12 A Hell for Her

When August entered his house quietly, he went straight to his room in a hurry.

The father was at the living room thinking hard about his son. What will I do with him? I can't make him suffer anymore just for my wrongdoings. What will be the best for him? His mind was flooded with questions.

Though Mr. Lucas Anderson was never a good son and a good husband, he loved his son very much. Many years ago, his life was not as messy as it is today. He used to loved his ex wife, who was also August mother, more than he loved himself. But after he was promoted to Senior Marketing Manager at the company he worked at, he became more busier with his work, so that he rarely had time for his family.

His wife, Mrs. Helen, was always a gentle woman with patience; but her patience had reached the limit after a couple of months. Though they rarely see each other due to busy schedules, the couple began to fight each time they were together. At that time, Mr. Lucas was so stressed out due to work and all the fights with his wife. He rely on alcohol hoping to overcome his stress. But the result was opposite. He soon finds himself addicting to alcohol, and turns into a crazy man whenever he was drunk. His alcohol addiction turns him into a womanizer; which eventually led to their divorce.

Even though he never reveal to anyone, his failed marriage haunted him every single day. He was full of regrets for his actions and behaviour to his ex wife.

While he was recalling all his past, he heard a voice that called his name.

"Mr. Anderson!" The house maid was standing near the door. "August had returned." She reported to him.

As he stood up to looked out for his son, he realized that August was approaching him. He looked at his father with a guilty look on his face. The father too blame himself for his son's behaviour.

For a moment, both the father and the son were reluctant to speak. It was such an awkward situation. The atmosphere of the room was so heavy and the tension was high. Then August spoke up. "Dad, I'm sorry for talking back to you before. Please forgive me. It won't happen again."

Upon hearing the apologetic words of his son, Mr. Anderson was in great distress. The guilty he felt towards his son was added and it became difficult to bear for him. Why did he apologized to me? I'm the one who was at fault. He gazed at his son in astonishment and realized how mature he had become! He remembered him acting like an immature kid just a few hours ago. How can he become so mature and changed within a few hours? Without realizing it, he stared at his son for a few seconds.

"Dad, are you alright?" August was bewildered by his father's reaction.

The father was aroused from his deep thought. "Oh! I'm fine."

"I'm sorry, dad." August repeated himself.

"It's fine, son. I understand you, and it's my fault too. I hope you'll forgive me." The father said with a small smile.

Just like his father, hearing the apology makes August feels more guilty too. "Don't say that, dad. I..."

"Okay, let's not talk about that. But I want to tell you that if you want to live with your mother, you can do it. I don't want you to stuck in this house just because of me. I know you missed your mother too." The father said before August could finish his words.

August was amazed. "But I don't want to leave this place. I was born here and grew up here. What would I do in a foreign country?" He thought of Isla and smiled. "Besides, I don't want to leave my friends."

"If that's what you want, I won't force you. But tell me if you change your mind." He looked at his wristwatch. "It's time for dinner. Let's go."

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Isla's House

Isla's family were having dinner. The hearty and delicious homemade foods were served in a rectangular shaped table. They were chatting about how they spent their day, as usual. The dining room was full of laughter and happiness.

"Isla, have you made up your mind? Will you return with us or not?" Her father asked Isla, suddenly.

Isla was taken aback by her father's question. After her exams finished, she was spending almost all her time thinking about August and how to deal with her feelings for him. She even forgot that her family will be moving back to New York.

'How foolish of me!" She thought to herself. She shrunk and looked at her father.

Maybe because Mr. Campbell loved his daughter more than anything else in the world, he was very protective of her. He was quite strict with his daughter, which often led him to punished her during her childhood. Though Isla was somewhat afraid of her father, she knew that everything her father had done was out of love for her. She respected him more than anyone else in this world.

Isla's mother spoke up. "Just come with us, sweetheart. We can live altogether at New York. With that good grade of yours, you may even be able to attend Trinity School. And also if you graduated shool from there, you may be able to attend a prestigious college abroad."

Isla frowned. "Mom, there you go again. I don't want to study abroad. I already told you many times that I want to study law here, in our country. You always..."

The mother spoke up before Isla could finish her words. "I know, I know. Even if you want to study law, there are many law schools there. Harvard and Yale are also not far from New York. Chances are better for you there."

"Harvard! And even Yale! Have you lost your mind, mom? Both are among the top 3 law schools in the whole country. I will be more than lucky if I got accepted at New York University. Isla chuckled. She thought her mother thinks so highly of her. She almost burst out in laughter when her mother mentioned Yale and Harvard. That's an impossible dream for me!

"We can discuss that later. First of all, tell me your decision, Isla. You know we will be leaving after a week." The father said in a firm and clear voice.

Isla was tight lipped. She can't say a word. Actually she was reluctant to leave. She already made many new friends here at Houston. She will be a stranger there at New York. She was only twelve when her family moved. She thought of her best friends - Davina and Celine. She didn't want to leave them. Above all, she didn't want to leave August.

If she return to New York, will she ever meet August again? Then how will her love become? For the past two years, just the thought of unable to see August for a few days, used to make her shiver. Parting ways with him forever wiil be a hell for her....