Category : Books-Fiction

Sub Category : Romance

Chapter 30
Chris took one look at his watch, letting out a sigh of distress. He had the entire night to sort out his emotions, and he still couldn't shake off the conflicted feelings he was currently going through.
He flung his sling back over his back and walked out the door. 
Chris left the dorm with a heavy heart, a direct contrast to the bright and sunny morning. He passed the café that he and Greg had agreed to meet up at. He was hours early and it was very much still closed, although he could see workers setting up tables. 
Now, the reason as to why Chris had intentionally risen early was not to scout their meeting place, but was to pay his father a visit. He had doubts and he was hoping that by paying his father a visit would he be able to be rid of the unsettling feeling he has about the man.
With the GPS on his phone, he located his father's residence easily, taking the bus and a short 15 minute walk, he was able to find the address with ease. 
Standing in front of the simple 2 story house, Chris swallowed hard as he was surprised to find that the house was so big. Technically, it wasn't that big but he would have never expected that one man would require such a big residence. Even from the outside, it was strangely domestic. A family definitely lived here. 
Don't over think stuff, everything will be fine, Chris thought. 
Pushing all of the uneasiness to the very back of his mind, he was about to ring the bell when he heard chatter coming from the house. Chris backed up and squinted his eyes to stare into the house through the open window. 
At first, a little girl came into the picture. She wore a big smile which was contagious as Chris found himself smiling unconsciously. She looked not more than 2, siting on a baby chair, she was flinging her hands in the air happily. Suddenly, Chris’s father came into view and Chris's smile crooked ever so slightly. He watched dumbfounded as his father lifted the girl up from the chair and into his arms. 
At this point, Chris wanted to see no more but his feet wouldn’t budge no matter how much his mind was telling him to run. Chris didn’t dare blink as a lady walked into view. In her arms she cradled something that Chris had no doubt in his mind was a baby. He watched in horror as his father leaned down to kiss the lady’s cheek before proceeding to coo at the toddler in her arms. 
Chris saw enough. The worst of his uneasiness manifesting into reality. 
“No…...” Chris uttered weakly as he backed away. Not wanting to believe what he just saw, he could feel his own knees bucking, but before he could fall onto the ground suddenly there was a loud car honk that brought Chris back to his senses. Only then, did Chris realised that he was right in the middle of the road, the car just inches away from him. He shot the annoyed driver what he hoped was his best look of an apology and ran. 
He ran as fast as his legs would allow him to. Everything he had just witnessed burned into his mind. He knows he would never be able to erase that memory.   
Chris ran until his lungs threatened to give out. He entered a quiet back alley and leaned his back against a wall, his lungs desperately searching for air. Suddenly, he started coughing horribly, causing his knees to buck and he must have blacked out for a moment as the next thing he knew, the ground was much closer. He made out that he was kneeling on the ground, one hand supporting his upper body so he wouldn't face plant the cold hard ground, the other covering his mouth to muffle his coughing.
When Chris managed to calm down and stop coughing, he lifted his deadweight of a body into a siting position and dragged himself to lean up against the wall. 
Still out of it, Chris looked up at the bright sky. He didn’t know what to think of what he had just witnessed. Everything was so freshly burned into his mind and he was beyond confused and angered. And just this morning, he thought that he could forgive his father and mend the past. 
His thoughts ultimately drifted to his mother. And Chris couldn't help but blame himself. He should have known! He blamed his naiveness in thinking, and dare he say, believing, that he and his father could become a family once again. 
For the first time, Chris truly felt the feeling of abandonment. And it wasn't even for the fact that he had no idea where in the world he is currently at. 
                      XXXXXXXXXX
A box of eggs in her arms, Lily carried them carefully into the kitchen. She placed them on the table, amongst the other various ingredients. Smiling to herself that she didn't trip and break them. 
There was a familiar honk of a vehicle and she hurried over to the back door leading from the kitchen to the back alley. She unlocked the door just in time to see a truck loaded with crates of vegetables reversing into the alley. The moment the truck parked, and the barrier was brought down, a man who was already in the back of the truck started passing crate after crate to Lily. She then efficiently retrived the yellow crates and placed them in the store. 
After loading was done she made sure to bid the worker and truck driver farewell before running back into the dining area to help out.
