I Agree

"Rude?" I asked as I creased my arms across my chest. "I'm speaking the truth you know?"

"Who the heck are you?!" She hollered, still in between clenched teeth.

"You don't need to know who I am." I was so indifferent to her. "Don't yell at me, ok?"

"Why shouldn't I?" She asked sharply. "How is killing myself even your problem?"

I glared harder, literally furious at the fact that she ought to be thanking me for saving her life. Did she think she was some kind of cartoon character who could be saved at any time? We were speaking of “death” here!

"You know what? I think I made a mistake by saving you from drowning." 

"Yeah, you did," she bit out. 

"Alright." I scrunched my nose, getting more irritated by the attitude she was giving me. Not thinking further, I reached for her waist, and shove her into my arms. "I'll throw you back in there," I announced. . 

"W—what? Leave me! You idiot! What the heck is wrong with you? How can you drop me in the water?" She cried, hitting her hands against my hard chest so she could leave my grip.

Ignoring her completely, I didn't resist my movement. She disgusted me so much that I actually felt like throwing her in there. But, I just couldn't. I wasn't a murderer after all.

"Are you crazy? Please stop. Please!" She cried further. 

About two feets away from the water, I stopped moving, taking a deep breath to try and keep myself calm. Her hot tears could be felt on my chest as she dug her head into it. 

What was with these tears now? 

"Please stop." She beseeched, faintly, sobbing like she wouldn't cry again. "I'm sorry for yelling. Just leave me please."

I rolled my eyes, and released her tiny body from my hard jerk. "So you're scared to go into the water now?" I questioned.

She didn't give me a reply, only staring at the floor as if she was embarrassed. 

"You can't answer me now right?"

She still kept quiet and didn't raise her head. She probably wasn't fine, but I cared less. The fact she was about to commit suicide vexed me. I didn't believe suicide was an answer in any way.

"I don't know," she replied after a long silence.

"You don't know?"

"Yes."

I exhaled, irritated, but just stared at her. I needed to hit some word into her null head.

"You're confused, you know?" I started to speak. "First, you wanted to kill yourself, and I saved you. You complained about it, so I decided to throw you in there, but then you cried for your release. And now, you don't know whether you want to die or not. What kind of a person are you?"

"You know nothing about me, so don't be judgemental." I could feel some anger or frustration in her voice. Woah, I wasn't the reason for her calamity, was I? 

"Judgemental?" I snorted, twitched my neck to my side before facing her again. This woman was testing my patience. "I don't think anyone has a genuine reason to die. Some people are in the hospital fighting for this life you wanna end. Wait, do you think death will solve the problem? If life can't, what's the probability death would? What would be of those who need you? If not now, think about the future."

The proximity was quiet for a while. The moon shone a bit, so I could barely see her face. She averted from our gaze as soon as she noticed mine too. Why would she do that? I was good looking for… whatever's sake. 

I was already more than irritated. I came to the beach to relax and get my mind off my dad's dumb frustration, and also the dumb marriage my parents were planning. But here I was, trying to help someone when I hadn't even helped myself.

"Ok," she murmured, almost in a whisper. If I didn't have sharp ears, I wouldn't have heard her say that. 

"You should leave now. Why would a lady be out by this time of the night? It isn't even safe," I explain. Like she even cared. 

"Ok," she said, sighed silently, then spun around to probably take her leave. 

That was a relief for me. She was finally going. I was annoyed that I had to experience this, but a part of me appreciated it. I at least saved someone. But well, it was left to her to decide whether to live or not. I was not at all interested in her life anyways. 

I stared at her as she traipsed out of the beach like a broken machine who needed urgent repair. What a weirdo. I didn't care about her reason or reasons for attempting a suicide. All I knew was that no one should die off freely. 

I sighed in frustration, and headed to my car. My problems at home were just sufficient for me. My past experience was the only reason I saved that ass.

***

MIA

I sat on an old stool on the porch of my house, after a long night trek. I didn't come home the night before. I walked all night, using it as an opportunity to meditate a little. 

After what that random guy said to me, I realized that life itself was too short for me to shorten it even more. He made me realize that death wasn't the solution to my problem. I was so broken that I wasn't even thinking properly. What was the probability Drake and my parents would realize their mistakes after I died, if they didn't realize it when I was alive? I was such a fool to think of committing suicide. Maybe the Lord purposely sent the mean dude to me.

I held the door knob and sighed before opening it. I was about to face the worthless people I wanted to die for. Like they would have cared. Foolish me.

I stepped in, shut the door behind me, heading straight to the living room. Surprisingly, Linda was there, together with my parents. She was sipping her coffee, and flinched a little on seeing me.

"Mia." She dropped her mug on the table in front of her, bulged her eyes open as if she saw a ghost. What was with her? Or were they all planning something against me?

"Oh my dear, you're back!" My mom exclaimed, rushed to me, grabbing my arm for a tight hug. 

Hypocrite!

I pulled away from her gross embrace, gave her a dirty look, and walked to Linda. I couldn't believe I wanted to die for the evil thing.

"Hi ma'am." I managed to greet Linda. I was pretty sure she'd observe I wasn't fine.

"Oh, hi Mia," she replied with a smile.

I turned to my dad to take a glance at him. He immediately forestalled when our eyes met. What the shit was wrong with this man?

I ignored him, turned back to Linda, wearing a fake smile. I was so stressed out to bear his shit.

"Mia," she called, inhaling deeply. "Are you fine? You look like you haven't slept in a while. You look so weary."

"Oh, I'm fine." I tried as much as possible to pretend. 

"You're sure? You don't look fine at all. I can't explain what you look like right now. I'm sorry but..." She pursed her lips, blue eyes showing some worry. "You look so terrible."

I bit my inner cheek and tugged the bottom of my shirt. I didn't know what to tell her.

"Well," I started. "After our conversation yesterday, I was late for my morning shift. So, I had to take the night shift since someone else represented me in the morning."

"Oh. I get you. But you look so weary. I mean, extremely." She raised her eyebrows, almost wrinkling her face as if she was smelling crap. 

I tried to smile. "I'm not used to it. Last night was my first time."

"Oh."

"So, I'll leave you now. I need to rest," I informed her, then took a turn to the stairs.

"No wait." She stopped me as I was about to climb up the stairs, wurry plastering through her face.

"Yes? Is there something you need?"

"Not really. I just need an answer on what we discussed yesterday," she specified. I knew that already though. 

I swallowed the lump in my throat on hearing that. That was the exact reason I had to visit Drake. And unfortunately, I was broken. I didn't know what to say. My heart was still so damaged, that I was scared to take the next step.

But, I needed to move on. I needed to pull away from the stagnancy that held me back. I needed to end it all.

If I didn't move on, Drake would win his game. He would achieve what he wanted. His aim was to use me and dump me into a trash can. He would achieve that.

After biting my lip, fighting with my heart, I finally stated, "I agree."

Since I didn't know what my next phase was, it would be better to let life lead me to wherever it wanted to. And besides, it would be the best revenge on Drake. Moving on was the only thing I could do to let him know that he lost his game to me.

"Wh—what?" Linda dropped her jaw. She was probably shocked to hear me agree after my mean encounter, the day before.

"You heard me, ma'am. I agree with the marriage. I will get married to your nephew. I'll see you some other time. I'm so restless right now. Have a safe journey on your way home," I added, then stormed up the stairs. 

***