Hope

Before...

For the next week, I spent most of my days at Chloe's place checking up on her and helping her out a but while she was slowly recovering.

Luca had to go back home because he had some urgent family issues. I wanted to go back with him but he told me that it would be better I stayed behind and took care of Chloe. Thankfully this all happened during the first year break so we weren't worried about missing classes or failing a course.

Chloe and I had gotten pretty close over this past month and with the way things are going we might end up getting even closer but who knows. Only time can tell though.

"Earth to Olly" She said snapping her fingers

"Oh what sorry" I responded turning my attention to her

"Could you please pass me the salt?" She asked pointing to the salt shaker that was on the dining table.

"Sure thing" I said walking up to the table.

I picked up the salt shaker from the table and handed it to her and went back to sit on the table and watched her work. I offered earlier to help her with lunch but she didn't accept my offer. Said she wasn't a baby that needed to be pampered anymore.

I'm pretty glad that she's able to move on her own now without groaning in pain or stumbling over.

"The last time you stared at me like that for too long it didn't end well for you" she said without turning to face me

"I can still feel the pain from that textbook you threw at me" I responded while laughing off the memory of that day at the library.

"This time it would be a kitchen knife" She said this time turning around to face me with a knife in her hand.

I raised my hands up in defeat and put them over my eyes as a sign to show that I'm not looking anymore which made her laugh a bit. She turned around to continue cooking.

"Any news from Luca ever since he left" She asked

"Yeah we talked before I came over today" I said to her "What exactly it is are you making" I asked her because I couldn't decipher what exactly she was making.

"I'm gonna make spaghetti" she responded "I make my special sauce first before I add the pasta Into it and mix it all up together" she added

From where I was sitting I could now see her adding the spaghetti into the mix. Five minutes later she called out to me to set the table cause the "delicacy" as she called it was finally ready.

I got up and picked up two white ceramic plates and forks from her silver plate rack and placed them parallel to each other so that we could see ourselves face to face while we ate. I also grabbed two glasses and a bottle of apple juice from the fridge (What's a meal without something sweet to drink)

She poured the spaghetti into a bowl and brought it down to the dining table and it smelt totally divine. I was practically drooling.

We sat down to eat and from the first bite it's safe to say that I have been making it all wrong all my life.

"How is it?" She asked me with an arched eyebrow " Do you like it?" She added

"I don't like it" I responded taking a deep breath "I FUCKING LOVE IT" I screamed as I lifted a spoonful of spaghetti into the air as if I just lifted Excalibur from the stone.

This little gesture made her burst out laughing.

"Well I am a master chef" She replied with a smile as she did a little hair flip

"You have to teach me your recipe" I say to her as I stuffed my mouth with more food

"Someday" She said back to me "So tell me more about you" she said taking a sip from her glass of apple juice

"What do you want to know?" I asked as I took the last bite of my food.

"Tell me about your past relationship" She replied after thinking of what to ask me for a while

"Hmm well, My last relationship ended before I got accepted to this college. We were together for about a year and things were good at the time. We went on dates and spent most of our time together. To many people we were couple goals because we were completely in love with each other" I paused to take a sip from my drink "And then one day everything started to go wrong. We went the whole day without talking to each other, I'd call her and she'd ignore my calls and when I tried to talk to her about what was going on she'd just ignore me or speak rudely to me" I stopped for a while to take a breath.

"One day, I decided to go to her house to try and talk to her in person to try and iron things out so that we could move past this but instead I caught her cheating on me with a guy I didn't even know" I crunched my fist because the thought of it made me mad "I guess maybe he had more to offer her than I did" I stopped talking after that

When I finished talking she reached for my hand and held onto it trying to calm me down. We stayed like that for a while.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" She asked breaking the lingering silence

"Yeah, but what about the dishes?" I replied looking at the dirty plates that were sitting in front of us

"Don't worry I'll handle it when we get back" she said as she picked up the dishes and placed them in the kitchen sink

"Let's go" she said as she came back, grabbed me by the arm and pulled me so I'd follow from behind. We got outside her apartment building and started our walk.

We walked in silence letting the blaring horns from passing vehicles and distant conversations from people that walked past us be the only sounds that moved between us.

We ended up walking down to the little garden and sat down by the concrete bench by the pond. It wasn't as dark as when I was here sometime ago but you could still see the reflection of the moon as it danced on the water.

"I'm sorry your past relationship ended that way" she finally said breaking the silence

"Well it's not your fault but thanks anyways" I say to her as I watched the koi fish swim around.

"Your tattoo" I said pointing at the inscription written on her wrist in black ink and a fancy handwriting. "Why did you tattoo the word hope on your wrist?" I added

"Oh that" She said as she brushed her thumb over the tattoo "I had it done a while back" she added as she turned her focus on to the koi fish pond.

