We Meet Again (Sequel to Without You)

The End of A Relationship

Sniffing, I get up, and push a loose strand of hair away from my eyes. I can't sit here forever. Josh is not going to come back. He probably doesn't even want to see my face. How could I be so selfish? I am playing around with two hearts. I think I deserved that slap. It has brought me back to my senses. I need to make a choice, and I need to make it now. There's no point in prolonging my relationship with Josh. I did deserve that slap. However, today, Josh has shown me that he has no control over his temper. He has slapped me today, and I don't know what else he's capable of. I need to go to our house, and get Darcy, and my belongings. I don't need to engage in any further conversation with Josh.
"Are you alright?" A woman's voice fills the silence of the parking lot. I turn around to find a middle-aged woman standing near a red car, looking at me with concern. I shake my head, wiping a few stray tears.
"I've got some water in my car. One second." Hastily, she unlocks her car, and opens the passenger door. Once the woman has taken out the water bottle, she jogs toward me. "Here." She offers the bottle to me, and I take it, gratefully.
"Thank you." I say, once I've quenched my thirst. She smiles.
"No problem." I hand the water bottle back to her. "Do you need a ride home?"
"Oh, no!" I say, shaking my head. "I'll catch a cab."
"Oh, please! Come with me, and I'll drop you off wherever you like." The woman places her hand on my back, and guides me toward her car. A voice in my mind is screaming, Red Alert! Stranger!
"Why are you being so nice to me?" I ask her as she opens the passenger door for me.
"I have a daughter around your age. If she is in trouble, I'd help her, just like I'm helping you." The woman says, smiling. Her explanation isn't satisfactory. However, my mind is too tired to weigh the elements of danger, and safety.
"I'm Mus." I mumble as I take a seat. The woman closes the door, and jogs over to the driver's side.
"I'm Sarah." The woman introduces herself. Her smile is so carefree and comforting. Honestly, I would smile as well, had I not been in such a state.
"Thank you for helping me out." I say as she drives out of the parking lot.
"It's nothing, don't worry about it." Sarah says waving her hand in the air, as if to dismiss my thank you. I place my head against the window.
"Do you want to share your problem? It's always best to let it out." Sarah says. Her tone is so sweet, and understanding that I want to pour everything out.
"Guy problem." I say in a dismissing tone. Telling her everything will take too long, and I'll have to relive all those horrid memories.
"Ah, of course. Guys mess us up, don't they?" I nod my head, and Sarah laughs.
"A lot." Sighing, I pass my hand through my hair. My top priority is to get Darcy away from Josh, before he harms her in any way. I don't and can't trust him anymore. Seems like I've lost my trust in everyone. Except my best friend, Zahra. She has always been there for me, and I can trust her with all my heart. Zahra said she's making a trip to Singapore. That'll help a lot because we can have a chat, face to face.
"Mus, you need to tell me where we're headed." Sarah says, interrupting my thoughts.
"Of course! Sorry." I say, straightening up.
"We're near Marina Bay Sands." Sarah says as she notices I'm trying to find our location. I tell her where to go from here. Sarah follows my instructions, and soon enough we're in front of my house.
"Thanks." I say, unbuckling my seat belt.
"No problem." Sarah says, smiling. She's such a happy-go-lucky person. I get out of the car, and head towards the front door. I reach into my back pocket to take out the house key.
"Wait!" Sarah yells, jumping out of the car. "Give me your number." Sarah's phone is in her hands. She looks at me, expectantly.
"Sure." I say, placing the key in the lock. Hastily, I tell Sarah my phone number.
"I'll call you sometime." Sarah says, heading back toward her car. I just gave a stranger my phone number. I'm so stupid. I enter the house, and shut the door behind me. The house seems so silent.
"Darcy!" I yell, as I ascend the stairs. No reply. My heartbeat increases, and I rush towards her room. I hope Josh didn't do anything impulsive. If he's harmed my daughter, I'll kill him. I push open Darcy's room door, and take a sigh of relief. She's sitting on her bed, with her headphones in her ears, reading a book.
"Darcy!" I yell again. She doesn't even look up or reply. As I near the bed, I can hear men and women screaming through the headphones. I have no idea how she manages to bear such loud, and pathetic music. It's torture to my ears. I pull out one of her headphones, and she jumps up, startled.
