Chapter 21: Glace

He’s late, I thought as I glanced at my wristwatch. I paced the living room back and forth, anxiously waiting for the person I wanted to see least in this world right now. My mind wandered to his face. He has been giving me tremendous migraines for the past few days, and I could not wait to talk to him and just get this over with. Plead with him if needed.

After minutes of waiting, the doorbell finally rang and I headed to the direction of the gate. I didn’t greet him as I opened it wide and watched him walk in confident strides all the way inside my house. It has been like this ever since I could remember. He never truly loved me. But this time was different. He was taking something precious from me and I wouldn’t allow that. Not if I could help it.

I followed him inside and saw that he has already settled himself comfortably on the couch in my living room. Like always, he had that annoying look on his face. One that I despised yet loved at the same time. I couldn’t avoid it. He was my dad after all.

“Break up with Andrea,” I said without beating around the bush. It was the only reason why I’d contact him after all those years.

My dad placed one leg on top of the other and leaned back on the couch like he owned the thing. It made me irritated because I was the one who worked hard for that. For everything that I had at the moment. And yes that included the couch.

“I won’t,” he said with a smirk. It made his brown eyes twinkle. From a stranger’s point of view, we didn’t look anything alike. While both of us had brown eyes, mine was coffee colored and his was a lighter shade. My hair was also raven black, but his were strangely dirty blonde. He was handsome though, I would give him that. But it was clear that I didn’t get a single feature from him.

I glared angrily at my so-called dad. “I’m dating her daughter. I love Dulce,” I said truthfully. But I was careful not to put too much emotion in my tone or he’d take advantage of that. My father was a very smart man and he loved to manipulate people. He’d use my emotion against me.

“I don’t give a fuck if you’re dating Andrea’s daughter. She’s my girlfriend and I’m planning to propose to her in a few weeks time. Get rid of that feeling Glace because Dulce is going to be your sister.”

I bit the inside of my cheek angrily and tasted blood in my mouth. “You’re an asshole,” I said bitterly. “Don’t you care about how I feel? Even if you’ve refused to acknowledge me years ago, that doesn’t erase the fact that I’m your daughter. Can’t you do it for my happiness?”

Dad cocked his head to the side. “No. Frankly, that lesbian lifestyle of yours is disgusting Glace. Do you think you can marry Dulce and have a family with her? Of course you not!” he said while standing up abruptly from the couch. “You have no future with that girl. It’s best if you move on from her and settle down with a nice man. Your mother would have wanted that.”

“Don’t drag mom in this conversation dad,” I snapped. “She would have supported me no matter what. Unlike you who denied having a daughter in front of Andrea. Do you know how much it hurt me when you said you didn’t have a child? God! You’re the worst!”

“I don’t have a daughter like you,” he said while heading to the direction of the window and looking outside to my yard. The words he said was like a slap in my face. I knew that he didn’t care for me, but to say it bluntly in my face simply hurts. What kind of parent would do that intentionally to his child?

Despite everything, I swallowed my pride and begged. I would do everything to keep Dulce. “Please dad. Breakup with Andrea,” I whispered. “I can’t live without Dulce.” My voice was shaky and I felt like crying, but I just curled my hand to the side and continued. “Please don’t take away the only thing that makes me happy.”

Dad turned in my direction and shook his head. “Enough Glace,” he said sternly. “I’m going to propose to Andrea and that’s that.”

My body shook violently. I wanted to stab my own dad right at this second. “I hate you,” I seethed. A look of surprise flitted on his face and before I knew it, he was right in front of me and raising his hand to slap me in the face. I braced myself for the impact but a voice stopped him from doing it.

“Don’t!”

I recognized it in an instant and faced Dulce who was standing by the entrance of the living room. She had a pained expression on her face and her beautiful brown eyes were rimmed with tears. “Please don’t hurt your daughter,” she said and took a deep breath. “Don’t worry. I won’t see her again.”

She turned her back to us and hurriedly walked away. I didn’t glance at my father as I ran after her. She was the only thing in my mind right now. The thing I was so scared of happened. She found out that I was his daughter.

As soon as I got out of the house, I saw that she was already a few blocks away from me. My feet quickly followed her. “Dulce,” I called out. She didn’t stop at the sound of my voice and continued down the street. Thank God I lived in the suburbs, or cameras and reporters would have been in my face right now.

She continued down the street and to a grassy area where I always loved to run in the morning. The sky rumbled menacingly above us which made me stare at the darkening clouds for a second before I trailed after my girlfriend. A few moments later, I was able to catch up to her.

