Make You Love

Chapter 02

It felt as if a huge hole was drilled in his heart, and it would never heal, not even with time.

"Please, Craig. I'm sick of your running between Novah and me all the time. Just get out. I___ I can't do this anymore", Isla sobbed.

Craig pressed his ear to the bathroom door to listen closely, but all he heard were muffles sobs and the tearing of tissue and worst of all, Isla's sadness.

"I know this is crazy but, we need to talk", he prompted. His palms were slick from sweat. Poor, darling Craig was edgy. Talk. What the hell would he even say? It wasn't as if his stubborn best friend would listen anyway. She'd always been like that; closed up.

"Say you're sorry. Say you're sorry and get out of here", she croaked.

But he was determined to cut through her ice that night. Enough of holding back, of letting her have her way.

"Let me in", his tone was authoritative, demanding.
He gripped the doorknob with every ounce of energy, wishing that God give him strength to counter her.

"I'm nude!" She lied, and turned on the shower.

The water drops gurgled in the empty bath. He was alarmed; his grip weakened. This was a battle he'd sworn to fight.

As matters were, he was on the losing side, and the future seemed quite bleak.
"Holy cow, Isla! You're feeling yourself or what? Look, I know it when you're lying. I know what goes on in that beautiful head of yours, and I know you're dying to see me."

Isla was cut to the quick. She did the one double take she was sure she'd never recover from.
Let me in.
The plea resounded in the silence. He knew her. He could tell what was running through her heart just by taking one look at her face. He'd been through her joys, sorrows and pains with her since they were in diapers. And that was her weakness. There was no use fighting against him; holding up her resistance but she did all the same.

She wanted to cut her ice, lay herself bare before him, let him take care of her like he always did but she couldn't. He wanted to hold on but he didn't.

"Isla?" He called. Lines of worry were etched across his brows.

His breathing was strained, just like his relationship with his best friend.
"Isla? Please tell me that you hate me and I'd get the fuck out of your life forever. Tell me that there's no hope for us and I'll stop fighting."

"For fuck's sake, Isla." His knees buckled from the pressure exerted on them. "Tell me that all those times we had together were mere lies and I'll believe you."

Craig was almost collapsing. She swallowed hard. Her heart was racing back and forth. Turmoil engulfed her soul. After a long moment of silence, she opened the door. But it wasn't to run into his arms and cry and confess her stupidity.

She didn't break down her defenses.
"You're right. Just get out of my life. I don't need you, Craig. Now, I wish I never met you because you've broken my heart and all I have left are the pieces that no one can pick up, not even you. I thought you loved me. You promised me that you'd put me first, no matter what happened."

He stared her down, eye to eye, then tried to reach for her hand.

She snatched it away like he was fire.
"I said leave me alone! I hate you!" She cried, running past him, almost knocking him down.

Just before she slipped past his reach, probably never to return forever, he caught her hand. Exhaling sharply, Craig snaked his arm around Isla's waist so fast that she couldn't back out. He had her hemmed in in his hold. The chandelier cast a warm glow on the couple. Just the feel of her in his arms made him almost melt. He'd overrated her all along.

"You pose to be strong. And bitch at whomever tries to bear your burden with you," he started.

"How dare you__"

"Quiet! When I'm talking to you, best friend, you'll fucking listen to what I fucking have to say," he told her down.

They were on even ground now. His anger and frustration matched hers, and they were breathing in sync. Her eyes widened. His possessive side was on. In a way, she preferred it to his hot guy syndrome.

"We can fix this shit. It doesn't have to be this way, I swear. We__ we don't have to end like this. I'll make it up to you, do whatever the hell you need me to do."

Desperation had taken over. The proud Craig in the living room was gone, replaced by a begging asshole.

"And what about Novah?" She spat.

He swallowed hard. Struggled for words to prove her wrong but none came. She couldn't bare to be with him, knowing that in his heart, she'd always come second. Bitterness overwhelmed her spirits. She struggled with emotions conflicting one another for a long time.

"Tell me that you don't love her more than me and I'll believe you. Say that she's worthless and stupid, and take my side against hers right now."
"Tell me that you hate her and I'll believe you! Please." She begged, trailing her finger down his face.

He couldn't look away. Especially not when her emerald eyes bore deep into his, searing his soul with something he couldn't explain.

"I hate Novah," he lisped.

As soon as the words left his mouth, a huge lump rose in his throat, obstructing his breathing. He struggled for air. She flashed him a smile. The smile of triumph. The smile that told him how powerful she was above him, and would always be. Then, she crushed him in a bear hug, nesting her head on his  shoulders. If it had been any other girl, he'd have held her close. But for the one in his arms, all he felt was contempt.

Dark were his thoughts. Dark were his hands. Dark, his lips that had confessed his love to innocent Novah. Dark, the same lips that had betrayed her so cheaply. Dark was everything, including Isla Dehler. The ringing of his phone brought him back to Earth.

If he was annoyed by the call, he was certainly pissed off at the caller ID. Peter. What in the bloody nine circles of hell did the bastard want with him? He was determined to ignore it at first. But the ringing was persistent. Insistent. Infuriating. Then maddening. Perhaps he should have left issues as bad as they were. He should have been the helpless boyfriend who made promise after promise that he never kept all his life. As at then, he felt so unworthy.

The moment he picked the call was one he'd remember forever.
"Peter? What the f___"

"Novah."

Craig's heartbeat rammed to a stop. He'd kill himself if anything happened to his Novah. He'd sworn to protect her with all his might, and he'd failed.

Please, don't leave me here.
She'd begged him to stay with her but he'd obeyed his selfish desires. He was so stupid. Perhaps he should have postponed his reunion with Isla to some other time. At the time she needed him most, he'd disappeared. Craig felt like a liar altogether.
If he was heartbroken, Peter's next statement shattered him to pieces.

"She's dead."

She's dead. She is dead. Novah was dead.