Parents: *faintly knocks on her door*
Charise woke up in the morning with a heavy heart. She can hear her parents patiently knocking on her door. Once opened, she was greeted with a hug from her mom while her dad stayed standing by the side, watching them intently. Worried about what may have happened while they were gone, her mother hastily said:
Mother: Charise, baby. *lets go of the hug to look at Charise* Don't worry... we are home.
Charise: *falls silent for a while then looks at her mother with blazing eyes* You mean you paid me a visit? Because that is what you make me feel, mom. You two are always away. You two are always busy with your business. *looks at both of them* You are just regular visitors in our home.
Father: *almost cuts Charise off* Do not answer your mother like that, Charise. You know too well that we are busy working to pay for your expenses in school.
Charise: *smiles furiously* Well, I'm sorry for letting you raise me like this, then.
Charise angrily slammed the door shut and disregarded her parents. She quickly felt guilty and uncomfortable about her actions. Looking around the room, she saw the picture frame and remembered how Azael comforted her at times like this. Missing Azael, she picked up her phone and tried calling him. After a few rings, the answering machine spoke:
Phone: Hey, this is Azael. I'm sorry that I'm not available at the moment. I will make it up to you once I am, so let me know what you need by leaving me a message after the beep. Thank you! *beep*
After half an hour of trying, Charise finally gave up and she planned to go his house instead of talking to him over the phone.
Not wanting to see her parents as she went, Charise climbed out of her window and descended her way to their front yard. She made a break to the nearest bus station. With fidgety hands, she sat down and recalled the events that happened when she woke up.
She looked up at the sky, asking no one in particular what she has done to deserve the life that she had. It remained that way for a while until she jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder.
Stranger: Bad break-up?
Charise: *laughs softly then looks at him* How did you know?
Stranger: I just do.
She slowly looked away since she did not know how to respond. Her right hand made its way to her left elbow as Charise rambled her brains for a topic. Before she had the chance to speak out her thoughts, the stranger began to speak again.
Stranger: I am from a bad break-up as well. *looks at her* She cheated on me.
Charise: *quickly turns head to him* Oh, really?
Stranger: *shows her a sad smile then looks up at the sky* I loved her and I gave everything to her. Everything my parents taught me to do, I showed her. *looks at the cars that pass by* I don't know where I lacked.
Charise: Well, *looks at the ground* sometimes, we give everything we can to those whom we care about *mumbles* but they still feel that it is not enough.
Stranger: But they should do otherwise!
Charise: That does not happen for a reason. *sighs* That is one of the many reasons that break-ups happen. *looks back at him* And I think we have no choice but to accept that and look for someone who will appreciate what we do.
Stranger: *looks back at her with a tiny smile* What is your name?
Charise: I'm Charise. How about yours?
Ammon: Ammon. My name is Ammon.
Charise ran to the bus she needed to ride in order to reach Azael's house after she and Ammon exchanged numbers. She looked out of the window thinking of the conversation they just had until she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Her hands fished out the phone and she read what the text said.
Ammon: Hey.
She smiled to herself, temporarily forgetting her problems, and sent a quick "Hi.". Charise placed her phone back into her pocket and trained her eyes outside the window. She wanted to put her mind at peace before her awaited meeting with Azael. Her palms started sweating when she thought about it and she simply wiped them on her jeans.
When she reached her destination, she stood up her seat and walked down the aisle leading to the door. She got out and look at the sky again before she started walking to Azael's house. When she reached the house, she took the time to appreciate it before raising her hand to ring the doorbell. But she heard almost inaudible noises she wished she did not.
She raised her head to see the silhouette through the window of Azael kissing the neck of a girl she has not noticed before. Her heart broke again into little pieces while looking at them. When she decided she had enough, she let out a small puff of air and started walking away from the house.
The silhouettes seemed to part and only the shadow of a young man remained in sight. He opened the window and looked out at Charise with a frown on his face.
Azael: Oh, Charise, I hope you'll understand.
