Colliding Rulers

The Confrontation (3)

Third Person's P.O.V

"You mean to tell me that his own mother did that? I- oh, yeah, that b***h is controlling and a social butterfly." Gevia nodded her head, believing it to be true. Not that she was doubting her friend. She was surprised that even Cale's relationship was on the list of things that she could control.

Gevia was fuming when she heard that.

"But does Cale know?" Joshua shook his head, disappointed in himself. He knew that Cale needed to know, but he didn't want Cale to think badly of his own mother. He knew how much Cale loved his mother.

Even before, when they were in a relationship, Joshua would hear great things about Cale's mother and how he loved him dearly. He didn't want to be in the soccer league. He wanted to play soccer as entertainment, but his mother pushed him to try the leagues and they found out that Cale had a knack for playing soccer. The coaches begged Cale's mother to let Cale play in the big tournaments. Thus, his journey as a leading player began.

"No, and I know that I should have told him. But I don't think I can. Not with him always talking about nice things about his mother." Joshua didn't want to break Cale's heart by saying that. He sacrificed his own justice for a loving family.

Gevia stopped playing the piano and went beside Joshua. Since Joshua was a bit taller than Gevia, Joshua had to slouch a bit and lean his head on Gevia's shoulder. The white, cold wall provided them with a sense of security as their backs hit it. It was Gevia's turn to comfort Joshua.

She patted Joshua's shoulder then proceeded with patting his head. Gevia slowly massaged Cale's scalp, adding a soothing effect on the epidermis. Joshua let himself loose. He had been keeping it for a long time and now that he finally let it out, he can finally say that he's been hanging on it for too long.

His raw and accumulated emotions were finally out in the open. He finally told someone the very thing that made him so socially conscious and traumatized. He had never thought that status could affect him so much, not until he met Cale's mother. The damage has been done. The only reason why Joshua still couldn't forget Cale was that Cale was nothing like his mother.

He was loving. Thoughtful. Kind. And knew of the importance of happiness. Gevia shared Joshua's pain. Her heart clenched when she heard Joshua sniffle. Gevia never actually thought of that - the social hierarchy, as something that would end a relationship.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. You can cry it out. You've been holding on to it for far too long. It's going to be okay." Gevia lowered her tone. Joshua succumbed to Gevia's warmth. Listening to her every word.

Joshua cried out. Every little tear that should have been shed months ago was being shed. He didn't care about his crying face. He wanted the ugly feeling that he was having to end. He wanted to be okay again.

"I don't know what's going to happen now that Cale's actually being aggressive." Joshua managed to say in one go, despite hiccuping because of him crying. Gevia felt bad.

She was not in the same situation and she knew that she would never be in the same situation. Gevia couldn't weigh out Joshua's options. She never had a first-hand experience of choosing between two things, and was handicapped at some time. If she were to provide Joshua with an opinion, or an option, she was scared that she might say the wrong thing. She didn't want to add to the situation. She wanted to be a relaxation for Joshua, peace.

"You still love him?" Joshua nodded his head. Gevia kept on combing Joshua's hair from the roots, never ceasing the movement. It somehow, as a result, calmed Joshua down.

He was slowly stopping from crying. His hiccups were gradually disappearing and his heart rate was slowly returning to normal. Joshua pursed his lips, cupping his handkerchief that was in his pocket. He fished it out and blew on it. His nose was finally clear and he could breathe again. The relief provided a sense of satisfaction, releasing happy emotion into his system.

"I do, but I can't risk my family. I doubt his mother would just watch as his son chases after me again. I'm scared that she might do something to my family as a counter-measure." Gevia clicked her tongue. It was indeed a crazy world, where one's life goes as easily as it comes.

"That's- that's true."

There were already a lot of hired killers, assassins and spies everywhere. Targeting a small and insignificant family, wiping their names off the database would be easy. Gevia had that memorized since it was part of her life. It was a normal thing in her life, but she wasn't happy about it.

Gevia sighed, confused. She doesn't even know what Joshua should do.

"So you're not going to come back to him?"

"I- I don't know. Will he even stop?"

"Not unless you give him a reason to. A simple 'no' won't do the trick this time." Joshua licked his lips, straightened his pose and then spread out his legs. He stretched, finally having that light feeling.

He felt less and his mind was, for once, clear. He gave Gevia an appreciative smile before giving her a hug. Gevia returned the hug with a smile on her face as well. She could feel Joshua's mood coming back.

"Thank you."

The day ended and Cale went back home. He skipped practice and was in a bad mood. He hadn't seen Joshua the entire afternoon. His mother was informed that Cale skipped practice. As soon as he stepped foot inside their mansion, he found his mother sitting in the living room and drinking champagne. Her silk dress hugged her hourglass body like a wrapping.

