Chapter Title: STUBBORN: AFFIRMED, DELIVERED BUT NOT ACCEPTED)
June’s Pov
“You guys forced me to get a nurse, you forced me to go out yesterday and you still want to force me to go to the city to see a doctor. Can’t I make a decision on my own in this place? I might be blind but my brain cells are working perfectly. You people should let me make my own decision. I’m not going anywhere and that is final” Never in my life have I seen Harry this angry about something and to say I’m surprised is an understatement. I folded my hands just below my chest looking at him screaming his lungs out as if I’m not the only person he’s talking to right now and seeing it like this is really not a good sight.
“Harry, maybe you need me to remind you that I’m the only person here right now” humor. It sure wasn’t affecting him. I had asked about what the phone call was all about and after ten minutes of asking over and over again, he finally succumbed. Immediately I advised him to go for the tests, he flipped and here we are.
“I don’t care if it’s the whole world right now or just you” he replied bluntly.
“You don’t have to pass aggression at me, I’m only advising you about the best thing to do. This is the best option for you, Harry. If they forced you to get a nurse, that’s none of my business and if I forced you out the other day, it was for the best and I know you didn’t regret it and if I’m advising you to go to the city, it is for your own good Harry” I said trying not to be harsh with my words.
“You’re not advising me to go, June. You’re forcing me to go to the city for the test”
“Why would I force you? It’s not even my eyes Harry, it’s yours” Immediately I said those words, I regretted it. He didn’t say anything but we both remained silent for a while before I decided to break the silence.
“Im sorry; I didn’t mean it that way. All I’m trying to say is, if you get your eyes back, we won’t be using it together. It’s all for your own good and I think you should do just that because it’s for your own good” I said
“It’s still the same thing but just a less harsh” I smiled at his words. “You need to understand me here, June. Getting my sight back will do me no good, it’ll always remind me of everything I’ve lost so far” I knew something more than his eyes happened but I just didn’t know how to ask him or Veronica about what had happened. I just want to stay out of his business as long as he stays out of mine. We all have our own demons.
“Are you still not reminded of all you lost now? What difference does it make if you regain your sight or not? We’re not talking about your memories here. All that happened is in your head not your heart, Harry. If you want to get back on track with life, you need to let go and move on while holding on to your best memories as much as you can” I explained to him.
“I’m still not going, no matter what you say, I’m not going” he replied firmly and I was getting frustrated already.
“Why are you so stubborn, Harry?” I slumped against the wall and sat on the floor looking at him and trying to read him but I couldn’t get anything. He was emotionless,, almost as stiff as a wood. Anything that happened to this guy really hit him hard.
“Harry, I totally……..” I was about to use another tactics when Veronica came in to ask me what was going on, I think our loud voices got their attention from the shop.
“What’s going on here?” she asked in a hushed voice as if we were in the *quiet place* movie.
“It’s Harry”
“You don’t have the right to tell her about anything” he cautioned me
“Anything like what?” Veronica asked
“They deserve to know what’s going on” I argued
“Know what?’
“Learn to shut your trap June” what! He just called my mouth a trap. That’s it.
“The doctors want him to come to the city for some tests so they’ll be able to schedule his surgery and work his eyes because they believe he can see again” I said in one breath and I could feel him giving me a stink eye but I don’t care.
“OMG, I can’t believe this, Harry is getting his sight back. Mom!” Veronica ran out of the room to call her mom from the shop.
Veronica and their mom walked into the room few minutes later grinning from ear to ear about the news that they just heard.
“Is it true Harry?” Their mum asked and he nodded before he broke the news to them by himself, that he’s not going. “Nonsense, you’re definitely going son, you need to get your sight back” As much as I trusted their mom to be a no nonsense person, she didn’t disappoint. She’s just as stubborn as Harry himself.
“Mom, I don’t want to go. This is my decision and I’m not going back on that”
“If Ava is here now and right now, what do you think she’ll want you to do?” I watch as Harry grew silent from the question making me wonder who Ava was. I guess it’s not my business. “You need to do this for them, Harry. They’ll want you to go to the city and get your eyes done” she told him lovingly and I couldn’t help the tears gathering in my eyes.
“What if I really don’t want to?” he asked his mom
“I know you want to as much as we all do but you’re just scared of moving on. If you really want to move on like you told me, going to the city for those tests is the first step and the first step is always the Important one darling” I stood up to leave the room and give them the privacy that they need because I know they’re holding back on some things because of me.
“I need to get some stuffs at the store, I’ll be right back” I announced
“June!” Harry called and I stopped in my tracks.
“For telling them about this, you sure do owe me something” I laughed and asked him what that was.
“What you were thinking about that day that you refused to tell me, that’s the price you get to pay for what you did” he didn’t even try to think about his mom and sister who were there with us.
I smiled and I nodded “I’ll tell you once you get back from the hospital”
“Yet, another blackmail” he announced like we all didn’t know.
