The Way We Were [Short Story]

Epilogue

Hello everyone! Short story done! Now, if you don't get it, go back to the prologue (seriously, not sarcastic). I love you all. Thank you!

TWITTER! @rjandmengconvos

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Epilogue

"Okay, cut. Pack up!" The director shouted. Everybody clapped and woo-ed as they all started packing up. I headed to the tent and started grabbing my things as well. DJ was already inside folding his chair. He hasn't spoken a word to me neither has he looked my way since the break-up but we do make a pretty good team. We'd manage to execute scenes like usual and nobody noticed that something is wrong. My phone rang and DJ thought it was his. He grabbed his phone and checked it before looking at me for the first time and mumbling,

"It's yours." He says; locking his chair and grabbing his clothes that was folded beside the table nearby.

"I know." I answered, grabbing my phone and picking up. "Hi, what's up? Yeah, we finished quite early. I don't think so, no. Yeah, sure. I'll go straight to there. Uh, no. I'm going alone." I looked at DJ who was just getting out of the tent. He didn't even bother saying goodbye. "Is DJ coming?" I asked the person on the other line. "He is? Oh, I'll see you guys there then. Bye. Thanks, Quen." I hung up and went to my van where my mom's sleeping. I told the driver to drop me off to a restaurant to join Quen and Liza for their 'Forvermore' thanksgiving. So he did. I got there and everybody was looking for DJ. Part of me wanted to get up on stage and just announce that we broke up so they would stop asking questions but another part of me just wants to let it go because it's just not worth it.

"You made it!" Queen greeted as he ran up to me with Liza trailing behind him.

"Congratulations, you two!" I said, giving them both a kiss. "So, so proud of you Quenito." I pinched his cheeks and patted his hair.

"We have to say hi to everyone. DJ said he couldn't come, wasn't feeling well but I assume you know that right?" Quen asked. I looked at him and nodded. "I'll see you around. Thanks, Kath!"

I immediately went to one of the bar stools and asked for a drink. Not a strong one, just one that will put me to sleep easily. Julia, one of my favorite people in the whole world, sat on the bar stool next to mine.

"I missed you! How are you?" She asked. I pecked her cheeks and thanked the bartender that just served my drink.

"Thanks, man." I took a sip. "Good, good! How are you?" I replied, offering Julia a smile.

"It's crazy! For some reason, Alexander is already drunk." She said, pointing to Alexander handing out something to everyone passing by him. "And he's passing out, fortune cookies." Julia chuckled and shook her head. "Alex! Give Kathryn some!" I then believed that Alex was drunk when he threw a handful to us and Julia only caught one and handed it to me. "Go, open. I've opened like 4 now." She took a sip of her wine and waited for me to crack open the fortune cookie. "What does it say?"

"As time goes on, you'll understand. What lasts, lasts; what doesn't, doesn't. Time solves most things. And what time can't solve, you have to solve yourself." - Haruki Marukami

Julia just shrugged it off and started to ramble about what happened to her when she visited the nail spa the other day. I couldn't quite understand what she was saying since I was clutching the piece of paper. The piece of paper that sort of answered what I'm feeling. When I broke off things with DJ, I wasn't so sure if I did the right thing. The first 3 days were the toughest. I wasn't used to waking up to an alarm instead of DJ's phone call. I wasn't used to having to list all the things I have to do for the day instead; I usually have DJ to remind me with what's what. I was pretty sure that by the fourth day, I wanted to go visit him in his house to see if he's okay, go apologize and get back together but I didn't. I was sick that day because my wisdom teeth were growing and it was painful. Pretty painful that I spent the whole night crying that I ended up sleeping in my mom's room. On the fifth day, I was scheduled to go see the dentist and get my wisdom teeth removed.

I was waiting for my dentist on the dentist chair when I started tearing up.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" She asked as she wore her gloves.

"You're going to poke my mouth with needles and I'm 18 and I hate needles." I cried and laughed. I was already injected with anesthesia and I can feel myself falling asleep slowly. My dentist laughed and looked at my mom.

"She's going to be worse when she wakes up." She whispers. I poked her stomach and force my eyes to open.

"I don't want to get it removed."

"But it will continue to hurt you." She was about to put her magnifying mouth mirror when I looked away and raised my hand so she'd stop.

"I don't care. I want to keep it. Needles hurt."

She crossed her arms and by this time she was blurry.

"I know, needles hurt. But the pain from the needle will only last for a few hours but if you keep your wisdom teeth, it'll hurt forever."

I looked at her and scrunched my eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

The dentist didn't seem to be fazed by my actions. She crossed her arms and leaned a little on the dental chair's head.

"Because all wisdom teeth almost always have to be removed because they don't have enough room to come all the way. They cannot be cared for properly and they are more susceptible to decay and gum disease."

"I don't understand." I rubbed my arms and was a minute away to completely sleeping but the dentist didn't mind.

"You see, Kath. Having a wisdom tooth is like being with the wrong person. At first, you won't even notice or feel that, that person is wrong. But eventually, things will start to hurt to the point where you cry all night and end up sleeping in your parents room." She said, using my mom's story bout sleeping in their room as reference. "So, you have to remove it. And sure, it will hurt for a few days. Especially, when the anesthesia starts to wear off but you'll get better. It's like a break up with that person. Sure, it will hurt. And the difference between having him and not having him is so obvious but you'll get over it and it will get better."

That was the last thing I remembered before I slept. I woke up with not much memory of what happened in the dentist but for some reason what she said was stuck in my head. I held the piece of paper and shoved it in my pocket. Everyone is right. The fortune cookie, for once was right. It will get better. And sure, coming back to DJ as his girlfriend, ever now and then, will cross my mind but missing DJ is part of moving on. One day, I'm going to wake up and just feel okay. No anger, no sadness, no bitterness towards DJ.

I was in the middle of thinking whilst pretending to listen to Julia, when my phone beeped.

"Hang on, a sec." I said to Julia. She doesn't seem to notice that I wasn't listening to her.

It was from DJ.

FROM: Daniel Padilla

I miss you.

FROM: Daniel Padilla

I'm sorry.

FROM: Daniel Padilla

I love you.

I deleted the messages one by one when he texted me again.

FROM: Daniel Padilla

Baby, how much do you love me?

I typed in a reply,

TO: Daniel Padilla

To here.

He still didn't get it.