Cale's mother resembled none of her age. She looked like she was still a teenager with a lustrous body. Her curves were vivid, and she didn't have any wrinkles. Her skin was flawless and she wore makeup. She was beautiful and that's where Cale got his looks from.

"What are you doing here so early, Cale?" she asked, twirling the champagne around the wine glass, looking at it and portraying a sophisticated expression.

Cale wasn't having it. He was pissed and he didn't want to play a game of who with his mom. He was ready to explode any second if he were to play his mother's game.

"Don't even start, mom. I've had enough." Cale went straight ahead, passing his mother. He was rushing to get to his room. He wanted to sleep early without thinking of eating dinner.

The maids that were around were astonished to hear Cale talking back to his mother. That rarely happens. He usually just accepts everything that his mother would say. Cale's mother noticed the tension and dismissed the cleaning maids around the area. The maids, in a hurry, left the living room.

"What got you to pissed, honey?" there it was.

Their conversation usually started with his mother being stern, and then she would switch to a softer voice to grab Cale's fragile heart. It always works. Cale would always soften up and would end up with him saying 'yes'. But right now, right now was different. Cale was different. He was the Cale that he wanted to be for such a long time now. Apparently, life got to him before he could pick up his fragile pace.

She put down the glass on the table and walked to where Cale was. Cale stopped walking and turned around, making his mother flinch. Cale's relaxed black eyebrows oddly gave him a menacing look. Cale's mother couldn't speak up. She stood there, frozen. It was the first time that Cale used that on her. She gasped a little, her mouth agape.

She was ready to hiss at him when Cale opened his mouth.

"I know you and the coach are talking about me. Don't even try to hide it." she cleared her throat.

"Honey, it's for your growth."

Cale's eyebrow twitched. He took a step forward, overwhelming his mother with his height. His mother looked him in the eyes, wondering where Cale got the sudden courage to step up for himself.

"You don't get to talk to me like that, you whore." he spat out angrily. His nose flared and he didn't have an ounce of regret in his eyes.

"Uh!" she attempted to slap Cale in the face, but Cale managed to stop the impact by grabbing her wrist.

"I am your mother and I did not raise you to talk to me like that!" she screamed at her own son. Anger was written all over his face.

Cale leaned into his mother's ear, whispering.

"I know that you f**k the coach as well. Hoe much?" he let her go and smiled sarcastically at her.

"You didn't raise me to be disrespectful, but a hoe? Take your pick." he spun around and was about to leave the living room when his mother spoke up.

"Are you with that gold-digger again?" she knew she was digging her own grave, but she was willing to make it work somehow.

She knew that what she was going to say would be the end of everything, or the final push to make her son believe her again. She was willing to be the villain. Cale turned around. His relaxed expression wasn't there anymore.

"Shut the f**k up, you bitch." her eye twitched when she heard those harsh words leaving her son's mouth, but she wasn't going to back down.

"Did he not say anything?" she bluffed.

"I'm not going to listen to you anymore. You f*****g controlling woman. Are you even a mother at this point?" Cale started to walk away again.

"HE ASKED FOR MONEY."

Cale paused then continued walking. While in the living room, she paced back and forth, running her fingers through her hair in frustration. She couldn't believe that Cale knew, out of everyone, that she was sleeping with his coach. Cale also had someone following his mother and when he found out, he lost it. But he still believed it. As if he knew from the start.

"f**k!" she cried out, throwing whatever she could throw.

She grabbed her wine glass and threw it on the wall, shattering it. She smashed vases and threw her phone aimlessly, hitting the TV in the process. The maids watched as their employer mercilessly broke things that were pricey. The wine splattered across the floor. She had created a mess.

Cale threw himself on the bed, sighing. He covered his eyes with his arm. He couldn't erase what his mother said before he walked away. It repeated inside his head like a recorder. He needed to know the reason why they broke up, and he wasn't going to wait for tomorrow for that to happen. He was going to know the reason before the day could end.

He was focused. He didn't want to jump to conclusions. He knew Joshua better than that and thought that Joshua would never betray him like that. They'd already talked about that before and Joshua had already told him that he wasn't dating Cale because of money. Cale chose to believe those words until now. He had full faith in Joshua, but he still needed to hear the reason behind their sudden break up.

He remembers vividly that before Joshua broke up with him, Joshua and his mother talked. He was curious about what they were talking about but Joshua didn't tell him. The day after that, Joshua told him that they were no longer in a relationship and thanked him for everything.

Cale hissed and jolted up. He grabbed his car keys and ignored the mess in the living room and got into his car.

"I need to know."