A Tear Drop

Chapter 02

Clarissa's POV

We were passing the brightly light Town Square, this was the time when it was the busiest. I easily slipped into a time track. It has being almost 10 years that I am here, time sure does fly. It has being 10 years since I ran away from home, 10 years since I decided to leave everyone and everything I loved behind, 10 years since I gave up on what I really want.

Don’t get me wrong, I was happy back at home, my life was perfect. I had the best family one could ask for. Both my parents are surgeons, now retired and enjoying their lives while helping the need with free consultations. My brother; where can I even begin to explain how much he means to me, is my whole world to me, since childhood we were inseparable, but now, I am here and he is there. A tear escaped my eye, and I quickly brushed it away. I miss home, that’s a given;

 But;

I am happy here, I mean I am a famous model who has her own line of clothing and shops almost around the country and I am dating an engineer and a singer who happens to be a multimillionaire and I have got my dream job as the Assistant Editor in Chief in Elle what more can I ask for? At least that’s what I keep trying to say. 

If one asks me what am I hiding from, I wouldn't know because for the past 10 years all I have done was argue with myself in finding the answer for that question.

 FLASHBACK

There was so much of fire, it was everywhere, licking everything up within its near proximity, consuming everything visible and invisible. The air was so thick with smoke that I couldn’t even see my fingers in front of my eyes. Wait, what am I doing here? I frowned, looking around, I tried to figure out where I was. I looked down at myself and nearly gasped in shock, why do I have feet of a small child, I brought my hands up to my face and saw that my hands were so small. 

Unconsciously I touched my face and felt wet, “what the hell! Why am I crying?” I frowned.

I looked up and saw the air clearing, but what made me shout out in pain was something else. 

There right in front of me stood a man and a heavily pregnant woman; hugging each other while looking at me with the saddest face ever. I was crying so hard that I felt my heart would rip out in pain.

 “NO!!!” I screamed and thrashed, “NO!! DON’T LEAVE ME!” I started to run towards them but I was held back by a strong pair of arms. “NO! LET ME GO! LET ME GO TO THEM!”

I was still struggling to go to them when I heard a distant yet oddly familiar sound, my eyes suddenly flew open. I was breathing profusely trying to adjust to the surrounding, I looked up and saw the starry blue ceiling of my room. Groaning and clutching my head I slowly sat up and with a weak hand I silenced my alarm. 

My throat was parched and my top was glued to my body, “urgh! I have been sweating like s**t! Yuck!” I looked at the clock, “darn it’s almost 5.30”

Throwing the bed sheets away I grudgingly stood up and grabbed my jogging kit. Yawning, I stepped out into the cold October dawn. Do I mind it being cold? Heck no, in fact this is my favourite season of the year; the fall. It’s the time of the year when the leaves start to change colours to different shades, shades that you haven’t seen. Taking a deep breath I started to run my rounds.

My mind aimlessly wanders and that’s when I slam on to something, actually scratch that, on to someone, really hard making me fall onto the ground. 

“f**k!” I grunted as my bottom hit the ground. I was about to stand up when my bumper offered me his hand. “I am really sorry, I wasn’t thinking..”

“It’s fine,” he said curtly, cutting off my apology. My eyes widen in surprise when he dropped my hand and wiped his hands on his running shorts.

“Hahahahahahahahahaha!” I started laughing so loud that I was pretty sure the house next to us woke up. I just couldn’t help it, I mean what sort of a guy is he?

“Excuse me?” He asked suddenly, making me to choke on my own laugh.

I looked at him and boy did I regret.

 Ethan's POV

I don’t know what made the annoying hell of a girl start laughing out of the blue waking up the entire neighbourhood. I felt like I could crush her thin neck, “excuse me?” I asked glaring at her.

But then I was lost for words, the said girl raised her head and looked at me for the first time and I felt my breath stop. What is she? She had the most beautiful eyes that I have ever seen; what was that colour? Is it a mix of green and ash? And her face, it was angelic. But then I saw her eyes widen in horror. I frowned and looked around me thinking that there was something scary but there wasn’t anything of that sort.

