Fan Fiction |
by Jenny Tran
While their friendship grew by each day he came to visit her, Jason was still trying to drag out Liz’s location from Nancy. Unfortunately for him, she wouldn’t budge. After four months, he was on his last patience “Nancy, I am begging you…for the last time.”
Nancy sighed as she pulled out a letter from her purse “You leave me no choice.” She handed it to him.
Thinking that it was a letter from Liz, he quickly ripped it open as he skimmed through it. His brows furrowed slowly as he came to realize it was her resignation letter. “But why?” he looked at her earnestly.
She sighed “I’m sorry Jason, I know I shouldn’t leave you like this, but I just can’t take anymore questioning. I’m afraid of hurting Lizzie, we both know how stubborn she can be. Once she said she did not want to see you again, she really meant it. I’m just worried that if I keep staying here, I will falter and tell you her location. I don’t want to lose her as a friend. I know you will understand.”
Jason rubbed his face as he ran his fingers through his grown hair. It looked like a mop by now and his beard and mustache gave him years into his life. “I know…I’m sorry to have pestered you but I really want to see her. God, its like you don’t know what you’ve lost until it’s gone. That saying is so true and I really don’t know what I’d do without her. Every day I come home with a feeling of emptiness like something is just missing. When she left, she took a part of me too…”
The words gave her chills, but not because they were corny but because they came from Jason. The guy that never cried, the guy that was so nonchalant about everything and the same guy that pushed his girlfriend away. Just from that thought, Nancy knew that her decision to leave was right “Everyone has to live with the consequences of their words and action. You had your chance Jason.” Suddenly her words were like a slap in the face to him. “If you knew today was coming, why did you say it back then?” She collected her stuff as she got up and left him to cry in his own misery. “Bye Jason.”
************
Liz was staying at a temporary apartment that Chris had found for her while she continued to look for a house to buy. She had saved up enough money for a deposit yet she was still looking for the perfect house.
She was cooking her own dinner one night when she felt a pang of pain in her abdomen. She dropped the plate with a clunk as she clutched her stomach. Leaning on the counter as she pushed herself to walk out of the kitchen. Chris had dropped by to fix the light in her tiny broken down apartment when he saw the staggering Liz. He quickly dropped the tools as he rushed over to her “Lizzie, what’s wrong?”
She was in too much pain to talk as she pointed to the baby “Its..coming…”
Chris was quick to reach as he grabbed her ready luggage in the room and rushed her out the door. She was in labor for about 10 hours before the tiny baby girl dared to emerge. She was faint by the time they reeled her out of the delivery room. Chris was understanding when she asked him to wait outside even though the doctors said he should stay for support. He was a good friend of hers, but she still felt strange about him being next to her while she went in labor. She couldn’t help the nagging feeling she had during the labor, she wanted someone else by her side, someone that she knew could never be there.
Liz hadn’t thought about Jason for so many months and it wasn’t until the moment her girl was born that she wanted more than ever to see him. She quickly shook the feeling away as she fell asleep from exhaustion. She named her little girl Catrina, she would later call her Trina.
Lucky for Liz she was in good health after having the baby so the doctors released her sooner. She was home within a week and Chris was constantly by her side to help her with everything. It came to the point where she felt uncomfortable “It’s okay Chris, I’m going to move anyways, you don’t have to fix that.” She found herself saying that more often as he always dropped by to fix something. Yet she didn’t realize that it was because he wanted to see her.
She kept her past life secretive and he knew whatever the reason for her to leave her home must have been heart wrenching. “I found a house near the rural area of Shanghai. I don’t know if you want to see it…” he said during one of their quiet dinners.
Liz looked up with a huge grin from the first time in months “Really? Sure, I want to see it.” She said eagerly. “Let’s go tomorrow!”
He laughed at her excitement “Wooh…not that fast Miss Speedy. You need to rest first. Plus the baby can’t be traveling around like that after two weeks.”
Liz nodded “It’s okay, she’s a strong baby. I really want to see the house.”
