Aelise sighed deeply and ran a hand through her messy duo-colored hair. The said female laughed upon hearing his apology. "Asshole." Was the only thing she said as a response. Her eyes softened and she lifted her hand to caress his cheek gently. "I'm sorry as well, for leaving you. You're hurting too, you know. I left you, went abroad. And because of that, I know you're living a life that you're cursing so bad." With that, she let go of his cheek, but suddenly pinched it as hard as she could. "I still wonder why you cheated on me with that... err, woman." She mumbled under her breath with a pout.
"I want my happiness back, Aelise. You took it with you. I want it back but I don't think I'll be able to have it again." He let out a sad laugh and a wince as she pinched him.
There was more that she wanted to say. However, she guessed that it wasn't the right time. Not yet anyway. Or maybe she won't even say it at. Aelise shook her head in response. "You deserve to be happy too, Zen. You must not cling onto what happened to us back then. Just forget it and act like.. nothing happened." She said and took a deep breath before continuing. "Like I said before, you don't need to worry about him. Plus, he's unable to pick me up, dummy. He's in abroad."
Zen kept his head low as she cursed him and then leaned into her touch before she pulled away. "I- S-She drugged me. I was at fault too. I wasn't completely under the effect but I didn't know what I was doing." He spoke to her as he let go of her. 'Act like nothing happened.' He thought to himself as he looked around. "How can I act like nothing happened?" He whispered as he felt his heart clench.
She heard a phone ring, thinking it was hers. But eventually, it was Zen's. She nodded and waited for him. The female heard every word of the conversation, literally. Companies.. Was this what he had been doing for these past five years? When he ended the call, she smacked him. "Idiot. Since when did you start doing this type of shit? Visiting three companies at around.. 2am? Do you even get some rest?" She sighed deeply in frustration.
"Ever since you left, dad pushed me into the company. He wanted me to do this after him so he's making me do this. It's nothing. I get rest for a few hours here and there. Nate's mom helps me so no worries." He smiled as he stood up.
"If you're going to be going home then go ahead." He spoke as he let her go. "I can't keep holding you back forever right?" He chuckled as he looked at her. "Keep the jacket. Think of it as a souvenir." He spoke and slipped his hands into his pockets. He remembered his conversation which he had with Nate but he didn't think it was possible so he didn't try and do anything about it. 'You'll be fucked if you have another conversation with her. Looking at you now, you'll break when she leave again.' Nate had told him but he had just scoffed and waved him off. 'I won't ever see her. I won't give her the misfortune of that.' He had told him and let it go but now. It was true.
"Go on. Go ahead." He spoke and pulled his phone out. 'Please.' He simply texted Nate who saw the text and understood. They were best friends after all. "Fuck. You met her. God, you absolute idiot. Why would you go alone??" Nate cursed as he got a car immediately and drove to his best friend's, more like, brother's location. He saw her. Aelise. "God, is it just me or does she look miserable?" He whispered as he got out of the car and rushed to Zen.
"Zen." He called out and looked at her. "H-Hey, Aelise."
"Hey, Nate. I hope life's treating you well." Aelise gave him a small smile. She knew him as Zen's best friend. She could always mistaken him as his brother. She rarely ever talked to him. However, she didn't mind.
She got off Zen's precious bike and got herself together. After all of that unhealthy dose of alcohol she had awhile ago, she still seemed to be sober. "Well, I should get going now. I'll get a taxi if that's possible. You two get home safe, okay? And Zen-" She whispered the latter to him, as to not let his best friend hear her. "Expect me to cling onto you time to time after all this." She smiled at him. Without warning, she walked away whilst waving them goodbye.
Nate smiled as he watched her leave and then looked at Zen. "Are you insane?! Why would you meet her alone?!" He asked as he shook the boy's shoulder. "She has a boyfriend." Zen smiled. "But he's cheating on her with multiple people." He pouted. Nate slapped the boy hard. "Snap out of it. You will not meet her ever again. Not alone at least. I'll make sure of it. Look at you, Zen. You look fucking pathetic." He spoke and looked at Zen who looked like he'd break any second.
Eventually, Aelise got a taxi and got home safe. The first thing she saw was her father. A worried expression was plastered on his face, almost shedding a tear as he saw his daughter getting off the taxi. "You reek of alcohol." He commented as he smacked her head playfully. They had a small laugh. Henceforth, Aelise went to bed. She just layed there, thinking about what happened awhile ago.
