ZOE’S POV
Both of us turned towards the door to see who it was and seeing her made us get chills. What was she doing here???
“Do you mind if I come in??” Caroline asked us in a petrified tone.
“What the heck are you doing her Caroline? I thought mom had asked you to go back home and got you a cab. How and why did you return??” Zack immediately blasted at her furiously and she hung her head down.
“I couldn’t make myself leave after I heard about Zoe” she muttered in a guilty tone.
“Just leave Caroline. I don’t want your shadow to fall on her” not wanting any drama, Zack ousted at her but I stopped him.
“Zack, calm down. Let's see what she has to say this time” I calmed him down and let her in.
She walked inside still hanging her head down as if she had no courage to face us. Zack couldn’t take her presence near me so he stood up from his seat and decided to give us some alone time. But even while taking that decision to leave me alone with her, he made sure from me that I was okay with it. If at all I did feel fury at her, I was curious to know what on world had made her come back if Zack’s mom had made her go away. And so, I nodded to him with a smile and he left us alone for the time being.
“Cut the shit and come to the point. Why did you come back? I know that you don’t love me that much to come back to see if I was still alive” I asked her in a contemptuous tone.
“Maybe you are right. I might not love you to do it but don’t know why but something in my heart didn’t let me leave like that. Zoe, I know you would never believe me if I say this but I realized that I still care about you” she confessed to me and to be honest, I felt nothing from it. If at all I felt something, it was pure contempt towards her. I scoffed with that contempt and gave her a disgusted look. Was she for real??
“Yeah right” I turned my face away from her and she gulped down her nervousness.
“Let me tell you a story, Zoe....” she sighed and then brought a smile as she began to confess her own deepest scar.
“From birth to my elementary high, all I saw and got from my family was utmost love and care. My mom and dad saw and treated me like their world. I was their princess and it was me and my happiness that only mattered to them until they started their business” her voice cracked as she paused and I automatically turned towards her.
I knew this story of hers because she had told me this before. But why was she again repeating it now? Was she trying to emotionally manipulate me or did she want to get back my sympathy?? Whatever it was, I was not going to forgive her so easily!!!
“Dude, I know all these then why are you telling it to me again?” I snarled at her yet she smiled at me innocently. What was she up to??
“I know you know it. But what I'm going to confess to you is something you never knew about my story” she explained to me and I shut up to let her continue. All I wished this was it to be something relevant or else, she had no idea what I might end up doing!!!
“Go on” I told her in an unamused tone and she did.
“Once their business started everything changed in our lives. At first, I had no idea what was going on because they did try their best to give me time even though they didn’t have a single second to spend. But I never thought that their situation could lead them to completely and totally forget about me gradually. When I joined in Beverly hills during the middle school, my whole happy family world had crashed and I was left extremely alone in the whole town. The rest you know” she again paused and skipped to the main part.
“Is there something new you want me to hear Caroline? Because both you and I know how we ended up being a vital existence in each other’s life long time ago and how it ended” I ousted at her as I had thought to do. Accepting my fury to be valid, she scoffed in a dead tone.
“That was your biggest mistake, Zoe. Making me your best friend was what you did wrong to me” she blamed me for it in a mysterious tone and I was flabbergast. What the hell is wrong with you girl??
“I know. And I have no words to express how I immensely regret that decision. Caroline, if it wasn’t for me to see you for the last time in my life, I would have never even prayed to see you ever again. Let's say that it was your mere luck that Noah failed to capture Jake’s truth. So, spit it out without beating around the bust” being done with her puzzling talks, I straightforwardly scorned at her.
“Me too. Because your love and care were what made me insecure about losing it. I won’t beat around the bush Zoe but I'll tell you why I turned into such a bitch. Once I met you and you helped me come out of the walls, I had built around myself after my family made me feel abandoned even after being with me. Your love had made me so possessive of you that I couldn’t even think of putting myself in a position to lose you until Jake came into the story” Caroline paused to get breath and all I saw was how her eyes turned blood red and how her voice kept growing painful. Yes, she was in immense pain of the guilt that was killing her. But this time, I didn’t at all feel any sympathy for her because I wanted her to go through it so that she won’t ever repeat her mistakes again in her life!!!
“From the moment I saw Jake, I was mad for him and it's true that you were the one who got us connected. But during that time, we were growing and our dreams did somehow come in between us. The fear of losing both my loved ones made me so mad and crazy that my brain led me to choose between you and Jake. Obviously, me being me chose Jake over you and since then, seeing you with him made me extremely insecure and my brains made me think that you were trying to break us apart” tears rolled down her eyes and somewhere, I began to feel the pain she was in. Why was I such an emotional fool???
