Rancorous

Chapter 29

PRESENT

Brevin

I can't sleep. It's a Sunday morning, and I've been staring at the ceiling for the past five hours. My mind keeps replaying last night when I danced with Coval. What she said. How she felt in my arms.

Glancing at the night clock, I rub my eyes when I read the time. 5:03 am.

It's getting more difficult to see the girl who wrote me the letter. As if the girl who wrote me the letter and the girl standing in front of me are two completely different people.

Or more like who I grew up with is who I'm seeing now.

But that can't be. It was clearly her handwriting. Her address. Her name signed at the end of everything she wrote

And then, a potential revelation hits me.

Her parents.

They never liked me. They hated that I was friends with their daughter and I don't doubt that they would've done anything to cut ties between Coval and I. Even ask her to write a letter maybe she never intended to.

But I remember her talking about the letter, and it seemed like when she spoke about it, she was adamant that she wrote it out of her own volition.

Nothing makes sense.

Now, even as I think back to the moment I read her words, to the moment my world fell apart, I can't level my head again. I can't see my path so clearly because I no longer know what I want.

Even so, in this moment, it's just you and me. Like, we're the only ones that matter.

I didn't think she heard what I said when we danced under the oak tree, but she did. And she remembered. Is this part of her game again?

Or is she being genuine?

I rip the covers off of me and walk down the hall in a t-shirt, boxers, and socks. Once I reach my office, I snag the door open and go straight for my desk.

Maybe I'm a masochist for keeping her letter. Rummaging through the drawers, I find the pale yellow envelope that holds a dark memory.

My heart and ears pound as my shaky hands withdraw the crinkled letter. Even before I begin reading, the memory of when I read it for the first time is already torturing me as it resurfaces.

————————————

FIVE YEARS AGO

Brevin

Dear Brevin,

This is the only letter I will be writing to you and I want you to read it carefully.

I am the one who went to the police to tell them about you stealing. I knew that you would always be like your dad. A poor man who would resort to stealing to get what you want and not work hard because you're just lazy.

I was friends with you because I felt bad for you. Nobody else could step up so I had to do it. I tried hard to continue being your friend but honestly, I was tired of you. I wanted to get rid of you so I could finally live my life and make some actual friends. You were always holding me back from that.

So, I want you to never contact me again. We aren't friends anymore. Move on and live your life now.

Goodbye,

Herlina Coval.

I left my bedroom feeling overcome by lassitude. I hadn't had an ounce of shut eye. The pain in my heart was overbearing, each beat tearing the seams that loosely held it together.