A Love Tragedy

Chapter 12

The cool ocean breeze welcomed me home as I walked up the stone pathway to my front door. I looked over at the driveway and saw that Naomi’s car hadn’t moved from it’s spot so she was clearly still here. Was it so much to ask to just be alone for a while?

I unlocked the door with my free hand while my other hand held onto a parcel that I was hoping to dig into once I sat down.

“Took you long enough.” Naomi stated on once I emerged in the house and closed the door behind me. I didn’t want to lock since my cousins could be coming back here any time.

“Were you waiting for me?” I raised an eyebrow at her as I took a seat on the couch next to her. She was drowning in one of my hoodies but didn’t look like she had a pants on.

“Michaela said that you left the meeting early so I thought you’d come home, that’s all.” She refused to make eye contact with me and turned to the screen mounted above the fireplace again. A reality show played but I could see that she wasn’t interested in it anymore.

“I went to my parents.” Her gaze immediately fixed on me again but this time I looked away and refused to make eye contact.

“What did you do by your parents house?” Her comforting tone almost lulled me into answering her without thinking, almost.

“I just needed to talk to them.”

“About publishing your book?” I guess Michaela filled her in on that as well. I swear, sometimes I felt like they were the same person.

“Among other things.” I leaned back into the couch with a sigh as I heard the pitter-patter of Buddy’s tiny paws nearing us.

“I’m done speaking about it so for now can we just have a relaxing afternoon?” I opened the huge brown paper bag in my hand then placed the items on the coffee table.

“Okay.” She surprisingly gave up quickly. That wasn’t like her. Hell, she’s picked a fight with me for less so what was she planning?

“Chips and a milkshake, you definitely need to improve your diet.” She commented.

“You’re welcomed to not have.” I replied as Buddy snaked his way between my legs.

“There’s nothing else to eat and I don’t feel like cooking.” Like she was going to get up and make her something to eat anyway. Her laziness rivalled mine sometimes. I picked up the chubby pug and placed him on my lap but he pushed himself up and made his way over to Naomi instead before settling down on her lap.

“Looks like he likes me more than he likes you.”

“Only because you have my hoodie on so you smell more like me.” That was a possibility right?

“Which brings me to my next question, why do you have one of my hoodies on?”

“I took a shower and I didn’t have any other clothes to wear so I looked in your cupboard and found this t-shirt and one of your hoodies.” She lifted up the oversized hoodie and showed me the t-shirt she had on. My clothes were definitely too big for her but that was to be expected since she was a head smaller than me.

“I’m surprised you’re not throwing a fit and telling me to take it off or something.” I knew she was challenging me but I didn’t care. I brought the chips and milkshake to the couch between us so that it was in arms reach for both of us while I tried to come up with a reply to her comment.

“You’ve forced your way into my so I’m surprised that you’re only wearing my hoodie and t-shirt.” That brought a reluctant smile to her face which she quickly tried to erase by filling her mouth. I took a chip and dipped it into the milkshake before eating it. I never liked doing it but Stella loved it and forced me to do it with her until it finally stuck with me. Looks like she was still controlling me somewhat.

“You’re a dipper.” She commented as she watched me.

“It’s much more delicious this way. Try it.” I suggested. She didn’t protest it and followed my instructions, surprisingly.

“It’s good I guess.”

“That was the exact same thing I said when I tried it the first time.”

“Great minds, well mine is anyway.” She began laughing I couldn’t help but join in her idiotic laughter.

“Go get your own chips then.” I replied as I fed a chip to Buddy.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“I’m sure a few chips won’t hurt.”

“Since when are you a veterinarian?”

“It’s a funny story actually. It all started long ago when there was this explosion that people call ‘The Big Bang’, don’t know if you’ve heard of it.”

“Wow.” She replied as she rolled her eyes and continued munching. I heard her cellphone beep so she slowly took it out without trying to interrupt the animal gently resting on her legs.

“Anything important?” I halfheartedly asked her. It wasn’t my business anyway so I didn’t care if she just blew it off.

