A Love to Last Ch. 03

"What? But I'll be late for my appointment with Amber."

"Yeah, and so will I. Remember how important today is to me. Before I meet dad, I still have to pass at the orphanage to help out and give some gifts to the kids there."

Jim gave a gloomy sigh. "Okay, but we need to do it fast."

"Sure!"

The two boys rushed to the kitchen to fix their breakfast.

***

Ben arrived at the address his father had sent him. He was dressed in an all-black attire like he did every year. His hair was tied in a ponytail as usual. When he reached there, he found a huge fire was already set with flowers in what seemed to be a small temple. He had not seen anyone since his arrival, so he figured maybe his father wanted to perform some ritual for his mother.

"Dad!" He called as he got near. "Are you here? It's Ben."

But there was no answer. He looked around to see if he could spot him but he couldn't see him. He started getting nearer but still couldn't see him.

"Dad?" He called softly. "Where are you?"

But then he heard a voice...

"It's not dad." Right before he saw a woman come from behind a large statue with a smile on her face. She was dressed all in white with blue high heels and her hair curled as usual. The smile on her face scared him and he stood there, staring at her like she'd grown two heads.

"Not daddy, but auntie!"

"What are you doing here?" There was raw panic in his voice. "Where's my father?"

"Why?" Elena opened her arms widely as she got closer. "Are you disappointed seeing me here? The previous years, it's been only been you and your father so this year, I decided to perform a ritual with you. Shouldn't you be happy that I decided to do this for you? You've always wanted us to be close."

"Were you the one that texted me on dad's line? Where's he?"

"Let's just say, I did my best to distract him so he won't disturb my bonding with you." She started circling the fire. "Do you know what this place is called, my dear, Ben?" She stopped and grinned at him. Ben felt chills go down his spine. "It's called the temple of cleansing. It is where people come to get rid of their problems. It's a wonder what money can do. I paid for the whole day, just to be with you. No one will disturb us."

"I don't wanna do anything with you." He said harshly. "Please, don't make this day a circus for me. It's the only day that I have to remember my mother."

Elena laughed. "Of course, and that's why I am here, my dear step-son." She chirped. "To give you all the memories you might need of your mother. After this, you might never have to do any of these things you do on her memorial. Because you'll have all the memories you might need."

Ben was upset. He didn't wanna hear her talk anymore.

"I don't have time for this." He started rushing out of there.

"Where are you going?" Elena gasped. "Don't you wanna see your mother?"

Hearing what Elena had said, he stopped in his steps and quickly turned to find a shocking scene. Elena was holding his mother's picture, the same picture that he had seen in the morning at his apartment. It was the only picture that he had left of his mother. He was in a complete state of panic when he saw that picture.

"Where did you get that?" His voice was barely above a whisper. "Please, give me that picture."

"Let me tell you a story." She enthused, holding the picture in two places. "Years ago, there was a king and queen who were so much in love and lived their lives like a fairytale. Everything was perfect and the queen thought that nothing could ever mess with her perfect life.

Suddenly, a witch appeared in their lives and threatened to ruin everything. She cast a spell on the king and seduced him until he slept with her." Her voice as so high and Ben saw a line appear in between his mother's photo. "Through that abominable act, an evil child was conceived, leaving the queen so hurt and with suicidal thoughts. But she wasn't gonna give up.

Like every fairytale, there's always a happy ending. Turns out the queen was pregnant with a beautiful child, an angel and a savior. When the king discovered that, the spell was lifted and he returned to his beloved queen and the destined child.

And like in all fairytales, the evil witch always dies. She got her karma and died a miserable death. The queen thought it was over until the king brought home an evil child whose been nothing but a thorn in the queen's flesh." She barked and ripped the photo in half.

Ben's body shook in fear and he suddenly became pale.

"No!" He screamed and began running towards her.

Just before he reached there, he heard a loud thud and only realized he was on the floor when he felt pain welcoming him. He grunted as he tried to move but the pain sheeted through him with a terrible intensity. Tears began building in his eyes.

