Hidden Dimples

❀ Chapter 13: Tell Me

❣ Celestine's POV ❣

"I already did."

He turned to face me. His eyes were calculating, his fingers were drumming. He was thinking.

He sighed, "I could tell by tonight." He smirked.

I laughed airily and slapped his shoulder. "Man, I wanna see how he gets home. Oh well, it's recording on my phone anyways."

He chuckled and shook his head, "Always finding people that suffer in your pranks funny, huh?"

"Shut up, don't change the topic. And to your question, yes thank you very much." I told him and rolled my eyes in amusement.

He breathed out, "Promise you won't judge me?"

I looked at him like he's grown three heads, "Storm of all the times, I've seen you at your worst when you came to my house all bloody and bruised, I didn't even judge you then. I don't have the rights to. Everyone has their own stories. I have my own stories and I have absolutely no rights to judge people by their doings. Even if I did, what good will it bring?" 

He nodded and breathed deeply again, "Okay here it goes." He turned at sat crossed legged, facing me.

I could tell he was nervous, he kept fiddling with his fingers but I slowly took them in mine and placed it gently on the ground, giving him a lop-sided smile.

He spoke, "When I was younger. I had a perfect family. My dad was my hero, my little sister was my treasure, my mother was superwoman. My sister meant the world to me. Golden locks, pink cheeks, she was an angel. One day it all changed. My dad lost his job and started getting into alcohol. He would use words to emotionally hurt my mother and us. He would call me a failure, an accident and whatnot.

One day, I had enough and decided to yell at him for not getting into finding a job and wasting our family's money instead. Mind you, I was just a child then. He hit me, grabbed my jaw and yelled at me. I woke up the next day with bruises on my face, completely heartbroken." He paused.

After I heard what he said, I regretted asking him to open up to me. Clearly this was a touchy subject and if he wasn't comfortable in reliving the moment by telling me, he didn't have to.

"Storm you don't have to-"

"Listen, Celest, I want to." He smiled lightly as I clamped my mouth shut and nodded. If he decided to share, I would let him. If he needs a shoulder to cry on, I'll be here, he's willing to speak, I'm willing to listen.

Storm continued, "One night, he brought a lady home while drunk and well, you could guess, cheated on my mother on the sofa. She came down to get medicine for my sister since she was having a fever and caught them. My mother and dad split up when I was just 9.

At first it was okay, since we didn't have a drunk who wasted our money. My mother worked hard to earn it. Later, my sister got really sick and we sent her to the doctor. Turns out she had a lung cancer from inhaling too much smoke that my dad used to do. We couldn't do anything. She only had a few more months to live. They tried everything but we discovered the sickness to late. I would visit her everyday after school, playing with her, spending the last few moments with her before she leaves. One day I came back to visit her, I found my mother crying as the doctor unplugged the heart monitor. She passed away when she was 6." His voice cracked a little.

He closed his eyes and inhaled before speaking again, "My mother was devastated. I never smiled since then. My dad didn't even come to the funeral." He finished.

By now tears were rolling down his cheeks. I looked at him. He was looking out into the city with tears in his green-blue eyes. I never had a sibling to love, but I know that a life was lost and it does hurt. I know that feeling of having a hole in my chest from someone who left and took your heart with, and I'm not talking about Toby.