Her Miracle

CHAPTER 12

And here I thought, I was the cheesy one. I blushed red as a tomato. Good thing it was dark and he doesn’t see it that I was blushing so bad. Here’s to more speechless moments with Titus.

What’s with me? All he knows is how miserable I am. But I know I should be thankful I gained a friend whose presence already means a lot.

From a distance, the music whirled still. The party was still going on. My brothers are really inconsiderate. I groaned out the exhaustion and frustration. We now arrived in front of the Blue house. I never came near it. But whenever I pass by this street, I never absorbed how this house was different from the others.

Maybe it’s because of the shade of it. It was cute, I admit. Maybe it just didn’t look appealing to the people. We can never please everyone. He took the first steps to the porch to get in. He led the way just like I did.

“Come in,” He motioned me to come inside, as he opened the door. 

It was really important for small towns to invite people in. It was a myth that they spread around that guests should be invited over once you’ve stepped into the household. Once you have stepped foot in someone’s humble abode without getting invited in, they call it bad luck.

I looked up to him, as I nodded and finally stepped inside.

Considering the outside was cold, the inside was the opposite. It warmed you up. The stairs greeted you and a hallway led to the dining room and living room, I think. It was a high-ceiling entrance in the foyer, with the stairs that spiraled going up. The chandelier that looked expensive with all its crystals glowed as he turned the lights on around the house.

He then made his way to the hallway and took a left.

I’m astonished to see that it was the living room that had a modern fireplace. They had white sofas and their living room was light grey. All their accents were gold and white to go with the light grey. The pool was in view since the living room had sliding doors that lead you right to it which is pretty cool. They also had carpets underneath.

He gestured to the couch. “ Go ahead, take your seat. Make yourself feel at home.”

He turned his back as he lit the fireplace. The moment the wood started to smoke, he made his way to the recliner that was at the corner not far from me. In a short while, he stood up and made his way to me.

“What’s with the accident?” He blurted out.

“Should I trust you? I mean, I did the moment I saw you.”

“I’m a person who knew you without listening to whatever this town has to say about you. You can trust a complete stranger with the things you’re dreadful for because there’s no judgment and biases. They’ll know you once you open up.”

He was right. Maybe it’d be best to talk about it. I mustered all the courage and inhaled for a second before I get this out of my chest.

“2 years ago, on the day of my birthday, October 22nd. Everything was going well and we had dinner. My 14th birthday celebration. My mom and dad, my brothers… We had dinner and in school, people greeted me even if we weren’t close. I enjoyed my day without thinking that it would end up changing my life. Everything was going well.”

“It was after dinner when my dad asked me if I wanted to finish my day with a surprise. And I was totally in. I mean, who wouldn’t want surprises? He took me out to drive around Castle Rock. My mom didn’t agree to it but we sneaked out anyway. “

The room was warmer now with the fireplace giving off heat. Burnt wood filled my nose as I continued my story.

“And dad the adventurer that he is, I thought we’d go home right after. He said let’s go to Sandy Hill. He switched seats with me, instructing me I should drive. And before you enter sandy hill, there’s a steel bridge right? We were meeting the end border of Castle Rock and the entrance of Sandy Hill. We were almost crossing the bridge when everything became blurry. My dad’s pick-up truck went haywire, driving in different directions.”

“The car tumbled over a couple of times until we hit the steel bridge. A loud bang then followed. I don’t know what that was, It was sharp and it was deafening. Maybe the car just lost control. I don't know why I did lose control. I did follow like how dad instructed me to. I’ve practiced. Dad loved his pick-up truck. He maintained it like it was his baby. I don’t know what went wrong. Everything happened so fast. I couldn’t even scream out for help.”

“I was unconscious the moment we hit the steel bridge. But I felt that the car crushed us. It didn’t feel that I was speeding up. We were enjoying the moment. For some reason, it felt like I had torn my skin in different places. The pain was incomprehensible.”

His eyes soft narrowed down at me. He stayed quiet and firm. Like he knew what exactly I needed. He draped his arm over me, pulling me close towards him. I didn’t realize no matter how I tell this story, I knew how it ends. My tears pour like it’s my first time telling it out loud. It has been my first time in a while. It will always hurt. The worst endings of all endings.

