ELAYNE

On my Own

I was back with Lola again. I wanted to forget about August as soon as possible. I even kissed an another guy just to get rid of his memories. I was planning a revenge for what he was doing.I was replacing his memories with someone else.
A small part of me was fuming in anger but the larger part of me wanted him back. I hated the way I hold my grudges. I hated it!

It's been a week since I've got out of my hospital. I've heard that August called my professors even though he didn't reached out to me .
It was a weird day..The weather was windy and cold. I decided to visit August and talk it out. I was in a much better place mentally to finally give him a chance to explain.
I put on a black t-shirt and cap . I went straight to our regular cafe and met Lola and Clave. This was the time I needed advice from them. They shared weird glances every now and then . They both were keenly listening to my tantrums about August. I also confessed how guilty I was for using the other guy to get over him.

"What?! You kissed who?-" Clave asked.
"I know ...I know it's wrong. I shouldn't have done that with somebody I've just met. Even though it was a fake double date.. aghhh... I'm sorry ." I said .
"Ina.." Lola called me softly , staring at me with concern all over her face . Her gaze then turned to Clave who was just as surprised as her.
There was silence for a moment. I knew they'd be surprised but the situation was a lot stranger than I could Imagine.

...

Ina was deliberately in love but she wanted to run away from the potential hurt that would cause her. Lola and Clave were stunned and surprised to hear the words of Ina.
They were worried about their best friend .
"Uhh..Ina did you take your morning tablets? " Lola asked.
"I did." Ina replied .
Lola then stood up from her seat and spoke.
"Let's go to August's home together and sort these out ... I don't think it's a good plan to keep it going like this ."
Lola was a free spirit but she was a witness to the horrific feelings Ina was experiencing. She was the only one who knew how much she was suffering. Every morning, she used to wake up before Ina just so she could be there if Ina was having a nightmare . She was a parent to her, a sister ..and this was too much for her to watch. Her heart wrecked every time Ina cried her chest out . She was empathizing with her heart breaks and pain and decided that it was time to put an end to it once and for all .
There will be huge consequences ... but now, all the fears that were freezing her was vaporising.
She stormed into the car , dragging Ina with her . She placed Ina in the passenger seat and got into the driver's seat. Clave occupied the backseat and started eating the snacks inside .
In less than five minutes, they reached their destination- August's home.
"wait here ...I'll go first" Lola said.
She went inside and came back within five minutes . Her face looked disturbed.
She called Ina and Clave inside . Ina was walking behind Clave as she had doubts circling inside her mind.
"Ina..." His voice called her. The voice that was deep as an ocean yet calm as the nights . The smell of lavenders filled her senses. A spike of nostalgia arised in her dampened mind, like a ray of sunlight falling through the dense branches in a forest. She lifted her face from the ground and met his beautiful deep eyes . His eyes looked tired unlike the typical August who always had fire and hope.
She furrowed her eyebrows when she saw Lola whispering something to him , inaudible to Ina.
They were now sitting on the couches , sharing silent glances at one another . Ina fixated her eyes on the ground like her life depended on it.
" Ina..Uhh..He only loves you.. Don't overthink much..OK?" Clave said
"yeah..It's only you. Maybe your insecurity is making you feel this way. it's okay ...but trust him. We all do." Lola added.
"You are the most important to me Ina." August finally said , his voice was low yet bold enough to affirm that he meant it.
Ina was listening to their words , hate filling her heart. She felt an ache to hear her dear friends trying to understand his side while her feelings went invalid in front of them. She scoffed in disbelief.
"Sigh* So ...I should just ignore whatever he is doing and be with him?" Ina asked, keeping her voice high and steady.
They were not expecting such an outburst from her. She soon started raging like the day she left August. She got up and went to his room , still keeping her voice high. They were all trying to stop her , calm her...but it was all too much for her. She was again losing her mind feeling helpless in her situation.
"Where are you going.." August asked in a concerned tone .
She ignored it and walked straight into his room , pulling the drawers open.
"Ha! I was right. You locked it just to make sure that I never saw any of these." She laughed , aggressiveness filling each sound coming out of her mouth.
August , Lola and Clave rushed behind her but they couldn't stop her . Ina rummaged through the objects inside the drawers , impatiently looking for something she had in her mind.
Yes..she found something.
Ina's eyes caught a book inside the drawer that she was very familiar with.
"Elayne" She read the title. She turned her head towards the three people standing beside her . They all looked at her , waiting for her response.
"How did YOU get this?" Ina asked while her eyes passed from August ...to Lola ...and then to Clave.
"What are you all hiding from me?" she shouted, making Clave and Lola flinch.
August took steps towards Ina and wrapped his arms around her despite her pushing and pulling away. He wanted to make her stay . He knew she was about to leave .He tightened his grip , sighing before he spoke in a low helpless whispery voice.
"It was hers ."

"What?" she widened her eyes , letting go off the book in her hands. The book fell on the ground and closed itself.
He hummed in response, keeping her safe in his arms.
The rage inside Ina was calming down and she could feel her emotions turning numb. The whole room went silent for a few minutes. Clave and Lola went back to the living room and placed themselves back on the couch. August pulled away from her and held her wrist.
"There's something you must know . Lola was right." he said.
He took her back to the main room and made her sit on the couch at the centre. He sat on the floor below her, keeping his hands on her wrist. Lola and Clave were sitting on her two sides.
She felt confused and numb. A lot of questions were arising in her mind . She had numerous emotions passing through her body each second. Her mind was clouding and she felt herself sweating.
She sobbed helplessly.
"what is happening?"
August slowly caressed her hands . The room was tensing up with a lot of unexplainable emotions running through each of their minds.
"I'm sorry Ina... It was all my fault...
I I..s-shouldn't have ...I -I hate myself for hiding everything . I'm really sorry." He said gazing into my teary eyes. I could see him breaking inside just from the way he was looking at me.