Forget-me-not

Cynthia

The first arrow that hit her heart was filled with denial. There was no way Flora could do that to her. She wouldn't, she couldn't, would she? It was followed by a second arrow filled with betrayal. She trusted Flora to keep her safe, but after this, she was gutted. 

Next came the tsunami wave of sadness. There was so much grief washing over Cynthia. It left every organ soaked and nearly choked her. She struggled to suck in a mouthful of air. That wave only lasted a few seconds and then it receded and came back with something much bigger. Something much stronger and much more sour; a curdled and bitter anger. 

It was the one emotion that Cynthia had never fully felt properly. All of her anger had been watered down by fear and anxiety, but not anymore. Sure, there were times when she was upset and annoyed, but it was never like this. 

"Are you okay?" Flora frowned as she studied Cynthia. Cynthia's fists were curled into her hands. Her nostrils flared and her jaw was clenched. Flora reached out a hand to comfort her, but Cynthia smacked it away with enough force that a loud thwack filled the room. 

Flora's face soured immediately. "What the fuck, Cynthia? What was that for? I just simply told you to get up. It doesn't require you to be a bitch." 

"You did it." 

"What the fuck are you talking about?" 

"The accident! You caused the car accident! You caused the entire thing!" 

Flora's jaw dropped open before her eyes narrowed. She let out a huff and pulled back away from Cynthia. "What the hell are you talking about?" 

"Don't play stupid anymore! I know what you did! The girls who hit me were the same girls who always followed Seungmin and I around. I should have known you had something to do with it, you always hated him." Tears filled her eyes and her voice went shrill. "How dare you! How could you?" 

"I don't know what you're talking about! Stop being so childish! You're putting together things that don't even make sense. What girls are you even talking about?" 

Something inside Cynthia snapped. She shoved herself off the couch and stormed over to the pile of Flora's items. Before Flora could stop her, she grabbed a cardboard box and ripped it open. She shoved her shattered phone aside and grabbed a fistful of newspapers. 

"What am I talking about? What am I talking about?" She flung them towards Flora. Flora watched in horror as the newspaper articles about the crash covered the carpet. "You hid everything!" She grabbed the photos of her and members of the band and scattered them at her feet. "You're a liar!" 

"Y-You don't understand, I had to keep you safe. I-I had to do what was best for you." Tears began to well up in Flora's own eyes. Fear was creeping up her spine. Cynthia was losing it and the facade she put up had crumbled. 

"So you set up a car accident? So you let a group of sasaengs hit me! Some fucking friend you are!" 

"It was just supposed to be a fender bender. It wasn't supposed to get out of hand, but y-you sped up. You sped up and I-I promised to pay them only if they hit you and I-" 

The box dropped from Cynthia's hands and hit the ground. "You...you..." She couldn't find the words to finish her sentence. 

"They took the fall. I promised to triple the payment if they took the fall. I-I did, I paid them, so I don't have to worry about going to prison and I-" 

"Are you hearing yourself? You paid people to cause a wreck! What kind of person does that?" 

"You were spending so much time with Seungmin an-" 

"So your only valid response to that was attempting to kill me?" 

"Stop saying it like that!" Flora tugged her fingers through her hair. The tops of her cheeks were red as tears silently flooded down her cheeks. "I didn't attempt to kill you!" 

"You're right, you didn't have the fucking guts, so you set up other people who are just as sick as you!" 

"I'll make it up to you in Hawaii and we ca-" 

"Fuck you and fuck Hawaii!" Cynthia sent her bare foot flying. It slammed into the almost empty cardboard box and bounced off Flora's shin. She began to storm towards the front door. Angry thoughts buzzed around her brain like locusts. 

"Don't leave! Don't leave me, you can't leave! Cynthia, I-I...I'll kill myself!" 

"Go ahead, the knives are over there." She threw her hand in the direction of the kitchen. Fumbling for the lock, she jerked the door open. Rushing outside, Flora followed her begging for forgiveness. 

"Cynthia, please, I'm so sorry. Please, I'm sorry!" She sobbed. She shot out a hand and gripped Cynthia's wrist. Cynthia shoved her arm away and continued down the hall. 

Flora's wailing got louder. "Don't leave me! You can't leave me! Cynthia, please! You need me, you're injured, and you can't go outs-" 

"Fuck off!" Cynthia yelled. 

There was a loud creak as a nearby apartment door opened. A familiar dark-haired lady peeked her head outside. When she saw Cynthia, she paused with a frown. "Hey, what's going on? Are you alright?" 

The name came to her instantly. It was hard to forget the first woman that she talked to in the complex besides Flora. Hye-soo helped her when the fire alarm went off weeks ago. Cynthia was shocked that she came out of her apartment. 

"I'm fine, Hye-soo. I'm just trying to find my way home. Clearly, someone isn't too happy about it now that I've remembered." 

"You remembered? That's great!" She flashed Cynthia a bright white smile. Cynthia nodded in agreement until it was interrupted by loud footsteps and the sound of Flora's begging. "Go ahead," Hye-soo waved Cynthia down the hallway. "I'll stop her, so you can leave." 

"Thank you." 

"No problem." 

Cynthia picked up her pace into a quick jog. Still in her pajamas, she headed towards the stairs in a rush. There was a yell behind her as Flora screamed at Hye-soo to get off of her. A fist swung and there was another screech, but Cynthia didn't turn around. She grabbed the handle and began taking the stairs two at a time. 

Downstairs, Seungmin, Hyunjin, and Chan just reached the elevator. Chan wasn't impressed while Seungmin and Hyunjin laughed. Chan genuinely thought the two were going to attack Flora. When the elevator opened and he pushed them inside, he began to lecture them about maturity. 

The whole time, Seungmin and Hyunjin were in another world. They didn't care about the lecture, they were just joking around after all. When the elevator dinged, at the floor they needed, Cynthia's bare feet hit the bottom level of the stairs. She didn't have any plans, she just needed to get away, so she left through the front door. 

Upstairs, the elevator doors slid open to reveal the fifth floor hallway and what was revealed was not what they were expecting. They all stood with wide eyes unsure of how to react. Definitely not what they were expecting, not at all.