A Flicker of Hope - Chapter 4

So that was basically what happened. I wasn’t able to keep my promise, and I couldn’t do anything else. Jared and Lisa seemed pretty close, but with that our friendship just went down. I would never be able to thank God enough for Kelly. She had been such a big help, and I was surprised that I hadn’t noticed her before.

With the departure of a genuine friendship and a bug crush, came a new life, and a new start. Yes, a new start. I was going back to John’s. I was done with this school, finals and everything. BTW, did I mention that I had moved in with Kelly? That was like the best part in all this. We hung out a lot, and we were really good friends. As I mentioned before, if it wasn’t for Kelly my life would have been a huge mess.

Jared never tried to talk to me after that dreadful event, but I knew why he was doing that. He was giving me some space. That was nice of him; that’s all I could really say. Anyway, I was never a good match for him. He and Lisa made a cute couple, and I would never cause them any harm. Though the pain was still inside of me, I wouldn’t let myself consume in the pain forever. Lisa had tried talking to me several times, but what I wanted was clear, and so she was leaving me alone. And maybe in some ways she was glad.

The year had ended, and I knew that I was going to miss it. There were so many things that happened to me this year, and I knew that I would never be able to forget it. Not ever. It was just going to be with me….

John had called me so many times, and he had practically begged me to come to his house. At first I didn’t wanted to go, but then I found out that he was really sick, and I really wanted to see him. He was like a dad that I never had. I had no idea where my parents were. I had never seen them, and I was just an orphan. Thanks to Uncle John! If it weren’t for him, I would be living in streets or dead by now. He was very rich, but divorced. I would never be able to figure out why his wife leaved him. He was like the guy every girl dreamed of. Anyway, I was going to his place for the summer. This summer was going to be an uncanny one. I was always so excited over summer, but now, it didn’t even matter. I loved my uncle, but this just wasn’t like the right time for me. Things had just changed so much. I hoped that I would be able to act enthusiastic for him. I sure hoped so.

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I was done packing all my necessities, and we only had 15 minutes together before I had to drive for 2 long hours to reach my Uncle’s place.

"I wish you didn’t have to go," Kelly said sadly. I hugged her, and we embraced for a couple of minutes.

"I am really going to miss you," I murmured.

"Me too," her voice sounded like she was about to cry. I hugged her again.

"Will you keep in touch?" Kelly asked eagerly.

"It’s not like I am going forever." She didn’t seem to buy it. "But I will keep in touch." She gave me a smile, and I smiled in return.

I couldn’t help but feel sad. There was something inside of me that was warning me about something. What was this feeling that was making me feel like something was about to happen in my life? What was it? I couldn’t be sure, and the only option was to just wait and see whatever that was awaiting.

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As expected John was waiting for me in the front gate. The house was as beautiful as ever with wide windows, and a beautiful backyard. If I hadn’t practically been living in this place, I would have been awestruck by its beauty, but at this point I was more concerned about John’s health. He was looking very weary and thin. His once handsome face looked tired and very fragile. It broke my heart to see him like that.

"Oh, John," I murmured, not leaving my eyes from his face even for a second.

"Is that all I get after not seeing you for 2 years?" he had a huge smile in his face, and for the first time I noticed that his face was a little wrinkled, and his hair was graying in color. I instantly wrapped my arms around his waist and he patted my hair like he always did.

"I have missed you so much," he whispered.

"Not more than I did," I smiled. Everything was still the same, except for the fact that he was really sick.

He started coughing.

I pulled away and looked at him with concern. At that moment I felt like crying. He was coughing without stopping. "Is there anything I can do?" My voice sounded worried, even to me.

"I- I just forgot….." The sentence was interrupted by another cough.

"Lydia," I screamed. She came hurriedly.

As soon as she saw John, she started running back to the house with his medicine, and a glass of water. John took it hesitantly, but finished the glass of water in one sip.

"Did you forget to have your medicine again?"

His expression was guilty, and I felt like crying even more. Why did I ever leave him? His health was terrible, and I wanted to cry by seeing him like this. I silently promised myself that I will take better care of him, and make sure that he had his medicine on time.

"You need to take better care of yourself," And now that I was here, I will make sure he was fine.

But before he could defend himself, we heard another voice. "Dad?" The voice was smooth, and it sounded like it belonged to a guy. I turned to look at the person. My heart skipped when I saw him. With dark brown hair, and mesmerizing blue-green eyes, the word beautiful suited him perfectly. His watchful eyes turned to me for only a second and turned back to John. "You okay?" he asked.

Now that I had myself composed, I realized that the stranger has just called John his dad. As far as I knew John was divorced, and he had never mentioned his son to me. I looked at John questioningly and found him looking at me.

"Em, this is my son, Tanner," I was so surprised, and I knew that John had an explanation to do. "And Tanner, meet Emily." He sounded proud when he said my name. I could never understand why I was so special to him.

"So you are the Emily?" What was that supposed to mean: the Emily? Even now, he wasn’t really looking at me. It was as if he was avoiding my gaze, and why wouldn’t he? Someone as gorgeous looking as he, wouldn’t want anything to do with me. And I probably wasn’t worthy to even look at.

Instead of looking at me, he stared straight ahead. I know I was shorter than him, and all, but he didn’t have to act as if there wasn’t anyone in front of him. If the attitude wasn’t good, what was the point of the looks? Without proper manners, the looks were worthless. It didn’t even matter how much good looking he really was, he sure was arrogant.

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