8

His statement left me speechless. Why would he even think that...

He smirked

"Cats has gotten the pretty girl's tongue"

Pretty. The word echoed in my head. Was he trying to play mind games with me?

"If you brought me out here to play mind games then I'm afraid you'll have to take me back to my apartment," I said with folded arms.

He laughed. His laughter was rich and like pleasant music to the ears.

"Krystabel Andez stop thinking about his laughter" I scolded myself internally

"I don't play mind games hazel but if it will get you to stop hating me then I'll try" he smiled

"Well we've been walking and we haven't gotten to our destination yet"I frowned

He walked and I followed. We got to a place with a wall built with vines. He shifted the Vines aside and I was disappointed. I had thought I would see something out of a Disney production but instead, I saw a circle with a star in the middle and a bench. How lovely is that? Note the sarcasm.

"And this place is?"I asked not seeing the relevance of him bringing me here

"This is my safe zone"

"Safe zone?"I asked with an arched eyebrow

"Yeah, I come here when I need to think"

"Okay so I can go back now, "I told him

"Hazel" he called

"Yes"

"The circle is a wishing circle" he stated

"I never asked," I said and rolled my eyes

"If you stand on the star and say your wish it comes true," he said ignoring my comment.

I sighed

"What do you want from me?"I asked

"Make a wish" he whispered

"That sounds childish," I told him

"We're allowed to be children sometimes"

I wish I was allowed to be a child.

I stood on the star and made my wish. To have an abundance of chocolate and ice cream. Don't ask me why I wished for that.

"Your turn, "I told him almost cheerfully. Almost.

"No thanks," he said with a shrug

"You have to. If you do maybe I'll like you a little"I smiled

He walked up to the star and made a wish

"You like me now," he asked

"Nope, I still hate you," I told him with a smile and we sat on the bench.

"Had Meredith been here before?" I bluttered out and instantly regretted it.

"No, apart from you and I, I don't think anyone knows"

"Can I ask you a question?"I asked facing him

"You just did" he replied with a smile that captivated me and tugged at the strings attached to my heart.

"Where's your mom?" I asked 

He hesitated

"In the hospital" he answered vaguely and I decided to press further

"For what reason?" I asked

"She's sick, sick people go to the hospital" he seemed irritated

"She's sick with what?" I pressed further and the expression on his face told me he didn't like my inquisitive side one bit.

"She has cancer," he said with a sigh. "I'm ready to go home" he announced

"What type? what stage?" I asked ignoring his attempt to discard the topic

"Breast cancer, stage three. Now let's go home" he said and started walking and I had no choice but to follow him. I didn't want to get lost.

In no time we were in front of our apartments. He had been silent throughout the whole walk back home.

"St Clair"I called and he hummed in response.

"She'll be alright,"  I told him, feeling the need to console him.

"I don't need false hope. The doctors say that every time and it always changes nothing "he said with an angered expression

"Cancer can be treated"I tried to reassure him

"It can but she's on stage three hazel. There's a chance she won't survive" he stated almost yelling

"72 percent of women survive stage three cancer" I argued

"The remaining 28 percent died" he yelled

"She's going to survive, "I told him

"Mind your business. I don't need false hope from anyone and especially not you. You hate me so why should you care?.  Stay away from me and my problems" he yelled and stomped into his apartment.

I was shocked. Did he just yell at me? Did he think he was the only one with problems? His mother has cancer but women are strong and she'll fight through it.

                          ♠♠♠

I tossed and turned not because I couldn't sleep but because I was avoiding sleep. Sleep and I aren't friends. Sleep brings back a lot of memories hidden in my subconscious. Memories that were better off buried. I didn't pity St Clair because by the looks of it he didn't need my pity. Maybe all he needed was my friend and for a reason, I couldn't pinpoint why I was willing to befriend him. Maybe it was because I knew how it felt to watch your mother suffer and you wouldn't be able to do anything to help her. I went to the kitchen to make myself coffee so I could stay awake. 

After a while, I decided to visit Etienné. I mean the worst he could do at this moment was yell at me and tell me he didn't need the false hope he thought I was giving him. 

I took in a few deep breaths and knocked. I heard shuffling from the other side of the door and I assumed he was making his way to the door.

The door opened. The guy standing in front of me was shirtless. He was shirtless again. For a moment I forget why I was here.

"Huh?"I asked when I realized he was talking to me

"Where you ogling me?" he asked

"Who knows"I shrugged with a faint shade of red coating my cheeks

"I said I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier. I shouldn't have yelled" he apologized

"No problem," I said and nodded

"Thank you," he said

Silence

Silence

"What do you need?"  he asked suddenly

"Nothing. I didn't want to sleep"I answered truthfully. He seemed to think about my statement but he said nothing about it.

"I was about to hop into the shower...."  he said. His playful nature returning

"I was hoping you could join me"

And for the second time today,  my jaw dropped.