The Winter Rollercoaster

Part Ten : Tables 'Turned'

Anthony sat on his bed; Megharleen's voice sounded to him.
It was her voice and he was reminded once more about her kind nature, which did nothing to improve his condition. Instead it made him guiltier.
I owe her an apology. How do I do it ? What do I say ?
Anthony tried to think of various ways to apologise to her but nothing he thought of seemed to be good to him.
Finally, it hit him ...
Apologise to her in person. That would be much braver.
Anthony fist punched the air. Excited, he jumped off the bed only to sit down again.
How on earth will I ask her to get out ?
The answer came quickly ...
Meet her near her house. That's it ! I'll go there and then call her !
Anthony sprang up again and rushed downstairs, only to run into his mother who expressed her utter disappointment with his late night outings.
'Mom, forgive me.', he pecked her on the cheek.
'How many times ?', she sighed, exasperated.
'As many times as you can.', he returned, grinning.
'Hmm. I'll see to that.', she returned dryly.
'Okay. Mom, I'm off.'
With that, Anthony ran out the open door, onto and down the pavement. The wind in his hair, Anthony broke into a graceful run, making his way to the main street in the hopes of catching a cab or a bus from the main street. Megharleen lived in Brooklyn Gardens, and it was a forty five minute drive from his place. He hoped to get there as soon as possible and call her out somehow.
Fortunately, Anthony caught a bus and managed to get to the stop opposite Brooklyn Gardens. (The whole time he had travelled was used up in thinking of how to apologise to Megharleen.)
Anthony got off at the stop and made his way inside Brooklyn Gardens. It was a beautiful area - huge green lawns, trees, flowers, squirrels and rabbits. It was a serene place, and something told Anthony that Megharleen was drunk with the beauty of Brooklyn Gardens.
Anthony made his way to the fifth street, careful not to attract attention to himself. At last, he saw a board which displayed the words : 'Welcome to Lily Road.' In brackets below it, it read : (The 5th Road).
Anthony's heart gave a leap in joy.
She's near. I'm getting closer with passing each minute !
Excited, Anthony walked faster, his heart pounding wildly against his chest, excited at the prospect of seeing her.
Within fifteen minutes, he reached her lane and he saw another board, the sight of which tied his stomach into knots.
The board read : Houses no. 118 - 128
So close ...
Megharleen lives in House no. 124.
Anthony slowed down, afraid that if he got anymore excited, he would attract attention, especially from her neighbours. He casually made his way to her house and nearly stopped dead on the sight of the boy standing the car in front of House no. 124.
He was tall and thin with black messy hair. Even though Anthony was not close enough to make out the colour of his eyes, he could feel the gaze of the boy's eyes on him.
Shivers ran down Anthony's spine as he realized who the boy was.
Valentin Johansson !
Ohh man, he's gonna screw me if he finds out I'm in love with his sister !
Anthony forced himself to walk further even though parts of him resisted. He would set it straight. He would tell and confess. He had to. It was the very least he could do for Megharleen.
Valentin looked up to see Anthony in front of him. Even though he had never seen Anthony before, he somehow recognised him as the boy his little sister had fallen for.
Anthony smiled weakly at Valentin, who refused to return the smile. Instead he snapped.
'What do you want ?'
'I wish to speak to Megharleen.'
'You cannot.'
'Please. I have to.'
'Well, mate, I said you can't, didn't you hear me ?'
'I heard you. I just want to clear what happened last night.'
Valentin raised his eyebrows in response. Anthony felt afraid; he had not felt afraid for a while now but the sight of Valentin glaring at him made him take a step back.
'What happened last night ?'
Valentin's voice was a deadly whisper.
'It was something unintentional. I swear.' came Anthony's quick reply.
'What was it ?'
Anthony hesitated, but he answered.
'We were drunk last night and one of my friends rang her up and -'
The rest of the sentence was not heard. Valentin, furious grabbed Anthony by the collar of his shirt and pushed him against the wall. Anthony did not resist. He felt it deserved it.
He looked at Valentin straight in the eye.
'If you hurt her, I swear to God, I'll make your murder look like suicide.'
Anthony flinched.
'You heard me ?'
'Yes.'
'Valentin ? What're you doing ?'
Valentin and Anthony looked up to see Megharleen standing in front of them, a terrified expression on her face.
Valentin slowly loosened his grip on Anthony's collar and whispered angrily.
'Alright, talk to her if you want. But remember my words.'
Valentin let go of Anthony and walked past Megharleen, carefully looking over his shoulder to study their reactions. Anthony looked embarrassed and Megharleen was at loss for words.
Anthony stepped towards Megharleen, who smiled hesitantly at him.
'Hi.'
'Megharleen, we need to talk.'
'Talk ? Now ? Why ?'
'I need to set something straight.'
Megharleen giggled. And suddenly Anthony felt annoyed and happy at the same time.
'What ?', he demanded, pretending to be annoyed.
'What are you planning to straighten up ?'
'Ohh c'mon. We need to talk. Where can we ?'
'Right this way.'
Gesturing with her hand, Megharleen showed a bench in the distance, at the playground near the board which displayed the house numbers.
'Alright then.'
Quietly, without any further words, the pair made their way towards the playground.