Slaves of Unforgotten Past

UNGRACEFUL ACT

CHAPTER SEVEN

They waved their hands to say goodbye and so did I.

When I was certain that all of them were out of sight, I took a deep breath.

“Finally, I am all alone now,” I said in a low voice.

The corners of my mouth suddenly arched into a beautiful and genuine smile.

“Those boys were indeed so handsome and cute,” I thought.

I giggled at the thought of them.

This place is indeed filled with extraordinary things.

Especially Troy, the only man who made my heart skip a beat at first sight. He's the most handsome man I ever met and his face is already worth drooling. How much more if I'll be able to see his drop-dead gorgeous body?

My cheeks are getting hotter. Geez! Why am I thinking this kind of thing?

I never knew that I would be having a great time in this place. It felt like I completely belonged here.

It is so familiar and it feels… somehow… Someone is calling for me to be here.

I know I am weird to say this but it seems like this place’s natural beauty was screaming for my name, wanting me to take care of them.

As I looked at the small waterfall, the blueish-green water, and the fish freely swimming in it made my heart flutter.

‘'This place is awesome,'’ I murmured as I slowly settled myself on the grass. I carefully lay down putting both of my hands on my lap.

I looked at the sky. And there, the clouds of different formations captured my attention as well.

I breathe deeply again.

'I hope to live in a peaceful place like this,' I wished before slowly closing my eyes but before I could shut my eyes, I took a glimpse of vines nearby.

And somehow, there was a little yet bright light coming from behind and I got curious.

‘Was it a mirror?’ I thought.

‘Why would a mirror be hidden there?’ I asked myself again.

Well, since my intuition told me to come over there, I didn't think twice and excitedly followed the little bright light. In an instant, I am now standing in front of the vines.

Little did I know that there was a spacious cave hiding behind these wild vines.

And it was not just an ordinary cave. There were paintings of… well, I don't know what these are but as per observation, it kind of looks like “people”, a couple to be precise.

‘Oh? It looks like a dating place,’ I thought.

But it seemed like no one was here to take good care of what was in this cave… Some of the paintings were somehow smudged and hard to recognize.

But by the look of it, it looks like the paintings only focus on two people. You can tell that the people involved are deeply in love with each other. And maybe, without a doubt, they were also the ones who drew all of these.

It's so heartwarming.

As I went deeper inside the cave, I saw a big illustration of a guy.

This time, his face is clear. And he was indeed handsome.

“Wow!” This word unknowingly comes out of my mouth.

Looking at the image made my heart skip a beat.

‘Oh, why is my face wet?’ I thought since I felt a warm watery sensation rolling on my cheeks.

“Huh?!”

“Why? What is this? What am I doing? Am I crying?”

“Geez! I might be crazy!”

“Ahh! My… my heart… why?”

The next thing I knew, I squatted down due to the pain I felt deep inside my heart.

I looked at the man in the painting again. He looked so familiar.

I was in deep pain. I cried and cried like a mad woman. I don't even know why I cried in the first place. I don't even know why I am experiencing chest tightness and pain.

I closed my eyes and lay down slowly on the grass, still my hands holding my chest.

Moving forward, I don't know how much time I spent but when I opened my eyes, the sun was about to set.

‘Oh! Shoot!’ I gasped.

“Oh, come on Cassy. We need to hurry,” I spoke to myself since I knew how my mom would react knowing that I was alone in the woods.

I was indeed mesmerized and bewitched by its magical sceneries and forgot to take track of the time.

Jeez! My mom would certainly act like a fool right now. I am sure that she's been overthinking that I was kidnapped, slaughtered, or worse, eaten by cannibals.

I took a step heading outside from the vines covering but before I could get my head out, I took a last glance at the place.

This will be my favorite spot from now on.

It is a huge cave that is hidden behind these vines.

I finally say goodbye to that place by giving it a flying kiss.

I was a few steps away from that place when my head suddenly hurt.

I could see blurry images of people from the back of my brain but it was unrecognizable.

I paused for a while and squatted on the grass, waiting for the pain to subside.

After a while, the pain was gone.

As I look back, my heart tells me that I have been there with a man but I don't know who.

That place seems familiar. And it's undeniable that when I was inside it, I could feel that my heart suddenly felt suffocated as it was remembering something my mind wasn't able to grasp.

I wanted to enjoy it more but the intense feeling of pain and heartache were intolerable and I didn't want to lose consciousness twice on my first visit here. It's embarrassing. It's not cool.

When I stepped outside from that hidden jaw-dropping place, It was already night.

I felt scared for a while as I didn't have a good sense of direction and I was afraid that I might get lost. I don't want to be branded as an i***t while my parents were treated with high respect by people who live here. I don't want them to think that I am stupid because I am not stupid and never will be.

I took the courage to walk alone. Thanks to the moonlight that gives light on my way back to the mansion.

I was about to arrive when I suddenly heard a commotion.

"Please help us find our daughter,"

That's my mom's voice.

"Oh fvck!"

I cursed as I hurriedly ran towards them.

I didn't know that they would do this.

I was not late from the time they wanted me to be there.

"Mom,"

I was taking my time catching my breath before saying another word to my mom.

"Where have you been?"

