I Wanna Be Yours

Chapter 8

In my dark times
I'll be going back to these streets
Promising everything I don't mean
In my dark times
Baby, this is all I could be
Only my mother could love me for me
~ Dark Times - The Weekend feat. Ed Sheeran

Clark walked so fast that Leah almost lost him in the crowd. She followed him to a busy crossing that led to the waterfront.

"Clark!" She yelled when he was almost swallowed by the crowd in front of her. Leah pushed her way through. "Clark!"

He didn't acknowledge her except to slow down a little bit. Leah caught up to him and one look at his face told her that he definitely was not in the mood to talk, so she walked beside him and didn't say anything. If Clark was surprised by her silence, he didn't show it. Instead he just kept walking until they reached a stretch of waterfront that wasn't so crowded. He jumped down to the walkway below that was closer to the water and Leah followed suit. They kept walking until they reached a stretch of shore that was devoid of tourists. Clark sat down on a boulder and Leah perched beside him, still not saying anything.

They sat there for a long time. Leah watched the seagulls flying above the water, she watched the boats passing by in the distance, she tried to find animals in the shapes of the clouds. Clark still didn't say anything.

"Clark..." Leah said tentatively.

"Let's go." He stood up abruptly. "I'll take you home."

"Clark..." She followed him but couldn't get another word in as he walked briskly back to his truck.

"Clark..." Leah tried to say again once they were in the truck.

"Are you happy now?" He asked. "You got a big scoop, you can have fun at the office figuring out how to spin Clark's daddy issues into something for your marketing campaign. Well, good luck with that."

His words stung Leah down to her core. Is that the kind of person he thought she was?

"Clark, personal na buhay mo 'to. Labas na 'to sa trabaho at alam ko kung paano rumespeto sa mga personal na bagay. At hinding hindi ko ikukwento sa iba ang nangyari dito."

Clark didn't say anything. He only started the truck and began the drive back to San Francisco.

Leah tried to take in everything that had happened while on the drive back. She didn't know the whole story but she could piece some things together from what she heard.

"Ano nangyari sa kapatid mo?" She asked softly.

Clark looked away from the road momentarily to glare at her.

"I don't want to talk about it," he said shortly.

Leah kept quiet for the rest of the drive even though she was dying from curiousity. When Clark pulled up in front of her house, she couldn't hold back anymore.

"Clark, may sakit daw ang Tatay mo at gusto ka niyang makausap. Hindi ba dapat-"

"He's not my Dad!" Clark said harshly. Leah was taken aback by his anger. "I share some DNA with him and that's it. He's a stranger to me, I don't owe him anything! He can go die for all I care."

His words were like a slap to Leah's face. At that moment she had to hold herself back from physically punching him. "Huwag ka mag-salita ng ganyan. Kahit ano pa ang kasalanan sa iyo ng Tatay mo, Tatay mo pa rin siya. Noong inatake sa puso ang Tatang ko halos gumuho ang mundo ko. Magpasalamat ka at buhay pa ang Tatay mo-"

"You know nothing!" Clark yelled at her. "Don't act like you know anything about me or my Dad or my life! And don't you dare tell me what to do or what to feel!"