I didn't feel the need to push on the question because it seemed rather sensitive or personal to her. She remained quiet for what seemed like five minutes and after that she let go of the breath she was holding in

"My parents are going through a rough path right now. They've been at it for a while and I don't know what to do to help them get better" She said "Before I got accepted to the college I ran away from home because I couldn't handle the fights and arguments anymore" She added as she moved a strand of hair to the back of her ear

"They called and looked for me for a while. I came back home a few days later and they promised me that they would try and work things out." She continued "I had it done the next day because I was hopeful that they would really work things out because I cant imagine my life without both my mom and dad in it" she added

"The night I got hit by the car I got a text from my mom telling me that they were going to follow through with the divorce anyways because she no longer felt connected to her marriage with my dad anymore" She said "So much for being hopeful" She added as she brushed the tattoo on her wrist for the second time

I listened to her speak and I couldn't help but to feel bad because I know what it's like to be in the middle of an argument between the two people you thought would always be there for you. I reached for her cheek and brushed away the tear that escaped her eyes. I really didn't mean to make her cry

"I'm sorry you had to go through that" I said as I reached for her hand.

She said nothing and that was okay because she had said more than she needed to and I was here for her if she needed to say anything more

It was starting to get really cold and really dark real fast so we got up and walked back to her apartment. A few words were exchanged but I spent most of the walk looking at her and I was actually tempted to ask her why her parents fought in the first place. But that would be a conversation for another day.

By the time we got to the door of her apartment it was already 7:30pm and I had to head back to my apartment.

"Thanks for walking me back home" she said as she slid her key into the keyhole

"You're welcome" I said to her sliding my hands into my jacket pocket "Would you be okay without me?" I added

"Yeah, I would" She said flashing me a smile.

"Hey Chloe" I called out to her before she went into her apartment

"Yeah?'' She turned around to face me

"Even if it may seem that your world may be crashing down, I want you to know that I'll always be there to pick up the pieces with you" I said to her "You can put your hope on me" I added as I pulled out my hand to point at her tattoo.

Now...

"Hey Chloe, did you miss me?" I said with a grin on my face "sorry I spent so much time outside, you know how the gang gets when they set their minds to doing something" I added still smiling.

She looked at me and then looked away without saying a word.

"Anyways I brought you dinner, its spaghetti and I even made it the way you do" I said as I walked to her and placed the plate of spaghetti and drink I grabbed earlier on the ground next to her so she could reach.

She quickly grabbed the drink and gulped down its content without taking a break till it was empty.

"I spent time making this so you should eat it up to keep up your strength. I don't want you dying on me" I added as I walked back.

She looked at the plate of spaghetti and then at me and then back at the plate of spaghetti next to her and then she kicked it away spilling the contents all over the floor.

"Well that wasn't really necessary now, don't you think?" I asked pointing at the mess she just made over the floor of the basement. "You're sleeping on the floor like that tonight" I added

"What wasn't necessary is being kidnapped and tied up like an animal" She responded tugging at the rope tied around her wrists aggressively.

"You finally spoke" I said cheerfully "I thought being down here for so long might have damaged your vocal cords" I added as I grabbed the wooden chair from the entrance of the room and sat down facing her.

"It's my eyes that would have been damaged because I have to look at you every single day" she responded

"Well that was harsh but I'll take it as a compliment because I'm super hot" I say to her as I adjust in my seat

She let out a little laugh and looked back at me

"If telling yourself that let's you sleep better at night then it's no problem" she said looking at me with disgust

"If you keep looking at me like that I might have to blindfold you or worse" I responded pointing at her eyes

"Oh please do" she said kind of excitedly " What could be worse than not having to see you anymore" She added with a smile

I chuckled a bit and leaned forward on my sit a bit.

"Not being able to see ever again" I said with a grin on my face "I'd gouge your eyes out" I added still smiling at her

I could see the smile on her face fade off as fear gradually replaced it. I couldn't help myself as I leaned back on my chair and laughed out loud holding my stomach.

"What do you want from me?" She asked as she began to cry

I finally stopped laughing and so I could look at her face

"Hmmm what do I want from you" I said to myself

I got up from my chair and walked round a bit, stroking my chin, thinking of an answer to give her.

"Aha" I said snapping my finger and walking back to sit down "Closure" I responded.

"There are some things I don't understand and I need to know the answers so I can properly get over you" I said to her scratching the back of my head

"I don't care about your bloody closure. Let me go" she said screaming at the top of her voice.

"Well that's not gonna happen because I don't plan on letting you go without getting what I want" I said

I watched her as she struggled with the rope around her wrist and the shackle around her neck that was chained to the wall behind her. She pulled and pulled till she started coughing and eventually became a bit weak.