"Life is really strange, huh." She muttered then slapped herself as she groaned tiredly. Surely she'd get a major headache after all of this. Not long after, her eyes automatically closed, pushing her into a deep slumber.
"Come on, let's go. Your dad said that he'd break your legs if you step inside the house without finishing whatever he said and let's get that bleeding to stop too." Nate spoke as he helped Zen into the car and got the med kit. "To the company please." He told the driver as he started to treat Zen's wound. "Mom is worried about you, Zen. Finish your work fast and get some sleep. You look like you'll collapse." He scoffed and bandaged the boy's leg, putting his shoe back on, gently and carefully.
"Yeah." Zen spoke and yawned. "She was abroad apparently. That's where her boyfriend is too. Maybe she'll leave in a few days." Zen spoke and Nate sighed. "Don't drag her back into your life. In the state that your life is in now, you'll both only be unhappy." He said and Zen nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I shouldn't. But she was crying when she was talking to her boyfriend. She looked scared and hurt. With her boyfriend." He thought about it out loud. "Was she that scared with me too?" He asked Nate.
"I don't know and you don't need to either. It's been 5 years. She's moved on. Now it's time for you. You've been dragging yourself down with all this. You've got to find some kind of satisfaction from this kind of life. You have no other choice, brother." Nate spoke. "I want to live, Nate. Not exist. I want to live like you. I want to go out like you. You're here stuck with me too. I don't like that. I want to do what I want. It's been years since I picked up my guitar. Dad probably already broke it." Zen spoke with a shaky voice.
The next morning, what awoke Aelise, pulling her out of her precious dreams, was the bright sunlight illuminating her room. It shone beautifully, painting the walls in a spreading golden hue which was intruding her spacious bedroom. The comforter and some of her stuffed toys were scattered around the floor when she drifted off to sleep last night. Groaning in frustration and pain , she brought a hand to her eyes, shielding them from the sunlight.
She was not sure of what time it was, but she indeed had the guts to punch the wall repeatedly until she put a hole in the wall. It's the motherfucking headache. Heaving a sigh as well as pushing the thoughts aside, she groggily sat up from her position. Aelise examined her room. It was indeed messy. Standing up from her position, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Aelise was still wearing her clothes from last night. As well as the jacket. 'Wait, jacket? This isn't mine-' She chewed on the thought, literally trying to remember what happened when she was drunk. And something clicked.
Zen.
Her eyes widened. She couldn't believe it. Or maybe it was part of her dream? No. It was too real. Even the jacket. She doesn't remember someone in her family- anyone, who owned this kind of expensive ass jacket. And after a little while, she remembered everything that happened. Her heart skipped a bit.
Aelise sighed deeply and decided to take a shower for she smelt rotten. That was what she thought anyway. After a nice and relaxing shower, she brushed her teeth. Picking her 'outfit for the day' from her luggage wasn't difficult at all. A simple black sleeveless turtleneck and a pair of high waisted shorts. When she was done, she got out of her room, running a hand through her wet hair. "Good afternoon, Aelise." Her family said in unison, followed by fits of laughter, making her sweatdrop. It was afternoon already? She cursed at herself.
On the other hand, Zen's dad kept him on his feet the entire night. Zen had definitely expected that but by now, he felt like he'd pass out the second he'd be free from work which was never so he didn't think he needed to worry. "How's your leg?" Nate's mother asked as she came to check up on Zen. "Oh it's good. Thanks a lot." He smiled as he brought his leg up so she could take a look at it. "It's healing. Sit and home and do this work for a few more hours or maybe even the day and you'll be as good as new." She said and smiled. Zen nodded eagerly as he continued to type away on his laptop and his phone rang. He looked at it and then at Nate's mother.
"Sometimes I just want to chuck this thing out the window and pretend that I've been kidnapped." He spoke casually and she giggled, playfully hitting his arm as she left the room. Zen answered his call. It was Zara, his so called best friend. "What?" He asked bitterly, not even wanting the bitch to talk to him or even think of him. Now he needed to wash his mouth with soap. He just spoke to her after all. He needed deep cleansing. 'Oh god, save me.'