It was already eleven o'clock in the evening when Chase woke up from a nightmare for the third time in the evening. Putting a hand on his chest, he tried to calm himself down, trying to tell himself that it was just a dream and nothing more, just like how he had used to.
He shifted his eyes from the white now crumpled sheets to the glass window a few meters away from his bed. He didn't close the blinds and now he could see the small dots with different colors outside that reminded him he was still in the comforts of the city he had lived in for the past years. Closing his eyes for a moment as he had calmed down, he let out a sigh and stood up, walking towards the annoyingly colossal window.
Chase stared at the peaceful sight before him. It was awfully quiet and peaceful, despite, however, Chase’s heart couldn’t feel anything at all. He wasn’t the least comforted by this setting. So just who was he trying to kid?
The nightmares he had been having lately weren't actually nightmares. Those were actually the times when he'd find himself running, or rather, chasing after someone, a person around his age with a slim body with a very blurry face. He would try to call that person, asking who they were, why were they running away from Chase, but the person would always just smile at him and start walking away. It was always the same and Chase couldn't help but feel a bit upset. Worst, he would sometimes feel depressed because of it. He wondered why. How can one person he never even knew the face of, could bring such a discomforting feeling?
Chase didn’t dare believe it was something important, however. And so, he chose to ignore it one more time.
Chase sighed and looked above the sky, trying to look for stars. There were nights when he was feeling down and empty for no reason at all and he would always look up at the sky. Up above where the stars shone brightly Chase would find the comfort he was looking for. It was like a friend, someone who never left, always there waiting for him after a rough day.
He had always loved the view.
Chase smiled as he realized the sky was in favor of him tonight as there were plenty of stars shining brightly above. Chase's heart made a thud and Chase's smile fell. Suddenly, a blurred image appeared in his head. No, it was a scene. There were two people…
There were two people together, side by side, looking at the starry night sky above.
"Babe, are you alright?" Chase turned his head and found the person whom he treasured the most in his whole life.
"I'm fine, let's go back to sleep," Chase told his love as he went back to bed and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.
"I love you," Veronica whispered to Chase, making the man feel comforted inside for a while as he then smiled warmly at the woman. She was Chase’s most beloved person, everything he had ever needed.
"I love you too," Chase whispered to Veronica as he looked at her eyes full of love.
Veronica snuggled closer to Chase, burying her head to the man's chest. Chase wrapped his arm around Veronica and let out a contented smile. He didn’t need anything and anyone else, he now had Veronica and he won't ever let his love disappear. Not again.
Chase sighed as he closed his eyes, wrapping his woman into a tighter embrace, letting her know she was the only one Chase needed in his world and entire life.
"CUT!"
Or that was what the script told him to do so anyway.
Chase immediately got up from the bed with a grin, his legs immediately heading to the door.
"Wait a minute, Chase! How about lunch? Hey, Chase, wait!"
He could hear different voices saying things like "good job," "great," and "perfect." He assumed it was from the director and other staff, but he didn't care. He wanted to go there now. He wanted to be there. He needed to.
Chase turned around for a second, bowed his head to the director with a nervous smile on his face, that he wasn't sure if it was for his bad behavior towards the director or for the person he was thinking of.
Chase got into his car after a few minutes of half walking and half running. He picked up his phone and dialed the number of the person he needed to call.
"Hey."
"Oh, Chase. Did you receive my text an hour ago?" The voice was a bit high but excited Chase couldn't care more, a smile forming in his face instead upon recalling the text message.
"Yes, and I'm on my way there now," Chase bit his lip, not wanting to smile wider than he already was as he started the engine. He was nervous as hell but who wouldn't, he thought.
"Good luck, bro," his best friend, Tristan, uttered and Chase could imagine the smile on Tristan's face as soon as he said the words.
"Thanks, Tan," Chase replied, staring at the wallpaper for a few seconds before sliding the device back to his pocket and deciding to concentrate on the road.
Chase could already feel his knees becoming weak, stomach filling with butterflies, and that noise inside his heart. It was the loud pounding Chase loved a lot.
He opened the window of his car and let the fresh cold breeze coming from the ocean just a short distance from the road hit his skin.
Finally.
Finally, Chase thought.
Chase pulled his car over a small parking lot beside a cafe, quickly going out of the engine and headed inside the sweets shop. The cafe was located on a shore, somewhere on a new developing site near the sea. The twentieth sea Chase had visited so far.
He smiled at the cashier at the counter as he picked his order, a slice of Strawberry Cake.
Chase excitedly went to one of the tables for two, his mind was wandering on a different world once again, remembering the images of a certain person.
A waiter came and took Chase's order, giving him a sweet smile. Too sweet for Chase. Chase smiled back at the waiter in gratitude. While smiling, Chase heard a voice that made his heartbeat stop, his smile disappearing from his face.
"Hmmm, this one…And this too. Oh!! This, this! I want this, too!" Chase turned his head to see a woman at the counter looking at the different slices of cake, happily pointing out different plates that were beautifully displayed through the transparent glass. She was wearing a sky blue and sunflower-designed dress, her curly black hair looked soft and smooth as she let it fall down, on top of her head was a beautiful hat with a design woven like the waves of the sea. Even though he could only see her side, Chase somehow felt like he knew her. No, Chase absolutely knew her.