"Mamma, you scared me." Darcy says, pulling out the other headphone, and placing the book on the bed. I laugh, and take a seat in front of her.
"Well, you scared me when you didn't reply." I say.
"Sorry, my music was on full." Darcy apologizes.
"Doesn't matter as long as you're paying the hospital bill for when your eardrums burst." Darcy laughs, and slaps my knee, playfully.
"I thought you are supposed to take care of me till I'm eighteen."
"Not really." I say, laughing.
"Mus!" Josh yells from downstairs. "Where are you?"
"You guys didn't come home together?" Darcy asks me, confused. I shake my head, and get up.
"Start packing, we're leaving." I say, kicking Darcy's football from the way.
"When?" Darcy's tone is filled with confusion, and alarm.
"In half an hour. Start!" I say, exiting her room. Darcy's door slams shut behind me. I bend down and lift up the carpet that's placed right in front of Darcy's door. I grab the silver key, and place it in Darcy's lock. Once the door is locked, I slip the key into my pocket.
"Mus." Josh says, from behind me. Sighing, I turn around. Without acknowledging Josh, I head towards our room. As I'm about to enter our room, Josh grabs my arm, and yanks me back.
"Talk to me. Please." Josh begs me, pulling me closer to his chest. "I messed up. I'm sorry." I shake my head, and yank my arm out of Josh's hand.
"I've nothing to say. We're done." I say, opening the door, and slamming it shut behind me. Before Josh can follow me, I lock it. Josh rattles the doorknob. However, his efforts are in vain.
"Oh, come on. Mus, please let me in. Let's talk!" Josh says, banging at the door. "Don't make any rash decisions."
"Rash?" I scoff. "My decision to leave you isn't rash, it's a right decision. We've been dragging this hopeless relationship for far too long, and it's time one of us acted mature, and ended it."
"Mus, let's talk. Please." I stand on my toes, and grab the suitcase that's lying on top of the closet. "You can't take Darcy away from me. I can't live without the two of you."
"I'm sure you'll manage."
"No, I can't." Josh says, his voice cutting towards the end. I think he's about to cry. I shove all of my clothes into the suitcase, with the hangers. Once all my clothes, and shoes are in, I zip up the suitcase.
"Mus, please." Josh bangs on the door again. However, it's a feeble hit, and I know Josh knows he's fighting a losing battle. I grab my hand-carry from underneath the bed. I don't have much. My books are the only important things in my life. As I grab my Twilight series from the bookshelf, my eyes land on a photo of Zahra and me. I have to take this. We only have this photo, and nothing else to remember each other with.
"Mamma!" Darcy yells from her room. I can hear her rattling her own doorknob.
"Wait, coming!" I say, zipping the hand-carry. I grab the hand-carry, and the suitcase's handle. This will be quite a bit of exercise for me. I unlock the door and step out. Josh is sitting beside the door with his head in his hands. The minute he hears the door open, Josh gets up.
"Listen to-" I raise my hand, before he can finish his sentence. Josh stops, frowning.
"Please, don't." I say, sternly. I head towards Darcy's door, and unlock it. She's standing in front of the door, with her bags on the floor beside her. Darcy is pouting, and she looks very cross with me.
"You can't lock me in!" Darcy stamps her right foot, angrily.
"Sorry, but it was a necessity." I apologize, grabbing her bag. "Take the other ones to the car." Josh grabs Darcy's bag from my hand.
"I'll help." Josh says, curtly. He jogs toward the stairs. Thank God, he's finally got the message. Once we've got all the bags into the car, Darcy and I enter the car, and I start the engine. Josh knocks on the window, and I lower it.
"Bye, Darcy." Josh says, hopelessly. "Bye, Mus. Take care of yourselves." I nod my head, rolling up the window. Off we go to a hotel for a few days.
A/N: I would like to thank you all for voting, commenting, and showing me a whole lot of support. I can't thank you guys enough. Thank you! The new cover is made by artlessly she's my really good friend, and an amazing person. You guys should check out her books, they're amazing. Thanks again, I love each and everyone of you.