"Oh Benjie!" She chirped as she put the two halves of the picture together and ripped them again. "I am so sorry that my guard was a little too harsh on you. But the pain you're experiencing is nothing like your whore of a mother has caused me." She yelled as she continued ripping the photo.

She angrily threw the picture in the fire. Ben's face instantly got wet as he saw the only picture, he had of his mother burn to flames.

Elena snapped her fingers and the guard that had tripped him brought a medium sized box and Elena knelt as she scrolled threw. She brought out a bunch of pictures. They were all of his mother but she wasn't alone in those pictures. She was with his father.

"Just look at her..." She chuckled bitterly as she showed him a picture. "...staring at her boss like a whore that she was. You know I still don't get where she got the nerve to go after my husband."

She angrily threw the photos in the fire and got nearer to him.

"And then on top of that, she had you, the boy that I hate the most on this earth."

She thrust her hand and gripped his jaw painfully. Ben took a couple of deep breaths to try and ease the pain but it was there with him, hurting more than ever. He tried to retaliate but she only added pressure to her hand and he screamed out in pain. Tears were rolling down his face.

"As if it wasn't enough to cheat on me, my husband whom I love the most decided to bring evidence home. You!" She let go of his jaw and gripped his hair, getting him up with it. Ben cried out in pain. "Do you know how painful that was to me. I thought his cheating days were over but that day... I realized that you were gonna be the evidence I was gonna be looking at for the rest of my life. Every time I look at you," She gripped harder. Ben felt his head painfully pulsating. "I feel like snapping that stupid neck. But that wouldn't be painful enough. So I've vowed to hurt you for as long as you live."

"You're hurting me."

"That's the point!" She seethed, pulling him harder before she threw him to the floor with a thud.

He made a low growl, straining to stand up due to the pain.

"But today, I decided to give you a little surprise." She opened her arms again, turning around. "Have you ever wondered why you've never seen your bitch of a mother's grave since she died? Why your father has never showed you and why he never talks about it?"

Ben raised his face to stare at her with so much pain.

"That's because after she died, they took her far away where not even a man as powerful as Jerome would have opposed." She laughed, rubbing her hands in satisfaction. She enjoyed seeing the pain on Ben's face. "After her family found she was pregnant for a married man; they disowned her because it was too shameful for them to bear.

But she thought he was gonna marry her. After all, his wife didn't bear children for him. But her plans failed because I was a month pregnant before she found out she was pregnant. Her family only came back after she died. They took her body and they cremated her according to their traditions."

An evil grin appeared on Elena's face as she slowly knelt and went into the small box, coming out with a blue mason jar that had beautiful decorations. When Ben saw that, his heart leaped into his throat. Terror thundered on him and he was hoping that jar didn't contain what he thought it did.

"Do you know what this jar contains?" She asked as she wore some plastic gloves. "Your mother's ashes."

'Your mother's ashes.' Those words played in his mind like they were on repeat.

She opened the jar and watched as Ben's eyes widened in horror. She enjoyed every bit of it. She poured a bit on her gloved hand and threw it into the fire.

"No!" Ben screamed and tried to get up, but he felt a terrible pain into his groin, sending shockwaves of dull nauseating pain deep into his abdomen. He screamed and lay in fetal position as he cried like a child. "I am begging you, don't do that. Please, have mercy on me. You can do anything to me but please, give me the jar."

"Ha ha ha!" She laughed manically, pouring a handful. "I told you that this day wasn't just important for you, but it was also important for me." She threw it in the fire angrily. "I have waited for this day for so long, a day when I was gonna kill two birds with one stone.

I get to wipe whatever remains this bitch had left on this earth and then I get to see you crying. It's not every day I get to do that. You should applaud me, don't you think?"

He tried to get up but still couldn't do it.

"Up to now, money solves my problems." She continued pouring the ashes on the huge fire. "It can make family members betray each other. I know you must be wondering where I got this from but I'll save you the headache of figuring this out."

She knelt in front of him and stared deep into his already red eyes.

"When that whore was cremated, her wish was for you to scatter her ashes in the sea when you were old enough to understand everything. So they kept the ashes." She shrugged. "Her only surviving brother is a drunkard and a womanizer so I guess it does run in the family. I didn't have to do much but offer 500 thousand and he gave it to me willingly."

