Chapter 84
That same day, Tracy was in her parents’ house to spend the day. Her phone rang while she was at the dining table with her elder sister, who was also on a visit.
Tracy looked at the caller ID on her ringing phone and hissed when she saw who was calling her. “This guy should just leave me alone!” She sighed and dropped the phone back on the dining table.
“Who was that?” Eva, her sister, asked. After months of leaving Tracy high and dry, Owen seemed to have finally remembered his girl. And she wasn’t pleased with that at all. He had visited once, two weeks ago, to make his intentions known, but she barely gave him an audience.
“Who else?” She stood up and packed the dirty plates. “Owen, of course.”
Eva smiled. She stood up too and carried the two serving dishes on the table. “So, what are you going to do about him now?” She asked as they walked into the kitchen.
“I don’t know,” Tracy answered with no enthusiasm and dropped the dishes in her hands in the sink. “He hasn’t allowed my phone to rest since he visited a few weeks back.” “Really?” It surprised her sister. “So, what does he want from you now?”
“Don’t mind him,” Tracy washed her hands. “He wants us to start all over again. He said he was hurting then and needed to go as far away as possible.”
“This guy’s in love with you, Tracy. Are you telling me you don’t love him anymore?”
“Honestly,” Tracy said, “I can’t answer that question.” She turned her back to her sister and to tidy up the cabinet tops.
“I think you are just feeling hurt from the way he just up and left.” Eva stacked up the dishes in the dishwasher. “Listen, girl, I know you loved him and you still love him. You need to move past the hurt. The guy is not to be blamed.” She shrugged, “you know, he just didn’t know how to handle his pains.”
“He didn’t know how to handle his pains!” Tracy slammed the salt shaker she was holding on the cabinet. “What about him allowing me to be with him during his darkest time? He shut me out totally!”
“Take it easy on him and allow him to explain himself.” Eva turned to look at her sister, who had already turned around too.
“You can imagine how hurtful it’s going to be if we lose our parents in quick succession. The thought of it alone is enough to send me into a panic. I can’t just imagine it.”
“Okay, what about him allowing me to share in his pain? Does he know how much I love him?” Tracy wrapped her arms around her middle and raised her chin.
“Remember, he’s an only child,” Eva sighed. “He’s used to being alone…doing things on his own.”
“I don’t know,” Tracy whined. “I feel he just sees me as an afterthought.” She shrugged, “someone he had to fall back on because he knows that I will always be here.”
“No, Tracy,” Eva raised a finger. “You know, if he doesn’t have any feelings for you, he won’t come back. He could as well start a relationship with another person over there.”
Just then Eva’s husband, Jones, appeared in the kitchen doorway, “let’s be getting ready dear. You know we have to go grocery shopping on our way home.”
“Oh. That’s true.” Eva said she rinsed the plate she was holding and added it to the others in the dishwasher. “Give me a few minutes. I’ll soon finish up here.”
“Becky’s wedding is less than a month away,” Tracy said as they walked out of the kitchen to the sitting room. “I hope you haven’t forgotten?”
“Not at all,” Eva responded. “I will surely attend. She turned to her little daughter, and said, “get your jacket. We are leaving.”
“Okay mummy,” Daisy said. “I will tell Grandma and Grandpa that we are leaving.” She ran to her grandparents’ bedroom shouting, “Grandma, Grandpa, we are leaving!”
Soon, the three of them said their goodbyes and trooped out to their car. Grandma and Tracy stood on the front porch to see them off.
“I better get dressed for the ladies’ poker night,” their mom said as they walked back inside.
Tracy needed to discuss something with her father, so she would leave for her house soon too .
Two hours and fourteen minutes later, Tracy opened the front door of her apartment and let herself in. She locked the door at the back and walked into her bedroom.
Owen was still on her mind, but she was doing everything to push his thoughts away. She put on the TV, trying to interest herself in the thriller movie going on. But it didn’t work for her.
She went to the kitchen and made a sandwich for herself and a cup of green tea. She took her steaming cup of tea and the plate of sandwiches to her home office. Sitting beside her desk, she opened her mailbox to check if she had any email. Yes, she had six, and she had to respond to two of them right away.
By the time she finished replaying the emails, it was already after nine p. m. She went into the bathroom and turned on the taps in the bathtub.
Tracy stayed very long in the steaming water, to which she had added some relaxing essential oils. She sighed in relief as she rose from the water, relieved that most of her tension had seeped away.
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The following day, Friday, at around 7:15 pm, Becky sat in shock between her mother and Colin’s mother, with his father beside his wife. They were on the emergency floor of Blake’s family hospital. She got a call almost one hour ago that Colin had an accident.
She was home from work already, thankfully her mom was home too, so she drove her down immediately.
It was a lone accident. No one could tell what happened for now. He was driving back home after the day’s work.