THE ONLY HEIR

chapter 14

I got home from work before the clock struck six.

My house was vacant but it wasn't lonely. I was taking off my clothes when I heard the door bell ring.

I wasn't putting on trousers but I was wearing a shirt but I went to the door anyways.

I was walking towards the door when it rang again.

I opened the door to see a face that looked so familiar. I know I had a thing where everybody I see, seemed as if I had met them before, but, this time I wasn't just guessing, the feeling was strong.

“Don't I know you?." I blurted out.

“Ermm."

“Sorry, don't mind my manners, come in please."

“No, don't worry, I'm your neighbor, I live right beside you, and I just thought of bringing you a small gift, here, I brought some cupcakes and cookies, I hope you like them, I made them myself."

" I'm fucking serious, you look familiar. “

She looked up at my face.

" Darwinson?!. “

" Yes” Apart from my family, there was only one person that called me Darwinson, fuck, who was that?. “

“Oh my, Darwinson!." She said again while I remained speechless, I couldn't remember where I had seen her.

“You've forgotten me?, It hasn't even been up to a decade yet."

“I'm sorry I've been meeting new people."

“New girls." She said laughing.

“So, would you tell me who you are, so that I can have a happy reunion."

“It's me, Ará." As soon as the words left her lips, I went into temporary shock.

“C'mon, say something." She urged me, like she always did.

“Fuck, Ará, it's been like forever." I said bringing her into a hug.

“I know."

“You've changed." I said to her.

“A bad change?." She asked.

“No, a good change, you look more beautiful than ever, you're fucking gorgeous."

“Thank you."

“Come in, come on in." I said throwing the door open.

“Jeez, I'm happy to see you, you're my neighbor, jeez, what a small world."

" I know, right. “

" You have a nice place. “

" Thank you. “

" How have you been. “ I asked her.

" I've been good, how about you, how have you been?. “

“I've been good."

“So, where did you go after boarding school?."

“I took a small tour, on a cruise ship, with my parents and then I came back to London, to an art school, I studied art, now I'm an artist, what about you?."

" I worked for my dad for some years, now I just built up my company here, I know my way around London, so I chose here. “

" You just built up your company?, Like you just started it?. “

" Yeah, I know all about running big companies, I was born to run companies. “

I said and she laughed.

" I'm so glad we met, like, the universe just brought us together, don't you think. “

" I'm glad the universe brought us together.“

" I missed you, Darwin. “

" I missed you too Ará. “

" I love what you did with colours here. “

" Thank you, I wanted it to contrast all the houses I've lived in all my life. “

" You've really grown, you've grown so much, you're now a man, last I saw you, you were a boy graduating secondary school. “

“Hey, Ará, you didn't want to talk to me on graduation day, you kept on running."

“I'm sorry."

“It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair at all, what did I do?, You didn't say nothing, how were we supposed to meet after graduation, I always asked myself, what was it that I did."

“Nothing, you didn't do anything."

“So why did I get that kind of treatment from you."

“I don't know."

“I thought we loved eachother."

“We didn't, Darwin." She said and it passes through me like ice.

“You told me you did, you were one of the realest persons in my life."

“I lied."

“What do you mean you lied."

“Darwin, I really can't do this, not today, I've been running from this my whole life, sorry, but I'm leaving." She told me and I watched her walk out of the door.

“You can't run from it forever you know." I told her and I watched her stop.

" I know that, don't you think I know that?, of course, I do. “

" Ará, my whole life has been fucked up, I don't want to believe that the only thing I held as true was all a facade. “

" That's what it's been, me and you. “

" You have to explain to me why you're doing this, I haven't seen you in what, in like ten years and now you just show up out of the blues just to tell me that what we had some years ago was a lie, I mean I took away your virginity. “

" C'mon, we were just kids. “

" Is that how you saw it, or that's how you see it, now that you're all grown up, we shouldn't even be having this conversation, and you know it.“

" Darwinson, I'm sorry.“

" For what?.“

" I'm sorry because it was all false, when we were still in school, Robert and the other kids said that you liked me because of the way you looked at me, they set us up, they knew you would go to the library that day, they said you always went to avoid meeting in the hall with the nuns on Fridays, and they made me act all nice, and I swear at the start it was all a lie, it was all acting, until later, I finally fell in love with you, but, if it wasn't love at first, then it wasn't love later on, I ran away from you from graduation because I couldn't face you, how could I tell you?, so it was better to run, if running meant that you would be free of me and of pain then I would save you and run, I was literally sparing you the stress Darwin.“

" No, it cannot be true. “

" But it is. “