Eternal Love

⁕Chapter 7⁕

Hailey takes a sip of her champagne and looks at Nathan. She wants to see his reaction related to what she has told him so far. He is looking back at her. His eyes are expressionless and so is his face. Damn it, she thinks, why is it that he is so good at hiding his feelings while she cannot.

She really wants to know what is on his mind. This will give her an inkling of whether he will forgive her and maybe give her a second chance. She shakes her head. She is crazy for thinking that he may date her again. She does not even know if he is still single or has a girlfriend or even a wife. Her company prefers not to indulge in the private life of its writers.

She takes another sip and clears her throat placing her glass on the counter.

"When we came here, it was difficult for us to adjust. From a small town to a big city. Leaving our friends and family to live among strangers. But with time, life became better to some extent. Mom met new people and made new friends. She got a nice job which she loved.

As for me I was a bit apprehensive. Scared that we would be found. But when I met you and the others, I decided that it was better for me to live life as it is than living in fear. Falling in love with you was one of the best things that could happen to me. You made me laugh, feel special and happy. I forgot about that monster. I forgot about the real reason why we moved here."

She stops and looks at him. This time, she can see something in those beautiful eyes of his. Understanding and love. Love?
Maybe it's just wishful thinking. Ever since they met again, she never saw love for her in his eyes.
She lets out a sigh and gets up. She moves to the sink and looks out at the scenery in front of her of the window above the sink.

"The day of graduation, no,uhh.."

She shuts her mouth. She does not want to talk about that day. Though it was one of the happiest days of her life, it hurts to talk about that day. She shuts her eyes tightly and grips the counter with her hands.

"Are you okay."

She hears Nathan asks in a soft voice. He did not want to interrupt her but seeing how it is becoming difficult for her to continue, he needed to ask her. Even though he wants to know the real reason why she broke up with him, he does not want it to the expense of her health.

"You don't need to continue if you can't."

She nods her head.

"I am okay. Just need a moment."

She opens her eyes but does not let go of her hold on the counter.

"Two days after graduation, mom received a call from him. We were terrified. Three years passed and we heard nothing from him or about him. Then having him contact us out of the blue was a shock. Mom contacted the local police and that of our old town. The Chief decided to come here himself to help.

That monster threatened to kill us and from his talks we were worried that he would harm the people that were dear to us. We decided to stay away from our friends and cut out all contact till we were sure that he was out of our life forever. When mom told me that I had to stay away from you too, it was difficult to even think about that. I knew that if I ignored you, you would come home. So, I thought it was better to break up with you.

But then again, breaking up with you would not make it that easy for you to cut contact with me. I knew you would chase me and demand to talk to me and get me to re think about it. So I decided to hurt you."

Tears stream down her cheeks as she thinks about that day. It was really painful for her. It took lots of strength to be indifferent to him and break his heart as if she herself was not hurting.

After those spiteful words, she wanted to take them back when she saw his painful reaction. She wanted to hug him and apologise. To tell him why she was being like that. Instead she left him with a broken heart and hate for her.

"For three weeks, he..he called us and threatened us. He would talk about how he would tor...tor..torture and kill...kill us. Gosh. It was horrible. We tried not to take his call. But the third time, we refused to do so he h...hurt, Mr Johns, the Chief police of our old town. Thus we had no option but to take his call and listen to his disgusting voice. The police tried to track him but they were un..un..unsuccessful."

It is becoming harder and harder for her to talk. But she has to. She will never be able to do this again. It's now or never.

"The day we were supposed to leave for college,uhhh, I decided to go to your place. I..I wanted to see you for the last time even if it was from afar. It was a big risk that I took because the police prevented mom and I from leaving the house since we would put ourselves in danger. But at that time, I did not care. Seeing you was more important than my life. I was able to get out of the house without her and the two officers protecting us knowing. I decided to be quick before they realized I was gone.

I was a few minutes away from your house when I received a call from her. My first thought was that my 'plan' failed and she realized that I was not home. My though was right but it was not the reason why she was calling me. When I accepted her call, the first voice, I heard was not hers. It was his."