“Dulce,” I panted and touched her shoulder. She halted and faced me. There were tears in her beautiful eyes and her breath hitched as our gaze met. “Baby, stop running away,” I said in frustration.

“I can’t stop Glace,” she choked. “It’s the only way I can leave you behind.”

The sky responded for me. Slowly, water poured down on us, drenching our hair, our clothes, and our body. But to me, it was like acid melting my bones. I couldn’t cry, so the sky cried for me. It took all my effort not to break down right then and there.

“Don’t say that,” I whispered. “Don’t break my heart Dulce.”

She shook her head. “I have to,” she said angrily. I didn’t know to whom she was angry with, but I understood her. I wanted to strangle someone at the moment. But my anger was directed at my dad. “Can’t you see what’s happening Glace? Every time we get together, something tears us apart.” She took a deep breath and stared at me with pain in her brown eyes. “Maybe we’re not supposed to be together.”

My stomach sank lower in the ground, but even if her words hurt, I still closed the distance between us and clung to her. I wouldn’t let go of her, even if she pushed me away. If I did, it was game over and I’d be dead. “I love you,” I choked. “It’s always been you Dulce. You’ll destroy me if you leave.”

I felt her tremble against me. The rain poured down harshly on us but I knew that she wasn’t shaking because of that. She was scared. Scared of hurting me. “I wouldn’t leave you,” she said. I almost believed her but she added, “We’ll always be together because we’ll be sisters.”

I fought hard not to cry. I swallowed over and over to get rid of the lump at the back of my throat, but the pain I’ve been feeling won. In the end I sobbed against her, the tears burning my face like fire as it went down. Despite her mockery, I still held tightly to her.

“Can you imagine loving someone else like this?” I whimpered. “Because I can’t Dulce. I will only love once in this lifetime and the person I choose is you. It’s always been you. Even from day one.”

She started to pry my arms away from her but I refused to let go. When she couldn’t, her hands fell uselessly at her side. “Some people are not meant to be,” she said softly, her voice cracking up. “Don’t worry. I will never love someone else. My heart is yours forever Glace. But you need to let go.”

“I won’t,” I said stubbornly.

I heard her sob against my ear. She was rubbing salt in my wound. “Can’t you understand?” she cried. “I need to give my mom a chance to be happy. She’s been taking care of me the best way she could all these years. She never loved another guy aside from my dad. That’s why I want her to smile, even if it means that we’ll be hurt because the man she loves is your father.”

“What about us? Don’t we deserve to be happy too?”

“There’s no us Glace. Not anymore. Now let go of me.”

She was being harsh. So harsh that her words were like razor digging in my scalp. But underneath that, I heard the pain in her voice. She loved me as much as I loved her and it was killing her to say those things to me. It was for that reason that I wouldn’t let go of her. But against my will, someone grabbed my waist and pulled me away from Dulce, from my happiness.

“No,” I yelled as I struggled against my father’s grip.

“Go,” he said to Dulce. “I’ll correct this mistake.” I watched helplessly as she gave me one last look and ran away, taking my heart with her.

I didn’t know how many days passed after that. A day. A week. I didn’t care. I didn’t go to school either. I simply stayed in my room and refused to function.

The doorbell rang. Again. It has been like that since the day I saw Dulce. I didn’t go out to open the gate though. Rotting inside this room while contemplating on everything that happened was what I preferred to do. Call it slow suicide. After I heard the doorbell ring for the umpteenth time, I fell into a deep sleep.

“Wake up Frio,” someone said. When I didn’t move from the bed, the person removed the comforter from my body, making me shiver in the cold. “What the heck?” I protested and glared angrily at that someone.

I was surprised when I saw that it was Patty, Dulce’s best friend. Ugh! “What are you doing here and how did you get in?” I asked in a dead tone.

She placed a brown paper bag on my bed and stared at me with her blue eyes. She brushed her bangs away from her face before replying. “Eris gave me a key so I could get in.”

“Of course she did,” I mumbled and forcefully pulled the comforter over my head. With a sigh, Patty removed it again. “Please don’t do this to yourself,” she said. “Look at you. Your hair is messy, your eyes are puffy, and you look thinner. Are you trying to kill yourself?”

“What if I am? It won’t matter anyway because Dulce is gone.”

“Of course it matters,” she replied with a look of concern in her face. “Your millions of fans will cry for you.”

“I don’t care about the fans. I only became an actress for one person and that person left me. There’s no point in it anymore. Go away.” Frankly, I’d rather wallow on my sadness alone. It didn’t help that she was Dulce’s best friend either.

