Fated to You

Chapter 33: Ground Rules

Becky stared at the elongated hand as if it was a strange, mystical creature, yet unheard by the world before shifting those inquiry eyes back up to stare at the seemingly expectant stranger.

"Where the hell did my sister fish you up from? Becky snorts at the preppy-looking man, who embarrassed enough at his dismissed handshake, receded slowly to being confused.

"Becky," Charlotte hisses, "be nice,"

Becky shakes her head, bemused "be nice? Really Charlotte?"

"Yes" Charlotte repeats, "You'll be leaving with her for the next few days until you are able to go back to the company."

Becky's eyes become somber as soon as thoughts of Freen walking around her office come to mind. She won't be stealing glances anymore. There would be no one, no one that she's used to even though it has been so short a time. She feels as if Freen had been working with her all along.

She walks to a nearby couch and drops her whole body weight and then nonchalantly grabs the remote to turn on the TV, "I'm not going back to Headquarters." Becky says, "I quit."

The man looks, concerting, at the young lady, "You want to quit?"

Becky briefly gives him a glance, "What's it to you? It's none of your business."

Charlotte marches in front of an annoyed Becky Armstrong and stands guard, hindering her sight to the TV, "Becky, I'll have you know that this person is key to your recovery."

Becky shrugs, "What recovery?" She blinks dubiously at them both, "I'm fine. You guys are the ones acting weird. My mom locks me up. You hire a therapist. Mon calls me every second. And this goofy-looking moron who doesn't even know what to do with himself..."

"Becky...!" Charlotte barks.

She rolls her eyes, "what?" annoyingly granting sight to the petite figure in front of her. "I'm fine. Stop trying to fix me like I am broken. I'm not a toy." She says. "I don't want to heal. I don't want to recover. I want to stay like this. I want to feel the pain. If I stop feeling the pain then that means, I move on. That means, I accept that life goes on. I don't want that. I don't want life to move on. If I let it, I will forget Freen and I don't want to forget her. I refuse to. I'll keep on living in the past with her and deny any future in which she's not by my side. So," She stands up to her full height, resulting in getting Charlotte to look up, "STOP TRYING TO HELP ME!"

The man sadly watches the woman. The woman whose heart he unintentionally broke. He wishes to tell her the truth so badly but he can't. Without thinking, he opens his arms and walks over to Becky, "I'm sorry." He roughly murmurs.

Becky frowns, "what?"

Seeing Becky not reacting, he walks to her instead, his hands inviting, "You look so in pain. I can't stand it." He gets close enough to embrace her in his arms, and as he does, he speaks, "If I may, let me take away your pain. Seeing you like this, you can't imagine how tormented I am inside. It's weird to you but I have more right to care that deeply for you than you think. I'm so sorry." The man tightens his arms around Becky's body, "I'm so damn sorry."

Becky had not felt stranger ways than this odd feeling of security and warmth and this puzzled her the most. She doesn't know this man and yet this feeling of familiarity had kept her immobile. She couldn't move and neither did she think that she just didn't want to move. The perfume which she could smell from the man is all too familiar and enthralling and Becky found herself deliberately giving in to the hug. She immediately pulled herself together though, once she realizes that her reaction is inappropriate to the circumstances and even more so, to herself. This is not who she is.