Until I Met You

When the world come crashing down (41) Grace

I was dressed up in a nice white and black dress. Ready for the day that was coming my way. I was ready for this day to not be one of the other days that included some sort of problem. Finally, something was going to be different. I walked up to Jake's house and knocked. This time, I just gave my name and the door opened. The person who stopped me when I came to meet Mr. Davis for the first time, didn't stop me. I entered their house and saw both Mr. And Mrs. Davis. Mrs. Davis was on her phone and Mr. Davis was on his laptop like always but when they both saw me, both of them dropped what they were doing and stood up to greet me. I've never felt so welcomed in my life. "Oh hello, Grace. My dear, you look beautiful." She said while hugging me. Mr. Davis hugged me as well and nodded his head in agreement.

"Yes, you do look beautiful. Why didn't you inform me beforehand that you were coming here? I would have prepared you one of my favorite dishes." Mrs. Davis said.

"Anyway, come on and sit with us." She said and led me to sit on the couch. Mr. Davis followed us.

"Actually, Jake messaged me saying that he will meet me in his house. That it would be easy for him. So I came here. He would be here anytime." I told them. Mrs. Davis asked one of the maid's to bring me something to drink. "So tell me, how's everything going?" Mrs. Davis asked me.

"I'm doing great. Today would be even better. Jake will perform after all." I replied to them, smiling.

"Wait. Jake's performing? He didn't tell us anything about it." Mr. Davis spoke up. I was completely baffled by that fact. Jake didn't inform them? Or they didn't listen to him? I hesitated, but I needed to tell them what their son could not say to them, all this time.

"Uhh. Mr. And Mrs. Davis. Do you mind if I tell you something?" I asked them. They both glanced at each other, then Mrs. Davis gave me an encouraging look and nodded.

"Do you know that Jake's anger issues are related to your lack of attention and love for him?" I asked them bluntly. Maybe, I crossed a line and invaded their personal matters but it needed to be said. I owed Jake this much.

When the words left my mouth, Mrs. Davis' smile fell, and she retreated back into the sofa more. Mr. Davis looked too stunned to speak.

"What do you mean by that? That we don't love our son?" Mrs. Davis asked me. A hint of anger visible in her tone.

I shook my head and smiled at them.

"No. Of course not. I think you'll do anything for your son. I'm not saying that you don't love your son. I'm saying that you don't show it enough." I told them. I felt my words sinking in them. "Mr. Davis?" I said to gain his attention. When he looked at me, I continued.

"Do you remember when you accidentally threw the drawing Jake made for both of you, in the trash can? When he was five years old?" I asked him. He swallowed a little and then shook his head.

"When he was five, he made drawings including his whole family. You, Mrs. Davis and him. He wanted to show it to Mrs. Davis, but she wasn't home. He showed it to you and you kept the drawing to yourself and dismissed him by saying that you'll watch it later. Accidentally, you thought that it was trash with other stuff and threw it in the trash can. Jake found it. When he confronted you, you promised him a trip to wonder park. Where you never took him." I told him. I took a break between speaking.

"Jake was a five-year-old boy. A mere kid. I couldn't remember any incident when I was a five-year-old kid. And I'm sure none of you can either. But Jake remembered it. To this day. That means that incident had really dented his heart. All this time, he felt neglected. So he did stupid stuff to draw your attention to him. Getting into fights, bullying or as some might call it, being a 'bratty kid'. But he's really not. After all this time, he's just a kid who wants to get hugged by his mom and dad. Who wants to feel appreciated when he does something good. Who wants to spend his free time cooking with his mom or going out with his father for fishing. So if you can, then please, just show it to him that you do love him. By spending some time with him together. Maybe for you, it might be worthless but for him, it will mean the world." I told them. I stared off into space.

"He's still a kid who hides behind the mask of a big man." I said.

Suddenly the door opened and Jake's head peeked inside the room. He looked at me and wiggled his eyebrows. He walked inside.

"Mom. Dad. I saw you are having some serious conversation." He said but his eyes were mischievous, and he was smiling. Mr. Davis didn't say anything, so I spoke.

"Yes. We were having an important conversation. Why didn't you tell them that you were performing today?" I asked. His expressions changed and he looked troubled.

"It doesn't matter. Nobody cares anyway." Jake let out a taunt and I shook my head at him. His words hit their mark after my explanation of why he was always so agitated in front of them.

I shook my head at him, smiling.

