Down Memory Lane ✓

22- The Second Door

P.S: The picture isn't the exact scene as they would be inside the house, not outside, but that's an idea of the scene.

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The Second Door

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CLARISSA CANNOT leave here. You must ensure this! There is a party and you will go, but you have to make sure she's inside when you set her only exit to flames.

My only exit? That had to be a door in my house and if setting it to flames means exactly what it does, then she's planning to burn down my house and possibly kill me in the process or give me major-degree burns that will zero my chances of leaving here before a week is over.

"We have to go. Now. We can't waste any more time," I said and rushed to leave, but stopped when only my footsteps resounded around me. I veered around to see that he was still standing at the same spot with one of his hands clenched and gazing hard at the floor.

"Kai? What's wrong?" I said with tentative steps toward him.

"It's just... do you have to go?" he started and when his eyes met mine, the intensity of emotion in them would have swept me off my feet if I wasn't secure. And it was nothing like the one that I'd seen in Mariana's and Aunt Vera's eyes. No, this was different.

"What I mean is, you are quite safe here. What if you just..." he hesitated.

"I'm safe, but how will I know which door to pass through? The person who's going to tell me the door is someone I know, someone I've spoken to for the past few days, and that person is going to be at the party. If what this letter says is true, then she is planning to burn my house down. She thinks I'm going to be in there so she wants to burn it and..." I paused, swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat just from the thought that my aunt was considering killing me.

"What if someone else gets stuck, someone I care about? Tony, my dad, Jane. I can't just stay here and be safe while knowing that they're in danger. I have to go."

"But... The last time Mariana stabbed you, you came back acting as if nothing happened. What if this time it's worse and something happens? You go on talking about your real life, well from my point of view, this is my real life and I want you to be safe. I don't want you to go," he said and before I could reply, he continued.

"And I don't mean it in the evil way that your aunt and Mariana must have done," he said, and I chuckled. The sound seemed to bring some relief to his tight shoulders.

"Kai, I understand. I know how you feel. This must seem..." I sighed. "Weird, but I can't stay. I am my future self and this is my past. I don't belong here. It's still the same as me, just that I've grown. That's why I don't belong here, but my past self does, and you have her. That wouldn't change. I know you're worried and there's no assurance that everything would be fine because I don't know what's going to happen after all this."

I took the clenched hand in mine and pried it open to interlace our fingers. His eyes zeroed in on it.

"I know you want what's best for me. But I also know what's best for me at this moment is going back home. There's nothing more that I would want."

His eyes met mine before his lips claimed mine. Our fingers disconnected as he pulled me closer and I clenched his shirt tighter. The kiss wasn't like the one we shared earlier. It was one of longing, fear, and hope. We both didn't know what would happen after this, but I had more idea than he probably did.

Back home, he wouldn't be there and our relationship's future hung in uncertainty. So I kissed him back with as much emotion as he kissed me until he pulled back.