Forget-me-not

Seungmin

She didn't utter a word and it was starting to become concerning. After the cop cleared the pair to leave, Cynthia seemed to shut down. There were silent tears slipping down her cheeks. Seungmin didn't know what she had experienced and he didn't know how to console her hurt.

The words he wanted to say, he couldn't get them out. They all froze on his tongue and slipped away. While walking to the car, he finally gained the courage. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"It's gone," she hoarsely whispered.

"What?"

"My money. She spent it all trying to move us to Hawaii. My parents' inheritance, it's gone. All of it, everything, it's gone. I'm broke and I have no money."

His breath caught in his throat. Cynthia's parents had both been well to do and they each had a life insurance policy. They taught Cynthia to be financially responsible and smart. It was something that Cynthia had been so careful about.

It was one of the reasons that she was able to get the flower shop job. Sure, it didn't pay a ton, but she loved it and had money to fall back on. She didn't brag about her financial status. If she did things right and was careful enough, she could have used that money to carry her for the rest of her life.

Her father had tampered with businesses and played with investing. Throughout his career, he knew where to put money to make it work in his favor. How could all of that be gone? How could Flora heartlessly do that to Cynthia?

She swallowed the lump in her throat and sniffled. "You might as well throw me on the streets. I'm useless to you. I can't pay rent or help with groceries. I can't even buy you convenience store ramen. I can't," her voice wavered, "do anything without money."

"Why would I ever do that?" He managed to get out.

"Why not? Flora threatened me with it all the time. Maybe you should just give up and let me fall victim to the outdoor elements. You're just wasting your time with me, it's pointless."

He watched her continue walking to the car. A tumultuous rage began to brew. He wasn't mad at Cynthia, he was mad because Flora had absolutely destroyed her. With bloodshot eyes, Cynthia attempted to open the passenger door, but it was locked. This wasn't who Cynthia was supposed to be. She wasn't supposed to be so broken and fragile. This wasn't how it was supposed to go.

Cynthia tried the door again, but it remained locked. In a fit of blind fury, she reached out and slammed her palm up against the side of the door. Seungmin blinked in shock at the realization that her temper was rising. Cynthia had always been good at controlling her temper. What happened? What had Flora done?

She slammed her hand against the glass window and yelled obscenities at the stupid door. All Seungmin had to do was hit the unlock button, but he was too distracted by Cynthia's actions. When the door didn't open, she struck the glass with her fist. Ignoring the throbbing bite of pain, she leaned her forehead up against the cool glass.

Sniffles and hiccups fell out of her mouth. Her shoulders shook as she attempted to hold back sobs. Everything was falling out of control and there was nothing she could do to fix it. She couldn't save herself and it was killing her. She didn't know how to climb out of the darkened pit that Flora had thrown her down.

Seungmin pulled out his phone and quickly sent a text to Hyunjin, asking if he could come pick them up from the police station. He had his car right there and he could have driven them home himself, but Cynthia was in need of some desperate comfort. He couldn't drive and comfort her at the same time.

After he put his phone back into his pocket, he began to slowly approach Cynthia from behind. She heard the crunching gravel beneath his footsteps, but she didn't respond. Her heavy breathing was fogging up the panel of glass.

"What makes you so sure that I'll throw you out?"

"I'm useless to you."

"You are the exact opposite of useless to me. I love you too much to let you go. I'd never throw you out just because you're not financially stable right now. I trust you and I know you'll get there again."

"Maybe you shouldn't trust me. I'm nothing to you besides a burden. I'm a problem and look at me." She spun around to face him. The tops of her cheeks were red. The bloodshot eyes were dewy from tears. "Why do you keep doing this? Why do you keep trying to comfort me every time I break down?"

"Do you expect me to stand by and let you suffer alone? I'm your boyfriend and I love you. How could I-"

"You shouldn't!" Cynthia's voice went shrill. "You shouldn't have anything to do with me because you'd be so much better without me. No stupid doctors appointments and no occupational therapy appointments. No fancy dates and maybe I should just die!" She threw her hands up.

Seungmin's eyes widened in shock as her words hung frozen in the air. Out of all of the things he was expecting her to say, that was never one of them. That was something he had never expected to come out of her mouth. Ever.

"Maybe I should just die, so-"

Seungmin marched forward and before Cynthia could react, he grabbed her chin. It was rougher than he attended and she flinched. She took a step back and her back pressed into the car door behind her. A small squeak escaped her throat.

"Don't you ever say something like that ever again. I don't know what Flora did while you lived with her. I don't know how much she hurt you, but for those words to leave your mouth, it must have been a lot. I will not abandon you no matter how broken you are. I won't give up on you."

"Even the most damaged people deserved to be loved," he continued. "You have no idea how much you helped me while we were dating. From self-confidence to self-love, you have always managed to lift me up in about a thousand different ways."

"You have lost your mind if you think that I'm not going to return the favor. Some people say people in love become weak and vulnerable. Too blinded by love, their view of reality becomes hazy. I think the opposite is true. I think it helps us see the world better."

"I will not turn my back on you and I will not give up on you. You could be in the hospital with every bone broken and I'd be right there. Do you want the truth, Cynthia? When your accident first happened, I wasn't there when you woke up because I believed I was the cause of it. Being away from you nearly killed me. It was the worst thing I ever felt in my entire life."

"And I promised myself that after this, I'd never do it again. I'd never turn my back on you no matter what. I'd never let go of you. I wouldn't abandon you like that again. I'm not in your brain, but I can tell you that I love you and so do the guys. I wish you could remember how much you mean to them."

"You can hate yourself as much as you want. You can cry and you can scream, but I won't leave you again. You can hate me as much as you please. I won't leave you when you're like this. I will be here as much as I can because that's what you do when you're in love. I will fight for you until my dying breath."

"Because that's what you do when you're in love."

It was something he always said. There was sincerity in his liquid earth eyes. Every glance was like being wrapped in a hug by the earth. There was warmth there and there was love. There was a home in that heart of his. Cynthia hated how much he cared about her, it made her feel guilty. There was nothing she could give back that would help him out.

When her bottom lip trembled, he tugged her into his arms. "It's okay, I've got you. You can let it all out. I'm not going anywhere. Just try to breathe for me. That's the bravest thing you can do right now."

She buried her face in the warmth of his chest before she could burst into sobs again.