“What is it?”

She quickly snapped out of her trance, “It’s nothing. I am sorry once again, but you didn’t have to wipe your hands off your short, I am not that dirty.”

Saying so she jogged away.

I quickly regained my composure and turned and called out to her, “hey what’s your name?”

But she couldn’t hear me because she was already gone.

“I am pretty sure she isn’t going to our school or else I would know her. Perhaps Joanna might know.” Pushing the thought to the back of my mind I headed back to my house. It was already 7.30 and I have to get ready to go to school. Urgh the thought of itself makes me puke.

“Ethan,” my mother called from the dining table.

“What?”

“Have your breakfast before you go.”

“I am not hungry mum.”

“Ethan!” She said with her court voice, “come and have your breakfast this instance.”

God! She is such a pain. My mum is a very famous lawyer and she is also well known for the fact that she gets her work done no matter how and no matter what. And winning an argument with her is an impossible thing. Grudgingly I walked into the dining table and seated myself opposite her and as usual my dad wasn’t sitting at the table.

“Where is dad?”

“He didn’t come home last night, was stuck with work.” My mum said without looking up from the paper.

I looked at her and for the first time in so many years I felt sorry for her. I know for a fact that she is hiding something form me, after all I am not a kid anymore, I am 17 years old and I quite understand when something is wrong. For some reason I felt a burning rage at her, I mean why the hell does she have to keep me in the dark, I am big enough to understand anything that is going on.

“f**k this s**t!” I said quite madden.

My mum looked at me alarmingly, “Ethan! Language please!”

“Oh please mum, as if I give a f**k!” Saying so I pushed the chair and walked out.

“Ethan! Get back here this instant!” I heard my mum shout.

Fuming I walked back into the room, “you know what! Don’t tell me what to do and what not to do!” My anger was beyond control, I don’t know what got over me and never knew that I could get this pissed. My blood was boiling and I wanted to thrash someone so badly.

I saw my mother’s eyes widen in horror at my clenched fist, “Ethan...” she whispered.

“Why the f**k are you still tolerating that son of a b***h! When you very well know that he is away f*****g some random b***h?” I shouted at her.

By now my mother’s eyes were tearing so much that she was trembling. “Ethan,” she pleaded, “you don’t understand.”

I scoffed, “oh please mum, I am no longer a small kid that could be kept in the dark. I see things, I hear things and I know things.”

My mother walked up to me and gently took my clenched fists in her hands, “Ethan, calm down darling, you don’t have to feel sorry for me and everything is alright there is nothing wrong. Please Ethan don’t get mad.” she cried.

I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, pulling my hands away, “I don’t think that everything is alright. But mum if he doesn’t try to make any of this right I am going to. Be it the right way or the wrong way.” Saying so I walked out of the room slamming the door behind me.

“Sir? Are you going in the car today?”

“NO!” I shouted at the driver and instead I took my bike.

By the time I was nearing school, I had already willed myself to calm down, I definitely did not want that prick to ruin my day. I was almost at the school gate, when suddenly out of nowhere, a girl crossed the road, I barely managed to avoid ramming into her, as I served the bike to the edge of the road. 

Removing my helmet, “HAVE YOU GOT A f*****g DEATH WISH?” I shouted her.

Clarissa's POV

“DAMN IT! I AM f*****g LATE!” I looked at my watch and quickly got down from my brother’s car, “thanks for the ride.”

Saying so I crossed the road without any thought.

 It appeared out of nowhere and halted with a screech as it served to the edge of the road, I was scared out of my wits that I sat on the road with my hands covering my head, as if that would help.

“HAVE YOU GOT A f*****g DEATH WISH?  ” I heard the motorcyclist shout.

“s**t!” I muttered under my breath, turning, “WHAT DO YOU…” but the rest of the words got stuck in my throat. It was ETHAN ANDERSON. Again.

“You got the guts to shout at me after crossing the f*****g road like that?” he shouted.