"You'd only hurt yourself more by struggling" I said when she was done coughing

I got up from my chair and headed for the stairs

"Where are you going, don't leave me here" She said in between gasps of air

"Don't worry I'll be back. We still have a lot to talk about tonight" I said as I made my way up the stairs.

I came back down the stairs about five minutes later to see her sitting quietly.

"Are you done struggling?" I said to her as I sat down on my chair

"What do you want?" She said to me looking at the tattoo on her wrist

"Why did you break up with me?" I asked her after taking a sip from the bottle of water I brought back with me

My question left a confused look on her face and it took her a while to answer

"Are you being serious?" She finally replied me

"Yeah. Answer me" I said crossing my legs and leaning forward not breaking eye contact

"I left you because I was tired of being with you. I felt suffocated and I didn't see us lasting that long" She said looking at me

It seemed like we were in a staring contest because none of us broke eye contact.

"Is that why you decided to cheat on me?" I asked as I leaned back on my seat and took a sip from my bottle of water

My question threw her off guard because for a minute she couldn't say anything

"I never cheated on you Olly" she finally responded after the long minute of silence we had

"Don't fucking lie to me Chloe. That would only make things worse for you" I responded a bit agitated.

"I didn't cheat on you" She replied

I sighed heavily. Knowing she wouldn't admit to her guilt. I dropped my leg and got up from my chair, walked to the wooden talked and pulled on the drawer. Inside the drawer was the brown envelope I planned on using to send the letter to her. I got the envelope and walked back to her tossing it by her feet.

"Open it" I ordered

"What's that?" She asked looking confused

"Don't ask me stupid questions and open the envelope and bring out the things inside it" I said taking my seat

She opened the envelope up and poured out the contents. The envelope contained three pictures.

The first picture was of her and a guy kissing outside an hotel before going in and then coming back out later in the day. The second was of her and the same guy sitting at a restaurant by the open window talking and holding hands.

In the third picture she was with the same guy leaning against a tree all cuddled up and looking romantic. She was wearing the white flower dress she wore on our blind date.

"That's not everything inside the envelope. Check again" I said pointing at the envelope that was now on the ground.

She dropped the pictures on the ground and picked the envelope up again. Ripping it open, a piece of paper fell down on the ground.

Inside the paper contained her chats with the guy about how she loved him and was planning on breaking up with me so they could run off and be together.

She looked at all the items she just pulled out from the envelope in disbelief and then turned to me.

"How did you get all of this?" She asked lifting the pictures and the paper in her hands "you followed me?" She added

"That's what's important to you right now?" I asked her trying to contain my anger "I thought you said you didn't cheat on me?" I asked clenching my fists

She couldn't say anything else. Tears fell down her cheeks as she continued to stare the pictures and the piece of paper.

"I gave you all of my love and affection but you took it all for granted. I trusted you with my heart but you ended up breaking it. Why would you do this to me?" I asked her while wiping the stray tear that escaped my eyes

"Was I not good enough for you? Didn't I show you that I loved you every single time you had doubts?" I said to her getting up from my chair.

I walked up to the wall that was next to her and punched it, which made her jolt.

"Why would you make me love you if you would end up hurting me so bad?" I spoke so low but loud enough for her to hear me

I didn't wait for her to say anything before I walked towards the staircase and headed upstairs. By the time I came back down she had her knees raised up and her head was buried in them. I could hear her crying from where I stood. I felt bad for what I was going to do next but it had to be done.

I walked up to her and grabbed her hands and pulled them close to me. She gasped the moment I grabbed her and there was so much fear in her eyes.

"I gave you everything my love and my happiness, but you took my hope away" I said to her as I brought the knife that I was holding behind me "Now I'm gonna take yours" I added

The moment she saw the knife her eyes shot open begging me not to hurt her with it but I'd already made up my mind. I tossed her on the ground holding her hands tight. I snuck the knife into her hand and cut out the surface of her skin that had the tattoo on it.

While she was on the crying in pain and bleeding out, I hurried upstairs to the kitchen to take out another knife that I kept in the flame when I went up after I punched the wall, came back down into the basement, walked to her and placed the hot knife on the surface of the wound to stop it from bleeding.

The cries of pain was deafening, if it wasn't for the extra wall padding I had on the walls, the entire neighbourhood could have heard it.

I walked away from her while holding the small part of her skin that had the tattoo on it.

"Now you have no hope" I said to her as I threw the tattoo skin to her and walked towards the stairs, switching off the light and headed upstairs, then I locked the door behind me and went to bed.

There was still so much I need to do and I intend to go through with my plans.