“Just a reminder about an appointment for my dress fitting with my mom and sister tomorrow.”

“You wear dresses?” If the surprise in my voice didn’t convince her of my shock then the look on my face certainly conveyed the message.

“Yeah, why is it so surprising?” She casually replied.

“I’ve known you for just over 5 months now and I’ve never seen you in a dress, not once.” I pointed out.

“It’s not my go-to choice in clothing. I usually only wear a dress when the occasion specifically calls for it.” Couldn’t disagree with her logic there. Definitely made sense why I’ve never seen her in a dress.

“What’s the occasion for tomorrow’s dress then?” It would have to be something big if it meant that Naomi is going to actually wear a dress.

“It’s for The Bay Ball. My father did some construction for some millionaire in Mellow Creek so he pulled a few strings and got me and my family invited.” The Bay Ball, I actually forgot about that. Looks like my mother was right about me forgetting it.

“It’s just a fancy ball that rich assholes are invited to so that they can feel good about their wealth for a night.” I commented. I didn’t really like the event but I knew a couple of people that I wanted to see there that would make the night worth it.

“Your parents are one of those ‘rich assholes’.”

“I know, we’re on the guest list.” That set off our laughter once again. “Welcome to the club.”

“Thanks, I think.” We looked at each other and blurted out our laughter again. I don’t know why this was so funny but we couldn’t stop laughing. I know I wanted to be alone but I was glad that I was alone with Naomi right now.

“How long have you been going to this ball?” She finally asked once our laughter died down.

“This will be my 5th year now.”

“So what do you do at these balls? Just sit in the back by some forgotten table and play on your phone?” I could definitely see why she thought that about me because that is exactly something I would do.

“I have a couple of friends that go to the ball every year so I usually hangout with them after the dancing is complete.”

“You dance?” It was her turn to look surprised now.

“Only ballroom and only once a year at this ball.”

“I’ve got to see this.” Naomi grabbed Buddy then gently placed him down on the couch as she stood up. “Come on.” She stretched her arm out and motioned for me to follow her but I reluctantly grabbed her hand and stood up.

“Why do we have to do this?” I complained.

“Because I don’t believe you.” We made our way to the open space between the stairs and lounge so that she can we can dance without knocking into anything.

“So, basic steps. You’ve got to know that at least.”

“Yeah yeah, just follow my lead and try not to fall.” I gently grabbed her right hand in mine and placed my left hand on her waist.

“Cocky aren’t we?” She raised an eyebrow at me.

“I didn’t endure a year of ballroom classes for nothing. Are you ready?” She nodded so I began dancing and counting the steps so that she could follow the movements since there wasn’t any music playing. I could tell that I was a bit rusty but it came back to me pretty quickly. I actually started enjoying it.

“Is this all you can do?” She asked me as we repeated the steps.

“Why do you always have to challenge me like this?” I asked her as she smiled at me.

“You were cocky about being a good dancer, I was just trying to see if your bite was as good as your bark.” That really got to me. I decided to change it up so I suddenly span her on the spot before dropping her over my arm and gave her a bit of a wink then lifted her up and span her out the length of our arms. I pulled her back towards me but she ended up with her back towards me and my arms around her body as we swayed to the imaginary beat in our heads.

“My bite is not my problem, it’s whether my partner can handle it that is.” I gently whispered into her ear. She didn’t respond so I turned her around and ended up with both hands on her hips as her arms rested around my neck.

“Believe me now?” I didn’t realize how close we were until her breath tickled against my throat. My palms began clamming up and my legs felt ready to cave but I refused to break eye contact with her.

“Any i***t with access to the internet can do what you did.” I kind of expected a reply like that from her. She was definitely hard to impress.

“Which is where you probably learnt your steps from. Your footwork was shoddy, at best.” I shot back. Two can play at that game.

“Ouch, looks like you do have a little fire in you behind all this dumbass.” I didn’t know why I was smiling this much. The massive grin on my face was only rivalled by hers. Despite our banter, we were enjoying each other’s company and I didn’t want it to end.

