Cigarettes for love

Chapter 11

It was after school and the couple decided to walk along the shore of a beautiful beach they both found appealing and romantic. Roy was used to showing places like these to every girl he was with, but this time he genuinely cared if she liked this place or not. He was hopeful she would appreciate it as much as he did.
"You're awfully quiet today." Roy stated, he found the silence between them slightly unbearabl.
"Yeah, I guess. Just been thinking about a lot of things." Mikayla paused and smiled. "I sound exactly like you." She laughed and Roy grinned.
"Well, talk to me?" Roy shrugged, keeping his eyes on her. She bit her lip.
"I don't know." She replied, unsure if what she could tell him the agonizing past she went through.
"I've told you a couple things about me. Return the favor?"
Mikayla glazed into his eyes for a few seconds and nodded. She then stared at the sand that hummed a very soft song against the wind that brushed it. She thought the only way to get close to him was to tell him things about her. That was the only way it would seem real to him
"I was verbally abused by my parents every day as a child. They would say terrible things about me. I had nothing called self esteem; if I did it would crumble back to zero after they'd say something. My mom had me when she was 15, and my father wanted to abort me. I was born a mistake." She sighed, her voice growing quiet as she said more. Roy listened.
He cared. He actually cared.
"You didn't deserve any of that. What happened afterwards?" Roy was curious about her. And not in a snotty gossip way, but as a way only if you loved someone you'd understand.
"Both of them ended up getting a job. They bought a house for me to live in. Mom visits me rarely along with my dad. We're only a family when it comes to papers. I just never truly enjoyed my life." Mikayla bit her lip harder, trying to hold back the tears.
She would always get emotional talking about her past. It was something that touched her deeply and a wound she disliked opening.
"I didn't have many friends growing up. I was bullied since word got out I was a mistake. For seven years I was suicidal but after three years, I finally decided to let go. I couldn't keep on doing this to myself. I was tired, deprived of love, and mostly irritated. I was going to live with myself my whole life. The sooner I accept it, the better it is." Mikayla ended and wiped her tears.
"So yeah, that's my story." She looked at Roy and he smiled.
"I'm so proud of you that you made it. You're very strong Mikayla. You went through so much and here you are. I'm proud of you." Roy repeated and pulled her in a tight hug.
For a moment, it was perfect. She knew it was a game but for a second; that was all she needed. Someone to tell her that they were proud of her. That's it.
And Roy exactly did that.
But even so that didn't make her stay.