
The tears she thought dried up a long time ago, were flowing like rivers today. She forcefully removes his arms that are hugging her waist.
“I said don’t touch me! I can’t stand your presence. Don’t you know that? Or are you just pretending to mess up my life?
Aren’t you tired of this setup? Because I… I was too tired of it. Didn’t we break up a long time ago? Then why are you doing this?”
“I hate you! I hate you! I hate you…” Kathline keeps repeating those words while crying and at the same time punching Clarence’s chest. Clarence chose to remain silent and let her hit him. When he felt her punch slow down, he pulled her into a hug.
Kathline hates Clarence not because they break up with her not knowing what the reason is, but because after all this time he could still shake her feelings. With him doing these things made her waver for him.
They were already far from the people earlier. Kathline pushes him away and wipes her tears.
She picks up a stick that she found on the ground.
Knowing how violent sometimes Kathline is, Clarence unknowingly steps back.
“Touch me again and this stick will surely hit your body.”
Clarence looks at her face and he knows that she’s serious. She made up her mind and she will surely do it.
“Kath put down that stick.”
“I won’t, not unless you leave.”
“Aunt Lianne invited me to this dinner. How could I turn it down?”
Clarence attempts to snatch the stick while Kathline was focused on other things, but they end up falling to the ground.
The worst part was the sprinkler suddenly turned on, which made both of them wet with water. At the same time, that part of the garden was under renovation. Since the sprinkler was turned on, the soil and water came into contact that made their clothes covered in mud.
They quickly stand up.
Kathline took a bath a moment ago but look at her now. She picked up the sticks again.
“If you still value your life, leave or I will hit you!”
Clarence runs but he would never leave. “I said I won’t leave! Not until you talk to me properly.”
“We have nothing to talk about.”
As Kathline chases him again, he runs toward the gate wherein he stumbled again. What a messy and pathetic life he had.
[End of flashbacks]
That’s what happened before Zachary and Celestine arrived.
***
Celestine didn’t know how to react after listening to that. She chose to remain silent and hug Kathline.
“I only have a rough idea of your relationship so I don’t want to say something reckless. Just remember that we are here – your family and friends – to listen and comfort you. Don’t do anything that you might regret later on.”
“Thank you.”
“Shall we head downstairs? Locking yourself here doesn’t make you any better.”
Kathline only nodded. As soon as they reach the ground floor, she speaks to Celestine.
“You should head back first, I'm just going to talk to Mom.”
“Oh, sure. Auntie was worried about you.”
They part ways, Celestine goes back to the living room first. Zachary doesn’t know what they talked about but it seems serious. Looking at how Celestine lost in her thoughts, he wondered what it was.
“Where’s Kathline?”
“Ah… eh?”
If Zachary didn’t ask a question, Celestine didn’t even realize that she was too engrossed in her thoughts and that she’s already in the living room, sitting beside him.
Zachary raised his right eyebrow.
She awkwardly smiled at him. “Kath went to Aunt Lianne, she said she would talk to her about something. Why do you ask?”
“It’s nothing. I guess she’s alright, but on the other side… you’re the one who doesn’t look fine right now.”
Who would be alright after what Kathline said to her?
“Do you think there’s a possibility that Clarence and Kath get along together again?”
Zachary shrugged his shoulders. “Only the both of them can answer that question. But who knows? Something might happen for them to make up with each other.”
He has a point. Celestine could only wish for them to be better. They’ve been hurting each other for quite some time and only the truth will set their heart free.
Zachary rested his head on the sofa and closed his eyes. Celestine, on the other hand, gets a book in her bag and starts reading it.
***
While in a guest room…
Veronica’s face was so serious while waiting for her brother to finish changing his clothes.
She looked in the direction of the washroom when she heard the sound of the door opening.
“What a mess,” Veronica commented as soon as she saw his face. He looks devastated.
Clarence asked in a low voice, “How… how is she?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she’s also a mess like you, brother.”
She still didn’t see Kathline as she’s waiting for him all this time. She wants to comfort Clarence and at the same time, she wants to punch him for being a jerk.
“Remember that you still owe us an explanation. Neither of you two gives a proper explanation. What do you want us to do? Guess all the time?” Veronica wants to shout at him. She’s frustrated with them.
Clarence only looked down. He didn’t say anything.
Veronica’s voice crack, “Brother, it’s been two years. Are you still gonna leave us all hanging? Isn’t it about time to tell us the reason and let go of all of the painful things?”
Looking at his sister who was on the verge of crying. He spoke. “I… I don’t know Nics.”
Clarence stands up. He chose to leave the room… to leave everything, again.
Upon leaving the house, he bumped into Aunt Lianne.
At that moment, he wants to let go of the pain. He decided to take a sudden U-turn. A U-turn that will change his life. This time he wants to drop everything.
“Aunt Lianne… can we talk?” he finally wants to take a step forward.
As if what happened today is like a wake-up call for him. He grasps some hope and strength.
Aunt Lianne and Clarence went to the balcony. There are only two of them.
“What do you want to talk about?” She felt that it wasn’t a simple talk. She never saw him so gloomy and devastated aside from when he and Kath broke up.
“I want to confess something… this happened two years ago.”