Bear | ✔

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

"Are you ready?" Marissa asked from her spot by the front door. Leila looked up from the loads of bag gathered on the floor next to her. Marissa had already called for Robin to come and help them get the suitcases into the car's trunk. Despite Leila's objection, Marissa still didn't listen and insisted on helping her.

"Yeah! I guess," Leila replied absent-mindedly whilst checking if something was missing from her luggage was messing. Somehow, everything seemed to be perfectly in place. It had been almost a week since that talk with David and she had finally made up her mind. Well, she had already made up her mind long ago. She just wasn't ready to man up and do it.

David didn't know about it. She didn't want to make him nervous. He was already so stressed from work - as she had heard - and he didn't seem to need any more trouble on his shoulders. Poor David, always working to save his father's company.

"Great!" Marissa exclaimed in relief. Leila watched dumbly as she and Robin went over to pick up her stuff and go out to load it in Marissa's white Honda. She watched them talking quickly from the window of Marissa's kitchen and then she realized she had been standing there in the same spot for the past fifteen minutes. Quickly, she ran out of the room and was immediately hit by a heavy surge of wind. Somehow, she had actually forgotten that they were still in winter.

"I can handle that," She mumbled and grabbed one of the bags from Marissa's grasp, dropping it into the almost-full trunk. They all moved back and Marissa raised her hand to slam the boot down, engulfing them in a misty cloud of dust.

Leila started coughing as they both got in the car. She slumped down in the passenger seat and laid her hand-bag on her lap as Marissa's said her goodbye. She came back and occupied the driver's seat with a heavy sigh, plugging the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life.

"Are you ready?" Marissa asked in a rasped voice as she continued panting. She shouldn't have allowed her to help packing.

It wasn't like she had a choice anyway.

"No!" Leila dared to say, her voice strong, unlike the usual.

Marissa leant over the steering wheel and turned her head to look at her, flipping her long ponytail to the side. "You know, if you don't want to, you don't have to. We can still unwind and go back as if nothing happened.

"It's not that simple," Leila started and Marissa rolled her eyes at her.

"You always say that," She interrupted. "Everything could be simple just if we handled it the right way. If you don't want to go, then don't. It is that simple."

"I love him," Leila admitted, her voice barely a whisper. Marissa huffed and dropped back in her seat.

Well, she did love him, even if that wasn't the real reason behind her decision. Her main priority right now was to keep receiving the money from her paychecks to help keep her Dad alive for as long as possible. But she still loved him. So, it's not really considered a lie, right?

Love doesn't always mean to go back. Sometimes it means to let go, The voice in her mind reminded.

Shut up, stupid mind!

"You don't really have a choice, do you?" Marissa's voice startled her, and she instantly cleared her throat. She wasn't sure if her voice wouldn't betray her at the moment.

She shook her head. "I guess not."

As a response, Marissa's hand gripped the steer-wheel, while the other one crawled to hold the clutch. With one swift move, the car was away from the curb and speeding through the highway.