I Love You.....Just the Way You Are #Watty2018

Chapter 12: Lost in Thought

Sometimes I feel that we are so close but distant.

Instead of going to Kate's house, I arrived at Vicky's house—a two story villa on the outskirt of the city and took me a while to travel by bus. Vicky's dad was a former politician while her mother is the head of the cardiac department in a hospital. Intellect, beauty, and etiquette runs thick in the family as "blood is thicker than water" like they said...or just some random quote that just stuck to me.

When I rung the doorbell at the gate, a familiar voice entered the speaker.

"Who is it?" she said sweetly.

"It's me, Lin. I came over for the history project that we were suppose to work on."

"Ah! Lin!"

When she cried with great joy, the gate clattered open and revealed a path that seems to be a labyrinth of bushes. Among the labyrinth of bushes was a building that pointed to the sky like a castle brushing the skyline. My foot danced through the narrow pathway as my mind couldn't resist throbbing at the thought of Vicky. Along the way, my mind began to submerge in my subconsciousness at the possibilities of us escalating in our so-called "friendship". What if I actually end up with Vicky? If we ever get together, what will our children be like? Will they have blue eyes like hers? Will we live in this big villa-like mansion together and start our lives there?

When I worked with Kate, her house didn't look as pretentious and alluring as Vicky's. She lived in a mediocre house with her alcoholic father and mother that could be described as "distant" in a sense. She remained aloof to her family emotionally and locked herself in the room. When Kate told me to come over her house that time, I came in and felt my entire body was transparent, as if I wasn't there since the parents didn't bother to greet me.

We jolted upstairs and locked ourselves in Kate's study room and worked diligently in the study room. Her room was a littered filth and her clothes were scattered callously across the small room while we laid out stomachs on the floor to work on the presentation.

There were those awkward moments in between. It was like those cliché romantic movie scenes in which subtle awkward interactions lead to love. We touched hands and elbowed against each other coincidentally and then awkwardly evaded eye contact. After a few minutes of work, she suddenly spoke:

"My father's an alcoholic."

I just looked at her with the numbest expression since it came out of the blue as if my mind hasn't comprehended what she said.

"It all happened when dad got fired." She continued. "Dad's been going to casinos and mom picked up the habit of smoking because of him. Everybody is drifting into their own little world.....leaving me behind."

Again, my eyes still aimed at her with no change in the expression.

"There were these times....I just...ugh!" She said, jokingly in a forceful way. "Why am I telling you this? Sorry, I know you're not interested in what I'm saying. I guess I'm just delaying time with my problems..let's just focus on the project.."

"No." I said. "It's fine." I didn't know what to do since I didn't want her to feel down, so I rested my palm over her hand. "Go on. I'll listen."

Then she smiled, took off her glasses, and wiped the droplets of tears that were clinging on the rim of her eyelids.

That's when she told me everything.

When I came out of the labyrinth of bushes, the excitement of going to see Vicky subdued and waned. For some reason, I felt like that I am physically here, but I still felt that I've lost a part of me in that labyrinth path to Vicky's mansion. I felt like I've lost everything.