Chapter 16: Status: Getting Really Complicated

Just when Faith has finally realized something that would help her solve her problems, a turn of events unfortunately makes her life a lot more complicated than before.

Recap from Chapter 13:

Why can’t he just leave me alone. I’m happy with David. I tried to convince myself, but memories of him were really persistent. So I decided to just give up and let myself think about him.

Just this one song… I’m really sorry David. I closed my eyes, a tear falling from them as memories of my unbeatable best day all came back to me.

Chapter 16: Status: Getting Really Complicated

AFTERbreakup

                Tears were still racing from my eyes even after memories of Steve left me. It was a good thing though that my face was buried on David’s wide chest for it had successfully hidden me who was already soaked with tears.

I smiled bitterly when a painful realization hit me to the gut. The reason why I couldn’t move on, if my heart really did try, was that I was still flooded with hauntingly beautiful memories of me and him together.  I bet that anyone who had witnessed the things that we went through could say that, yes, maybe there was really something serious and special between us. Maybe that’s the reason why my heart was still hoping that he’d come back for me, that he’d finally realize how much I mean to him. But it’s sad to think that a whole month had already gone by without him showing me any sign that he regretted the decision. I knew that this should wake me up already from my delusions.  So I decided that for me to do it right the second time, I must first convince my heart and my mind to erase him from my entire being, since I know that when that time comes, moving on becomes the next natural step.

                I wiped the tears swiftly but discreetly, and tried to put on an easy smile when I realized that the song was about to end. And as the music faded to silence, David stopped our bodies from swaying to the song’s soft beat. He then moved me a little away from him and stared at my brown eyes. My heart thumped loudly inside my chest when an idea that he might have read right through me crossed my mind. However, his eyes sparkled in a snap and his lips curved into a smile telling me that he was feeling like the luckiest person in the world that night. I bit my lower lip as guilt started to spread within me like fire. If he knew that I was thinking about another man while I was in his arms, he’d surely be disgusted. As the thought sank in, I placed my hands again on his shoulders.

                “Let’s dance one more time. To a different song,” I blurted. My voice was panicking. The guilt was obviously taking its toll on me.

                “Did you like dancing with me that much?” David answered as he chuckled. I forced a smile to hide my anxiety. I just signaled to the waiter to play any music that we could dance to. But as the song started playing, David was still standing, motionless.

                “We can’t dance anymore,” he started. My face showed the confusion that I was feeling. He glanced at his wrist watch, and looked back at me.

                “I don’t want to take the risk. We have to go now so that we’ll arrive in time. I don’t want your father to think that I’m bad for you,” he continued shyly.

                “But -” I said but he cut me off.

                “No buts, ‘kay?” With that, he held my right hand. His was big and warm making me shiver. But his warmth unexpectedly calmed my nerves. He guided me to my chair and made me sit on it. He then walked towards his own and smiled and nodded at one of the waiters. I then felt the cottage starting to move.

                “What’s happening?” I asked in fear.

                “We’re going back to the shore,” he replied nonchalantly.

                “We won’t ride the canoe again?” Yeah, I know it was obvious, but I just had to ask it.

                “Not anymore. Oh, on second thought, we can if you want to,” he responded.

                “No, it’s okay, a moving cottage is also cool,” I said, grinning. He grinned back.

                We sat in silence as the cottage moved faster and faster with each minute passing. However, the silence wasn’t like the one we just had during the ride to the cottage. This one was uncomfortable and full of tension. I tried to think of a reason why it felt that way, but all I could think of was my weird panic moment a while ago which was already resolved by David. I decided to focus my eyes on just anything but him. I stared at the waiter, but only for a while since I sensed that I was starting to creep him out. He must have thought that I was into him. So I looked at the rose petals on the floor instead. I started counting them but it was just like counting sheep. It made me drowsy. Add to that the cold wind which was playing with my hair.  But before my eyes started closing, I heard David clear his throat, so I jerked back and threw a questioning look at him.

                He was wearing a nervous smile and his face looked stressed. He hesitantly stood up and dragged his chair towards my direction. Stopping in front of me, he sat down, so we were facing each other.

                “What’s up?” I sounded casual but my heart was already throwing a fit inside my chest. For some unknown reason, I was getting all nervous.

                He reached out his hand and tucked a few strands of my hair behind my right ear. His eyes never left mine, and I swore they brightened with intensity. Love was obviously peeking out of the windows of his soul.

                “I’m sorry if I couldn’t contain myself anymore.” His words didn’t seem to faze his intent gaze. He paused for a while before he continued.

                “Do you think I-I’ve earned m-myself a c-chance?” he said, stuttering. It was obvious that he chose his words carefully.

                However, the question still caught me off-guard. I had forgotten the reason why we were even doing this. I knew that my realization just moments ago had already given me the answer, but still I couldn’t say anything. I shifted on my seat as I thought of the right words to say. Dragging seconds passed but I still hadn’t mumbled even a single word. But when I finally opened my mouth to find my voice, David interrupted my unspoken words.

                “You don’t have to answer it right now. I can still wait,” he muttered rapidly, his voice panicking. But despite the meaning of his words, his face looked dejected and sad.