He stood up and waited for the woman to turn around completely and when she did, Chase almost felt his heart stop beating completely. The woman seemed not to have noticed his presence though as her head turned in different directions as if trying to look for a seat. Chase suddenly snapped out of the sudden reverie. He could hear his heart doing all the crazy noises as he stared at her.
The woman then turned his direction towards Chase and Chase felt his heart drop. The woman stared at Chase just as Chase stared back at her.
They were just staring at each other for a minute when the woman finally broke their eye contact, now heading towards Chase's table.
"Hi.” The woman smiled at him and Chase, Chase saw everything, everything flashing right into his eyes, down to his heart, interweaving to his very soul.
"Hi," Chase managed to say even with a very soft voice he could barely refer to as a whisper.
"Do you…Do you mind if I take a seat with you?" The woman looked at Chase with a pair of unsure, hopeful eyes that made the formation of tears at the back of Chase's eyes.
"Of course not," Chase replied, still staring at the beautiful lady in front of him, smiling at the different thoughts he was having inside his head.
"Thanks. By the way, I'm—”
"Isabella. Isabella Gomez," Chase cut her off and stared at her, putting all the emotions he had kept the past two years in his eyes, conveying all the feelings he had for the woman in front of him.
She was the woman he didn't stop loving. The woman he didn't forget.
Isabella couldn’t help but stare back at Chase with a gaping mouth. Her lips began to tremble and there were tears starting to fall down her cheeks.
"H-How did you know…" Isabella trailed off as she asked Chase, making Chase give her a smile that was a mixture of what sadness and happiness meant.
Not letting another second pass, Chase moved to Isabella’s side, giving her a tight embrace.
The past two years had been hell for Chase. He was still mad at himself, no, he loathed himself for everything he did in the past. He knew too well he didn't deserve the love Isabella gave him. He didn't deserve any love from anyone. He was completely sure of that the moment all his forgotten memories came back. Everything was his fault. He was the one who killed the only family of the person he loved. It was an attempt to save their lives, but he failed. It was him who asked their parents to adopt them too. If only he didn't ask that from the start… Chase knew his entire life couldn't make up whatever he had done. No matter what he would do, it could not and could never bring anyone's life back. He couldn't bring back Anna's life.
So, when Isabella disappeared, Chase let her. Because he knew too well he didn't deserve it. Everything Isabella gave him, they all didn't worth to be given to a murderer like him.
When Isabella left, Chase didn't know she would leave and take Chase's emotions with her. That time, whether it was happiness, sadness, anger, sorrow, misery, or anything, aside from guilt, Chase’s heart couldn’t feel them. After realizing he had lost the love of his life, Chase went numb. What helped him regain his feelings back to place was the unending love and comfort he received from his family and friends. Especially that of George, Reese, and Tristan. Instead of hating him, they made Chase see it wasn't his fault and he deserved to be loved despite what had transpired which was something he didn’t have control of as an innocent child. Chase doubted that thought, even up until today he still had a doubt of the love he was receiving from people.
After some months of just being with his childhood friends' company, Chase started to feel again. That was when he realized his feelings for Isabella were far stronger than he ever knew. He was so caught up to his own self that he forgot to reach out to Isabella, failing to notice Isabella's arms were always wide open for him to come whenever. But Chase was too late. He went to Isabella's house and found out Isabella started to travel from seas to seas. He couldn't contact the younger, their friends didn't know about her whereabouts either. Isabella just…left.
Knowing how the younger could be possibly taking her time for herself as well, Chase decided to wait. Wait and wait… Until he could no longer sit still and wished to make an action. It was just too much of a situation. Chase didn’t want to let things continue the same way for more years. He wanted to see Isabella.
It was then Chase began to visit seas, particularly going into the nearby cafes for he knew just how much Isabella loved sweets as much as she loved Chase, if not more.
Chase shook his head, still contemplating whether this was a dream, imagination, or reality. He tightened his hold over the younger, closing his eyes for a minute as he took in her presence.
She was here, with Chase, she was here. Chase had to remind himself that it was almost a miracle for finding Isabella once more. In this world, too huge and too confusing where everyone could come and disappear, never to be seen, never to be remembered again… Someone was still here, always being pulled back to him.
Chase gently pulled away, hands cupping Isabella's cheeks as he gently rubbed them with a chuckle escaping his lips. Isabella looked at him, eyes full of love—the very same pair of eyes and emotions Chase had seen before.
Leaning in, Chase didn’t waste another minute as he kissed Isabella's lips passionately as he could, putting all the love he had for the woman he knew, he always knew. The kiss lasted for a few minutes before Chase decided to give his love a reply.
"I just knew. I knew you,” Chase said. “I knew you, Isabella.”
Then he added, “And I knew I loved you.”
Years ago, he was hoping for his heart to be filled. Maybe his heart's loneliness would also come to an end and be replaced by happiness soon.
Soon.
Chase smiled at the memory as he realized it was just buried deep inside him all along but indeed, at that time he had questioned his life and his love, it already did.
His heart was full, full of happiness he could ever have imagined, more than he had previously prayed and hoped for.
The End.