“And your madness was what destroyed everything Caroline. Your madness broke ‘US’ apart in the worst way and let alone Jake. He was so innocent that he was the one who made me understand why you felt that way. He had convinced me to give you a second chance and we both had hope that we could bring back the good in you but we were wrong. Actually, you proved us wrong” I kept all the emotions aside and decided to confront her for good. If she was ready to accept her sins and redeem herself, who was I to stop her and take that chance away from her?? I was not Caroline to not do that!!!
“Caroline, our age was what controlled us that time. I know that peer pressure and growing up definitely hits everyone’s head different but that doesn’t mean that we forget everything we had been through. You had totally forgotten about us when your head made you think so and, in that process, all you wanted was to have Jake all for yourself. You didn’t at all think about him, what he wanted or how you were making him feel with all your antics” I lashed at her and she kept shedding tears of guilt.
“I too had made the mistake of being too innocent but I never thought evil about you. You were my best friend and I couldn’t even think of hurting you. But you, you had crossed all you limit when you pushed him into that scam by betraying him. That one mistake of yours turned out to be your worst sin, Caroline. You might have had no idea what the result of your actions might have been but it was Jake who had to pay for it. He wasn’t that strong to live through all those pains and just like your brains manipulated you, his head manipulated him into taking that step” my heart grew heavier and I decided to tell it for once and for all.
“It’s true that we all fall victim of our demons and he also fell for it. He took the worst step he should never have because of being tired of his life. Life is not simple to live through but it's not impossible too. If one doesn’t have his share of nightmares then what would live ever be?? A joke?? No. If it wasn't for my fucking past, then I would have never been able to have such a mindset. Let it all go; do you know what Jake had told me before he did the sin??” I asked her and for the first time since we began to talk, she looked up into my face and faced my eyes.
“What did he say?” she asked me curiously.
“He asked me not to blame you for anything. He asked me to make sure that one day you knew that he did love you not as a friend but as a girlfriend. But fate led us to see this day where I had to tell this to you here, like this” I wrapped it up and gave her the chance to talk.
Hearing about Jake’s final words, Caroline let go of all her demons and broke down miserably. She was overpowered by her guilt in a way that it was impossible for anyone to console her and I didn’t even think of doing it. That was the best way to let her redeem herself. It's true that she had done a sin but whatever happened had happened and we all suffered our share. For me it was a near death experience and for Caroline, it was losing everything she wanted to gain by doing all that sins. That demon of her had taken over her so worse that she couldn’t stop herself from repeating the same sins again. However, luckily this time, fate did give me and Zack a second chance!!!
“I’m sorry for everything Zoe. Please forgive me for everything. I know I don’t deserve any mercy but please forgive me. I now realize how devilish I was and I’m ready to bear any punishment for my sins” she begged me for forgiveness and my humanity didn’t let me be merciless to a soul that wanted redemption.
“Caroline, your worst punishment to redeem yourself from you mistake is that you have to live with the guilt of the truth that your one mistake took our Jake’s life. It took your love away and that will always stop you from ever repeating your sins again. And as of me, I have no grudges against you but I do hope to find peace after this in my life” I pacified her and she took my hands and broke into tears.
“I also have to confess this before I go Zoe” between her wheezing, she somehow told me that and I skeptically looked at her. Now what???
“The very reason why I had decided to force Zack to stay away from you is because I had seen you both affected each other. Not only me but I bet that even Mike might have seen Zack’s unrealized love for you. What I can surely say is that if Zack wasn’t torn between his life, he would have definitely realized his love for you long ago. But it was my selfishness that separated you both. Now I realize that true love will always find its way and if not now, I would never get another chance to get out of your story forever” in a single breath, she confessed to me and I was shocked.
All these while, the one thing that haunted me was what was that I and Zack had told each after being spiked in that party. Now that I knew, I couldn’t believe myself that I had actually confessed it to him and above that, he had confessed to me!!!
I ended up scoffing in disbelief and Caroline understood what I felt for the first time in forever.
“Zoe, I want to thank you for being such an amazing person in my life and I promise you that I'll never return into your life. Be happy in this new life of yours and please tell Zack that I apologize to him with all my heart” she wiped her tears and told me.
“Why don’t you tell that yourself?” I asked her doubtfully but she smiled. That's weird.
“I have no guts to face him, Zoe. Hence, I'm going back into my old life to redeem myself from all my sins. I'm sure that one day I’ll find the old Caroline you and Jake loved so much” with a newfound spirit, Caroline told me with a smile and I felt her positive aura.
“I see her in you now” I whispered to her and she left the room without turning back.
Finally, the longtime scar which had clouded my life had been healed and now, I was ready to close Jake’s chapter and move on with my new life with Zack.
After she left, Zack returned back to the room and all we spoke to each other was by showing our most genuine smiles to each other.
Life, bring it on because I’m fucking ready for this new journey......