Chris couldn’t say no to her as she was too ecstatic “Okay, I’ll set up a date with the owner.”
“Thank you so much Chris, you’ve done too much for me.” She said sincerely.
He smiled “What are friends for right?”
“Apparently this friend is good for nothing. I haven’t done anything for you.” She felt bad and almost guilty for she knew he liked her yet he never came out to say it, her instincts told her he was interested.
“You don’t consider me a friend if you think everything has to be fair.” He scolded “I help you and maybe one day you’ll help me in return. It’s a non ending cycle.”
She shook her head “It’s a wonder why you don’t have a girlfriend.”
He shrugged carelessly “I don’t need one.”
************
The next morning, Chris called with good news, he had set up a date with the owner of the home for Liz to meet with. She immediately fell in love with the quiet surroundings as Chris drove to the hidden house. The road to the woods was treacherous as she peeked out her passenger door and found a cliff on the edge of the road. It was scary to even imagine a car rolling off the edge.
They drove another mile before they reached the little three bedroom home. Of course, she found no need to have that many rooms but the house was small in itself. The outside looked plain as can be, the color of beige and brown. There were weeds growing on the edge and she knew it would take a lot of time to fix it up. But one look inside and she knew the home was calling out to her. The floors were all wooden and there was a huge fireplace where she could already imagine lighting up in the winter to keep warm.
She was lost in her own thoughts had it not been for the stirring of little Trina in her arms. “This place is beautiful.” She gushed.
“You’ll love the rooms.” The owner, a middle aged man said as he led her to see the rooms. He was right, each room had it’s own special design. It was plain yet that was why Liz loved it so much.
“You really want this house?” Chris asked a bit uneasy.
She seemed to have sensed it “What’s wrong with it?”
He glanced at the owner and pulled her aside “It’s really far from the city. At least 15 miles before you reach the city to get food. And you saw the cliff, I just imagine the horror of little Trina running outside to play and falling off.”
Liz knew he meant well as she shook her head “Don’t worry, I won’t ever let that happen. Plus it’s about a mile away. I have a car you know. And I saw a hospital not a mile away. I can work there.”
He was more worried about the fact that she would have to raise the child alone with no father. He grew up with his mother while his dad left him at an early age so he knew it was torture not to have a dad around. “I’m just a little worried about you. Its gonna take all day just to drive in here after work.”
She raised her eyebrows “You’re going to drive here everyday after work? Chris don’t change your life because of me. Just work around it. We’ll see each other on the weekends.” After she said that, a quick flashback snapped in her head. She remembered the days when Jason and herself only saw each other on the weekends. At that moment, she came to realize that there were things that she could not forget. Only the pain of his reaction lingered in her mind.
The owner of the house walked over to them with an apologetic look “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on your conversation, but I couldn’t help it. You know there is a police station nearby. Maybe about a mile and half away. Because all these homes are very scattered from each other, the station is in the middle of this rural area. So no matter what home you chose around here, it will still be close to the police station. At least that will keep her safe. Plus the lieutenant can find a job there.”
Chris looked at the man with amusement “You know me?”
The elder man smiled “I’ve seen you in the city. Plus our mutual friend that introduced you to me couldn’t help but tell me some details.” He had a twinkle in his eye as he turned to Liz “So you are interested in the home? I would much rather sell it to you since I sense that you truly like this home.”
Liz smiled sincerely “Yes, I do love it.”
With her last words, the deal was done. They signed the contract and she bought her first home. For the next few days, Chris was there every minute to help her settle in. Liz found a job at the hospital nearby, seems like they were eager to hire her since there were not enough nurses. Chris too was welcomed at the station, even the records of the rural city was very low. The crime rate was at 1% due to the amount of people living in the city. Which gave him peace of mind to know that Liz would be safe.
************
In Hong Kong, Jason tried non-stop to look for Liz. He knew that if he tried to ask Nancy, it would only put her in a hard situation. He had a few connections in the police department that helped him search for her. But it was almost useless, it was as if she had used a different name? Or maybe it was by luck that he would never find her?