I rolled my eyes at him, though to be honest my heart was beating so much that I was sure it would come out, “what did I do?” I asked raising an eyebrow.

“You got to be kidding me,” he muttered. Leaving the bike at the edge of the road, he walked towards me, anger clearly written all over his face.

“What did you just say?” he asked with a menacing voice.

I gulped, I knew that I was clearly wrong, but come on man I have an ego to protect as well. “I asked, what did I do?” I said without moving an inch.

He made a grab for my arm, squeezing it tightly making me whimper in pain, made me stand up, “b***h, if you want to die so soon go die in front of someone else’s f*****g bike not mine!” He said with anger firing out of his eyes.

“Aaaaaa, Ethan, you are hurting me…” I whimpered in pain. My legs were wobbly from the shock and his burst of anger did not do any help either. I tried to remove my arm from his shackles but it was a futile process, he had already held me in a death grip.

He smirked and looked at me and shook me violently, making my glasses fall off my eyes to the ground, “you know right,” his voice drooled, “that I can do stuff to hurt you more?”

My eyes widen in horror, “Damn it Ethan, let me go!” I gritted. “f*****g GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!” saying so I pushed him hard finally freeing myself. I was breathing heavily, my hands were shaking with fear and I could feel beads of sweat tickling down the corner of my forehead.

I was about to pick my glasses and my bag when a hand already reached for them. I looked up and “Noah?” I asked in surprise.

He sighed and looked at me and then at Ethan, “apologise to Ethan, Clarrisa.”

“Why should I?” I glared at him.

"Because you were clearly in the wrong. So apologise." 

"Like hell I would!" saying so, I grabbed my back and glasses from my brother, I stormed into school.

"I am sorry Ethan, she had a very bad morning," I heard my brother apologising. Gritting my teeth, I quickened my pace.

But he caught me at the banyan tree which was at the side of the school. “Clarry, you know right that it was your mistake?”

I pouted, “but Noah...”

“No buts Clarry” he said cutting me off. “What was so hard for you that you couldn’t say sorry to him?”

“My ego!” I said without any second thoughts.

My brother started to laugh out loud at that, “oh my God,” he said ruffling my hair. “Does my little sister have one after all?”

“Duh!” I shouted at him slapping his hand away.

“I have to go, I already missed half of my lecture, see you at home.” Saying so he walked towards his car.

I rolled my eyes at his retreating back, sighing I walked into the school.

My brother; Noah, he is a second year medical student. Yeah yeah I know, he wants to follow my parents. I am happy for him because that’s what he had been dreaming about since childhood. I never had a doubt on him, I mean after all, he was the top student in our school, so I wasn’t surprised when he and his best friend and my partner in crime Jacob got selected for the top medical faculty in the country.

I giggled at the thought of him, my brother hopes that one day, his best friend would be his brother-in-law. I smirked at that thought, how wrong is he? “Tsk,” I shook my head.

“OI!” someone shouted at me.

I spun around and I wasn’t surprised to see my best friend and my future sis-in-law Olivia. Why did I say that, it’s because that my stupid of a brother and my idiotic of a friend is harbouring a secret crush towards each other and their egos are too big for them to admit it to each other. Well they don’t know what I have got up my sleeve. I smirked and waved at her.

“Ya i***t,” she said punching my hand, “where the f**k have you being?”

I rolled my eyes at her and picked my bag, “I ran into Ethan.” I said casually walking towards the school.

“What the f**k! What happened?”

“Well I crossed without looking and his bike came out of nowhere and rest was history. I was lucky that my brother was there or else Lord knows what would have happened.”

“Noah was here?” she asked brightening.

“Why are asking about him when you are supposed to worry about me!” I demanded her with my hands on the hips.

Olivia smiled sheepishly, “extremely sorry, so tell me what happened?”

“Urgh, just leave it. My mood is already ruined”, sighing, I walked into the school. 

“Where is Alex?”

“He has chemistry right now.”

"Oh, ok. Come on let's go or else grumpy will have our heads."