Back In time

Two

"A-va..." Adrian stammered as his face turned visibly white. Jessica let go of Adrian's hand and hooked her arms around his, smirking triumphantly at me. I stared at their hooked arms, then at Adrian's guilty conscience face. Surveying his appearance, I finally came to face that undeniable fact that Alice was right. Adrian's soft brown hair was in a mess. His lips were stained red with her lipstick. I felt nothing but absolute betrayal.

"Oh, hey Winters! Ad and I decided to grab a cup of coffee after a movie." She leant her head on Adrian's shoulders.

Ad? Since when did she use the nickname I gave him?

"By the way, if you hadn't seen the movie that everyone is talking about, you should. It was really good." Jessica continued, adding more fuel to the spreading fire.

I glared at Adrian, who stood incredibly rooted to the ground with his head hung low. I felt as if I was given an emotional punch, one which led to both anger and sadness fusing together.

"Made plans with the boys huh?" My voice cracked as I felt my heart sank to my stomach. Tears were at the verge of my eyes, but I held it in as I did not want to admit defeat in front of the snobby cheerleader. As much as I hated Adrian, I hated myself more. I hated myself for knowing the truth yet to still allow him to continue having the authority to take control over my feelings.

How stupid of me.

"I can explain..." Adrian spoke as he tried to unhooked Jessica's arm.

"No baby, you don't have to explain anything to her. Weren't you worried about how you were going to tell her? Now that she has known what is going on, you can finally lay your mind to rest." Jessica said, clinging tightly to his arm.

I stared at her, wanting so much to ruin that thick makeup of hers, but truth be told, if it wasn't for Adrian's change of heart, this would never have happened.

"Shut up Jess..."

Jess?

"How long?" I asked.

"A year." I scoffed and shook my head upon hearing his reply. Not wanting to create a bigger scene, I pushed through them both and reached for the door.

"You're mistaken. It was Jessica's fault! She seduced me."

"What?!" Jessica screamed, clearly unhappy that she just got backstabbed.

That was it. The dam containing my repressed anger broke as I turned around and slapped him across the face. The café came to an instant silence as we caught everyone's attention. Each one peering over their shoulder to catch a glimpse of a dinner show, leaving even Jessica in a state of shock.

"Me, mistaken? Wow, you are one piece of work. How did I even end up falling for you? I guess love really is blind. But just to make things clear, Adrian, what I have for you now is nothing but disgust."

With that, I opened the door and stepped out into the night, feeling the cold gush of wind blow against my face while it concurrently seems to harden my heart.

"Av! Wait a minute, babe..." Adrian came running out of the cafe after me with Jessica on his tail.

Babe? You don't deserve to call me that.

I gave myself a mental scoff before walking even faster.

"Ad, let her go. You have me now. I am way better than her." She said, successfully clinging onto his arm once again. Seeing that the distance between us was far too wide, Adrian gave up and stopped at his tracks while I continued walking until my vision of the two grew smaller and blurry to the point where they could no longer be seen.

Good riddance and goodbye.

Little did I expect to find myself pacing on a path along the lake. Settling on the park bench with my mind blank and emotions in a state of exhaustion and turmoil, I was suddenly reminded of the past events that took place at this spot. This wasn't just an ordinary park. This spot was filled with precious memories. Memories of my grandfather and I.

-Flashback-

"Grandpapa, can we go to the park today? Pleaseeeee."

Afterall, Saturday is never complete without an outing to the park with my grandfather.

"Okay, Ava." My grandfather smiled lovingly at me before picking me up in his arms as we head straight to our usual spot.

"Grandpapa, I want a piggy-back!"

"Grandpapa, can you teach me how to cycle?"

"Grandpapa, grandpapa, grandpapa..." I pestered my grandpapa continuously. But he never seems to be cross nor annoyed at any of my requests. And at the end of every session, my grandpapa would never fail to take me on a trip to the ice cream parlor. This became our usual routine for as long as I can remember.

It was a typical Saturday afternoon as I waited impatiently, constantly pestering my mom as to when grandpapa was arriving. "Hey mom, when is grandpapa coming?"

"I'm sure he will be here soon, honey" My mom replied for the millionth time. It was already 3 in the afternoon but there was still no sign of him. As dawn turned to dusk, slowly and unknowingly, I spiraled down into a deep slumber.

"Ava honey, wake up." I felt a soft nudge. Recognizing that it was my mother's voice, I opened my eyes. In the drowsy state that I was, I felt my mom put a jacket over my shoulders before lifting me onto the car seat. I couldn't tell what time it was but judging from the color of the sky and the cars on the road, it must have been way past bedtime.

"Mummy, where are we going?" I asked curiously, feeling very much awake. However, all I got was silence and tears that came rolling down her face. It wasn't long before reaching our destination that we were led to a room where all my relatives had gathered. In the middle of the gathering spot, laid my grandpapa. I was horrified when I saw grandpapa unconscious with tubes stuck into his mouth and hands.

"Mummy, what's wrong with grandpapa? Why is he asleep? Why are there things coming out of his mouth and hands?"

"Grandpapa is going somewhere far away, honey." She sniffled. I could feel the unbearable sadness coming from her as she tried to answer my question while maintaining her composure.

"When is he coming back?" Deep down, I knew that my grandpapa was hanging on a final thread, but I refused to believe.

Soon. Was what I had hoped my mother would say.

"He is not coming back." Those words were the breaking point for me. There were still so many things that I haven't told him. So many Saturdays that we can still spend together. Filled with despair and the hatred on the little time left, my tears came free-falling as I returned my gaze to my beloved grandpapa who breathed his last breath that very night.

-End of flashback-

Those memories that flowed unmercilessly in my mind, successfully broke the streams of sorrow, reminding me of just how easily a sweet and beautiful recollection can easily turn sour.

"My dear child, why are you crying?" 

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