“Oh no, I’m 100% dumbass. I just have moments where I take a break from it.” I heard her telling that to Mrs D a couple of months ago and I’ve been waiting ever since then to throw it back at her. Now seemed like the perfect time.

“You heard that.”

“Can’t blame you for saying that but in my defense, you did throw me with a candle that day.” Our laughter resurfaced again and I loved every moment of it.

“We’ll you were being even more of an a*s than usual so you deserved it.”

“Not debating that.” I don’t know when we stopped swaying and just held each other but it felt good. It felt right and exactly what I needed right now. “Hey, I know I said this yesterday but thank you again for dealing with my dumbass these past 5 months. Honestly, if it wasn’t for you then I don’t know where I’d be right now so thank you everything that you’ve done for me, even if it did give me bruises.”

“I’d gladly do it again then.” I looked at her picture perfect smile and only one thought came to my mind; I wanted to taste her smile. If there was one thing I learnt this year was that life was way too short and I wasn’t going to waste anymore time.

I slowly lowered my head towards her, smelling the forgotten scent of my cologne coming off my hoodie. Her eyes trembled with every passing second until it’s last and final gaze before my lips captured hers. This was it. Finally I didn’t feel lost anymore. I didn’t feel like there was a part of me lost in the universe. Everything I needed was fulfilled by the touch of her lips and I wanted more. I came alive and suddenly I was being forced into submission by her mouth on mine. Her arms tightened around my neck while my hands brought her slender body right up against mine. Her body melted against my touch but her strong juicy lips played mine like a well seasoned musician. I wasn’t backing down though. My tongue begged for entrance between her lips until she finally granted it and allowed us to deepen our kiss. I hungered to taste her as much as she did and I didn’t want it to end. This was where I belonged.

“Hunter! Naomi! Open up!” She immediately pulled away from me at the sound of her sister’s banging. I looked at her and refused to release her but her eyes never made contact with mine. The once perfect moment we enjoyed just a few seconds ago immediately turned to panic on her face. I instantly missed her warmth when she removed my hands from her and made her way to the couch.

“It’s open!” Naomi shouted before planting herself down on the couch and drank some of the milkshake. I honestly didn’t know what to do. One moment we were so wrapped up in each other and the next we were like complete strangers. What the actual f**k?

I heard Michaela talking to someone as she entered the house so I made my way to the kitchen to pour me a glass of water so that it could hopefully make sense of the situation I found myself in.

“Still watching those people who think they can find love on some dating show?” Michaela asked her sister when she appeared in the lounge followed by Vincent surprisingly. She needed a ride back here I suppose so who better to call than your boyfriend.

“The drama is interesting.” Naomi replied as if she was watching it. I drained another glass of water then made my way towards them so that I could go upstairs and forget about what happened a couple of moments ago.

“Hunter, we need to talk.” Michaela told me as soon as she saw me. This was probably about my book and I really didn’t want to get into that with her right now.

“Hey Vincent.” I greeted him and he gave me a nod in return. I’m guessing he wasn’t a man of many words.

“Are you just going to ignore me?” Michaela looked like she was ready to murder me but I wasn’t her biggest fan right now either so her looks didn’t bother me. She took a seat on the couch next to her sister so Vincent and I sat down on the 2 single couches on either side of them.

“I was just greeting Vincent first. What do you want to talk about?” It was impossible for her not to hear the irritation in my voice but all she did was raise an eyebrow in response.

“We need your help.” We? She motioned to Vincent which immediately intrigued me. Vincent and I only met yesterday and it wasn’t all that pleasant so what could they possibly want from me.

“What is it?”

“Well… I need you to pretend like we’re dating.” That was one thing I honestly didn’t expect her to say. That wasn’t even on my list of possibilities of what she wanted to talk about. “Look, I know it’s a weird thing to ask but just hear us out.” She turned to Vincent to continue explaining so I decided to give him my attention as well.