“I woke up in the hospital. With stitches everywhere. I couldn’t move. The only thing that did were my tears. They fell down as I pity my own body. I didn’t know how I looked. I also didn’t want to look at myself in the mirror. All those wounds healed physically but not emotionally and mentally in the long run.”

He caressed my back, gently rubbing it. Titus was patient. His ears were all mine as he listened to my story.

“And then I asked for my dad. Aiden, he gripped my hand like he usually does when it's those hard times. I knew something was wrong. His eyes told me a different thing. It was his eyes pleading to stop asking where’s dad. But in the end, he did find the courage to answer me. Aiden told me I’m lucky to be alive in such a critical condition. Dad flew out of the car. He didn’t have his seatbelt on.”

“Dad was dead on arrival at the hospital, he said. And I was in critical condition. I needed surgery and he didn’t explain what. I haven’t gotten out of the house for almost a year. The hospital was my best friend. My head was nowhere. I wasn’t able to understand the words that came out of the doctor's mouth. Good thing I’ve recovered. And I start going back to school. I haven’t had the courage to visit dad. Thank the heavens I’m done with therapies and all those stuff.”

“The hard part was trying to heal and seeing that you aren’t going to see your dad again. And you’re the reason why.”

My heart yearns for the love I’ve lost. The love I used to have. And now it’s gone in a blink of an eye. My chest rose up and down, everything tightened. I released a muffled cry. Titus’ fingers trail the tears that were coming.

“ You were fourteen. Those things are out of your hand. One way or another it would’ve happened if the engine was really defective.” He said as he ran his fingers through my hair.

His voice was sad and low like a whisper. “You have no control over those things. The only thing you can control is how you feel about it. You don’t have to keep suppressing everything to yourself. Sometimes you get too controlled by what people say towards you. For you to surpass it, you have to face it yourself so whenever people call you out about it, you wouldn’t care anymore.”

“I’ve been trying. It’s better if I leave town.” I answered with persistence.

“I know, it’s hard, Andy… I’m here to listen to you. Always. From this day forward. Like I said, leaving town would just give people what they want. Prove them wrong.”

“I’m not born to please people. I am doing this for me whether they’d like it or not or whatsoever their reaction was.” I continue to sob.

“Andy, shh… calm down now. You’re safe.”

I wiped my tears with my jacket. “I shouldn’t even cry. It won’t bring my dad back to life. It won’t change my life back to normal. I don’t even know if my mom’s going to have it in her heart to forgive me.”

“Be like a cockroach. Take all the time you can get and adapt. Embrace the changes. Your mom has it in her, she just prefers not to.” He says while he plays with the stands of my hair like he curled it in between his fingers. “Always be the first one to validate your feelings. It’s okay to cry. But never cry for the same reasons all over again. It’s like getting hit by a truck twice because you’re letting it run at you. Cry once and stand up stronger.”

I wiped my tears for the last time. I’ll resolve all the things that I can when I can. I don’t want to force broken things to be fixed. But what if I was the broken one and couldn’t be fixed? I’m still leaving town. I can’t find myself again in the same place I broke it.

He stood up and offered his hand, “Come with me,”

“Where are we going?” With my voice hesitant and airy.

“Just follow me…”

He always had his ways of making me feel better. But I'll give him the credit. He doesn’t fail at it.

We strode across the living room and got out the sliding door that goes to the pool.

“Holy s**t. It’s cold! Don’t tell me… oh, hell no, Titus!” I faced him who looked amused with what he was planning.

In a swift movement, he grabbed my waist and we both splurged ourselves into the pool. I thought the only insane ones were my brothers. Here is Titus too. He’s lucky I know how to swim. I would’ve drowned with the number of clothes I was wearing.

I reached back up the surface as I inhaled, coughing out the water. “You are insane, Mister!”

The pool was not that deep. I think it’s just within 5 feet to 6 feet. I could touch my toes at the bottom, making my toes freeze to death. He was taller than me so he could prefer not to tiptoe since his head was already above the water. There were lights beneath the pool which made us see clearly on the blue water.

He just chuckled at me as a response. He ran his fingers through his hair. The water was freezing. “We’re going to die of hypothermia here like Jack and Rose from Titanic…”

“What if I make you stay? Don’t leave town?”

A lump formed in my throat.