Chapter 25: Chapter 25

Kyle's P.O.V

"Marcella!!" I yell louder as I run after the speeding uber car.

It's no use and soon the car fades out of sight.

"Marcy....." her name comes out in a whisper as i stand, waiting to see if the car will return.

If she would please change her mind.

Instead, lightening breaks through the darkness of the night and a loud clash of thunder follows after.

She left....

She is leaving me...for good.

I can't force my head to think calm enough because all that is racking in my mind are her words as I hurry back to where my car is parked.

They're all standing there, in their dinner gowns and suits, staring at me. I want to walk over to them and shout at them, blame them for making her leave...

But I'm running out of time, I have to get home in time to stop her from leaving.

And it wasn't entirely their fault.

Marcy was right. I should have defended her, stood up for her.

If I'm blaming them, then I'm blaming myself. They only did that to her because my lack of response made them think it was okay to keep doing it.

I press the unlock button to my car and it beeps while I walk towards it. The minute I pull the door open, Holly hurries over and slams it shut, staring at me with surprise and anger.

"You're going after her?" She demands.

"Get the hell out of my way." I say, one second away from dragging her off.

"I know she is a good, little, innocent girl but---"

"YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HER! None of you do!" I yell now, turning to all of them.

"As your boss, when I walk in here with a lady on my arm, you're supposed to FUCKING respect her!! None of you are up to half of what she is worth to me. NONE!" I yell, glaring at them with anger dripping from my words.

Thunder clashes again, loud against the silence.

"And you," I turn to Holly, her face pale with fear and shock.

"I helped you with your fucking immigration issues. I should have let them deport you." I say and push her out of my way as I yank the door open.

"We'll deal with this on Monday." I say and get into the car, then I gun the engine and speed out.

'I hate you.'

The more I think of her words, the harder I step on the accelerator.

'I quit. Have fun at your dinner.'

She is going to leave.

She is going to leave me.

If I dont get there on time, she'll be gone.

The memory of her crying and yelling that I didn't stand up for her only makes me drive faster.

I have to tell her that I accept its my fault....But she shouldn't leave.

Within five minutes, I get home and park next to the uber car with the trunk already open and almost filled up. The rain has started and is in full downpour now.

"Marcella!" I yell as I run into the house. She is marching down the stairs with a carton box filled with books and pictures.

"Its the last of my things, don't worry." She says as she walks forward, heading for the door.

"Marcella, please. Listen." I plea as i follow her outside.

"You were right, I shouldn't have just sat there and watch them--" I say, to raising my voice to be heard over the heavy rain.

"Just stop Kyle. It's too late. You already said enough when you told me I made it easy for them. You're just like them and it's fine. It's not your fault that this is who you are, really. Its mine for thinking you were a bit different." She says and turns around to drop the box in the trunk. Then she slams the trunk shut.

"Baby..." I say and she turns to glare daggers at me, her wet hair whipping.

"Baby? Oh, so now it's baby! Because your friends and colleagues aren't here?! You're unbelievable." She says and heads for the car door but I beat her to it and hold it shut.

"Please! I just want you to hear me--"

She turns to me now with a straight face, and I can't tell if she is crying or not due to the rain.

"By the way, your last laundry is hanging outside your door, I did it before we left. I left my room exactly the way I met it when i came and the dishes are in the dishwasher. Bye Kyle." She says and I watch helplessly as she goes round and gets in through the other door, and the car is driven out.

She is gone.

*****

I walk towards the window with my 6th or 7th cup of whiskey in hand as I watch the beam of sunrise peep through the tree leaves.

It's dawn already.

Excluding the fact that I didn't sleep a wink again, I'm still not used to waking up in the morning and not finding her here.

Not getting the scent of eggs.

Not hearing her subtle movements in the kitchen.

Not seeing a cup of black coffee already made with cream and sugar waiting, even though she knew I never used cream or sugar.

And worst of all, the part of the contract where I had included resignation had been ripped out of the main contract, to just be a separate peice of resignation paper.

And the empty space where I had left for reason of resignation, she simply wrote,

'Not Bad Enough.'

It took me a while to realise she was referring to the question at her interview,

'How bad do you want it?'

And to make it even clearer, she left her own bunch of keys, including her car keys, on top of the paper.

I turn to the table now and stare at the paper and keys,  untouched since the day she left.

The paper had been wet that day.

Was it the rain?

Or she cried while she wrote it?

The image of Marcy, crying and wiping her tears furiously as she filled the form burns into my mind.

The cup shatters in my hand and I watch the liquid fall to the floor along with the shards of glass.

As I stare at the blood dripping from the ugly gash on my pàlm,  I can't feel any pain. I can only think of her.

Did she cry while filling the form?

I have to talk to her. I need her to hear me out.

I quickly hold my hand under the rushing water at the kitchen sink and hastily wrap it with a bandage from the first aid kit.

Within minutes, I'm driving out of the garage and headed for her place.

It's almost like the first time I went to talk to her after she left, except I didn't see anyone at their place. It was locked....or she was in and simply didn't want to see me.

As I draw closer to their apartment building, I immediately spot her familiar head of hair. Her bouncy golden-Brown locks are packed in a high ponytail as she walks out of the building, holding a purse and looking around for a taxi.