Business was always exceptionally good on the weekends. With a pen and notepad in her hand, she was ready to do her job. 
“Welcome!” Lily greeted cheerfully as she saw the door being pushed open and a boy walked in the café. 
The boy was looking down for some reason and he walked as though he had no balance, for a moment, she thought for sure that he was drunk. But he seemed to be sober enough to make his way to an empty table, pulling a chair to sit. 
Lily hated to deal with such customers, but nevertheless he was still a customer. Unwillingly, she walked up to him. 
“Can I get you something?” Lily asked. 
The boy remained silent, seemingly deep in thought, staring outside. Lily wondered if she was too quiet, so she asked again, this time louder.
When the boy still gave no respond, Lily grew annoyed and manners be damned, she shook the boy’s shoulder. 
“Earth to mr. customer!” She called out. Not at all pleased with being ignored. 
Only then did the boy finally came back to his senses, he looked around as though he just realised that he was in a cafe. “Yes?” he asked her.
Lily noticed how pale the boy was the moment he looked up, it definitely wasn't healthy. She stunned for a moment before asking, “Should I get you a glass of water?” 
“I’m-” The boy started but Lily interrupted him. 
“You stay here. I’ll get you something to drink.” Lily said as she backed into the kitchen.
“Lily! Can you pass me some carrots?” Lily heard Sarah call out to her just when she entered the kitchen. 
Lily then opened the fridge, grabbed a handful of said vegetable and passed them to Sarah, who was busy working the stove.
Not forgetting the unhealthily pale customer, Lily grabbed an empty glass and filled it with water, telling Sarah, “There’s a boy outside that looks deathly pale, he looks awful! I called out to him yet he didn’t seem to hear me. I had to physically shake him to get his attention.” 
Upon seeing how shaken up Lily was about this particular customer, Sarah, perked with curiosity, peeked out of the kitchen. 
Her eyes scanned the premise and when it landed on a particular somebody's back, Sarah almost dropped her non existence glasses in shock. Chris never ever comes to this café, to see him here today is no short of a phenomenon. 
Sarah couldn't help but wonder what is his business here? She watched as Lily cautiously walked up to Chris with a glass of water. Chris looked up when Lily approached him and she wasn’t kidding, the boy looked like he just saw a ghost. 
“Sarah! What are you doing?! Get back in here!” Sarah jumped as she heard the master chef call out to her from the kitchen. 
“Coming!” Sarah took one last look at Chris before entering the kitchen. 
She had wanted to go out to greet Chris but work beckons. When she finally had the chance to leave the kitchen for a brief break, she looked in the direction of when she last saw Chris excitingly, however, save for the glass of water Lily had served Chris on the table, which was now half consumed, Chris’s seat was empty. However, there was a man sitting at the same table but in front of Chris’s seat. 
Sarah walked up to the man who had both his elbows on the table and his hands interlocked while he rested his forehead on them. 
The man, upon sensing Sarah's presence, looked up and nodded at her. Sarah thought that her eyes must have failed her, she blinked in incredulously. The uncanny resemblance this man was to Chris shocked her from Mars to back. 
“Can-Can I clean this for you?” Sarah raised her hand at the empty glass. 
“Go ahead.” The man smiled at her. 
Even their smile is the same! Sarah grabbed the glass and ran back into the kitchen as quickly as possible. 
                      XXXXXXXXXX
Chris felt drained of all his energy, not just physically but mentally. Even if a meteorite were to fall on earth at this very moment, Chris probably wouldn’t care. 
He had no idea how he managed to go from the dark alley back to the familiar city but he vividly remembers walking into the café which was now up and running. He had opted to sit at a table by the windows, not interested in anything happening in the restaurant, he chose to stare out the window. A waiter had came up to him but Chris wasn’t paying attention. His mind kept playing the smiles of his father and the other lady. 
He didn’t even notice he was being talked to until he felt a hand on his shoulder and the next thing he knew he was being wildly shaken. He didn't even get to say much before the waitress was telling him to stay put while she retreated back into the kitchen. She looked troubled and Chris made it a point to apologize to her when she comes back with the water.
The waitress returned minutes later with a glass of water and Chris noticed that she was being caution with her demeanor. Wow, he really managed to scare her! He must have looked like an idiot spacing out.
“Mr. customer, this is from me to you. It’s on the house.” She kindly said, placing the glass down on the table. 