Ben closed his eyes and let the tears grace his face. "Why?" He said under his breath. "Why did you do this?"

"Why?" She yelled, rising like she was in a war. "Why, you ask? Because I hate you, Ben. I wanna see you suffer all your life. You think you can mess with me? You've turned my son against me. He supports you and the other day, he ended up embarrassing my friend in public. All because of you. My husband shouted at me because of your stupid ass. And you ask why I am doing this?"

She groaned angrily and poured the entire ashes on the fire and threw the jar on the floor, breaking it to pieces. Ben couldn't cry anymore. He just lay there, staring at the fire like he expected something to come out of there. She was gone. Whatever memories he had left of his mother were gone. Her pictures and now the ashes he didn't even know were there.

"Your only mistake was being born." She said with her fists clenched. "I do love this temple a lot and I'll make sure I leave some donations. It helped me get rid of my problems. And as for you..." She gripped his arm painfully, raising him from the floor. He groaned in pain. "...next time you try and mess with me, I promise that what I will do will be worse than this. This shows only a piece of what I can do. So if I were you, I'd be careful of somethings I do."

She brought him closer and smiled. "Ben, my love, you don't have to feel bad. After all, we just did a ritual together. Doesn't this make us closer to each other?" She laughed before she planted a soft kiss on his forehead. "Thank you so much, my love. I love you so much."

She furiously threw him to the floor but he couldn't feel the pain. He just stared at the fire.

"I have to run now. I have places to run." She said before she left with her thug.

Ten seconds passed, and the twenty and thirty, and finally Ben began feeling the pain again. Every movement he made sent ripples of pain through his body. He crawled to the broken jar and began picking up pieces, maybe there was something he could find but there was nothing.

"Mom!" He wailed. "Mommy!"

His head hurt too much. His body hurt too much. It seemed that everything hurt too much. He had some cuts on his hand from the broken jar pieces but he didn't even care that he was bleeding. He sat there and cried, slowly closing his eyes. He kept his eyes closed because he didn't wanna see the disaster Elena had left. She had completely destroyed any chance of him remembering his mother. That was more painful than any physical abuse she had given him.

***

"Dude, are you serious?" David sounded frustrated. "You've kept me here waiting for over half an hour. Do you know that I didn't even want to come here? You forced me."

'Hey! I am trying my best.' Isaac said on the other end. 'The traffic is so bad. But I promise to get there as soon as I can.'

David groaned angrily and cut the call. He was leaning on his car, staring at the huge sign. He was standing outside the bar where he and Isaac used to hang out a few years back. He was dressed in a simple plain black tee with a blue jean and black canvas. He had been waiting for a very long time and was suddenly getting impatient.

He had two options. One was to just go back into his car and leave. The other was to just go inside and wait for his friend. It was better than staying outside. He chose the latter. He went inside and was welcomed by some loud music, people dancing, others drinking while others were just talking to each other.

He went to the counter and ordered some whisky for himself. And as he was waiting, he started looking around to see people having fun. He didn't even realize that he had a smile on his face.

As he was busy scanning the room, he suddenly froze. His heart instantly gave a loud thump in his chest, almost like he had been hit with a hammer. His eyes widened and his breaths came out harshly. He didn't know if his eyes were deceiving him or he was just drunk. But wait, he didn't remember taking anything so it was not possible that he was drunk. He rubbed his eyes and looked again but the boy was still there, a distance from him.

God! He looked so beautiful, so heavenly. He sat on a table alone, looking around and he seemed nervous. He was dressed in black but radiated into David's eyes that he felt like his eyes were gonna burn. God!

David rose from his seat like he'd sat on hot coals and rushed to the table. He plastered a smile on his face as he neared the boy and with each distance he covered, he felt something that he'd never experienced before. He was so excited that he felt goosebumps.

"Hey! Is it really you?" He asked when he approached the table.

The boy moved his eyes to him and when they met, David saw stars in those eyes.

"It is you!" He gasped, feeling tears of mirth build in his eyes. "It's been so many days and I can't believe I have found you." He didn't know where he got the courage from. "May I sit with you?"