I pressed my chest with my right palm while extending my hand forward, motioning my mom to stop asking questions as I was still panting from that untimely exercise.

As soon as I could feel that my breathing slowly returned to normal, I answered my mom by telling her how much I was captivated by the beauty of Troy's place.

After hearing my stories and explanations, Troy who was also listening to me butted in.

"It's so nice that you were able to enjoy your holiday here,"

Troy smiled at me. Showing his white teeth.

I could instantly tell from the way he smiled at me that he wanted me to give him my most precious kisses.

His thin yet kissable glossy lips were somehow screaming for it too.

His eyes were like crystals tempting me to do what I wanted to do.

Oh my God! Why the fudge did you make someone this handsome?

My goodness, gracious! I wanted to take him home this instant.

"Mate,"

My parents were shocked by the words unknowingly coming out of my mouth.

When I realized what I just said, I immediately covered my mouth and held it for a few moments while Troy held my hands and uncovered it.

"There's nothing wrong with what you just said right now,"

He was still holding my hands and his eyes were fixated on mine.

In the blink of an eye, I could feel his warm breath on my face.

I was confused about how we ended up kissing but then I realized, I was the one who took the initiative of kissing him in FRONT OF MY PARENTS!!

I was dumbfounded by my actions. It was absurd when I found myself tiptoeing in front of him and kissing him.

What the fudge did happen?

I instantly covered my mouth in shock and I looked at my parents who were also in a stance of surprise.

When what happened sunk into their minds, my mom gaped in awe and so did my dad.

I could feel my face blushing at the moment as it was raging with fire inside it.

"It wasn't your fault. It was me who kissed you first,"

When Troy mentioned the word "kiss" my heart beat rapidly like it somehow wanted to rip my chest.

"Stop… blu… bluffing. It was me.. who.. who.. kissed.. you. It was me.. who was… who was.. tiptoeing.. yeah..,"

I don't know why I am stuttering this much but all I know is that I have enough of this awkwardness.

How I wish I did have the ability to teleport as I wanted to exit myself and go to a place where no one knows me.

"What's wrong with you? Why were you talking like a robot who's not yet fully charged?"

I glared at my mom as she was not helping me in this shameful situation.

"Honey… we are all aware of how handsome Troy is. But… don't you know it's improper for you to kiss him like that without asking his permission?"

I glared at my dad as he was too… not helping me in this shameful situation.

Oh, God!

Why the fudge did I do that?!

"Why were you giving us, your father, death glares? It wasn't me who kissed the man I just met,” my mom said as she coquettishly finger-curled her hair.

My mom is so good at teasing me and I hate it.

How I wish that earth would open its core and let me in.

Moving forward, it was already very late at night when we arrived home.

Troy wanted us to spend our night in his place but due to unfortunate reasons, as much as I would like to spend the rest of my time with him, I just can't.

I kept tossing around at night and was not able to sleep at all.

Since I wasn't able to sleep or rest last night, I am now walking lifelessly heading to my classroom.

What happened last night gave me chills that also made my head dizzy.

Ugh! How I wanted to strangle myself.

As I was near my table, my seatmates were able to find my spirit lifeless.

“Hey, what's wrong with you? You looked like a panda with those big dark circles in your eyes and your face is too puffy like dumplings,” Amara said with a concerned look.

“I know, and I don't have the energy to share why I am like this today. I am so hopeless,” I replied as I slowly grabbed the chair and sat on it. I rested my face on the desk.

“Alright! You don't have time today but later in the afternoon, at the cafeteria, you will, okay?!” Amara replied.

And the other girls near my seat nodded their heads in agreement.

“Why the fudge?!” I mumbled.

The time ticked fast and it was noon already. We are now sitting in the cafeteria with our food in front of us.

I was about to dig in but Delilah stopped me.

“It isn't cool to keep us waiting like this, Cassandra. Spill the tea,” she demanded.

“Can't we eat first? I need to regain my lost strength,” I pleaded.

“Well, we can eat while you're sharing what you have experienced during vacation and also explain what’s going on with you today. You looked like you've just risen from a grave,” Amara chimed in.

I sighed.

I don't have any other way to stop their curiosity but to feed it.

Though I don't have many friends in school, I still have a few people to talk with regarding random things.

I began sharing all the details about my visit to Troy's place yesterday. And most of the time, their hands flew to their mouths, muffling an involuntary gasp. They find it unbelievable to imagine. And yeah, I know!

And because of that, they urged me to set a date for them to meet Troy someday.

And I was like, ‘What the fudge? Haven't they heard the part when I said “I kissed him first”?’ Geez, who would want to meet that man again?

I don't want to live in embarrassment, you know?!

And besides, though we are betrothed to each other, I am also not sure if we will be able to meet again.

Ugh! This is giving me a headache.

I rolled my eyes at them but to my surprise, I saw a glimpse of a familiar man walking on big steps heading towards me.

At this moment, I am sure that I can feel the refreshing breeze of fresh air combined with the good sun rays on my body even though I am inside the cafeteria.

All female's eyes were fixated on him with their mouths wide open.

In an instant, he's already in front of me.

“Like what you see?” he asked in a relaxed yet tempting tone.