CARLA’S PAIN

Carla walked into her old room, nothing much had changed. Everything was still as she had left it seven years ago. Her favorite band posters still hung on the wall, her books on body silhouettes and poises were still neatly arranged on the reading table, her bed well laid as it had been when she left. Even though the room seemed untouched, there was not a single speck of dust in it. It was obvious that her grandma had been cleaning it judiciously.

                   

She laid heavily on her bouncy bed which she used to really be in love with in the past, felt the bounce, and smiled as she stared at the wind chimes on the ceiling over the bed. For the first time in weeks, she felt peace in her heart, at this moment she was without worry and felt like she could take on anything. Maybe as her therapist advised, returning home, and leaving the toxic environment would give her world hope again.

Her phone rang at this time and the moment she pulled it out of her trouser pocket and saw how it was, her smile disappeared.  She sat up quickly and picked it up, feeling agitated.

“Hello.” She answered

“Hello, is this Miss Carla Jones.”

“Yes, it’s me.”

“This is Henry, from the PR department of Hera Diamonds and I am calling on behalf of the company. Miss Carla, I am sorry to inform you but your contract with Hera Diamonds has been terminated due to failure to fulfill your side of the contract, our documents here show that you breached the agreement of the contract and…”

“But…. But I didn’t cause a breach in any part of the contract.” Carla said hurriedly before he could finish, though she knew what was coming.

Hera Diamonds was the only company left that had not terminated their contract with her since her scandal began and that was because she knew and had helped the CEO in the past. When Hera was just coming up and they needed a brand endorser, no popular celebrity or model wanted to endorse their jewelry but she had stood up and had chosen them out of so many endorsements she was offered then.

That singular choice turned into a win-win situation for both of them because not only did Hera become so popular, but she, as their ambassador, also became a well-sort-out model. Her help was the one reason why that bastard Zak, had not been able to stretch his hand and shake her influence on their company. 

 But now…

“Ma’am, how can you boldly say something like this? The contract stated clearly that you are not to do anything that can be detrimental to the company’s image or ruin its reputation and as of today ma’am, can you say that you with no doubt have abided by this contract? Do you know how much the company has lost just by having you as its spokesperson? We respect you due to the help you rendered in the past and the significant role you played in the rise of Hera Diamonds to fame, a service that has been paid for in full and is still being paid for. Ma’am considering this favor, we have waited for you to come over and terminate the contract with our company yourself.”

“But from the look of things, you have no plans to do so and wish for Hera diamonds to fall with you. Our company management cannot condone this type of behavior nor can we continue to work with you so our lawyer will contact you to pay the damages f*e for the breach of contract and terminate our contract with you. Thank you.”

“Wait… I…. hello, hello?”  Carla heard the sustained tone on the other end of the phone which showed the person had hung up.

 Her hand holding her phone fell on the bed dejectedly as she laid back and stared at the ceiling. How stupid of her to think that if she ran away all would be fine.  She laughed sadly, as tears fell from her eyes. Nothing changed, nothing ever changed. A past that wasn’t hers was chasing after her like a monster.

Now that Hera Diamonds had terminated her contract, she was officially a woman with millions of debt. She had lost all the houses and properties she had in the past due to previous debts from the sudden termination of contracts, leaving her with the house she lived in and the car she drove in the capital. She thought with Hera, she would be able to climb back up no matter how low she fell. She thought at least Hera’s CEO would believe in her character and stand by her, she thought she would surely be able to overcome all difficulties but now, even her escape route is gone.

It was all over.

 She heard a faint knock on her door and quickly wiped her eyes, thinking it was her grandma. She adjusted her mental state before going to open the door.

“Steve? Why are you here?”

“Helped bring your things up,” Steve said with a smile as he walked in with her luggage.

“Oh thank you. I am so stupid to have forgotten.” She took them from him, avoiding his probing eyes, and rolled the luggage to the side of her closet, purposely turning her back to him and pretending to be about to arrange the clothes in the closet.

Steve on the other hand saw something was wrong with her but felt he was not in the right position to ask. He instead took the opportunity to look around her room. He had never been to Carla’s room, this was his first time. Looking at it now, it looked like the room of a teenage girl, this must have been what it looked like when they were in high school. His eyes fell on the poster on the wall.

“So, did you ever get to see that band play live?” He asked as he pointed to the poster and Carla who was about to open her closet turned around and followed his gaze.

She smiled, “Of course. I took a picture with them and was in contact with them for a few years.” The boy band has disbanded now. She had really loved them in the past and the first thing she did when she got into a modeling school in the capital was to attend their concert and fans-meet.

At an event, after she became a successful model, she met her favorite boy band physically just before they disbanded and that was one of the happiest times of her life. 

Steve stared into her bright sparkling eyes, as she recalled her encounter, he also bowed his head and smiled. This was how he wanted her to be, happy, carefree, and able to get everything she wanted. It was too bad he couldn’t protect her this time.