"Everyone cares. Next time make sure you tell everyone. After all, I want to show off how much my boyfriend is skilled." I scolded him playfully and stood up.

"Yes ma'am." He said grinning at me. I grinned back at him. We bid our goodbyes to his parents. They're looks clearly suggested that they were thinking about my words which was more than enough. Still, both of them forced a smile at us and sent us on our way.

Throughout our drive, we didn't speak. Jake just stole glances at me and once when I caught him secretly looking at me, he winked at me. I couldn't help but blush and look away. His gaze felt like hands on my skin. And that feeling was something closer to intimacy and love.

I don't believe it. I could believe that I thought of the word Love. What's wrong with me?

We pulled up next to our designated place. I got out of the car and so did Jake. He came to my side and took a hold of my hand.

"There is a seat reserved for you inside. Of course, because the whole concert is dedicated to you. I'll see you in a bit." He said and pecked my lips. I waved at him as he drove away. I went inside and Jake went to his friends to practice his performance one last time. He will come straight to the stage for performances directly.

There was a huge crowd of people. Most of them included students from our college and some were from other colleges. It was a concert in celebration for my past birthdays thus when everyone saw me entering they all started to wish me a happy birthday. It was a long walk to reach my seat between the wishes and small talk but I did.

I sat down on the nearest seat to the stage that had my name on. The people were still coming and going out but it seemed they were settling down little by little.

Finally, after waiting for what felt like more than fifteen minutes, a guy came on the stage and asked everyone to settle down.

"Good Evening, Everyone. The show is about to start so please settle down." He said and moved back to check the mic. Slowly, everyone settled down in their seats.

"May I call the person on the stage whom this whole night and show is dedicated to? Grace, please come on the stage." The guy who was testing the mic called me. I smiled and walked up the stairs and then to the middle of the stage. Everyone erupted in applause and cheers as I walked in the middle stage.

"We would like to show you a short clip of how amazing this person is." He said, and I was amazed that they made a video of me, to show it to everyone. They probably did it with the help of Jake. I shook my head at Jake's stupidness. He really was a kid.

I stood on a side and looked at the screen behind him.

It showed me walking. I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. I didn't remember when I wore that outfit. The place where I was walking seemed familiar and then I realized where it was going. I entered a building. The building where I worked at. I became sweaty as the whole place turned quiet, telling me that everyone was watching it intently. Then the video was skipped for some time ahead and it showed me coming out of that building. My throat dried at that. All of a sudden, the scene changed, and I was shown doing 'it' with one of my clients. The one who had requested me that he wanted to do it, out in the open. Then he turned the video off.

I heard everyone gasping and all the air leaving my lungs. I dared to look at the whole crowd and I felt myself shrinking from inside as I saw more than one mouth gaped at me and people ogling me their eyes. It seemed like all of them were judging me. I couldn't speak or cry, or scream or do anything. I just stood there. Completely frozen.

A hand grabbed my arm and jerked me to their side. It was the same guy.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this person, whom this so-called concert is thrown, is a sex worker." He said.

"Yes. She's a prostitute. Living among us, as a part of our college. The building you saw her going in, is actually very famous for this sort of work. This bitch is one of those who contaminates our society." He said and I heard murmurs going around the room, probably in agreement. I felt so ashamed and humiliated that it cut me to my core. I couldn't help the tears that started pouring out of my eyes. He jerked me again.

"Also, do any of you know who helped me get all this information? It's none the other, every girl's heart stealer, the one and only Jake Davis." Now everyone erupted in cheers and curses. Cheers for Jake and curses for me. Their name-calling, cussing didn't hurt as much as the heartbreak I felt. It was like I've been getting skinned by a sharp knife. Like someone was pouring my veins with hot, melting lava. Like my heart was being squeezed out of my chest. It was the pain of betrayal. It was the pain of Heartbreak.

"Oh, and you know what? She wants to buy the famous Mariana lake that Jake dad already owns. From the money she earns by spreading herpes. From being someone's slut." He said and my whole world stopped. Like the earth had stopped moving.

And I understood EVERYTHING.

I left that place in a hurry and reached my house. I saw Mrs. Johnson peeking her head out from the gate.

"You know, from the start, I knew that something was wrong with you. But I never expected that you would open your legs for anyone and everyone with money. If I were you I would have died long ago, instead of doing this job." She said. And I stopped crying. It was like a button had been switched off. My tears stopped flowing.

And that's when a look of determination crossed my face.