Chapter 51: Chapter 51

Cakra felt scared, his grandmother's body temperature felt very hot. Her heart was already beating fast, and she felt very, very worried. But, her grandmother seemed to be shivering hard. Therefore, Cakra immediately covered her grandmother's body with several blankets, before finally going to the pharmacy to buy medicine.

Fortunately, the pharmacy was not too far from Cakra and his grandmother's residence. After finishing defending the medicine, Cakra quickly drove to his house. But, just as he arrived, a car that he recognized stopped in front of his house. It was Inez.

Cakra's heart was already beating fast. When Inez got out of her luxury car, Cakra approached her.

He took a deep breath, while Inez continued to stare at him with flat eyes.

"I'll go inside first, do you want to come?"

Inez shook her head. That was it, she didn't say anything else. Cakra nodded his head.

"Then, I'll go inside for a while. I'll come back later." Cakra hurriedly moved away from Inez, and not long after that, the boy came back. Cakra stood again in front of Inez, who had folded her hands in front of her chest. Cakra was momentarily stunned by Inez's beautiful appearance.

"Why didn't you come?" A question with a cold tone of voice immediately came from Inez's lips. Cakra had just found Inez, who spoke coldly like this to him. Moreover, Cakra was made to stand still on the spot by Inez's sharp, piercing gaze.

Cakra opened his mouth, about to answer Inez's question, but his words were only stuck on the tip of his tongue, and Cakra was forced to swallow back what Inez had said first.

"It's almost ten o'clock, and you can't be late. Ah, the proof is that you're home right now."

"I..."

"Didn't you promise me that you would come? But what is the reality that I have? You didn't come at all." Inez cut Cakra off, her anger slowly bubbling up.

"Nez ..." Cakra muttered again, mentioning Inez's name, but he was forced to swallow his words again when Inez raised her hand, telling Cakra to be quiet.

"You know that promises must be kept, right? And I don't think you're someone who breaks promises easily. Yes, at first I was sure. But now? Isn't it wrong for me to be disappointed with you?"

"Nez, listen to me talk first." Cakra finally managed to finish his sentence. He said it quickly.

Inez smiled wryly. "What do you want to say? I don't need to, and I'm disappointed with you for not coming to my event. I was really hoping you would come. You know what? Of all the people, the one I expected to come the most was you, my boyfriend. But? What's wrong with you?" Inez gave a long sigh. "You ruined everything, Kra. You gave me hope, but in the end, you didn't come. I'm disappointed with you, I hate you, and I'm hurt. I've been waiting all this time, hoping you'd suddenly show up, but I guess my expectations were too high, huh?" At the end of her sentence, Inez laughed blandly.

Cakra swallowed, his heart suddenly aching to hear Inez's words. He didn't intend to hurt Inez, really. He really wanted to come, but he really couldn't. And now, in front of him, Inez looked very angry with him.

Tears fell down Inez's cheeks. "I'm waiting for you, I hope you come. Why did you promise to come if you couldn't? Why don't you tell me the truth? It's better than you making me hope like this. You know, throughout the whole event, I felt very discouraged without you. There's no point in having a party if you're not there."

Inez looked at Cakra with a bitter smile, roughly wiping away the tears that were rolling down her cheeks. Inez felt like her heart was breaking. She was sick that he couldn't keep his promise.

"Sorry..." He squeaked softly. And Inez's tasteless laughter immediately went into the air.

"Sorry? You think saying sorry will fix my disappointment with you?" Inez sharpened her eyes.

Cakra then took something out of his pants pocket—a small gift for Inez. Cakra slowly handed over the gift that he had prepared especially for Inez. "For you," Cakra said. "This is a gift from me, for you."

Instead of taking Cakra's gift, Inez became even angrier. The girl slapped Cakra's hand until the small gift was thrown to the ground. Inez's response, which was completely unexpected by Cakra, left the boy stunned. Cakra looked at Inez for a long time.

"I don't need a gift from you! I don't need any gifts, Cakra! All I want is one thing, for you to come to my birthday party! You kept your promise! I don't need a gift!" Inez roared loudly right in front of Cakra. Her tears broke out again, even louder than before. Inez's tears flowed even harder.

Cakra swallowed harshly. He had hurt Inez's feelings, which made him hate himself. Cakra didn't want to make Inez angry by making her cry like this because of his actions. He really felt very guilty. He would never forgive himself for making Inez this angry. Cakra silently cursed himself.

With trembling hands, Cakra looked at the gift that was lying so pathetically on the ground—the gift he had prepared with all his heart. Cakra picked up the small object, then opened it in front of Inez. Inez observed Cakra's movements.

