Can you write my love story?

Chapter3

I have been hugged before. I even did things beyond that, but there was something different about her hug. It made me frozen on my feet. It was strange. It was warm.

She must have felt my uneasiness for she immediately let go. When she did, I was able to take a good look at her face. She was beautiful with long dark hair and eyes that seemed to shine with her smile. She looked away and mumbled "I'm sorry".

"It's okay Anna, I'm sure you miss Ryan. You were very close before," my mom said.

Hearing her name unlocked a memory, it was her, my childhood friend Anna. This time a couple joined us, and I immediately remembered them as her parents. "Welcome home Ryan", her father sweetly said.

"Thank you" I mumbled.

"I think we better get inside", his wife said. "Ryan must be famished."

I just smiled, not really sure what else to say. I was the last to get inside the house, and I'll admit I was nervous. It felt like I was entering a haunted house, a haunted house with my past like ghosts. The house seemed familiar. Nothing has changed. From the paint, to the furniture, everything was like how I left six years ago. And I swear, I felt a stabbing pain in my chest at the thought of it.

Dinner came, and I still felt uneasy. Anna's parents were with us and all throughout they were gracious enough to ask me questions like how was I, am I working, am I staying for good. i know they already know the answer to their questions, but still they asked to keep me in the conversation. I didn't know how to respond though, so I just answered with yes and no.

They stayed after dinner. We went to the porch and my mom brought coffee for us. Just like at dinner, I was silent the whole time, my eyes fixed on the beach nearby. The wind from the ocean was cold. I was lost in the waves forming in the ocean, amazed at its swift movement. The wave of water forming as far as the middle of the ocean, touching the ocean, then back again. It was a cycle. No beginning and no end. It goes on and on.some times the waves are huge and scare us, but there are times just like tonight that it is calm and peaceful, so calm that it goes unnoticed.

The conversation continued without any interruption from me. But despite my preoccupied mind, I was still able to get bits of information from them, information that I wouldn't dare ask my mom. I learned she was still teaching at the same school. She loves it there. She loves being around kids, playing with them, reading them stories. She never gets mad about their tantrums, she knows how to handle them. She is a perfect pre-school teacher, and sometimes I wonder if she has also been a perfect mother. Leo, my mom's partner and the very reason why I left, was doing a good job as a responsible boyfriend. Even our neighbors seemed to like him. He was a typical man. Often quiet but answers questions thrown at him in a straightforward manner. As I studied him more that night, I realized how different he was from my father. My dad was autocratic and stubborn. Not willing to give in to other people's opinion. He always had the last say in everything. I realized maybe that was the reason why it was so hard for him to accept that he had lost his job. For someone like him who feels good about controlling situations, depending on others in a snap, it was the worst nightmare. Just thinking about my father brought back all the pains of yesterday. I started thinking about where he is right now and how he lived his life all these years. I wondered if he thought about us, the son he left behind and shattered the dreams of, and the wife he almost killed. I hope he's miserable. I hope he's the most miserable man on earth. I hope he's more miserable than I have been in the past years.

I didn't realize my hand was clenched to a fist. Sweat was dripping from my forehead and anger was starting to dominate my whole body. I let out a heavy sigh to control it. This had caught Anna's attention, who was seated beside me.

"Are you okay?" she asked, reaching out for my hand.

Her action surprised me, so I pulled my hand away. "I'm just exhausted", I said.

Now addressing everyone, I said "I hope you all don't mind, but I really want to take some rest. "

"Sure sweetheart" my mom said.

Alice, Anna's mom, smiled at me."I'm sorry we got engrossed in our conversation, we totally forgot that you had just arrived. Don't worry, there is still a lot of time to catch up. "

I smiled back at her and greeted everyone good night before heading inside.

As I got inside my room, I realized that my things were still intact. My mom made sure that it would be like how I left it. As my head hit the pillow, I tried to remember how I ended up here. Just last night, I was celebrating with friends, and now here I am, living in the same house, sleeping in the same bed and relieving each moment of my past that had dominated my present and changed my future.