The pain...
"I'm fine, pa..." Heaven tried to convince her father for the nth time, pushing him towards the door with conviction. He really wouldn't budge. "I promise."
It has been days since the festival ended, and everything was still the same. Except at the same time, it wasn't.
Each day progressed one by one, with Heaven waking up, preparing for the day, and then staying in the kitchen to bake for the customers, and then close up after the hours. It was an eat, sleep, repeat process.
She was going through it one by one, but she couldn't say that she was functioning well.
She can't even say how she makes and bakes all day. It all passes through her head. She didn't know how she'd got up, eat, then proceed to the kitchen.
It was like she was on auto-pilot.
Now, her father was worried that something would happen while he was away. He had an out-of-town dinner with friends, they planned to fish by the other town's lake a few months back, and although he wanted to decline and stay with her, Heaven assured him with all her might that she was fine.
"Just go. I promise I'll be fine." she smiled at him, trying so hard to make it look like her normal, happy smile as he stood by the door and onto his car. "It's only for two days."
With a sigh, Howard agreed. After a few reminders that she'd call him whenever something happened or if she needed him, that he'd come right back, or that she'd call him whenever she wanted to.
Heaven laughed at his worries, assuring him that everything would be fine. It was only two days.
She waved him goodbye as he drove off the garage, maintaining her smile as she watched him go.
Once he was out of sight, Heaven's smile fell, replaced with a tired sigh as she looked back at the cafe.
She said she was fine, that she was going to be okay. She was doing the exact opposite.
Her headache didn't leave her, not once, and she was always drained and tired. She tried maintaining the strength to bake for the cafe, although all she wanted to do was lay down and sleep.
Heaven walked up the stairs and to her room, shutting the door and lying down on her bed to catch some sleep.
Aside from the exhaustion, she also dealt with sleeplessness. She was so damn tired all the time but she couldn't sleep.
That night kept replaying on her head.
What happened with Ruby... Ryker and Hudson's reaction... and then what happened the days after.
Some of the customers on the cafe, mostly the locals, would find themselves staring at her whenever she was at the counter taking orders, or when she was placing the pastries by the display.
She thought that she was being paranoid at first, that she was only thinking it, but then it was really true.
The rumor about what happened years ago was alive once again, and the protagonist of the story was right there in front of them. Alive.
The living legend.
The abandoned bride.
Their stares and whispers would haunt her throughout the day, and it was noticeable. She would make mistakes with the measurements, mess up the food and sometimes burn her hand. She hated it.
It was affecting her more than it should.
It made her anxious. It made her scared. She hated how the situation made her feel. She was doing fine, but one word and presence from the other party of the story and the wall she built was broken down once again.
