Mortified

chapter 8

I am woken up by a rather disturbing sound. I take a minute to absorb what’s happening and then realise that Dallas is having a nightmare. He is moving his legs as if running away from something, it must be real bad. I try to shake him but he is already quite shaken. I put my legs on either side of his body and stop him from moving. I shake him and hit on his shoulder and ultimately he wakes up and his green eyes meet me. They are full of fear. I studied about this class. When a person gets scared in their dreams their eyeballs are the biggest. He holds me and hugs me and then buries his face in my chest. His breathing is really fast. I move my hand in his hair to calm him down. I know that there is a lot he hasn’t told me, and I know that I need to know but I don’t push, at least right now is not the time. When the time is right he’ll tell me, I know!

The next morning, when I wake up, he is not beside me. I look around and see him sitting on the chair writing something. I get up and go hug him.

“Good morning sunshine!” he tells me and I kiss him briefly, then move around to get my clothes. I had changed into his shirt before I had slept. The dress was getting too uncomfortable. After I have done everything and am about to leave, he gives me the note. He hasn’t spoken anything since the time I got up until now,

“Don’t read it before you reach back. I will understand if you don’t want to meet me again. It has been a wonderful ‘4 meetings’ with you.”

We go to the car and he drives me back. As I am about to get down I move up to kiss him but he stops me and just hugs me and goes away. How bad can it be? My inner self is getting really scared.

When I return, Emily is nowhere to be seen and I assume that she has gone out with George who was here this weekend.

Before I get to read the letter, I change, call my mother and do everything required but when I can no longer concentrate on anything, I sit down to read.

‘Dear Katherine,

I am writing you this letter because I need you to know what you are up for if you want to continue seeing me. Well here it goes, yesterday night I had a bad dream. It was about my father. When I was small, he used to hit my mother every day when he used to be back from being drunk. When I was really small I wouldn’t understand as my mother used to lock me in my room when he used to do that. But as I grew up, I couldn’t tolerate it anymore. So I started coming in the middle, but my father didn’t stop. He continued hitting me and her with his belt. One day my mother and I were playing and she was telling me that my sister was moving inside her. I still remember her laughter, those eyes which were for a moment not scared from anyone. That was the last time I saw her smiling. My father came home really drunk that night because he had lost his job. He was walking very clumsily and as soon as he saw my mother he removed his belt and started hitting her. My mother was supposed to deliver in a week but he hit her so badly that she feel on her stomach and had to be taken to the hospital. When we reached the hospital, my mother had lost a lot of blood. After about 9 hrs, my sister was born. The doctors asked him how she had so many injuries and he said that he was mentally sick and tried to suicide many times. After all that, my mother never spoke to him. She had to live with him and she put up with him only because of us. She never earned money. She could have left otherwise but she didn’t want to leave her children to this drunk bastard. Over the years, it became unbearable. He never stopped even after that incident. He proved her sick because of which she had to take medicines. And then one day, it was so much that she gave up and fell into coma. This is why she hasn’t stepped out since then. My father fixed his ways but I could never forgive him for all the torture he had done. And that night, I don’t know why but he came back drunk, and again started hitting me. My sister came out from her room and he tried to hit her. I have always kept her in a shell and I wasn’t going to let it brake. So before he could, I hit him with a vase on his hand and in the process I got hurt too. All my night mares have been about him always. I defied love most of the time. But then I saw you and something sparked. If it yet means anything to you please save me, I know it’s too soon in our relationship but please save me, because Meadow Hollick, I AM IN LOVE WITH YOU!’

I am in tears by the end of the letter. I can see the print is a little smudged here and there because of water, tears I suppose. Yes, I love him too.

I take the letter and drive straight to his house. I am yet crying, but somehow they are the tears of happiness. I run to his room and knock really loudly. My inner goddess is dong her own melodrama.

As soon as he opens the door, I kiss him possessively because he is only mine. I can feel him smile under our kiss.

“Thank you for not running away.” He whispers.

“Thank you for the letter. Oh and one more thing, I love you too.”

And together we embark on a mysterious journey.