The Gold and the Forest

XVII

Chapter 17: Repeat

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"Why do you take everything up on your shoulders by yourself!?"

She had just shaken off his hand, which she was holding previously. He watched her, frowning. She inhaled deeply.

"I didn't want to worry y—"

"Well—you did!" She screamed.

He flinched at the increase of volume. Though he flinched, he didn't turn his eyes away.

She grabbed him by the collar, pulling him in. "What were you thinking!?"

She was shaking him furiously. He could see the shine in her eyes, meaning she was on the verge of crying. He pulled her into a tight embrace.

"I wasn't thinking—Cent."

"That—" Her voice broke. "That doesn't excuse your behavior..."

This was in senior year. Where they were deciding where they wanted to go to college. Kade, troubled by the decision between following Min and listening to his mother, collapsed in the middle of class.

Min ran to the nurse, frantic.

I sensed it—but I didn't say anything.

Now, standing before him in the doorframe, she smiled the same way he had the morning he collapsed. He gritted his teeth.

"You don't want to move in with me?" He repeated.

"Yeah." She stumbled on the word.

His eyes widened in anger. He shut them, huffing out.

"Fine." He seethed. "If that's what you really, really want."

She began shuffling her feet. She couldn't meet his gaze. He stepped towards her and she flinched. He felt a pit in his stomach, seeing her in the most despicable state.

"It's not what you want."

A loud silence.

"Of course..." Her voice became an insecure whisper. "...it is."

"You are going to turn eighteen." His voice was firm.

"And you're going to marry me." He jabbed a finger at his own chest, a fire of defiance burning in his eyes.

She stopped breathing.

"I will walk in, and talk to them—to him."

"No!" She cried out.

"No." Her plea was desperate, she was vigorously shaking her head.

"Cent!" He raised his voice. "I really want you, but not like this! Not with this constant state of fear!"

"It's not fear!" She denied.

"You are almost a college freshman! You can't be fucking contained in this bubble for another 10 years doing whatever a good girl does!"

She began crying.

"You can't save me." Her lips quivered. "Fuck off."

He lowered his face to her level. "Say it. Say it, then."

She glared at him.

"Say it's over."

"Go away!" She screamed. "Go away!"

"Say it!" He yelled back. "Say it to my face! Say it and I will go."

She screamed, pure sound, no words. She would not move from her place, and neither would he. She didn't want to say what he prompted her to say. Her scream descended into helpless sobs.

He exhaled, taking her hand and leading her to the bathroom of his newly bought apartment. He closed to door behind them and leaned against it, holding her.

"Min." He whispered.

She began wiping her tears like mad, trying to stifle her hiccupping.

He lifted her face and began kissing her gently. She wasn't kissing him back, but she didn't move away either. She stood there, eyes closed, as he placed one soft kiss after another on her overly bitten lips. Gradually, the hiccups cleared.

Finally, she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him in for a deeper kiss.

He pulled back. "You can't be like me. You have to figure it out with me. We do it together."

"Did you mean it?"

"Mean what?"

"Do you want to marry me?"

"Yeah." He sighed. "But we don't have to do it now. We don't even have to do it soon. I just want you to know that I'm willing to put in my part of the work."

She stared at his shirt for a while, and then nodded.

A grin spread over his features.

"Cent—" he whispered, leaning to her ear. "That kiss was crazy."

She frowned, then smacked his face.

---

They planned to meet up, originally with Min too, but she was busy. Carl and Kade strolled through a nice-looking park near Kade's new apartment.

"I was kind of scared in that moment actually." Kade laughed. "If she really did say it..."

"She wouldn't." Carl sounded confident in his words.

"I heard something happened at your workplace. Heard you kicked some ass."

There was a moment's pause.

"Yeah—and Vivien..."

"We visited her." Kade stopped walking and then turned to look at his friend. "She wanted to see you, Mr. Hero."

Carl averted his gaze. "I don't know about that."

"What's wrong with visiting the bedridden coworker you saved?"

"If I hadn't left her so quickly, maybe—"

Kade sighed obnoxiously. "Woofer, you showed up, didn't you? She didn't get stabbed in a vital organ, and that—deserves substantial credit."

The cicadas ahead were chirping.

"I don't know why you've got guilt hanging over your face like that." Kade grinned. "Did you, perhaps, do something?"

"No."

"Alright! Then there's no harm giving her a little bit of a visit." Kade thumped him on the back a few good times. "She's starving, my boy!"

Carl frowned and shot a bone-chilling glare towards Kade, but Kade's positive energy outshone whatever negative aura he had.

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