Chapter 13 - Chapter 13

The days passed, and we returned to school. Yumiko left, and went home, and as the others all began to concentrate on their schoolwork, I began to concentrate more on my riding. I started off by training myself, and then I found a professional to come and help me. She was amazing, and had me training constantly, I would ride in the morning before school, and again afterwards. I had so little time to do other things, and would often find myself asleep in lessons.



One night, after a particularly hard lesson, in which I had been improving my position when sitting to the trot, in the rain, I practically collapsed into bed. I was just dozing off to sleep, when the phone began me began to ring. I felt for it, and answered lifting it to my ear. “Hello?” I whispered into the headpiece.



“Hi, Ana, its Honda.”



“Oh, hi.” I settled back onto the pillow. “How are you?”



“Yeah, I wasn't sure if you'd remember how I was, `cause you haven't seen me for ages.”



“What do you mean? I saw you at school today!”



“You did? I don't remember. I don't remember the last time I saw you, actually. I though we were going out?”



“We are!”



“We are? So when was the last time we went out? I think it was your birthday!”



“Don't shout at me. Please. I'm sorry. I hadn't realised.”



“WELL IT ISNT GOOD ENOUGH.” He stopped, and then spoke again, quieter now. “Ana, I really love you. Well, I did. But I don't think this can work out. I'm not sure you like me anymore. So, well. I'm gonna call it off. I'm sorry. But it's over.”



I heard the click of the receiver, and the line went dead. I was so shocked. I didn't understand. And then it hit me, like a ton of bricks. He. Had. Dumped. Me.



But I had loved him. So why? I was so confused.



Without realising it, I dialled Kaede's number, and was shocked when her grandfather answered. “Hello? This is the Mishua residence.”



“Hello, is Kaede there please?”



“No, I'm afraid she isn't. She is at The Kaiba mansion at the moment, I am afraid.”



“Oh, ok. Thank you.” I hung up, and thought about what to do. It was late, and rude to call at such and hour, but I needed to speak to a friend. So I phoned the Kaiba mansion, and a servant answered.



“Hello, is Miss Mishua there please?”



“I am afraid she is busy at the moment, may I take a message?”



“I need to talk to her. It is urgent. Please. Tell her it is Ana,” I begged the servant, and tears sprung to my eyes. Whilst he went to find her, they fell slowly down my cheeks, and landed on my covers. Then I heard another voice, and this time it was Kaede. She sounded angry.



“What do you want, Ana?”



I burst into louder tears, and she sounded shocked.



“What's wrong?”



“Honda…” was all I could utter.



“What about him?”



“He…he…he just dumped me.”



The tears consumed my body, and I gave way to them, letting them fill me.



“WHAT? Why?”



“Because I haven't been spending enough time with him. Because I have been too busy. And I'm so sorry. And I loved him, and he said he doesn't love me anymore, and it's all so sad.”



Kaede did the little she could to comfort me, over the phone, but then she had to go, and I was left, all alone. So I did my best to sleep, and I cried the whole night lone.



I didn't go to my training session the next morning, and at school everyone was ignoring me, because I had been so busy, and had no time for them. My eyes were all puffed up, and I was finding it hard to concentrate.



I ate nothing at lunch, and after school again skipped my riding. I ate no dinner, and spent the evening locked in my room. And so the days went on. I ate and drunk little. I slept little. I did no work. I spoke to no one.



And then my riding instructor called, and said that she was going to give up if I didn't turn up soon. So I told her to give up. She refused, and when Marc told her why I was so upset, she laughed. “Is that all?” she had said.



Then the school asked to see Marc, about my schoolwork. They told him it was getting progressively worse. I, who had always been the bright student, was now not working. I was flunking science and maths, and making little effort in music and my other classes.



My friends weren't talking to me, and so when the next day came, I simply didn't go to school. I just didn't feel like it. I skipped school for a week, spending my time crying. I was wasting away, and Marc had told me, that at this rate, I would be dead within the year. He had forcibly driven me to school the next week, and accompanied me the classroom. My friends were shocked by my emaciated form, and tried to talk to me, but I was a shadow of myself.



So they tried to talk to Honda about it, that lunchtime. He got mad, and was shouting at them all, asking how it was his fault. He was right, it was my entire fault. My fault for forgetting my friends. He was so mad, and he got so angry with me when I said that, and even more angry with the tears that were falling from my eyes. He looked about to hit me, and I willed it to come. Any pain would be better than this one.



But he was stopped, by himself, and just as I flinched, he lowered his arm. The pain in his eyes as great as what I felt.



“I'm so, so sorry,” I sighed. “I never meant for it to be like this.”



He looked at me, softly, “Marc spoke to me the other day, and he said how you were acting. It made me so angry, that you were treating yourself like this. And it made me feel so bad, for how I had behaved. He told me about your trainer, and how you had missed so many sessions. He said that you had potential, and might have become an international rider, bur not anymore. He said that if you didn't come out of this, then it would all be over for you.”



I cried even harder, wanting all the pain to finally end. I closed my eyes, and laid my head on the desk, wallowing in my depression. I didn't realise that the others had left the room, and that it was just Honda and I. He crouched down by my desk, and lifted my head, holding my chin, and looking me in the eyes. He lifted his hand, and wiped away a tear. “I never stopped loving you, after we broke up. I tried to, but I couldn't bring myself to. I saw how much I was hurting you, and for a minute I enjoyed it. But then I stopped wanting to hurt you, and I just wanted to protect you again. I wanted you again. I'm sorry.”



I looked at him, and tried to stop the tears, but couldn't. And then he began to cry as well. The next thing I knew, he had stood up, and pulled me up too, into his arms. And he held me there, not letting me go, not ever letting me go.



“Will you teach me to ride?” he spoke softly into my hair.



I smiled, “I thought you'd never ask.”

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