The boy was still staring at him without saying a word. David sat closer to him and couldn't stop staring at him. He was sitting with him, all smiles and admiration. God! He was so beautiful up-close.

"I have been looking for you for a long time now. I can't believe I found you. My name is..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the boy burst into laughter. It was only then that David realized that he was drunk. He was holding a cup of liquor and he had no idea how long he had been there.

"Hey, are you drunk?" He asked worriedly. "I thought..."

"Why?" Ben spoke in a drunk voice. "Alcohol is the only thing that can take away my troubles... or I thought." He sighed, massaging his head. "But no matter how much I have taken... it isn't working. It's not helping me forget my troubles. Why..." He tried to get up but almost fell if not for David being quick.

"Don't move you're too drunk." David said softly as he tightened his arms around the boy. They were so close he could feel his liquor breath on his face. But he didn't mind. "Are you here alone?"

The boy laughed again. "Why have you been looking for me? Are you... here to take away my troubles? I have tried..." There were tears in his eyes. "...I am a mess right now."

David didn't know why but he could see pain in his eyes.

"What's wrong? You can talk to me. I can take away your troubles if I can."

"No one can." He laughed and moved away from the handsome man. He was so drunk he couldn't walk straight. "I... I have been nothing but nice, but... forget it." He started using the wall as a balance.

"Hey, careful!" David held him again. "Where's home? I can take you there."

Ben pressed his hands around the man, staring at him in his drunken state. "That's the thing... I don't wanna go home. I just wanna... be in here drinking my heart out."

"No!" David shook his head. "I can't allow that to happen. It's too dangerous for you here. You need to go home. Tell where your home is, I will take you there."

He shook his head. "No!" He said it so wetly, like a child learning how to talk. "I can't go home because that's the source of my troubles. If I go home, I will die."

David remained silent for a second. He had been wanting to meet this boy for a very long time but the state that he had met him prevented him from saying anything. Whatever the boy might have been going through was probably too painful for me. He never for once thought the boy went to bars, talk less of being that drunk. He couldn't leave him there for a while.

He stared at the boy that was humming a song, smiling to himself.

"Hey, how about you come with me?" He asked. "That way I know you'll be safe and I'll get the chance to talk to you tomorrow when you're sober. How about that?"

"Will you help me forget my troubles?"

"I will try." David smiled brightly.

"Alright, handsome man." He laughed, raising his hands in the air. "I will trust you."

David helped Ben out of the bar and into his car. He texted his best friend that he had to attend to some emergency before he drove off. The boy seemed to be sleeping and he looked so cute that David couldn't help but stare.

***

The room to David's room opened and David came in with the drunk boy. He sat him on the bed and looked at him. He needed to do something. He went to the bathroom and came with some water and a cloth.

He started wiping the boy's face slowly but lovingly.

"Hey! This is a beautiful room. Who stays here?" He asked excitedly.

"This happens to be my room." David answered as he continued wiping his face.

But the boy pushed his hand away and got up, staggering around. David just sat and watched him do his thing. Even in his drunk state, he was so gorgeous, so innocent. David was wondering what led to the boy getting that drunk.

"I love the details of this room." He said happily. "The way you've arranged everything... the color of the beddings and your little living room." He pointed. "Who did the interior design?"

"Errr... I don't know." David scratched his head. "My mom probably knows best. She said that she found the best interior designers."

"She has great taste but..."

He started pointing out how he'd have done it himself if he was given the job. Everything was so detailed, so perfect, from the arrangement to the way he'd have chosen the color and the portraits on the wall. To say David was impressed would be an understatement. He was in awe.

The boy went and stood near a large portrait of David. He looked so handsome, like a high fashion model in a blue designer suit with his hair sleeked back. He wore a gorgeous smile. David could remember that day like it had been yesterday.

"Who is this handsome man?" The boy asked in just a normal voice.

"Yours truly!" David rose from the bed and went and stood beside the boy. "It was my first ever high fashion portrait. I haven't always been one for taking pictures like that but I love it. You think I am handsome?"