Twice Upon Them

Chapter 5 | Nick | Scars

ErajRashid15and@ALITeFati, you can now resume eating your chocolate. I appreciate your risky sacrifice. :')

Some of my work for the chapter got deleted, hence the late update. :(

I apologize for the short chapter, but I didn't know how to make it longer (*cough cough* Writer's Block and the dreaded thing called school getting in the freaking way *cough cough*). However, this chapter's important since it gives you some insight on Nick and what he's been up to during Kayla's absence.

Jazak Allah for the support, and may Allah reward you all. Ameen.

Enjoy. :)

***

The only reason why I attended the wedding was because my sister dragged me to it. She's apparently very close to Kayla's brother, whose dad was getting remarried, and she felt the need to go there along with me, even though we're not really related, or even close, to the guests. However, I was surprised to see Kayla being ushered toward the podium and giving out the speech.

The first thing she does after she finishes wiping her tears is punch my shoulder. It hurts, but I don't show it to her since that's the last thing I should do when she's in this vulnerable state.

Kayla looks up at me with a mix of confusion and anger. "So it is you. I'm not dreaming, right?" I nod my head slowly. "Why did you just walk out like that? Don't you know what I've been through?" The next thing she does surprises me; she envelopes her arms around my waist. "I'm so pathetic," she mutters while her tears soak my pressed shirt. "I'm an idiot."

I lift my hand up to comfort her, but drop it back to my side, knowing that I shouldn't this. It's just not right; I'll eventually have to leave her again, and getting her too attached to me won't benefit her at all. Instead, it'll obliterate her dam of emotions which already seems to be shattered at this point.

I attempt to remove her arms, but she immediately holds on to me tightly. "Please...don't go," she whispers. Her body trembles next to mine as she silently sobs. I look around nervously. I can't handle emotional breakdowns, especially ones like these. I don't know how to comfort a girl, despite living with my sister Maddie for the past fourteen years. It's just not my forte; but seeing Kayla cry so emotionally just breaks my heart into two.

"Kayla."

"...Hm?"

"Let go of me for a sec and look up at me." She does. I lead her to a table near the entrance of the indoor venue. I pull out a chair for her, and she slowly sits down. Her eyes are red and puffy. I've never seen her cry like this; I've never imagined that she'd ever would. Yes, she's been through a lot, but I know her as someone who locks her emotions inside of her. But when it's too much to bear, it seems that she doesn't have the willpower to do so anymore.

"You said you've been through a lot...What do you exactly mean by that?" I question her a little tentatively.

She looks down at the table while her tears still roll down her cheeks and onto her lap. "I told you. I'm a pathetic idiot. I fell in love, when I told myself not to, and that guy is getting married to another girl in a month. I haven't felt like this before - ever. Somehow, thinking about it just triggers my emotions and makes me leak tears. Like an idiot."

I don't say anything for a while. Most people would say, "You're not an idiot, stop being so hard on yourself." But I realize that I've made the same mistake as she did. I fell in love with the girl sitting in front of me while she had her attention on someone else.