"Where are you? Please come back to me"
It had been a while since that fateful day, but Barry refused to believe it. She couldn't be gone, could she? Not her, not his Caitlin. She wouldn't leave him. Sure she was angry and had asked for some time, but surely she'd come back to him, wouldn't she? That's why, despite everything that they said Barry pounded the streets, day after day, hoping to catch even a glimpse of her. Looking for her face, among hundreds of others. Where was she? Why wasn't she coming back? Why was she torturing him? Sure he'd be the first to admit that he had made a mistake by not trusting her and leaving her alone, but why was he getting such a big punishment for one little mistake of his?
"Come in", he said as someone knocked on his door
Kate entered and sat down on his bed
"How are you holding up?"
"How do you think?"
"Barry, you have to accept it. She's gone"
"No Kate. Don't you say that. She's not gone. My heart refuses to believe it. She's just angry with me and rightfully so, considering what I did but she is torturing me by staying away. Why won't she come back? Did I make that big of a mistake?"
"Barry, I'm a girl too and I understand exactly how she felt. Imagine someone accusing me of that like dad with her? A girl's reputation is very fragile. Dad ruined hers in a few seconds. Sure the truth is out now, and the air has been cleared, but what about the time in between? She's had to live with people talking about her and looking at her differently. But what hurt her the most was you not believing her, when you knew the truth about her and Ronnies relationship. You knew that there was nothing there. So how could you be brought by dads lies? How could you be taken in?"
"Because I never thought that my dad could do something like this to me. How could he Kate? He knew how much I loved her"
"Barry, you believe that she is still out there. Just pray and hope that your love is strong enough to bring her back to you"
Barry squeezed Kate's hand, "she has to. I have to make it all up to her"
"I hope your right"
"I am. Our story is not over yet"
"Are you ready?"
"No"
"We've talked about this"
"I know. I just don't think that I can face anyone"
"But you suggested this"
"I know. I've got stuff to do there. But how will I face them?"
"Why should you be worried? Hold your head up high. You have done nothing wrong"
"I know"
"Well then stop being worried. Now remember your items that you need. They are your lifeline"
"Okay. Let's go and face the music"
Barry spent the days looking out of the window
"Where are you? Stop playing games with me and just come back. I need to apologise and spend forever making it up to you"
Just then, Kate burst into his room
"Barry, have you heard? There's some wealthy, famous man coming here, looking to invest"
"And?"
"Dad thinks that we should all go and meet him. Get him to invest in our business"
"Do what you want"
"Barry"
"Kate, I don't care what dad thinks. Because of dad, I doubted the girl that I loved and lost time with her, and now I might have lost her forever"
"I thought you said she is alive?"
"She is. I can feel it. But she's angry with me and not coming back to me because of what I said and did"
"Barry"
"I need to go Kate. I have to go to my new business that actually needs me. I'm sure dad can handle his by himself"
Barry walked into the charity that he had set up and looked around and smiled. It brought him joy to see these underprivileged children here thriving. His charity provided them with food, clothes, toys, books. He had done this for Caitlin. This was something that she had once told him that she wanted to do
"Barry, we are running out of money. We might have to close"
"What? No. I can't let that happen. This was her dream"
"Well we need a way to raise money fast"
"But if we close, what about all these children? Where are they going to go?"
"I don't know. But we have to find funds from somewhere, otherwise we'll have to shut our doors"
"No. I can't let them down. I let her down when she needed me the most. I can't let them down too"
"Barry, this is a nice dream that you have. But we need the money to continue"
"I'll find it from somewhere. Just don't shut this place down. I can't let the joy and hope from their eyes just die"
Barry entered the hall. He couldn't believe that it had come to this, but he refused to close his charity. Too many children were relying on him. He would do whatever it took to keep it open. He took a seat opposite him
"Yes?"
"My name is Barry. I run a charity for underprivileged children. We provide hot food, clothes, toys, books. Anything that they need"
"I see. And you would like me to invest my money?"
"I don't want to ask, but our cashflow is almost finished. I refuse to let those children down. If you can't help me, I'll find the money from elsewhere"
"No, it's not that. My wife has the final say. She decides who we should invest in"
"Can I talk to her?"
"She only meets people by appointments. If you give me the address of your charity, I'll bring her over tomorrow. Then she can see for herself and decide if we should invest"
"Thank you mr?"
"Rob"
Barry shook his hand and walked away. Rob watched him go
"What do you think?"
A figure peered out from behind the curtain. They said nothing
"Well? What do you think Caitlin?
Duff, duff, duff. I would never kill her off. As always, feedback appreciated
