THE GHOSTWRITER

PART 27

 "Maine! Maine! Open the door, please! Let's talk, please!"

It's been an hour since she had locked herself inside her bedroom. Maine ignores the pleading voice behind the door, the voice that she had missed so much. She is more pissed than anything right now. Said idiot spent the last hour explaining everything to Maine from behind the door. And while she's actually listening, she still didn't give the man satisfaction by uttering a response. It hurts to hear him beg, but he deserves her silence.

That idiot. That awfully adorable asshole idiot.

With trembling hands, Maine reaches for her phone and pressed no. 2 on her speed dials.

"What's the problem, Maine?" Pi asks worriedly as he answers the call on the second ring. Maine can hear the hustle and bustle in the background. It's lunch time and she had witnessed how lunch times are in Tres Amigos. Pi and Sammy have their hands full.

"I know where Richard is, Pi," she announces with barely contained emotion. She still can't believe her parents will do that! They'd visited her in the hospital every day. They knew she's been looking for Richard and they hadn't even mentioned a thing.

"What?!" Pi asks, immediately sounding hysterical. "Where?! How?! And why the heck are you crying?!"

Maine sniffles. She hasn't even noticed she is crying. Damn Richard.

"I'm fine. We're both fine. It's just---" She loses it. "I'm overwhelmed, Pi! I was surprised! I was angry! I was happy!"

"Er... you don't make sense, Maine."

Maine's losing her patience. "Damn it, Pi! He's here!"

"Who's there?" Pi asks, still sounding clueless.

"FAULKERSON, STUPID! Richard's here!"

Silence. And then---

"Whaaaaaaaaaat?!" Pi asks. Then in a softer tone, he asks: "Wait... where again?"

Maine sighs. "My parents, Pi... my very own parents. They've been hiding Richard since... or... as he eloquently puts it, hosting him since... the accident! Guess where, Pi? In our house! Richard, that fucking asshole, has been in my parents' house all this fucking damn time!"

There is silence again on the other end for a while, and then---

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Maine couldn't have worded it better.

"I am going to kill that sonofabitch. Oh wait, Sammy is going to castrate him and feed his testicles to his dogs."

Well, that, Maine will have to prevent.

---

Maine doesn't go out of her room.

Richard has long since stopped knocking at her door. He's probably inside the guestroom now, moping. She can imagine his frowning face, thinking what he has done wrong to merit this silence. Well, he must know what he has done wrong, but he probably hasn't realized the gravity of it.

Richard is really quite dense at times. But it's one of his imperfections that made Maine fall in love with him. Richard has a big heart that allows him to think the best out of anyone and in any situation.

Maine snorts.

She knows she's being a brat right now, but she can't help it. She's torn between wanting to kill Richard for his stupidity and kissing him and letting him fuck her until she forgets the conflicting feelings inside her chest.

Okay, that is so not the point, Mendoza.

Oh, but it is! You've been wanting to test the Faulkerson skill since forever.

Shut up.

No, you shut up.

Maine groans. She literally feels like there are two personalities inside her right now.

"See you soon, Richard!"

The sound of her father's voice causes Maine to abruptly sit up. Her head turns towards the door, still deciding whether she heard it correctly.

"Bye, Richard!"

It sure is her mother's voice. And she knows it has been deliberately screamed so she will hear.

Some parents she has.

Still, Maine feels herself panicking. If Richard leaves, if Richard leaves---

Before she can stop herself, Maine hops out from her bed and runs out of her room. She seems to be just at the right moment because Richard, who looks exhausted and very much sad, is at the foyer, his bag slung on his shoulders. He is saying goodbye to her parents when he spots Maine.

Maine ignores the knowing look her mother and father give her as she reaches out to hit Richard at the back of the head, making the man whine like a petulant kid. She then pulls him by the wrist and drags him upstairs to her room.

She can hear her parents snickering and whispering words of luck for Richard, but she ignores them in favor of making sure the idiot in her arms will not escape.

Not that he will now that she has him. Richard knows not to antagonize her when she is in this type of mood.

Maine locks the door behind them before she turns towards Richard, staring him down. Before he can open his mouth, Maine pulls back her arms and then... punches him on the face, making Richard stagger and fall on his yummy ass.

Richard looks surprised as he clutches at his nose. Surprisingly, it's not bleeding, but it still hurts as hell.

"M-Maine... why?" Richard whines.

"Asshole," Maine answers through gritted teeth before she kneels down in front of Richard and pulls him into the tightest embrace, surprising the older man.

And then... she finally cries, tears of suppressed emotions finally pouring from her.

---

Her grip tightens on Richard, and Richard, who finally gets over the shock, lifts both of his arms and encircles them around Maine's shaking form.

Only the sound of several assholes and Maine's sobs could be heard inside her room.

And probably the sound of the broken pieces of two hearts gradually being glued together.

Sometimes, all it takes for a broken heart to heal is another broken heart; with each other's broken pieces filling in the gaps left by a destructive force.

That is, after all, how true love really works.

TBC.

AN: Just a few more parts and we're saying goodbye to our ghosts. 😊