                Looking at his face tempted me to say “Yes” just so that I would erase the look that he was wearing. But I knew that if I’d do that, I wouldn’t only be living in a lie, but at the same time I’d be hurting him every single day that we’re together, for who was I kidding? I still hadn’t moved on and I just realized that I hadn’t really done a lot of effort to forget Steve. I bit my tongue to stop myself from saying something I would definitely regret in the long run so I just nodded.

                The docking of the cottage saved us both from more awkwardness. Few masculine men placed a plank to connect the cottage to the dock. The distance between the two was about a meter and a half. David crossed first and when he was on the other side, he offered his hand, but I knew he hesitated a little back there. I accepted his help and succeeded in crossing the distance without tripping. He let go of my hand as we walked towards his car. The tension was still hanging thick around us. I walked slowly behind him, my head spinning with thoughts. My desire to make things normal between us made me blurt out something I instantly regretted.

                “You won’t start avoiding me again, right?” I joked. But when I realized that it was the most awkward question to ask him at that moment, I mentally scolded myself for choosing the wrong time to be dumb. The move obviously exacerbated the situation. I literally pounded my head with my fist while I grumbled to myself.

                David stopped in front of me and looked behind only to catch me doing my usual stupid childish moves. He smiled, looking amused.

                “Of course not,” David answered after a few seconds and tried his hardest to smile. But a tint of sadness in his tone betrayed him. I decided to ignore it to avoid fueling the fire.

                When we were in his car, we talked about casual things like how I love school and our favorites. David started smiling genuinely when we were halfway from home. The atmosphere inside the car started to feel comfortable. Few more minutes passed until he stopped his car in front of my house. He was about to get out when I held his wrist to stop him.

                “You don’t have to get out,” I said, smiling.

                “Why? I told your dad that I’ll take care of you. What if a wild dog appears from nowhere and runs after you?” He chuckled at his last sentence.

                “Very funny. But really, I can handle myself. It’ll only be ten to fifteen steps from here,” I argued.

                “Of course you can, but I need to report formally to your dad,” he said seriously.

                “You make him sound like a military official,” I grinned.

                “He isn’t?” He faked horror. I giggled.

                “Why won’t you let me walk you home?” he inquired as he looked at his wrist watch again.

                I looked at my own before answering him. It was already 10:30.

                “Well, honestly, if you’ll send me home before the agreed time, he won’t talk to you. He likes to look for flaws so he’ll only show his face when he sees that it’s already 11:01 and I’m not yet home. So going in will only waste your time,” I explained.

                “Your dad’s amusing,” he smiled.

                “I know. He’s too cute,” I agreed.

                “So I guess we’ll say our goodbyes here?” he said.

                “Yeah. I think that would be fitting. Well, thank you for such a lovely night,” I said while giving him my most heartfelt smile.

                “No, I should be the one to thank you. You made me the happiest man when you said yes to going out with me even just for one date,” he told me soulfully but his gaze shifted showing that he was getting embarrassed.

                I grinned and leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek to show my appreciation, but he also chose that time to look back at me. My lips touched his for a moment, and I was too shocked to even move away. We stayed in that position for a few more seconds before I realized what just happened. I moved swiftly away from him, pursing my lips and touching them with my fingers. David blushed bright red when he finally took in what just happened. We stared for another few seconds with eyes wide open. When I was finally able to move my body, I shifted my eyes away from him. My heart was hammering so loud inside my chest. My breaths were heavy.

                “T-thank you again, oh and g-good night!” I mumbled rapidly, stuttering at some of my words. I opened the car’s door and swiftly slipped out of it without looking at him. But before the door closed on him, four words escaped the tiny space between the door and the body of the car.

                “I love you Faith,” he said softly but loud enough for me to hear. My head looked back at him, but he was already igniting the car’s engine. I just stared as his car disappeared from my line of vision.

                Few minutes have already passed, but I was still standing there. My heart was still beating fast and breaths were uneven. The only thing that reminded me to think again was the sound of a person walking towards me behind my back.

                “Dad, I’ve been here since -“ I started to explain while I turned towards the person. But my eyes felt like they were about to bulge out of their orbits when I saw who it was.

                There standing wasn’t my dad. It was Steve who was staring a few feet away from me. He was wearing his usual pair of jeans and a gray colored cardigan that made him look hot. But a scowl was plastered on his face, and if I didn’t know better, I could’ve sworn that it was jealousy that burned in his eyes.

Author's Note

Okay, I have to raise some points here.
First, I've decided to shorten my chapters to their original length, so the total number of chapters might increase.
Second, when I started writing this, I had the famous Writer's block, so I know that there are a lot of parts (specially in the beginning) that felt like they're forced.
Third, I wasn't really able to proofread this, so please point out errors when it comes to grammar, spelling and whatnot.
And fourth, please be brutally honest! Thank you. Haha.

Reviews

[CrimsonBlaze]

I didnt read the whole entire story, I just skipped to this instead. Honestly, you got me hooked up and I'm totally going to rewind myself into the first chapter :). When it comes to grammar, I think you did fine.( But take advice from others because MY teacher specifically told me in a conference that I need to proofread more for grammatical errors. ) As for spelling, all of them ( to my eyes) were spelled right. Keep on writing ;D !!

[No name]

It was a great write and the only problem was I think in the 27 line/paragraph you said Steve instead of David but overall great write.