The one to remember

Xander

"So Zoey, do you have any plans for the weekend? What do you usually do during weekends?" my mom asked Zoey while we all eat the breakfast. 

"I am going out with my friends today, we have plans to go see the opera or jazz something not really sure what but we are doing something" she said with a smile to my mom. Anyone can see that she adores my mother so much. All there is love and respect in her eyes for her. I remember when there were days when Zoey would come from school to my house and my mom would sit and watch cartoons with her. This was when she was a senior in highschool. Zoey loves to watch cartoons. And at times they would also sit and watch America's Got Talent or X-Factor and be all competitive about it. Zoey also used to watch football at our house. We both used to sit and support Real Madrid. I wonder if she still supports the team. 

"These friends of yours you met them during your university time?" 

"Yeah! I met them here the day I landed in Amsterdam. You know I did my bachelors from Wien" Wait what...... what did she just say 

"Do you mean Vienna?" my mom asked and her sister laughed

"Yeah! I have been around way too many germans and that's what the country is called Aunt April." My mom laughed. Looking at them it looks like a child telling her mom about her day. All of us had a smile on our faces and for a moment it felt that everything was fine between me and Zoey. She would look at me and smile and make gestures with her hands while talking to my mom. I want to fix everything between me and my baby. I want her to talk to me like this too. But when I looked back towards Zoey's house, there was a man in her kitchen opening different cupboards. 

"Baby don't freak out but there is a man in your house" I said with concern. Not realising I called her baby in front of her sister and my mother. But right now I was too focused on the man in the other house. How did he enter the house. My mother and Zyera were looking at me for calling Zoey baby as if there wasn't an intruder in the other house but Zoey was looking at inside her house with a frown. And then suddenly she got up from her chair and started to run towards her house with a smile. I was so confused and before I can stop her Laura stopped me. 

"He isn't going to harm her baby boy. Sit down and finish your breakfast." But how can I, when all I could see was Zoey being happy and jumping in that man's arm. No no no no no... she is suppose to do this to me. Only me! She cannot jump on other men like this. Who is he? Is she dating him? I will kill this man if he thinks that she is going to date him. She is mine. I need to do something. Get them apart. 

"She officiated his wedding" Laura said as if sensing what I am going through. 

"What?" I asked still looking at that man and Zoey talking. Why is she so happy around other people but me. Why can't she be like this with me too. What did I do to her? 

"She went to Canada and officiated her best friends wedding with this man, his name is Robert and he stays in Ontario with his wife. Last year as anniversary gift Zoey gave them both flight tickets to Amsterdam and maybe they both are here to visit but what I don't understand is what is he doing here without his wife. Something must be up. Oh wait hold on what is the date today?"

"The 12th May, honey" my mom said 

"Oh! today is the opera day, I think during their university days and when I say during it is during for them not for Zoey. Zoey is still in school" 

"Wait Zoey is still doing her masters?" I asked confused

"Yeah she is. She is getting her phd.  She is also maybe interning or working something..... she is doing something." my baby is getting phd. She has always been so smart. 

"Laura, can I ask you something?" 

"Sure go ahead" Laura said taking another bite of her cereal. My mom has left the kitchen and was setting up the house.

"Why did you both leave New York? And even without telling any of us?" Laura suddenly tensed. She went deep in her thoughts.

"You knew I was in love with her and that we were dating so why did she just leave? I have tried to find you both so much and I made so many scenarios in my head but nothing ever made sense. I have been frustrated for years and now when I look at her all I see is nothing. It feels that there is love but she is so closed off and you should know how it makes me feel Laura. She hasn't even looked at me properly once till now." I said still looking at Zoey with a blank lookon my face. She was still in the kitchen talking to the man. 

Laura also looked at Zoey before she said "We left because of you." These were the words that crushed me entirely. For so many years I was the reason why she wasn't with me. It was my fault. But what did I even do that was so bad that she had to leave without any explanation. There has to be something more.

"Laura this doesn't make any sense. What are you saying?" I said in a very quiet and angry voice.

"How many books have you written since she left? How many scripts have you written? How many movies have you acted in? How many movies have you directed? So many. Xander you are famous and she left because she wanted to see you succeed. You have always talked about how you would have hated your life if you became a wasted talent. It's been 8 years since we left and look at where you are now. In 25 years of age you are the most famous person in the entire world. People know you everywhere and now you left all that behind and are a CEO of a big company and living with your mother. Who would have thought a famous man would live with his mother."

"Laura you are going off topic. Why did you both leave?" I asked in panic but I already know the answer. Zoey always said it but I never thought she would actually do it.

"Xander, you stopped chasing your dreams when she was there and she hated what she was making you do for her. She was getting dependent on you and you stopped focusing on the work. You only focused on her. She stopped you from becoming waste talent and if that happened she knew that you would blame no one but her. She too would blame her for doing this to you. She was too deeply in love with you and too dependent and if she just stopped talking to you, you would have made her come back to you and she would cave. We had to leave to help you become what you are right now." Laura had a sad smile on her face. "I have seen her suffer Xander. Leave an entire continent to put space between you two. Everyday she had a fight with herself to stop herself from calling you. When you love someone you should be ready to suffer or else that love has no meaning to it. That's what she used to tell me whenever I would scold her for suffering. And then she would say, one day fate will make you meet her again. And see where we are now. But I saw her smile from the day your first movie came, where you were the Assistant Director, she watched that movie everyday till it was removed from the theatres. All your movies she has watched in more than 50times in the theatre itself. Your books, she remembers in by hard. Ask her any line she knows the page number. We made this into a drinking game to test her memory and she would still know everything. All your interviews everything, she knows it all. And that is how I know we did the write thing by moving." 

There was pitch silence. No one spoke anything. I know my mom heard everything. I can hear her cry. I could hear Laura breathe loudly as if she is controlling her emotions. My eyes were moist and I know a tear was about to fall but I was so stunned to move. And at that moment I saw Zoey looking at me with worry in her eyes. She could sense my emotion, because there was a shift in her's as well. She was tensed and worried and was looking at me with her big eyes. I see the love now. And now I know why she hasn't talked to me properly so far. She is in fear. She is in hiding. She is protecting me and she is protecting herself from the pain of leaving me again. That silly girl thinks I am going to fail in life if she is in my life. How could I be this stupid to not see what she was doing. How did I ended up hating her. Zoey you just changed both of our past with her sacrifice. I have to talk to her. Make her understand that she has to be part of my life. I have to make her understand that there is no life without her. I need to win her back. And I know that stubborn girl would do everything in her power to not let this happen. She is the hero and the villain in our story but we both know that at the end, the hero always wins. We both continued to look into each other eyes as if making a promise to fight for and against each other.