She is here.

I don't ignore the overwhelming sense of relief I feel as I screech into the parking lot.

The noise jerks her attention and she turns to look. The minute she sees the car, I watch panic envelop her expression as our eyes meet and she dashes back into the building.

I get out and race after her.

"Marcy!" I yell but she is already in the elevator. I run up the stairs still, hurrying to catch up with her.

"Marcella!" I yell as I get to the third floor landing, but the elevator doors are shutting close. I run past it and head for their door, but before I reach it, Tyler comes out.

"She's not in." He says plainly, staring at me with the worst expression ever.... disappointment.

"That's crazy, I just saw her." I say, trying to catch my breath but Tyler remains motionless and keeps staring at me like I'm the devil.

"Well, she doesn't want to see you." He says, and I run my hands through my hair, frustrated beyond reason that I was so close to talking to her.

"Tyler, please, I have to talk to her."

He folds his hand.

"Honestly, Kyle, she doesn't want to talk to you, I personally don't want you to talk to her...and we both don't want to see you." He says and at this point I don't care that I'm begging a college student so that I can see his sister.

I'm more than willing to kneel down.

I look at Tyler and he just keeps watching me.

"Listen, Tyler. I fucked up. Okay? I--"

"Fucked up? Thats putting it mildly. You watched her get humiliated and embarrassed. And after she scurries back and forth all in the name of working for you, you couldn't do her the common curtesy of defending her!"

"Because I'm an idiot! I'm a selfcentered, proud idiot and it didn't occur to me to simply stand up for her. I honestly wouldnt have realised how idiotic I acted if she hadnt left and that's why I'm here. I'm not begging her to come back and slave and work for me again because I don't deserve it. I just want to let her know I regret what I did and I'm sorry. Your sister means so much to me, that I....I can't live with myself knowing I did this to her. Please." I say and he puts his hands in his pockets as he observes me.

"Do you have feelings for her?" He asks, taking me by surprise with his question.

I stare at him, wondering if it's a test question.

He doesn't repeat his question however and keeps staring at me. I've never had this feeling of being under the mercy of another but I answer sincerely.

"I do." I say and he just walks inside. A few seconds later and Marcy walks out.

Before I can speak, she beats me to it, her voice quivering.

"I have a job interview later today, so I just want to hear what you have to say....and then you leave." She says, avoiding my eyes.

"Okay." I say, my heart shattering at the thought of her working somewhere else. Some lucky person is going to share her laughter, her stubborness and sweetness...because I was too stupid to value it.

"You were right....I lied. I lied when I said I wanted you there. I honestly didn't want you to come, but not because I was ashamed of you. I'm never ashamed of you. I--"

I reach for her but she holds up her hands.

Okay. No touching.

"I didn't want you there because Holly was the host of the party. She has a certain grudge towards you because I had sex with her once....and I called your name." I say and Marcella looks up at me now.

"But this was before we hooked up, I swear. I also lied when I said it was going to be fine. I knew it wasn't going to be okay but I didn't want you to panic or think I was abandoning you."

"You did abandon me." She fires back.

"I know. I know. I just thought I had it all under control back then but I didn't. I lied when I told you that you made it easy for them. It wasn't you...it was me. I made it easy for them. I sat there and lied about your status as my maid, and I was ready to lie about your college too. I lied and lied and lied,.... but I didn't do it because I was ashamed of you...I swear."

I take a step closer to her now, but not too close to frighten her away.

"I did it because I was too much of an idiot to defend you and be proud of you. And I am so sorry, Marcy. I promise you it will never happen again." I say and she just remains quiet, finally maintaining eye contact with me.

"You....you have feelings for me?" She asks and I take a step closer.

"Ofcourse. So baby, please if you would just come back--"

"No....no, Kyle. I can't. We made a mistake, mixing business with pleasure. I-I can't be your maid and be with you."

"You don't have to come back as my maid."

"So I should come back as what? Your lover? Your girlfriend of how long?" She asks and I feel more vulnerable as I watch her try to go back in.

"Wait, Marcy." I gently hold her hand and pull her close. So close I can feel her fast heartbeat.

I tilt her chin up to look into her pool of violet eyes.

"Kyle." She says my name so softly and I slowly bring my face to hers, needing the taste of her lips.

The kiss is slower than usual and I can feel all her feelings in it. Gentle and pure....but also scared.

"I miss you..." I say when the kiss is over as I lean my head against hers.

"What do we do?" She sighs and I pull away a little to look at her.

"We can go out to dinner. Just me and you this time. Our own special dinner, wherever you like." I say.

"Like a date?" She asks, a tiny flare of hope in her eyes.

"Yes. Our first. And then you dont have to come to my house after and we'll just work things from there." I say and bring my hand to touch her face.

"You grew a beard." She says with a giggle, then she catches sight of the bloody bandage however.

"Oh my God, you're hurt. What happened?" She asks grabbing the hand and I wince a little.

"Just a small accident, don't worry. So,...will you go on a date with me?" I ask and she looks up at me like she can't believe my biggest concern is the date.

"Of course I will." She says and her hand comes to my face.

"And I lied too. I don't hate you." She says and pulls me close, bringing her lips to mine. I can't feel the hesistant fear on her lips this time...just relief and laughter.