Moonlit Man (bxb)

Chapter 13 - Broken Hearted Girl

Kate was under the covers, hiding from the world. Crumpled balls of tissue were scattered across her silky sheets and on her fury rug, accompanied by empty tubs of ice cream lazily discarded on the quartz floor. The thin rays of sunlight cutting through the half-opened blinds only stressed the sprawling clothes and general mess in the room. A faint knock could be heard from the door. "Go away."

"At least have some breakfast baby. You haven't eaten any proper food for two days now."

"Mom please, I'm not in the mood to eat."

"Tough." The thin, blonde haired woman entered, elegantly dressed in a purple night gown and pink fury slippers, armed with a tray of eggs, bacon, and orange juice. She sat herself by the end of the bed by Katie's feet and placed the tray down. "Get up, it's time for some good old fashioned damage control." Katie arose from her slumber and propped herself up on the leather ottoman headboard and reached for some toast. "You still haven't told me what happened."

"Its Sam."

"What happened, is he okay? Did you guys have an argument?" She asked, as she leaned back on the headboard too, now parallel with her daughter.

"I told him I love him." Katie's mom leaned in closer as she noticed Katie's nose scrunching up, which usually happened just before she was about to cry.

"Oh baby... It's hard I know." She ran her fingers through Katie's hair in an effort to comfort her.

"Mom you should have seen his face. I'm so stupid... *sniffles* ... I should have known he doesn't like me. It's like he froze." Katie said, as she propped her head on her mother's comforting shoulder.

"These things happen baby, I still remember when it happened to me." She said, as she stared at the ceiling.

"Dad, didn't say 'I love you back?" Katie looked up at her mother's face.

"It wasn't with Dad. This was before I married your father. I was even ready to run away with him. But my family forbid it as he was too ... 'common'. The night after I told my parents about him, I sneaked out of the house and went to meet him in our usual spot in Bowling Green Park in New York. We had a plan. I would steal some cash from your grandparents, and we would get train tickets to Chicago." Kate stopped sniffling and remained fixated on her mother's story, hanging on to every word.

"What happened?"

"He said he didn't love me anymore. I was heartbroken and everything went to shit. At the time, he was everything to me, my life. It felt like part of mine had vanished along with that relationship. From that point, I was convinced that it would be better to marry your dad, whom my family courted me with. It was easier and it made everyone happy, including me."

"Aw mom. I never knew that." Katie slowly reached for the tray again and started picking at the food.

"But that's life sweetie. It just wasn't meant to be. Look at me now, I am married to one the most influential men in the state and I have a beautiful daughter."

"I guess... it just hurts so bad. I really liked him. He's kind, thoughtful and gentle, mom. He's special. You can tell him the smallest thing and he will remember it for life. Months ago, I used to have a plant that I never really took care of, but he would water it every morning and shift it towards the sunlight. That's the type of person he is."

"Hmm, I know it hurts Katie. At the time, the grief caused by unrequited love feels overwhelming. But I'm telling you now, it will pass. When it does, we learn more about life and pain than we will ever know. We remember it, process it, and use it as fuel to go on. But knowing you Katie, you will use that fuel and go on to do so many things."

"Thanks mom. I will use that pain. I'm going to be the best damn CEO Veneno International has ever seen. I will make him proud of me, mom. I want Dad to never regret having a daughter instead of a son."

"Atta' girl. Also don't forget, mama's already proud of the young woman you've become." She embraced her daughter tightly as a smile grew on Katie's face.

"What should I do about Sammie?" Kate asked.

"There's nothing much you can do. But if you really do love him, you've got to hold on. Hold on to him and to that friendship you guys have built over the years. I'm sure that boy thinks the world of you. You need to hear his side too baby."

"Now that I think about it, I didn't even let him explain. I just shut off and put that wall up again. I sheltered myself from the one person who sends me a 'goodnight' text every night; the person who helped me deal with my last break up; the person who gave me his bed whenever I fell asleep at his house ... That's not my story Mom. I don't want to play the broken-hearted girl. I deserve someone who wants me completely and unequivocally. But I also won't abandon him. He's been dealt a shit hand of cards in life and I'm not going to add to his pain. Even though he broke my heart, I know I'll be there for him at the end of the day, just like he's been there for me.

Katie's mother lovingly stroked her daughter cheek and said, "Now you've got it girl."