Scarlet scars

CHAPTER 3: Meeting Jerald

Jerald

~•~

"Today's schedule is as follows, you have a meeting with the TH corporation at 9 am, you have to grace the event of the launch of our new wine at 11 am, a board meeting at 2 pm and dinner with your mother at 7 pm". Thomas, my assistant, right hand man and best friend reported. The scariest thing about that schedule was dinner with my mom. I massaged my brows in frustration. I wonder what my mom had planned for this time.

She had gotten ahead of me this time around because I always say I’m busy, so she used my schedule. I had been avoiding my mom for over two months now because we didn’t see eye to eye on a certain topic and I had a feeling she wouldn’t let go of it that easily.

I had been working overtime lately and didn’t manage to get much rest. My company had grown to great heights and had been known world wide and all this was because I hadn’t rested a single day in my life. Our wine and food businesses were the most successful and if I wasn’t in the office, I’d be in the kitchen coming up with new recipes or the winery coming up with new mixes or traveling all around the world to check on my business.

My father died when I was 15 and from then on I had been learning how to take care of the family business until I was old enough to take over. My mom had been in charge of the business up until I had graduated at 20 years old.

I had not gotten attached to any person, other than my mother, ever since my dad died. My mom was the only person stayed by my side and never left. I once had a best friend, 5 years younger than me but very smart. She had left too, not wanting anything to do with me. Other than my parents, she was the most important person in my life, at that time. My childhood memories all revolves around her and I was wondered where she was and what became of her. The little brave red head.

Thinking about her left me angry and upset because it made me realise I wasn’t as tough and stone hearted as I pretended to be whenever I was in public. My mother’s attempts to make me meet girls at parties was always futile as I always ended up thinking about that little girl in my dreams. Thomas would usually tease me, saying I had a fetish for redheads because of my one night stands with redheads.

Every time I attended any social event invited by my mom was a plan for me to find a wife. It was a bit funny that even at those social gatherings, I didn’t meet anybody but always ended up discussing business and creating new clientele instead.

“Jerald?” I heard Thomas’s voice “you’re lost in thought. Here’s your coffee.” I took it, mumbling a thanks as the car started moving again. I was so lost in thought, I hadn’t even noticed that we had stopped at Grande’s for coffee.

I had just returned to my old neighborhood at my mother's request. Ever since I returned from abroad, I had never returned to this place. The memories that I had created with my father and best friend were too loud whenever I was in this place. The fact that I didn’t get a lifetime with them got me mad at everything.

My mother was always the one visiting me instead. I wondered what was so important this time around that had caused her to call me back here. She had always been a terrible actor, so when she pretended to be pain, saying she’d hit her head on the table when she fainted. I knew she was lying and I decided to just satisfy her wishes by coming over and having dinner with her.

I looked out the window and then back at the files in my hand when I caught sight of something familiar. I looked again and I knew I wasn’t just dreaming about this because I was blinking so many times but the image didn’t fade away.

No! it can't be! are my eyes letting me down? no way! Scarlet!

I looked at the familiar red curly hair I had seen countless times in my dreams.This time I knew I wasn’t mistaken her and it was her. it was Cally. My heart was racing at this moment at a speed that was more than normal as I bypassed her. Too stunned to say something until finally.

"Stop the car!" I said yelled impatiently while still looking at the red haired girl limping on the the foot path. From where I was, I could tell she hadn’t changed at all. Except for the fact that she had become more beautiful. I could tell even from the baggy shirt she was wearing. Though she had a cap on, her thick curly hair hang loosely on her back and I knew with all my heart that it was her.

The last time I saw her was when I was 15. she was about 10 and that was at my father's funeral. It was at that time when she had become detached and was always disturbed and quiet.

when she was 5, I used to enjoy teasing her because I liked her. I’d tease her, hoping she’d laugh but she’d always end up crying. She was as cute as the doll she used to carry around.

I remember once before her parents had died, I had taken my teasing too far and called her ugly and that she looked like chucky because I’d thought it would be funny but it wasn’t.

At that time we had just finished watching the scary movie. she was 5 and I was 10 then and we were not suppose to watch the movie, but we were stubborn kids. I blamed my mother for leaving her computer on and password free, while were around..

I never meant it, but she took it seriously. her mother had approached me after some and had told me about how such words affected her. .she told me a lot of people told Scarlet she was ugly. I felt so guilty. I mean she was like my little sister. M

Scarlet and I grew close after that incident. but soon after her parents died and she moved into her aunt's house. she changed. she became cold and she stopped telling me about everything, just like she did before. I thought she was still in pain because of the pain of losing both parents. but still, a year passed, she still looked disturbed, quiet and lifeless. Which was just too quiet for Scarlet and from that knew there was something too.,

I opened the car door as soon as the car stopped, almost tripping on my own feet as I rushed out to meet her.

"Cally?" I called out to her, hoping she was the one. Startled, she turned around and OMG it really was her. She looked at me puzzled, eyebrow raised in question. Then her expression morphed into something I couldn’t explain. "Its you!" I laughed. " its really you!” she stood frozen to the ground as I rushed to hug her. she jumped, startled as though not expecting me to hug her or touch her at all. I pulled away placing my hands on her waist smiling when she winced in pain and I noticed the bandaid on her forehead.

It was as though my touch burnt her. Her change of expressions within a few seconds felt like deja vu. I couldn't help but remember back then.

Scarlet had started to react to my touch with a look of pain on her face whenever I'd hug her, or touch her and I never understood why. Which was one of the reasons everything had gone to s**t.