“Carla…I…” Steve began but at this time Carla’s phone rang for the second time that night. 

She saw the number and her eyes shrank in fear. The little joy and excitement the memory brought disappeared immediately.

“Carla, are you okay?” Steve asked the moment he noticed, he wanted to know who called, but he couldn’t see who it was as she was holding the phone with her two hands close to her chest in a protective manner, standing far away from him as if that call was the biggest secret of her life.

“Yes, yes. I am.” Carla faked a smile, “Is there any other thing you need…? If there isn't, I would like to be alone.” She told him and he paused, nodded, and looked from her to the ringing phone in her hand.

“Do you want to go somewhere tomorrow? To at least relax....” He asked, hoping she would ignore the call and focus on him. He could bring her happiness, he could make her forget all the bad things in her life. If only she could just see him, focus on him.

“Steve…, I don’t know… I’m really tired from the journey and need to rest, how about we talk about it another day.” Carla said distractedly, her focus still on the ringing phone.

Steve nodded, “Of course.” With that he turned and left, he couldn’t force her, he had to wait for her to come to him, and accept him.

Carla hurriedly followed him to the door and shut it, pulled the lock before turning around to pick up her still-ringing phone, her hand shook a little in fear as she picked it up.

“Yo! Carla.  Heard you fled the capital. What?! You think running would save you from me?” A man’s playful voice sounded from the noisy background.

“Zak, what do you want?”

“What do I want? Don’t you know? After what you did to me you dare ask me that?”

“What I did to you? What did I do to you? Didn’t you already ruin me! You destroyed everything I built and worked hard for, what else do you want!” Carla screamed.

“You worked hard for? I gave you all that you have. I gave you everything you had and I took it back because you betrayed me first!”

“I betrayed you? Zak. How can you have no shame? Are you even a human being? You cheated on me!”

“So what if I cheat? Am I the first boyfriend to cheat?” He asked and Carla gritted her teeth as tears of anger fell from her eyes. 

Zak continued, “Did you receive the call of the cancellation of your contract from Hera today? Hahahaha, your life and death will soon depend on me Carla, I am going to make sure that you no longer have a way to get back into showbiz in this life and then you will understand what it is you did wrong.”

“Zak! You are a monster!! A monster!!!” She screamed but received a loud laughter in response.

“That I am darling. That I am.”  Zak hung up with that.

Carla screamed and slammed the phone on the floor, then fell to her knees and wept in dejection. 

Was this the Zak she knew? Was this the guy who pursued her for six months, who showered her with love and care for six years? Even if she’s not worth as much as the new girl, even if he feels nothing more for her, does he have to ruin her like this? Was this guy really not going to let her go? She didn’t even do anything wrong?

Why? Why did it have to be him? Why did she meet a guy like him, why was she so unlucky.

It hurts. It hurts so much. Maybe she should end it? Should she just end it all? She wondered as she stood up groggily and walked to the window, opened it, and looked down from there as if checking the depth.

A knock resounded on her door snapping her back to her senses, “Carla? Are you okay?” She closed the window immediately she heard her grandma’s call and wiped her tears. “Carla! Are you there?!”

“Yes! Yes, grandma, I’m fine! I was about to fall asleep.” She yelled back trying to keep her voice stable.

“Open up, I have something to talk to you about.” She heard her grandma’s voice call again and her heart skipped a beat.

“Okay, hold on, I will be there in a while okay?” She rushed to look at her face in the mirror, her eyes were swollen and there was no way to conceal that or explain it, so she hurriedly shut the lights and then went to open the door.

“Hey grandma,” She stood in the dark room and greeted, “Steve? You’re still here.” Feeling embarrassed to see Steve who was standing behind her grandma with a worried face.

“Are you okay? You seemed agitated when you picked up the call just now.” Steve said. 

The truth is, he never actually left when he walked out the door, but he also couldn’t hear what was said on the other side of the room. He only heard her scream and call someone a bastard in frustration. Then hurried downstairs to get her grandmother because he knew she would never open for him if he knocked on her door at this time. Seeing her now, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yes, yes. I’m fine. It was just some stubborn clients at work.” Carla quickly replied

“Why are your lights off?

“Oh me? I got a migraine.”

“You should rest then. You’re here on vacation, you shouldn’t be picking up work-related calls. Switch off your phone and go to bed. Tomorrow, Steve will take you for a drive around the town. The town has really changed and now has a lot of relaxation centers that you young people like. Go out tomorrow and have some fun, okay?” Grandma Joan advised.

“Okay, Grandma.”

Steve smiled the moment he heard her agree to go out with him tomorrow. 

“I would make sure to be here early. Good night Carla.” Steve was excited and wanted to go home as soon as possible so he could prepare for tomorrow.

Carla returned a forced smile of her own and nodded but Steve didn’t mind, he was happy. It was going to be his first date with Carla.

 He left with Grandma Joan, smiling while Carla shut the door.