Hello, Kenzo

Consequences

"Vri has been sick for three days; where are you?" Dani asked in a frustrated voice; her anger rang through my ears.

"What?" I yelled. My heart stopped for a moment as extreme guilt crashed down on me like a tidal wave of sorrow. I felt so horrible; I felt like throwing up with so much frustration.

For almost half a week, I'd been away from home without telling anyone about it. Though I wanted so badly to tell someone, no one would be accepting of it anyway.

"Your parents called me and were asking about you, but no one could contact you! I kept going back here to check on you, but you just disappeared!" Dani quivered in dismay, but I could not even save myself from shame at this moment.

"What happened to Vri? Where is she?" I asked in panic and was ready to run when Dani stopped me.

"Are you with Dein? Answer me!" Dani yelled, her rage escalating abruptly.

"What no! I am not with Dein!"

"Then why? Where have you been?"

My heart skipped in so much tension, and my head was spinning in circles trying to get everything straight so I could go find a way out of this mess without exposing my secret relationship with Kenzo.

"Sorry, I'm sorry!" my mind ran frantically through excuses to explain myself, "I...I had to go somewhere...Dani. Believe me, I need to breathe. I didn't mean to happen all these!" I said, my voice was strained, and I could tell that she hated it.

She didn't reply, and the silence hung heavy and thick. "Where's Vri?" I pleaded desperately; the words seemed like they were stuck in my throat.

Dani exhaled in despair. "Vri's home. She's fine now, but I want you to go home to her!"

Dani snapped at me and stormed away from me.I watched her in utter bewilderment, as if a light switch turned off inside my brain. I had no clue what I was supposed to do next.

It was my fault; I should have considered more before going out with Kenzo. My legs shook, and tears started falling freely down my face in such overwhelming sadness and remorse that I wanted to disappear into thin air.

The only thing I knew how to do was run. Run away. Hide my guilt from everyone else and from my own selfish actions.

"I'm sorry, Vri, I'm sorry!"

My body trembled as I ran to my car. My hands shakily reached over the steering wheel and unlocked my door. I slipped into the driver's seat and drove to my hometown.

"VRI!" I stormed into our house, and all the worries went away when I saw Vri playing.

"Mommy!" Vri called, rushing towards me in so much excitement.

I swept her up in my arms and hugged her tightly.

"How are you? What happened?" I asked and sat her down on the couch, making myself comfortable too.

She shrugged, "I got sick and Mamay and Papay brought me to the doctor, then I'm fine! I missed you, Mommy! Why aren't you there for me?!"

"Sorry," I murmured, and I ruffled her hair affectionately. My heart wanted to crumble into pieces for being so happy while my child suffered without my knowledge.

"So, you're here!" My mom appeared from the kitchen with a bowl of soup. "Where have you been?"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I had to go somewhere for the school's event and there was no reception there." I tried so hard not to soing guilty or I'd both lose Kenzo and my family this time if they learned what I really been up to.

"We are all so worried? You are nowhere to be found!"

"Mom, I'm really sorry!"

Mom breathed a sigh of relief and sat beside me, putting down the bowl of soup at the center table.

"Go back now; the doctors said Vri might have just eaten so much that she suffered indigestion," my mother explained and I nodded in understanding.

Mom picked up Vri and fed her, so I stood up and said my goodbyes before rushing back to my car.

I'm relieved that Vri's fine, but that didn't stop the tears from flowing freely out of my eyes. My chest was heavy and tight with regret, and I could no longer control my emotions, sobbing silently into my hands.

I felt so angry for things to turn out this way! I had to lie to keep my happiness.

I drove back to my apartment and decided to buy some snacks along the way. I had to drink this up, think, and calm myself. I couldn't think right now. All my thoughts were clouded, and my mind was racing so fast that it almost hurt.

I got out of the car, walked into my apartment, and went to grab a glass. But my heart sank once more when I saw the bottle of my favorite wine empty.

I grabbed two bottles of vodka that I had stashed in the cupboard and walked to the balcony. I took the bottle opener from the kitchen counter, the plastic full of chips, and opened the bottles quickly. I gulped down several glasses and chugged them all like a water fountain, feeling the warm liquid burn the back of my throat.

All my anxiety dissipated instantly. I breathed deeply and felt the alcohol spread throughout my system and loosen the knot of stress within me.

The next morning came fast, and I went to class slightly sober and tried all my best to act fine the whole afternoon.

"Hey," Nai called to me from the doorstep; her voice sounded strained, but she had an attempt smile plastered on her face.

But nonetheless, I managed to give her a smile and replied, "Hi Nai, what's up?"

She was shocked and swallowed nervously. "I am doing well; how are you?"

"You guess?"

Nai walked in and sat on the chair in the first row, looking stressed as if being interrogated for a crime. The lecture had already been done, and I decided to stay at school for more hours just to keep my mind busy.

"About last time..." Nai stuttered.

"Hey, it's fine. I guess you also had a misunderstanding; you were just concerned about me." I cut her in as I am not in the mood to discuss anything about Kenzo.

"No, I wanted to tell you how much I am sorry for going along with Gabi and the others' plan against you. After that night, I realized how much Kenzo loves you more than you love him. It's not what Gabi and the others were accusing you of."

"Nai, it's fine. Anybody who would learn about my relationship with Kenzo would say the same."

"Please don't hate me."

"I won't. At least you get to say sorry, unlike them who did nothing but judge me easily. Well, I'm going home; see you tomorrow!" I stood up and grabbed my things, leaving Nai to head home.

As I stepped out of the building, I let out a deep sigh. I did not take my car as I had too much to drink last night, so I am walking. But something in me was bothering me more than the unfortunate events of Vri; I had not received any messages from Kenzo since we came home yesterday.

I took my phone out and dialed his number, but he wouldn't pick up.

I tried and tried, but he wouldn't respond until I decided to check if he was online, and he was currently online.

"What the!"

I tried calling him again, but he wouldn't really respond.

A weak smile tugged at the corner of my lips before returning to my serious state.

"What is happening again?" I mumbled, and my lips started to quiver.

I couldn't handle any more frustration for the day, so I rushed to a bar, and before I knew it, I was drowning in alcohol again.

But it couldn't be more interesting when someone came to me, and to my surprise, it was Timothy, the guy with whom I had a good time when Kenzo left me for a while.

"Hi, are you alone?"