“Their parents don’t know that Michaela and I are in a relationship; they think that we’re just friends. They want you and Michaela to date because they think that you guys are good for each other and it’ll strengthen the bond between your two families. So we’re asking for your help to pretend like you’re dating Michaela so that Michaela and I can continue our relationship without her parents finding out.” That was a good plan actually.

“Why don’t you guys just tell your parents?” I asked them.

“You don’t understand, they don’t want me to date anyone and if they find out about Vincent and I then they would keep us apart.” Michaela explained but a smile reluctantly appeared on my face.

“Why are you smiling? This isn’t a joke you know.” That was the fiery Vincent I met yesterday.

“I know this isn’t a joke. I understand…”

“How can you possibly understand this situation?” Vincent clearly didn’t know anything about me and I didn’t blame him for that. I didn’t know him and he didn’t know me.

“I went through the exact same thing with my fiancé.” I finished my grandmother’s ring box out of my pants and placed it on the table so that he could see that I was serious about this as much as he was.

“We grew up together and we loved each other. My parents loved her and her parents loved me but my parents didn’t want us dating. We kept our relationship a secret for over 3 years before I told my parents.”

“What did your parents say?” He had a more sympathetic tone now but that was to be expected I suppose.

“They still didn’t approve and they explained why they didn’t want us dating. They basically told me to choose between my family legacy and her.” My eyes shifted down to the box on the table as a stabbing pain entered my heart. No matter how long it has been, there will always be an emptiness in my heart that I cannot fill.

“You chose her though. You said that she was your fiancé.” Was Vincent actually a romantic? He really didn’t seem like the type. He looked a bit like a fitness fanatic so maybe I just fed into the stereotype.

“It was… complicated.” I could see by the confusion on his face that I had to explain. “I told my parents that I was choosing her and that I was going to quit their company and move out of their house and live with her. I even bought this house for us that same day as a surprise for her. An hour later she was in the hospital; car crash. My parents gave me their blessing finally and I proposed to her and she said yes but then she died. I understand this situation better than both of you.”

“So what do you suggest then?” Vincent asked me.

“Michaela’s parents will never approve of your relationship but who cares what they think. You guys make each other and that won’t change just because her parents disapprove. It will be difficult to continue a relationship with each other if her parents stand in the way but as long as you put in the effort then what does it matter? If both of you make the effort to be together then who can stand in your way?” I saw Michaela and Vincent looking at each other and probably trying to figure out their way forward. My eyes wondered over to Naomi’s and I caught her looking at me for a second before she turned to look at her sister.

“I know that your suggestion is the best in the long run but my parents are stubborn and that won’t change. I want to be with Vincent as much as you wanted to be with Stella but we don’t have everything sorted out like you did.” I could hear the disappointment in Michaela’s voice so I knew that she had given this a lot of thought.

“Will you help us, just until we can come up with a better plan?” The desperation in their eyes showed me that they’d had countless arguments about this already and that they’d have many more until they eventually got their way or it tore them apart.

“Naomi, what do you think about this?” She might’ve wanted to avoid me after our last interaction but I wasn’t going to waste any time. I wanted to be with her and if I agree to fake date her sister then that could throw a spanner in the works.

“You’re right. They should come clean to my parents about their relationship but if they do then that would probably be the end of their relationship as well. My parents are stubborn and once they set their mind to something then that’s the end of the discussion. I think that using you as a way for Vincent and my sister to continue dating will be the best solution until they can come up with a way to my parents that won’t end in total disaster for them. The decision is still yours though. It’s your life that they’ll be interfering with.” Just like she interfered with mine. I looked over at Naomi but she still refused to look at me. It was like the sight of me disgusted her right now.

“Fine. I agree to this… whatever this is but when this blows up in your faces then don’t blame me.” I really didn’t want to do this but they didn’t seem like they were going to give up any time soon.

“That’s a rather negative attitude to this situation.” Naomi commented.

“’Only two can keep a secret if one of them is dead’.” I heard that line somewhere but it felt so appropriate right now.

“So you’re planning to ruin this for them?”