“Thank you and I’m sorry if I scared you. I just wasn’t myself today.” Chris forced the best smile he could muster after whatever he had just went through this morning, he had hoped his apology was convincing. 
“You don’t have to explain anything to me! We all have our down days. So, would you like to order anything? I’m sure it would cheer you up!” The waitress handed him a menu which Chris politely rejected.
“I’ll pass. I’m actually waiting for someone.” 
The waitress gave him an understanding nod before leaving to attend to other customers. Chris looked to the glass of water, suddenly thirsty, he brought the glass to his mouth and drank half of it in one go. 
Just then, the door to the cafe opened and Chris saw Greg walk in, he greeted the waitress at the door before glancing around the cafe, finally walking over to Chris when he spotted him. 
“I’m so grateful that you are willing to eat with me.” Greg said, taking the seat in front of Chris. The smile on the man's face looked so genuine, Chris was almost fooled into believing that he actually meant what he had said. 
“Why show up now? After this many years?” Chris asked coldly, his stare nothing less than a glare. 
Chris could see the smile on his father's face flatter a little. “I wanted to talk to you.”
Chris scoffed. "You never talked then, what's there to say now?" 
Chris saw his father's cheerful expression morph into one of pure pain. Chris knew that his words must have struck deep like a knife but he honestly could care less. 
"I need to apologise to you Chris. I'm sorry that I was such a horrible person." 
Chris had already expected what his father had wanted to say so him. This talk that they were having was no doubt going down the road of an inevitable argument. Perhaps he was never meant to see his father with another family but he did see it, with his own two eyes. And it was beyond infuriating. Chris felt betrayed all over again. And now his father expects him to just forgive him and let him back into his life? 
Unknowingly, Chris's grip on the glass tightened. As he thought of his mother, he asked, "How could you do this-?" he didn't get to finish his sentence when he was interrupted. 
"I was a horrible person in the past and if you would allow me to show you that I have changed." Greg offered a weak smile. 
“Did that other woman pay for your therapy?"Chris asked, his tone icy. 
Greg looked seemingly lost for a second before it finally clicked in him and his eyes went comically wide. 
He scrambled to explain, “That’s not true Chris! I swear this is not what it seems to be, I just want to be a father to you.”
Chris almost laughed out loud. It was so obvious what his father had on his mind. Even a 5 year old can figure it out. The man didn't want to fix their broken father son relationship, nor did he want to mend the past, it was a divorce that he wanted. 
"It's too late for that." Chris replied. 
Chris had hoped that Greg would get the idea after hearing his reply but that man had the audacity to try to plea with him, “Chris, if you follow me, I’ll be able to provide you with so much more. You do not have to worry as I promise you that I'll continue to support your mother financially.”
Chris snapped, “H-How could you?! Mum was the only one that believed in you, she was the only one that believed that you would come home and when you do, you just want a divorce?!” 
Anger boiling up in him, Chris would rather die than leave his mother's side. He was mad and agitated, however, since they were in public, Chris had half the mind to control himself and not hurl the glass he had at a death grip at Greg, as much as he needed to release the his anger. 
“Look at the reality, Chris, your mother has been in a coma for more than 2 years. The chances of her ever waking up is close to non existence, even the doctors says so! I even transferred her here for better treatment but she has shown no signs of recovery.”
At this point, Chris has had it, he has had enough of his father's one sided parading. The man clearly has his own interest at mind, disappearing one day and returning years later with another family, only to expect Chris to just forgive, forget and accept it?! He is far from a child that his father thinks he can manipulate. 
Chris stood up so suddenly, the table shook, alerting customers tabling close to them, the glass rattled and if it wasn't half empty, it's contents would have definitely spilled. 
“You can take your money and leave me and my mother alone.” Chris coldly said as he picked up his bag and left. 
He ignored his father calling out to him from the cafe and picked up his pace. 
He even ignored Oliver when he passed him in the hospital hallway.  
Chris dropped to his knees the moment he was by his mother's side. He didn't even know that he was shaking until he almost dropped his mother's hand in the process of picking it up to hold it in between his hands. 
“Don’t worry, I’ll never leave you. You’ll wake up one day and we can watch your favourite show together.” 



All Rights Reserved @ by Anne Teng 
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