SAVE ME

Ch#23 Cry to your heart's content

Ch#23 Cry to your heart's content

"You know, you are the first person ever with whom I shared my past. It's been five years since this incident took place, and ever since then I have been changing schools from one place to another. But never did I ever make friends. Neither had I ever opened up about my past with someone. I don't know why, but I feel comfortable around you. I feel like I want to shower you with all the love and affection. You seem like a child wanting the attention of loved ones." He was taken aback by my words.

"I-I'm sorry, Al. I'm really sorry for not trusting you. It's just that I can't trust people easily. No matter what they do for me, it's never easy for me to trust people. I just don't want to be hurt again. I do not have the courage to go through that pain all over again. I can never let my guard down. If I trust someone, only I will get hurt again." His eyes glistened with tears but he didn't let them drop. I could see pain written all over his face. But he needs to know that trusting others isn't that difficult.

"That's not true, Ellis. Trusting others won't hurt you. Just because someone broke your trust, betrayed you, doesn't mean that every single person in this world becomes unreliable. Sometimes, we need to believe in people, or else life becomes impossible", I tried to explain, but I knew it was a vain effort.

"But how am I supposed to not see the entire world as unreliable when every person I ever met has only betrayed me?", he questioned, hurt visible in his eyes. I couldn't answer. He has his own story for having these trust issues. I wanted to know his pain. I wanted to comfort him.

"What exactly happened with you?", I blurted out. He stared at me for about a minute and then sighed. He hesitated to share his past. Nevertheless, he did.

"My mother had me out of wedlock. When she told my Dad that she was pregnant with me, he wasn't ready to take the responsibility. He shunned my mother out of his life. Mom had to raise me as a single mother, getting the looks and taunts from every person. I was raised in poverty." He paused while his eyes began glimmering with tears. I gave him a soft pat on his back as a gesture to take his time.

"A time finally came when my mother could no longer take care of me. I was only seven and she abandoned me in front of my father's house with a letter in my hand. She apologized to me a hundred times and told me that she won't be able to put a morsel into my belly and keep me alive. It has been years, but that day is still vivid in my head." He smiled scornfully, reminiscing the day he was abandoned.

"Life is such a bitch. The things we wish to never forget, never stay in our memory cells. But the incidents we wish to be vanished, never leaves." He closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath. "Mom rang the bell of that huge house and ran away while I kept staring at my mother's retreating figure. She kept on running on that rainy day. By the time her figure vanished into a distance, my so-called father opened the door and inspected me up and down. I handed him the letter. I don't know what was written in that letter, but my father took me in with disgust. He did let me into his house, but never into his heart. He told me that my mother was a mistake of his life which produced me, a burden", he lamented.

"With time I learnt that he got married to some woman after Mom told him about her pregnancy. He had two daughters and a son. Never did he introduce us to each other. I guess as time passed by, they learnt the truth." He took another break. I never knew he had all this behind his mask. He had to go through so much at such a young age. He was just a little boy.

"Life in that house was torture. I was put in the basement of the house where barely the sunlight could reach. Food was kept outside the door and I had to keep checking every now and then if my food had reached or not. Dad's children were always dropped to school while I had to take the bus. There were times when I had to walk as well. There was nobody who looked after me. I had to raise myself." This time he let the tears roll down his cheeks. I slowly rubbed circles on his back and gently held his hand which he had clenched into a fist. Even before I could realize, my tear duct opened.

"Even in school, I was an outcast. But one day the students came to know that I am the son of the billionaire, Mr. Edgar Walker. Overnight I became everyone's favourite and I never knew why. I even made friends and never once did I suspect them. They took care of me. They always stood for me. I, being a child who never received love, felt as if I was flying in the skies. It felt good to be loved, to be cared for. But little did I know about their ulterior motives. The ones I called my best friends, whom I trusted, they wanted to get closer to me only to date my sisters and sleep with them. It was all a bet. When I came to know about this, I confronted them and they ended up telling the whole school that I am an illegitimate child. Every single person who tried to befriend me in the hopes of getting my dad's money, left me all alone. Just like how my mother left me all alone." I could see he wanted to let out all his pent up emotions, but he didn't. I knew words wouldn't comfort him. So I did the next best thing that I could. I turned to face him and gave him a tight hug and continued to pat his back gently.

"You can cry, Ellis. Cry to your heart's content." He hugged me back and let out all his tears, his pain and I cried together with him.

"Let us join the hug too, guys. We too went through pain." We let go of each other to find Yohan and Beth standing behind us at a distance. Their faces too were streaked with tears.

"When did you guys reach here?", I asked them after calming myself down.

"Since your rainbows and cupcakes", Beth replied.

Woah. These guys were standing here since then and we didn't even notice? Were we that deeply immersed in our stories?

Probably.

"Come here, you guys", I called them in for a little group hug.