“I’ll give it my all but in my honest opinion, I don’t think that things will work out for the best.” The joy in their eyes from a moment ago seemed to be distinguished with my words. “I have no doubt that you guys love each other, it’s just that this plans has so many… variables that I don’t think it will last very long.”

“As long as you do your part then let us worry about the rest.” Vincent assured me.

“Oh, there’s also one more thing.” Michaela sounded a little unsure of herself. She fidgeted with her fingers for a moment before she built up the courage and looked me dead in the eye. “We’re going to need a safe place to meet up and since my parents will think that we’re dating…”

“You want to use my house.” I concluded for her. That was a good idea at least. “It won’t work anywhere else so I guess you’ll have to.”

“Thank you. We know this whole situation isn’t ideal for anyone so thank you for doing all this.” I could hear the sincerity in her voice and I appreciated it despite my feelings towards their plan.

“Just be happy.” Saying those words immediately evoked a pain in my chest. Those were Stella’s last words to me and I never felt the weight of those words since the day she died like I did now.

“I’m going to go take a nap so if you guys leave then just close the door behind you. My cousins will be here soon enough.” My hands shook as I pushed myself off the couch. I quickly made my way mast them and went straight up the stairs to the bathroom. A tear strolled down my face as I stood in front of the mirror and watched the rapid shaking in my eyes. Why was I feeling so… broken?

“Hunter, are you okay?” Naomi asked through the door. She didn’t even want to look at me downstairs so why did she suddenly care about me right now.

“I’m fine.” I opened the tap and quickly splashed some cold water on my face to hopefully wash away everything I was feeling. I didn’t hear a reply so I hoped that Naomi left but that hoped was dashed when the door opened and she emerged in the room.

“You know I’m not leaving so don’t bother telling me to go away.” She stated.

“You didn’t look like you wanted anything to do with me downstairs so why the change of heart?” I took a towel from the towel rack and dried my face before facing her.

“I…” She stopped then slowly closed the door and leaned back against it. “Look, what happened earlier can’t happen again. We’re friends and I’ll be here for you whenever you need me to be but we can’t be kissing each other especially now since you’ll be pretending to be in a relationship with my sister.”

“Why can’t we kiss each other?” I raised my eyebrow at her.

“Because you and my sister need to be convincing enough to fool my parents.”

“No, that’s not the reason.”

“You... um…”

“Tell me the truth. Why do you not want to be with me?” 

“Because you’re not ready.” She blurted out. I could see that she didn’t mean to say that so brazenly but that just confirmed that she was telling the truth. “I’m sorry but it’s true. You’re broken, you told me that yourself. I was there for you after Stella died to help you through the pain and now you think that you somehow like me when in fact you’re just doing the same thing that you did with Stella. She was the only girl you knew from your childhood and you eventually fell in love because you didn’t meet anyone else. I was the only one that helped you after you lost Stella and now you think that you’re falling in love with me but all you’re doing is trying to force your happiness onto someone else because you don’t want to feel the pain of the person you lost.”

“You’re right, I am broken.” I agreed as I tightened my grip on the towel in my hands. Her words infuriated me and I could feel myself wanting to lash out at her but I refused to give into it because that would just confirm what she said. “I’m never going to be the same but you can’t deny that there is something going on between us. You’re not a placeholder for my pain or a distraction from it. You make me happy Naomi. You forced yourself into my life and that was the best thing that has happened to me in a while because you make me smile and live life despite my stubbornness. Stella wanted me to be happy and you are the person that makes me happy.”

“Look, Hunter, it’s just not going to work out between us.”

“Why do you get to decide that? All I want to do is be happy with you if you just give us a chance.”

“I’m sorry Hunter but we can’t do this.” If there was anything left of my heart then it was just completely shattered now. I just felt so defeated, like everything that drove me to wake up and breathe was just gone now.

“I know you’re hurting right now but I don’t think I can help you anymore.” I looked at her saddened eyes and saw the pain she was in as well but she turned around and quickly exited the bathroom. I wanted to go after her but my body felt drained of all it’s energy. The burning feeling in my chest was the only comfort I was left with.