A red hairpin, a color that matched the dress Inez was now wearing, was now in Cakra's hand. Cakra smiled wryly. The gift he had prepared was so small, it was no wonder Inez didn't want to accept it. However, Cakra tried to put it in Inez's hair.

And Inez didn't refuse it, her sobs were still clearly heard. Now, the hairpin was attached to Inez's hair.

Cakra's smile slowly expanded, and the boy rubbed Inez's tear-filled cheeks with his thumbs. Cakra's hand trembled. Sorry, Nez, I'm sorry for disappointing you."

Cakra then stepped back.

"You've really disappointed me, Cakra! You didn't come to my event for no reason!"

"How can I explain that you didn't give me a chance, Nez?" he replied. "I know, I was wrong, I let you down. I'm the one at fault here, I realize Nez." He turned around when he heard his grandmother calling his name from inside the house.

He let out a long breath. "Grandma's sick Nez ..." he said softly. "I'll go in first, you'd better go home. I'm sorry again, I can't leave because my grandmother can't let me stay home alone."

Cakra stepped into the house, leaving Inez frozen in place with regret beginning to fill her chest cavity. Inez realized that she had just made a mistake.

"Cakra ...." Inez said with trembling lips, but it seemed she was too late, Cakra was no longer visible.

Inez's tears were getting louder and louder.

***

Inez was overwhelmed with regret. Her guilt towards Cakra was getting bigger by the day. In fact, for the past three days, Inez hasn't slept well because of Cakra. Inez was really messed up, she repeatedly cursed herself for being so stupid. There had been no communication between Inez and Cakra for three days. Cakra did not avoid her, but Inez herself needed time to show her face in front of Cakra. Shame mixed with guilt made her reluctant to show her face in front of him.

"It's not Cakra's fault, it's mine, I'm stupid, I shouldn't be angry with him." Inez banged her head repeatedly. Inside her spacious room, Inez felt so much regret enter her chest that it made it difficult for her to breathe.

Inez kept swearing and cursing her stupidity. If only she had given Cakra time to explain something to her that night. Inez was sure she wouldn't feel as ashamed as she did now.

Right now, Inez is too embarrassed to appear in front of Cakra. Where do you want to put this face?

If Inez had known from the beginning that Cakra's arrival was trapped because of her sick grandmother, of course Inez would have let it go or even told the boy to stay at home.

Inez growled in frustration while ruffling her hair, before finally a knock on her bedroom door succeeded in making her startle. Inez stared at the door, and then a second later, her mother's voice appeared.

"Inez, it's half past seven. Aren't you going to school, dear?"

Inez immediately glanced at the alarm clock on her tray. She sighed softly, the long hand was already at eight, while the short hand pointed to six.

"Yes mom, Inez is going to take a shower now. I'm leaving," Inez replied with a slight sigh without moving an inch from her current position.

"Yes dear, come down later, okay? The fried rice is on the kitchen table. Have breakfast first, don't let your stomach empty."

"Yes mom, I will have breakfast later."

And after that, Inez rushed to take a shower, continued to wear her school clothes, and walked unsteadily to the kitchen, until finally she had breakfast and went to school lazily.

Arriving at school, Inez attended lessons without any interest at all. Ghea often found Inez daydreaming until she had to nudge her best friend's hand to keep her focused on the teacher. Ghea didn't want Inez to be punished.

Until the break bell rang, Ghea chuckled and immediately sprayed Inez all over. "If you feel guilty about Cakra, then you should apologize immediately, Nez, and solve the problem. If you just stay silent like this, the problem won't be solved. Come on, you have to run."

Inez had already told Ghea about her problem and how hard she felt about Cakra's guilt.

"Instead of you being busy regretting what you did, but having no intention of fixing it, what's the point? There's no point! You should find Cakra, apologize now while you're resting. I'm sure he'll forgive you Nez."

"How can I apologize if I'm too embarrassed to show my face in front of Cakra?" Inez grumbled back. "My face isn't that thick to brush off my embarrassment, Ghe."

"That's exactly it, Inez, you have to thicken your face, throw away your shyness, and lunge right now. You know, you don't want to be like this all the time?"

Inez lowered her face, staring at the table blankly, and absorbed what Ghea said. And after Inez thought about it, what Ghea said was more than right. The problem wouldn't be solved if she just stayed silent. Inez had to get up and run after Cakra.

"I think I'll follow what you say, Ghe." Inez looked at Ghea and nodded her head.

Ghea smiled widely and hugged Inez's shoulder. "This is the Inez I know, what are you waiting for? Let's apologize now."

And Inez, stood up from her seat, then walked quickly out of the classroom.

