Her Substitute Groom

Janice POV

Mrs. Hughes didn’t deserve any of the pain she was being through, and seeing her earlier broke my heart. She was a nice woman who never deserved the treatment she was given. I could understand how eager she must’ve been upon realizing that her son whom she had been mourning for months was alive, and the heartbreak she must’ve suffered when he pretended not to know her.

The sound of the knock on the door pulled my attention.

“Who is there?” I asked.

“It’s me. Can I come in?” My heart missed a beat and I rose to my feet when I heard Carl’s voice from outside. I swallowed nothing, my heart hammered hard against my chest and I fondled with my fingers. I couldn’t stop him from coming inside the room and I couldn’t also send him away.

“Can I come in?” He asked again, and this time, I was left with the only choice of letting him in. The door opened, and he walked inside. As usual, he was wearing a pair of black short trousers and a black casual shirt.

“I’ve been home over thirty minutes and you didn’t come out of your room. Are you ok?” He asked in the calmest voice that left me stunned because the Carl I knew these days would go ahead to flare up and even hurt me.

“Uhm… I was… resting,” I stuttered, and he nodded his head as he tucked his hands inside his pockets.

“Oh… Have you had something to eat yet?” He asked me.

“Hmm. I had dinner already,” I replied to him, and he sighed.

“I planned to have dinner with you tonight. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it home. Something happened out there and I needed to take care of it,” He apologized to me, giving me another shock that left my mouth hanging open. Is that Carl really talking?

“Oh, that’s fine,”

“I just came to check on you. I’ll be in my room until tomorrow. I have something to take care of,” He said to me. I noticed he was a bit dull this evening, so I decided to ask him what was wrong.

“You’re good?” I asked him, and he shrugged.

“Hmm… I’m fine,” He replied to me, but the expression on his face wasn’t convincing enough as it was saying something else.

“You don’t look like you are. Do you want to maybe talk about it?” I asked him hesitantly.

“No… I’m fine. Sleep tight. Good night,” He patted my shoulder then forced a smile and turned to leave.

“Is it about your Mom?” I asked out of the blue moon, and he stopped abruptly. Silence crept into the atmosphere, and even though he hadn’t said anything, I knew it had something to do with what happened earlier.

“Do you think she deserved the way you treated her today?” I asked him, and he clenched his fingers into tight fists.

“Look, Carl… I had no idea about what happened in the past between you and Connor, but from my knowledge and what happened after you were gone, your Mom was heartbroken…” I paused for him to digest it, and when I was sure he was calmed, I spoke further.

“She was devastated. She was crying her eyes out every night, and do you know how they treated Connor? He was disowned by his parents… Your Dad went as far as stopping him from using the family name…”

“I don’t want to talk about this, Janice…”

“For how long are you planning to avoid this? You can go ahead and shoot me, but I need to tell you the truth. Your suicide was nobody’s fault… It wasn’t Connor’s fault yet he took the blame and was cast away from the family…”

“Do you have any idea what happened? Are you going to blame me for everything that happened without hearing what happened? It was them… It was their fault… They pushed me to this… They made this monster!” He turned to face me, his eyes glistened with tears as he looked at me.

“He took everything away from me… He took you away from me… He ruined my life… Yes, I was wrong, I shouldn’t have ever hurt Connor like that, but all I asked for was another chance to make things work… All I wanted was the love he used to have for me. I was ready to make things work,” Tears streamed down his cheeks as he spoke. At that moment, I knew that there was still some good left in this young man. He wasn’t a complete monster, at least not yet.

“All I asked for was another chance to make everything right,” He broke down in tears as he grabbed his hair and pulled it aggressively. I could imagine the pain he was going through. I was starting to realize that he didn’t want to live like this either.

“You think I didn’t miss Mom? You think I didn’t want to tell her how much I’ve missed her? I love her so much more than my own life… Do you know how hard it is for me?” He cried painfully, and I took a few steps toward him until the distance between us was covered.

“Shhhh! Don’t cry… We can make things work,” I pulled him into my arms and embraced him as comfort was the only thing he needed at that moment.

Carl hugged me back tightly like he’d never want to let go as he whimpered. Maybe this was what he needed. To let everything out and feel better.

“It hurts… It hurts so much,” He sobbed on my shoulders.

“Just let it all out… Let everything out, and you’ll feel better,” I whispered as I patted his back.

We stayed in that position for a few minutes, and he finally pulled away.

“You should rest tonight. Don’t do anything. Just sleep and you’ll be fine by the time you wake up tomorrow,” I said to him, and he nodded.

“Thank you,”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“Hmm,” I nodded as I stepped away from him.

“Good night,” He uttered and finally walked out of my room, and I breathed out as I slumped on the bed. Carl was going through shit and I think the only thing he needed right now was someone to help calm him…