Patty pulled a chair next to the bed and sat comfortably. “Dulce is worried about you,” she said gently. “That’s why I’m here.” That caught my attention. “She is? But she doesn’t want us to be together anymore.” My heart broke like tiny little shards when I said that. It was hard to accept that she didn’t want me. Even after I tried to be everything she wanted.

“She loves you Glace. Believe me. . . She called me and Tim after that day and cried for hours. Her mom kept on asking about it but she wouldn’t tell Andrea. She’s as messed up as you.” Patty sighed and shook her head. “This shouldn’t have happened. But you know what? I know that my best friend is so in love with you and because of that I’ll help you Glace.”

I didn’t allow myself to feel a glimmer of hope. “It’s useless Patty. She’d rather her mom be happy than both of us.” I felt conflicted with that. Of course I cared for Andrea too. But I have waited for her daughter for the longest time and Dulce was the only one keeping me sane all these years.

“Get up,” Patty urged with a determined look on her face. “We’re going to a party.”

I gave her an are-you-crazy look. “Seriously? You want me to party after my girlfriend left me?”

“Dulce will be at the party. Tim is taking her,” she replied patiently. “She’s depressed right now for what she said to you. Do you want Denise to take advantage of that? You know how my best friend can be a little naïve.”

I closed my eyes briefly before getting rid of the comforter on top of me and standing up from the bed. “Let’s go,” I said while turning to Patty. She rolled her eyes. “Ok we’ll do that once you get dressed. You’re in your underwear. I swear, you and Eris are really friends,” she mumbled. If the situation wasn’t really bad, I would have laughed at her already. I knew Eris loved her lace lingerie like me.

After showering and dressing as fast as I could, Patty drove us to the place of the party. Once we arrived, I ignored the gawkers, aka half the student body and their friends as I made my way inside the house. I was determined to talk to Dulce. Damage control would be for later.

I looked everywhere but she wasn’t in sight. A brief recollection of Denise lying on top of Dulce at a party like this entered my mind. It was the time when Denise spiked my girlfriend’s drink so she could take advantage of Dulce. Don’t tell me. . . God no.

I almost ran on top of the stairs while pushing other people out of the way. With trembling fingers, I peeked on each room, only to find that it was empty. The last room on the hall was the only one I haven’t tried yet. When I opened the door, I nearly died at what I saw.

“Get off my girlfriend!” I said as I forcefully pried Denise on top of Dulce. The blonde squirmed against my grip but I was going insane with anger and nearly tossed her on the floor. “What did you do this time?” I shouted.

I didn’t wait for her to reply and turned my attention to Dulce who was giggling on the bed. Fudge! She looked high. “Baby,” I said while taking her in my arms. “You’re going home with me.”

Before I could completely carry her off the bed, Denise tackled me to the floor. “She’s mine!” she snarled and attempted to slap me but I was able to move away and quickly stood up. Desperate to bring me down, she took hold of my right leg and pulled me, causing me to tumble on the floor.

She rolled on top of me and sneered. “Get your own girlfriend bitch!”

I flipped us in anger and looked down on her. “Maybe you should look in the mirror while saying that you crazy slut!” Unsatisfied, I leaned down and whispered. “I have a lot of respect for your father Denise but I will never let you touch my girl. I’ll destroy you with everything I have if you do. I’m willing to kill for her,” I finished savagely and got up.

Without looking back at Denise, I went to the bed and carried Dulce in my arms. This time, Denise didn’t do anything to stop me so I headed to the hallway and down the stairs. People stared at me as I passed. They were probably wondering what was happening. I groaned to myself, it would surely appear on the headlines tomorrow.

Thankfully, Tim and Patty saw me in that instant. Knowing what I was going through and what would happen if they didn’t do anything, Tim clapped loudly so everyone would turn to him. “Don’t mind them,” he said. “They’re just playing.”

When everyone didn’t acknowledge him and still continued to whisper as I passed with Dulce in my arms, Tim went to the middle of the room and shouted, “Hey everyone! I’m gay!” The whole room immediately quieted down and turned to him collectively.

I quickened my pace. The front door was just several steps away from me. By then, everyone was talking at the same time. They were too shocked at Tim’s revelation to even notice me slipping away. Wanting to help his friend, Patty joined him in the middle of the room. “Guess what? I’m gay too!” she yelled. “I’m in love with a freaking supermodel and she’s so yummy I could die! Woohoooo!”

I couldn’t help but smile to myself as I got out of the house and straight to Patty’s car. I fished the key she lent me from my pocket and once I opened the door, I positioned my girl comfortably inside. Dulce was fast asleep and curled like a ball on the passenger seat. With a sigh, I got on the driver’s seat and buckled the seatbelt on both of us. I had to thank her two best friends later for saving us. But for now, I have to take my baby home.