Beyond The Gaze: A Love Unseen

Chapter 31

"Then...what should I do, mom?" I asked in a low voice.

She circled one arm around my shoulders and kissed my head. "It's very simple," she responded. I looked up at her expectantly.

"Talk to him," she stated. "Apologize for your actions, explain the reasons, and try to understand him as well. The best way to resolve a misunderstanding or correct a mistake is to communicate and then never repeat it."

"Would he understand?" I asked.

She smiled and replied, "I met him, and Sven seemed like a really nice kid. I'm sure he would understand and accept your apology," she reassured, ruffling my hair. My tense body relaxed after her reassurance, and a smile finally appeared on my face.

Just then, the bakery door opened, and dad walked in with a lot of huge shopping bags in his hands. "Honey, I'm home! I brought everything you asked for," he announced. Mom and I instantly went towards him to help him with the shoppers and placed them on the kitchen counter.

"What's with this melancholic atmosphere here?" Dad paused, looking at us back and forth, raised his eyebrows, and remarked playfully.

"Oh! Did the date not go—AH!" Dad asked but before he could complete the sentence, mom suddenly smacked his arm.

"Ah, right, did you bring dates?" She asked, clapping her hands.

Both dad and I looked at her with raised eyebrows, confusion etched on our features. She turned to dad, giving him a narrowed glare. Dad's eyes widened suddenly as he exclaimed, "Oh, dates!! Of course, I did, they're in there." He responded quickly. Mom smiled and turned to me.

"Ely! Honey! Let us show you a new cake recipe we're thinking of adding to our menu. Taste it and give us your feedback," she said, leading me back into the kitchen.

"Sure, Mom!" I followed her along with Dad, and for the rest of our time, we prepared some new recipes while our chat continued.

Lying in my bed at night, I had a firm decision in my head for tomorrow, and that was to apologize!

I was about to sleep when my eyes snapped open, bewildered, and my lips parted.

"Ares!" My hand flew to my mouth, and I instantly sat up.

"I forgot to message him. It's been two days since I told him I would inform him." I hastily picked up my phone and opened his contact, hesitatingly hovering my fingers over it.

"He must think how careless I am," I closed my eyes, smacking my head, and my shoulders slumped.

"What do I do now?" I mumbled, my fingers automatically getting tangled in my hair as I huffed in frustration..

**************

I glanced toward the entrance once again and sighed, rubbing my eyes and yawning. He's usually at school at this time, so why wasn't he here yet?

Just as I placed my hand over my mouth, yawning again, I saw Ares walking toward the building. Instantly, I stood up straight and waited for him.

He paused for a moment when he noticed me. I waved my hand, awkwardly smiling a little but stopped when he didn't return the greeting.

Okay, um!

"H-hi!" I said, lowering my gaze a little when he got near and stopped in front of me.

"Hi," he responded curtly, sliding his hands into his pockets without speaking further, waiting for me to talk.

"Ah, I'm sorry, for...you know, I, um, I couldn't message you," I stuttered, and the more I spoke, the stupider I felt.

"It's fine, I didn't realize anyway," he replied and shrugged his shoulders casually.