?WINGLESS AND BEUTIFUL
?
?EPISODE 79?
It was I who left her behind. When my old schoolmates came, things became evenmore complicated for me. I didn’t expect Tania to show upwith them.
And everybody thought we were an item, whenwe were no more than childhood acquaintances. Ourparents were business partners and they were hoping to merge our families by marrying me off to her.
Tania hadalways been in on the program. I had never been.Sure, she was pretty. But she had never been my type.
We were never interested in the same things when we werekids. How much more now? Even before my accident, wehad grown so far apart, she almost felt like a stranger.
WhenI lost my mother, she never even offered her condolences tome in person, even though she was my oldest friend.
When she found out that I would be blind forever, I just neverheard from her again.
That’s why when she came for the immersion program, and started following me around.
I had to hold on to the last strings of chivalry in my body so I wouldn’t reject her in the most humiliating way possible.
Perhaps even Allison thought I was with Tania. I didn’tcare what others thought.
But I didn’t want Allison to thinkthere was a girl from my past I didn’t tell her about.I remember that day at the beach, when Allison brokeher slippers.
I had been doing so well in pretending not toknow her or care about her.
But as I watched herdesperately trying to salvage her slipper, I thought tomyself, Fuck it! I wouldn’t stand there and watch her suffer.
So, I finally worked up the courage to speak to her.I remember her saying, “Can you just go attend to your
girlfriend? See if she needs help with anything!”I couldn’t help the smile on my face when I told her, “As you wish.”
And then I scooped her up in my arms. When she asked me what the hell I was doing, I foughtto urge to reply with “Doing what you asked. Attending to
the needs of my girlfriend.”
Because God knows, she is mygirlfriend. In my heart, she was. She will always be. People were looking at us, as I carried her in my arms.
She thought I would be embarrassed when the people fromschool saw me with her.
If she only knew I was practically inheaven that time. I wanted everybody to see her with me,like Don Winston… and most especially Anderson!
At the shop, when she told me her shoe size, I chose the most expensive pair of slippers on the store. Not because I was expecting her to pay me back.
But because since I mether, I wanted to spoil her. I planned to give her the world.What’s a pair of designer slippers compared to that?
During that night at the concert, I was in the worst
mood because I could barely hold all the bottled upemotions inside me. I felt so trapped, so desperate.
I went to the concert because I knew she would bethere. And it had been my habit to keep an eye on her,especially on times when I knew she would be out late.
I couldn’t find her in the concert grounds and I thoughtshe would be somewhere with Denise, since she had beenhelping her out.
But when she showed up on that stage,looking as beautiful as ever, I almost lost it, I felt like I wason the verge of breaking down.
When she played the song I taught her, I couldn’t bemore proud. She played it flawlessly—as perfect as she was.And I would have given everything to be up there with her. She received an encore for her performance.
And she deserved every bit of that. But when Anderson appeared onthe stage to give her a rose, I couldn’t take it anymore. I hadto get out of there.Unfortunately, Tania caught up with me.
“Why are you in a foul mood, Hunter?” she kept goadingme. “It’s that girl, isn’t it?”I kept quiet and headed towards the parking lot.
“Tell me!” she shouted. “I heard the rumors. People toldme they saw you carrying that scar-faced girl in your arms!Is it true! Is it her? That scar-faced…”
I turned towards her, and I knew she saw the furiousexpression on my face. “You call her scar-faced again and Iswear Tania! I will forget I was raised to be a gentleman!”
She stared back at me, quite dumbfounded. I knew thatthe only thing worse than the ice-cold fury in my voice wasthe explosive wrath on my face. It must have scared her.But she didn’t back down.
“It’s true, then? It was that girl!”
“Yes! It was her!” I closed my eyes and stared up at thestar-freckled sky. I heaved a sigh. “It will always be her.”
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