The Air I Would kill to Breathe

CHAPTER 16 (I've moved on)

"The associates agreed for me to stay here and be seen in public with Jessica." I told my sister on the phone and she just laughed sarcastically. She hates the idea that I have to stay here for some irrelevant reasons. I have to be celebrity attorney to advertise our law firm and to promote her as well. The idea is to make sure she's the center of everything with my assistance. I'm the strategist.

"Ethan the bastard is with you! How can you be okay?! That's total bullshit, A. If mom finds out, she will do something we both would regret. You knew how she was! How can you be so stupid, A? I want to slap that son of a bitch." She's really mad. Who wouldn't be? I lost a chance at a happy life when Andrew took it away. Ethan was the reason why it all happened to me.

"Chris, I'm fine-"

"You're not fine! You are defending a ballerina brat and all you do is clean up her frigging mess because she's stupid. You let her do that to you and you're fine?! How can Mike let this happen to you? Does he know?" I took a deep breath and opened the curtains of a hostel room in Inverness. The weather is still gloomy like yesterday.

"No... yes. He knows and he let me do it. I have to face my nightmares. I have to be strong. I have to face Ethan and tell him I've moved on. I'm not going to let him see that I'm still trembling in front of him. I know that i still have lingering feelings towards him but I'm not going to let it take over. I will be strong." I told her and she just remained silent, still unable to find the words to answer me.

Then she sighed. "How can you be so dumb about this? You let your firm do this to you. You are smart; extremely smart. How can you just stay there, attend parties and gatherings acting like you are one dumb woman? You are so much more than those people. You let them take advantage of you. This isn't smart of you, A." Then i started tearing up. I wiped my eyes with my cold fingers.

"I know and I'm so sorry, Christine. I'm very sorry. Far from what you know, Jessica Miller actually does everything I say. She follows me around and that's a consolation. She thinks so highly of me. She's not that bright but she's okay. She's hasn't done anything against me."

She's my puppet. Thats how it works right now. She believes everything I say, like I'm a teacher to a student. I may sound like a jealous bitch, but I have a hold against her but I'm not going to take advantage of that situation. I'm not going to let things get to me. I'm not going to be a villain in her story. She's a good person and I should be like one.

Then she told me how difficult it is to handle Mike at the hospital. Mike helped her out to get in so she can do her internship in the hospital he works at. It's funny how Christine panicked when she told me how extremely difficult it was.

"Chris, it's fine. Just be good and let Mike help you out. You need to make a good impression if you want to pursue medicine. Plus, Mike is one of the best doctors in the hospital. He can be your mentor and he's very focused. You should adapt to his methods and techniques. You will learn a lot from him, trust me." I told her and she just agreed.

"I know, A. I know. I just think your boyfriend is so uptight. I mean he scares the entire female population in the hospital to be honest. He's not that sweet except with you. You must be really special." I giggled.

"He's a very grumpy person if and only if he's a tired. He can be a little OCD at times. I mean, he's really organized. Just bear with it, okay? He vouched for you so do your best." I told her.

"I know. He's a good guy. By the way? Annie misses you, A. She's having difficulties at school and thank goodness Mike- your boyfriend - picked her up last time when the contractors bailed on her. She's now okay since your boyfriend helped her with the moving. Her dorm was crappy." I smiled. Mike is doing his best to help my family. How can I miss that? He loves me a lot and here I am, torn with Ethan's stupid memories. God I hate myself.