***

"But now that I think about it, you're not entirely wrong." Zidan suddenly interjected when Cakra was about to stand up from his seat. However, Zidan's words made Cakra hesitate to leave the class. He sat down again, looking at Zidan with blinking eyes.

"You mean?"

"I'm discussing the problem between you and Inez that you told me about two days ago," Zidan said, sitting sideways, fully facing Cakra. "Look, you're sorry and very guilty about Inez, right? Even you were too embarrassed to go see her. But, I was thinking that all the blame is not entirely on you."

"Yeah, so?"

"Do you intend to listen to what I'm saying, Kra?" Zidan scolded Cakra while giving him an annoyed look.

"Seriously, I'm listening to you talk. How is it?"

"Your face looks like you're not interested."

"Alright, just keep going."

"So ..." Zidan cleared his throat briefly to get rid of the hoarseness, then he continued. "You may feel guilty, but Inez's position isn't entirely right either. If Inez had given you a chance to explain yourself first, I'm sure things wouldn't be as complicated as they are now."

Cakra let out a long sigh. "Of course I'm the one who did the most wrong. Inez was really angry, I promised her, but she didn't show up. I made her cry with disappointment. So? I have the most to blame here."

"So what do we do now?"

"Inez still seems to really hate me. Maybe for some time I won't appear in front of her."

"And buy more time?" Zidan sighed and patted Cakra's shoulder. Zidan shook his head. "You're the one who said that you feel guilty, right? Why is the price being dragged out again? You should meet Inez now, apologize, and your problem will be solved. That's it."

"But in fact, it's easy to say that, Dan. It's not that easy, I need time to meet Inez."

"And you don't want your relationship with Inez to be strained, do you? It's also possible that the more time you waste, Inez will forget about you, and eventually your relationship will fizzle out."

Cakra looked at Zidan in horror. "Why are you scaring me?"

"Oh ... I'm not scaring you anymore. I'm telling it like it is. That kind of thing can happen, you should know that. Ah, it's up to you to decide what you want. The point is I've given you advice. I don't want to know if your relationship with Inez will fall apart."

"But I love Inez."

"That's why apologize now, Cakra! I can't wait, I want to slurp your marrow bones. Hurry up and go out there, find Inez, and apologize." Zidan waved his hand in the air.

"Now?"

"Not now, wait for me to marry Ariana Grande first, then you apologize to Inez. That's all I'm asking, hurry up and get out before the break bell rings again."

And miraculously, Zidan's words seemed to anesthetize Cakra, making the boy rush out of the classroom.

Coinciding with Cakra's body being completely outside the classroom, Inez had just arrived at Cakra's class. Making the boy a little surprised. Cakra even held his breath for a moment and tried to calm himself down because he started to move wrongly.

"Inez ... Hi!" He waved his hand while smiling slightly. "You..."

"Can I talk to you?"

"I also want to talk to you, Nez, on the rooftop. Would you like?" Cakra offered an alternative.

Feeling that the idea was not bad either, Inez nodded her head. The two of them finally walked side by side to their destination. During the trip, both Cakra and Inez locked their mouths with each other. Even when both of them had sat on the long chair, they were still silent.

Somehow, Cakra felt very awkward in the current situation. He was at war with his feelings. His brain was thinking about how to start a conversation.

Letting out a long breath, Cakra looked to his side. Inez was also looking at him. Cakra gave a faint smile.

"It's been three days since we met you," he muttered softly.

"Yes, it's been three days," Inez replied while nodding slightly.

"I intentionally avoided you."

"No," Inez denied, shaking her head. "No, that's not it. I'm the one avoiding you."

"Wrong, I've been trying to stay away from you for the past three days."

"Me too," said Inez. "Then we're both avoiding each other."

Both of them were silent after that, until finally, ten seconds later, they looked at each other again.

"Why?"

"Why?"

Similar questions escaped simultaneously from Inez and Cakra's mouths. Both of them were surprised, but Cakra hurriedly broke the ice, clearing his throat softly.

"Nez, can I say something first? After this, you take turns talking."

Inez agreed. She didn't reject it. When Cakra suddenly held her hand, Inez gasped slightly. Her body was electrified, making her stiffen. At first, Inez felt stiff and awkward, but after a while, she could relax too. She was comfortable being held by Cakra.

"I want to apologize to you."

Hearing what Cakra said, Inez immediately shook her head. No, he shouldn't have said that. That sentence should have escaped his lips.

"No."

"Nez, can you shut up and listen to me talk first?" Cakra pleaded with a tearful gaze. There was no reason for Inez to refuse.

Before saying another word, Cakra took a deep breath and closed his eyes tightly.