𝚂𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚂𝚊𝚍𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜

Chapter-12

I found it very strange, I was only a few days away from going back to Osaka and this was when my social life started growing at such a big scale.

Charlotte was really sweet and easygoing. Her summer break was still going on, and out of the three good friends I had made she was the only person that was free all the time. We spent a lot of time together, just going down to the beach, getting lunch and just hanging out at each other's houses.

She never brought up Charles, so I never asked about him. But what did get fun was she loved reading the script, like she would immerse herself into the world and give a me a real opinion of what she thought of the scene. I loved hearing what she had to say, her perspective was so unique.

And here it was, the day for me to get onto my train to Nice. All three of them and Baba was here to see me off, I gave them all a big hug and promised to call every once in a while. And it didn't feel like a chore, because I did like them! I would look forward to speaking with them.

"Promise me I'll be the first person to read the edited script." Charlotte held out her pinky finger.

"I promise! I'll mail you a copy." I locked my pinky with her.

"And I hope your editor doesn't let you end this season on such a tragic note. Hana deserves the world!" She exclaimed.

The train was here, I got my bags ready to board it. It appeared to be that not that many people used this route anymore, so the stop was going to be short.

I hopped on and turned around to wave, and that's when I noticed a familiar figure running towards the train. SHIT. I thought to myself and quickly turned away, this was not looking good. I peeked over my shoulder just to see what was happening. I was so relieved the train had already started moving.

He let out a curse under his breath before smacking his forehead. I was so confused, what could he have possibly wanted from me? And how did he know- was that even a question? Of course this has something to do with Baba.

The minute  Charlotte had noticed him by her side, her face fell. She looked so hurt, I felt a pang of guilt. She deserved an explanation and she deserved so much better. I felt like I had stabbed her in the back and twisted the knife.

I couldn't imagine how she must be feeling right now, her mind must be coming up with so many strange conclusions. The least I could do was send her a text.

You: I can explain, it's definitely not what it looked like😬

Charlotte: please do.

It was better to tell her what the whole story was over a call rather than a text message. I gave her a call and she picked it up immediately, she was definitely looking for answers.

"Okay first of all I did not know he would be here. Secondly, look at me Charlotte. Do I look like someone who could steal boyfriends?"

"No! Don't be funny I'm trying to be angry."

"Let me get my intentions set straight. I don't want to be with Charles, especially not after what he did to Giada and how unfairly he's treated you."

"Okay now explain why he was at the train station and said, to quote him-'I was too late again.' Explain."

"I don't know how he got here, but I can tell you what happened like five years ago..." I started.

This was becoming an awfully regular thing, having to pour out the embarrassing tales of teen Emiko. Charlotte remained surprisingly neutral the whole time, I was pretty sure she'd never want to talk to me again.

"Emiko, what I'm realising is... this was more than puppy love." She explained.

"Nonsense! It was just that. A stupid crush I had on a boy who was way out of my league." I laughed.

"Okay first of all, stop putting yourself down." She scolded me.

"Yes ma'am."

"If it was really just one sided why did he come after you that day?"

"The only person that helped him with tests was leaving of course he'd come." I rolled my eyes. "Besides he got with Giada the next time I was here and behaved like he couldn't even remember who I was-"

"He remembers you alright! He literally said I was too late again. He knows who you are."

"Don't give me that hope, I've already deprived myself of life's fun experiences once. I don't want to go down that rabbit hole again."

"Fair enough." She sighed.

"Now the question that matters, are we still friends?" I asked very worriedly.

"Yes we are. We are not letting a man-"

"Especially THAT man." I heard Giada yell in the background.

"Yes him. He's not coming in the way of what we have." She finished her sentence.

"I still don't understand why he broke up with you making it sound like he had an affair going on."

"Oh the way he is, I'm pretty sure he's got something going on." She laughed.

Yikes. Was he really, THAT heartless? He wasn't heartless, in fact he wore it on his sleeve. Maybe that's the problem. Maybe that's why he seemed to be able to move on with matters so quickly, while those around him crumbled completely. His vulnerability was what made him stand out, it's what made him so rare.

"Anyway, take good care of yourself and I'll be back really soon!" I said earnestly.

"You better! I'll be waiting for the manuscript. Bye bye, take care and reach home safely." She ended the call.

I sat quietly, carefully thinking back to everything that happened over this summer. I had to decided if I had really made Monaco mine again, and after much consideration I would say yes.

Yes, Monaco was mine again. Monaco is part of my story, I wasn't going to edit out this bit in the final draft, it was worthy of being right there. One boy with bright eyes that I'll never get to call mine cannot take away this whole place from me.

I couldn't possibly associate this place with just him, my favourite people, some of my happiest memories, the best evenings of my life and all my joy over this period stemmed from this little province.

He may have showed up at the last minute, trying to stay in mind again but I wasn't going to let him win again.