Parting Ways

Parting Ways - Chapter Two

Chapter Two

(Dedicated to SincerelyShayla for bringing a smile on my face with her comment on the earlier chapter. I appreciate it very much. Thank you so much!)

Have you ever done something you didn’t want to? Your heart sending ugly profanities in your way but your mind just keep on blocking them like a barrier – a barrier which according to your mind would help you?

     If you have, then I’m not even going to ask you about the consequences but will try and remember you when I pray for whatever little amount of time I’m here. And if you haven’t, then I’m happy for you since you still have your sanity intact; preserve it. You know why - because you wouldn’t want to feel what I was feeling while kissing Luke.

     I knew with every fiber of my being that what I was doing was wrong. I needed to stop and the sickening silence around me wasn’t helping much. I shifted uncomfortably on my foot but continued it nevertheless.

     Luke finally came to his senses and broke the kiss, of which I couldn’t be more relieved. I ran my tongue over my now slightly swollen lips just to accelerate the effect of my actions. The music wasn’t blaring anymore; it was left in the background, forgotten as if this music wasn’t something which everyone was enjoying to earlier. When I stole a glance around me, I could make out every solitary person staring at me, some leaning against the cream-colored walls waiting for the fun to begin.

     “Emma, what the heck was that?” Luke shouted in my direction. He wasn’t really shouting on top of his lungs or anything, more like a pitch higher. Luke could never shout at anyone, let alone a girl. He was the epitome of kindness filled with every inch of humor which is why it made me feel a hell lot guiltier for using him as my rook in this crossroads of chess.

     “Oh come on, it was just a kiss. And don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy it,” I slurred, sending a wink his way.

     “Bloody hell!” It was then that Bruce lost his control. “Em, you tell me right now whatever’s going through that head of yours. I don’t care if it’s bad or not, just tell me already, instead of marching around and kissing others!”

     Yes, he was losing his cool. It made me sad and happy in a weird sense.

     I re-thought about what Bruce just said and all I could do was snort in irritation. Ha. Tell you what’s going in my head? I wish, Bruce, I so damn wish. I wish it was easy for me to tell what a bundle of mess I’ve become. I wish it was easy for me to tell how this cancer-thing is going way above my head or how fast it’s bringing me down. I wish it was easy for me to tell that in spite of all this being fucked up, I still want you. That I still want to be that happy girl I once was, who lived her life like there was no tomorrow. I wish it was that easy. I wish.

     I fought back the tears that were threatening to spill. How could I cry now? I have to be strong; I’m doing this for everyone’s good.

     Plastering a fake smile, I turned to Bruce, “My mind here tells me to break-up with you and I listen to my mind more than my heart.” I rose an eyebrow, just for the special effects.

     Bruce ran a hand through his hair, turning them into a wild nest, “And what does your heart say, Em?”

     I choked. No, no, no! He was supposed to be hating me, shouting at me or throwing me out of his house but he was being nice instead. God, help me.

     “Whatever it says doesn’t include you,” I smirked tilting my head slightly.

     Before Bruce could speak further, Chloe shot up, her blue eyes looking straight into my brown ones. For a minute, I was sure she could see through my façade but then she opened her mouth, “Emma, what do you think you were doing?”

     I tsk-ed my tongue, “Chloe, Chloe, Chloe. Always the innocent one, can’t even handle her best friend kissing someone other than her boyfriend? Kissing preferably someone who means a lot, eh?” I noticed her eyebrows shoot upwards. “Um, like your long-time crush?”

     Her face reddened while she blushed in the shower of embarrassment. Now, if you’ve known Chloe as long as I have, you’ll know that being embarrassed is a no-no in her dictionary. “Well, I think you and Bruce should make a duo, you know, for being complete and uttermost dicks of the world. You might give each other some competition,” I fake-smiled at them, a grimace rather.

     “Stop being such a bitch Em!” Ah, that felt good to my ears. Pain, I want more of it.

     “In case you didn’t notice darling, I am a bitch.”

     I then turned to Luke. “Oh, and Luke, the next time we kiss, make sure to kiss me back.” I pouted and smacked my lips in his way.

     Seeing confusion surge through everybody’s face made me giggle, but only on the outside because what I felt inside was something I’d never felt earlier. After that, two things happened in a flash. One minute I was laughing at their horror-stricken faces and the next minute, I had cold juice dripping all over me, leaving a wet patch wherever it touched. My little black dress felt heavier and clung to every portion of me. My hair fuzzed in different chunks of wet curls making every inch of me sticky.

     It was Chloe who laughed first, her laughter was completely different from the one I had earlier. Maybe that’s how real laugh comes out, something which I had stopped doing months ago. “Yeah, take that b-” She stopped herself on the last part. She was either going to say ‘bitch’ or ‘best friend’, but since I did not deserve the latter compliment, I satisfied myself with the former one: bitch. I had to admit, it did sting a bit. The keyword being: a bit.

     I felt good. This could only mean that my plan was working better than I had expected. “Childish much, aren’t we? But at least you used mango juice, my favorite.” I mean, seriously, pouring juice over me? I’d expected more from her.

     “As if kissing Luke wasn’t childish enough,” She completely ignored my other comment.

     “Ah, the jealousy quotient is still there, I see. What can I say now? Luke liked it, didn’t you?” I looked in his direction and found him staring directly at me, his brows knitted together. He had the same expression he had earlier. Could he? Could he see through my wall? It can’t be, right? But he knows me better than anyone else, even Bruce. At least he used to. Four years isn’t a long time, Emma.

     I decided to get out of there before Luke got more clues. “I would love to stay with you all but apparently I’ve got to go. So, later everyone. Enjoy the party!”

     I could sense everyone’s gaze burning holes in my back but I literally hopped out of that damn house. Tears were now freely flowing down my eyes and I made no attempt to stop them. I reached the backyard, where I had parked my car. These salty tears were taking all over me, reminding me how much of an asshole I really was. Acting like I-don’t-give-a-damn and turning everyone against me by insulting them just so it would be easy for me to spend my last few months in peace. Ha, the plan didn’t sound so good now, did it? That’s when I realized, whatever Chloe said was right. I really was a bitch. 

     “When the hell did my life get so pathetic?” I shouted to no one in particular and with that I curled up in a ball, lying on the freshly cut grass. I did not care about getting mud all over my already-wet dress because I had stopped caring a few months ago. Pouring my heart out I waited for the darkness to swallow me as a whole.

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Author's Note : Hey guys. How're you all doing? I just wanted to say a massive thanks to everyone who read the first chapter, voted and commented. Thank you.  Please vote and comment for this if you feel like.  I hope you like reading it. Thank you so much for reading this. :)

- SG

 THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED AS OF 17 AUGUST 2013. (There wasn't much to edit because this is my favorite chapter. By me. Gah, I sound so modest, don't I? :P)