Harry’s Pov“Where did you run off to” June had walked out after my mom came into the room to convince me about going on that trip to the city. She had managed to change my mind and get me to go for the test.“Nowhere, I was just in the shop having a little chat with one of the customers who refused to be different from any other person in this town and asked me about my husband and kid. Can they just get to their own business and leave me the hell alone?” she was angry and I know laughing now will only make her angrier so I decided to hold it in.“I would’ve laughed right now but not been able to see your face is the control key. Just relax, June, they’re just trying to get on your nerves and you can’t let them be successful with that”“I’ll try” I nodded and smiled at the fact that I was able to calm her down with what I said. Its June anyway, you can calm her down with anythi
June’s PovAs the bus maneuvered out of the town and towards the city, I could feel my heart beating so fast it could bust only if that’s possible. I was about to go back to my past after leaving it behind for two years and living in it every single day of my life. My life was so messed up when I got back to our town that my mom had to hook me up to a therapist because I was already on the edge of going insane. I would lock myself up in my room for days and cry till weakness overpower me and I lose consciousness.My parent, I mean my mother and my stepfather didn’t take it serious, thinking I was going through the pain because I couldn’t get myself out of it the way they did, they thought I had a weak heart, one that’s not able to overcome pain. Until the day that they realized the truth: that I was a monster.The look in my mom’s face told me all I needed to know, she hates me for what I did and when I couldn&rsqu
Veronica’s PovThe trip to John Hopkins was full of nerve wreck and I was one hell of a nervous person. I kept on asking myself the ‘what if’ question and had to hold on to Harry’s hand when we got to the door of the hospital. I don’t get why I have to lean on the person that’s supposed to be leaning on me. Harry is supposed to be scared here and he’s not, I’m the scared one.I had to sit at the waiting room and let the doctors do their job as I waited in anticipation of the unknown. Several minutes later, Harry came out of the room with the help of a nurse and I couldn’t help the smile forming on my face. He didn’t have that sad look on his face and I’m glad he was smiling a little even though he looked tired.“Why are you smiling?” I asked as I help him to sit beside me while waiting for the doctor to call us in for the test result.“I remember something that June
June’s PovI got back into town later that same day and it was a little past three when I returned home. I got home to realize that my parent had gone on their usual trip, without informing me. Mom works for a fashion company while dad is a medical doctor who works in China too and sometimes, when mom is on a company trip to china, they go together.I never knew who my father was, I was told that he died when I was six years old, a car crash that killed him and left mom in the hospital for months and before I turned eight, mom moved on and got married to my stepfather. Justine was a year ahead of me in school as a result of a surgery I had before we entered junior high school.After Justine’s death, everything fell apart at home. Dad is having an affair and I heard the woman is already pregnant with his child and mom; she’s trying to ignore the whole issue by drowning herself with work. I just couldn’t stop blaming myself for all th
June’s POVTrying to ignore as much as possible Harry’s odd behaviour, which he has never exhibited since I started working here, I moved from where he was to the store where his mom was busy attending to the only available customer around, then I realized that I had nothing to do, I didn’t have any other choice than to return back into the room.The atmosphere was so weird with Harry just sitting there and ignoring everything that had managed to come out of my mouth. He was awfully quite which is also unlike him, the way he did his own things by himself was kind of, I had to follow him with my eye every time so as to make sure that he won’t fall or maybe get hurt. The whole room was as if, electric barb wires was used to enclosed it, giving me wrong vibes and all, I’ve decided in my head like three times to go over to his mom and let her know about this new exhibited behavior from Harry but I decided against it because he’s ol
Harry’S POV“I met Ava back in high school, we were in the same class and I’ve always loved her since freshman year even though I never had the courage to walk up to her” We were seated on the couch now and I decided to make her feel better by trying to tell her exactly everything about my marriage, I didn’t want to keep anything out and all these was just for her to feel better.During my trip to the city, I realized that I actually like June a lot, maybe more than a sister and I don’t want it to go beyond that. I don’t think I can ever let anyone take the place of my Ava in my heart.“We knew you both back then, High school sweethearts of the year” she interrupted and I told her jokingly to shut it till I finish my story.“So, one day, I was by my locker with some of my friends and I was stealing glances at her since her locker was on the ot
Harry’s POVThe moment my mother came into the room and called me by my full name, I knew something big was coming.“That’s not fair mom, that’s the cruelest thing you’ll ever do to your own biological child. I didn’t ask for any of these, I didn’t ask to go blind or lose my own family. I didn’t even beg to be a burden to everyone, this is just not fair.”“You are not a burden, Harry. You’ve never been one and you’ll never be one. There are times when I feel bad too for everything that happened to you, but I have to stay positive about it all and now that my prayers have come to pass, I don’t have a say here too. My hands are tied and you know it. If I don’t do this, I’ll lose this deal and I didn’t even know the date will be the same” The international company that she signed a contract with at the start of the year will hold a
June’s POV“Good Morning Sunshine” I turned my head to where the voice was coming from and I realized it was Harry playing cheese and I was awe at the sight. How is that possible?“Sunshine? That’s new and how do you know it’s me?”“Because you always smell like sunshine and because…..” he trailed off before he stopped and faced the game back and I decided to ignore what he just said and not push further.“You know I could beat you at that” I challenged him and he smiled.“How about I tell you that it’s absolutely impossible for you to do that”I placed the stuff I had brought for him on the table and slow danced to where he was. “Challenge accepted bum”Twenty minutes into the game, he had managed to beat me blue black at cheese even though I always thought I was the ‘Queen o
June’s POVI met Ned at a friend’s party during freshman year. He was a devil in the form of an angel. I regretted ever going to that party wit
Harry’s POVAfter
Harry’s POVI turned to the next page, hoping more information could come up
Harry’s POV(N.B: All of June’s diary entry are in italics, please take note)
Harry’s POVI was shaking furiously as I read the threat note that was sent to my office. Whoever did is has been after June’s life since forev
Harry’s POVOur trip to the beach had turned out good. We had a little run around the beach after I broke the news of her sister’s departure to
June’s POVIt’s been two days since Veronica and her mom got here and it’s been two days since I had the last flashback. The last one had
Harry’s POVAfter their hugs and tears outside the apartment, we all moved into the house. Mom had already collected the baby from Veronica.
Harry’s POVJune anticipated Veronica's arrival more than my own presence. She had looked forward to meeting her so called best friend that I felt li