Abomination | (Part 2)

Chapter-6 : Reconciliation

When I was kid, my dad would come into my room after we had a fight about if I should do the underground fighting on my own and my dad even though had complete faith in me he would worry constantly, considering my temper he wasn't wrong.

But at the end of the day, we would both apologize, and then we would have the exact same argument the next day. And repeat.

Never once did we decide that it would be better if he would come on some of my fights, or I would skip a few. Not going was not an option, It's not what my dad said. it's what I would say. If I had made a commitment to fight , I would keep my word. 

He would say if you're wrong and you know that you are never afraid to apologize, and I never was, nor will I today.
I have been feeling guilty ever since our fight, and I wasn't able to sleep properly. I knew I was harsh when I shouldn’t have been. It was her choice, and I should've respected that. And even coming to that decision must've been hard on her, and without even thinking, I got protective of her and overstepped.

“Hey” I say, as I see Katylin walk through the door and start approaching me. School was going to start in 30 minutes, and we had some time.

“Hi” she replies back. We both remain silent, we are at the rooftop of our school, and the breeze is quite chilly. I came to school an hour early and have been waiting for her jn the terrace for about forty-five minutes. If Olivia had been here, she would've smacked us both on our heads and called us out on being idiots. Which we were, there's no denying that. Olivia is simple like that. Katylin is just sweet and caring.

Neither of us know how to start this so we just stand there for five minutes, she’s looking on the ground making circles with her foot on the gravel, I am looking at the scenery ahead of me and stealing glances at her, before I notice she starts to shiver. I curse myself to let this drag too long and couldn't take it anymore. I sigh out.

“This is crazy! This isn’t your fault. I’m sorry I lashed out, I didn’t mean to. It’s just that… I was worried about you and the things you’re going through that you don’t deserve to go through. Nobody does, but especially not you. You're the sweetest, kindest person I've met, and to even think that you have to go through something so horrible.... just the thought of that makes me angry to my very core. And the fact i didn’t even notice that you were going through something like that.. i just was angry at myself for being so in over my head. sorry if I interfered, but to be honest, here I really think you report that piece of shit to the police and I know you’ve said that he has connections. Well, so do we. But it’s totally your choice here. I won't force you into something you dont want to indulge. Just say the word and I'll back off, i swear.” I say defeated. The truth was, after what happened to Jay, I got scared for every one of my friends who came into my life. I didn’t want anything like that to happen to my friends. And I felt angry at myself that I couldn’t protect him, I don’t want that to happen again.

But I guess like my dad said, some things are just out of our control. There are situations in life where there’s absolutely nothing you can do. It may sound like an excuse, but it’s the truth.

“No, you were right. I shouldn’t have been harsh to you because you were only looking out after me, and I’m grateful for that. I am, I haven’t told anyone about this, only you know because you found out. Even Justin doesn’t know yet. It’s just that I’m scared because I’ve tried this many times, you know… it ends with me either having a broken rib or bruises all over my body. So, I don’t trust the forces as much as you do.” She sighs, sadly. Her face was dull, as if all the happiness was sucked out of it. Dark circles under her eyes hughlited how less she must've been sleeping. She looked tired, and I felt bad for being so harsh on her even though she had had such a rough time.

“Oh, no, I don’t trust them either. But we have Olivia. I’m sure she will know people who can help you. Just trust me on this.” I squeeze her freezing hands, assuring her.

“Okay” she smiles “let’s do this”  she agreed. I squeal and squeeze her tightly in my arms

“You won’t regret it, I promise” I grin.

The school had already started, and somehow, we both were late on our first period. We rushed through the halls, bursting the door open. I stood at the entrance of the class panting.

Once again I’m hit with a déjà vu. Last year, the same calculus teacher yelled at me after I blurted out if he was bipolar. This time, he looked calm, but I wasn’t letting his expression fool me this time.

“May I come in, sir?” I asked for his permission, politely.

“Yeah, whatever” he waved me off.
My expression must’ve given me away.

“He’s in a better mood these days, I heard he was going out with the art teacher,  that’s why he doesn’t give us any homework, neither does she.” Justin said.

“Well, I guess there’s a first time for everything” I shrugged and settled next to Justin.
After the class, Justin went to his history class, and I went to English.
The rest of the day passed in a blur. After school, I went to work. It was a tiring day.

I was walking home after my part-time job, looking through my playlist. Putting my air pods on, I pressed the play button and let the music fill my ears. It was getting dark. I wasn’t worried, though I knew how to protect myself. It was one of the things I’m grateful to my dad for. He wasn’t like those parents who would worry about their child getting in late or going out when its dark, of course to some level he was concerned but that is something every parent worries about-about their child’s well being.

But he had made me sufficient enough that I could fight to protect myself.
I continued to think about my dad as I walked, humming the song that was playing. I was lost in my own trance that I bumped into a passerby.

“Oh, sorry!” I turned to apologise to the man who bumped into my shoulder, but he ignored me and walked away. I was about to turn and continue my way home when I saw a black sedan- no the same black sedan that stood out of my school building, this morning and the very same sedan was out of my workplace too. I remember the plate number very clearly:
Without making any move that I noticed the car, I subtly turned and continued walking, playing dumb. I noticed an alleyway coming closer. All I needed was a distraction.
I picked up an orange from the stall next to me, pretending to be interested in it.
I asked “how much?”

“Half kg for one dollar and fifty cents”

I placed it back, looking around the food stall. I subtly brushed past her and sneakily slipped an apple into the bag she was carrying, which was sitting on the ground and looked it would burst open any second, obviously belonging to the lady standing next to it.

Just then, the woman grabbed the bag and started to walk away when the vendor asked her to stop. Scared, she walked faster, not knowing the reason behind why he was yelling at her. On reaching the red light, her bag tore open, and her belongings, along with the apple I put in, were now rolling away on the crosswalk. People gathered to help the woman. A pang of guilt started to form in me, but I took the opportunity to disappear into the dark alley.

I peeked from the dark alleyway as I saw the car drive by the scene speedily. My heart pounded against my chest, and my breath got uneven. Taking a moment to calm myself down.

Sighing, I thought, I tricked them now, but they’ll find me sooner or later. Before that, I had to find out who they are what is the purpose behind tailing me.

I walked back home, avoiding the main roads, only taking dark and dangerous paths home. They may be dangerous to most people, but to me, right now is the only safe way home.