The Heart of Everything

Years ago, when I was still with Max, everything was fine. We were even planning to get married, and we’d runaway if we had to. We didn’t care we had to take any drastic measures, or use any dirty way to make through our way. I thought our love could face any challenge, and survive through all the difficulties, regardless of the situation.

But apparently it was not the case. There was something we lacked.

Trust.

‘Thank you,’ I smiled at Katy as she offered me a mug of chocolate.

‘You’re welcome.’ The blond took a seat beside me, watching me drink her home-made special. I had always liked how she made the chocolate with her unique ingredient. I thought it was magic, but she said it wasn’t. Oh well, someday I’ll discover the secret behind the delicious chocolate.

It was a well-known thing that vampires and werewolves did not mix; they couldn’t co-exist with another race. Yet my relationship with Max had proved it wrong. Wecould live together in harmony, joyously. We couldn’t, yet we were. Every nights, we’d spend time star-gazing, talking about the events happening around us, and thinking about the future.

Our future.

The truth of knowing our love was impossible was harsh; the ice-cold reality struck us hard. The frustration was sense-numbing. I wanted to yell how brutal fate was treating us. It was as if it washed away the colors of life, only black and white left in the world. Dark, gloomy.

The sole option for us was to flee.

I closed my eyes, my mind wandered to my friends, my relatives. After today, I could never see them again. It’d be too dangerous, too risky, for both me and Max and them. I looked at Katy, for it might as well be the last peek.

‘Katy?’

‘Hmm?’ She turned to me, her eyes sparkled with interest.

‘I’ll miss you,’ I muttered, embarrassed.

‘Me too,’ Katy gave me a single-armed hug. ‘You’re like a sister to me.’

‘Yeah,’ I sighed. I would sure miss Katy, and the rest.

Max’s family had been very nice to me and they were supportive for our relationship. I was scared stiff when Max introduced me to his parents and sister. It was a shock that they welcomed me with open-arms. I would’ve introduced Max to my parents, but that only existed in my dreams. In here, they’d kill them without a doubt. But my love for him would never wane, thus, although it torn me apart, I would sacrifice it all.

I could imagine how my friends would scorn me, saying I’m frozen, cold-hearted, and silly, for abandoning the comfort of being a princess while running away with a mutt instead. Leaving them without any explanations…Gosh, sometimes it seemed surreal to me. I almost wished this was a dream, even a lie was fine.

‘Do you think I’m good enough for Max?’ I asked Katy, who stared at me disbelievingly.

‘Of course!’ she practically screamed at me. ‘Or else why would we approve of you, Sophie? Be confident! Have faith in yourself. You’re beautiful, kind, and nice, unlike the vampires that are rumored to be.’

‘Like Dracula, the scary ones?’

‘Exactly,’ Katy nodded, sipping her drink. ‘Especially the ugly ones.’

We giggled at how absurd humans had portrayed the vampires, enjoying the time that we still had. Later on, we wouldn’t be able to joke like now, for we would be far away.

‘Hey, sis.’

Katy and I turned our attention to the doorway, where Max was leaning against the door frame. He smiled lovingly, warming my heart, melting it like butter on a frying pan. I couldn’t help but to return a smile similar to his.

‘I’ll go refill the chocolate,’ Katy announced as she stood up. I handed her my empty mug of chocolate with a slight frown when I saw the wink she sent me. Honestly, that was one of the worst excuse I’d heard. Still, I appreciate the alone time she gave me and Max.

Max took Katy’s place next to me. I rested my head on his shoulder, sighing in content. He kissed my forehead gently, wrapping his arms around me. That moment, I knew everything was worth it.

‘Max, do you think it’s right?’

‘What’s right?’

‘Running away,’ I whispered, tears threatened to spill for my eyes. ‘I can feel their sorrow, their sadness, Max. Father, mother, and my friends… And I know they won’t forgive me if I ever return.’

Max half-sighed half-groaned at my answer. ‘We’ve been through this for a thousand times, Sophie. This is the only way for us to be together safely, and for them to be all right. If we don’t keep our relationship a secret, and let the rest of our people know, there will be chaos,’ Max explained for the countless time. ‘I know it tears you apart to keep them in the dark, but you have to let go, Sophie.’

Placing his hands on my cheek, Max turned my head to him, looking deep into my eyes, reading my soul like no other. ‘You’re worrying how the others will think of you. Don’t. You can’t tell them the reasons, but you do it for them. When the truth is revealed, they’ll know you’re sacrificing for them.’ It sounded like he was telling me the facts, but I knew it was the twisted version of it, his version. Maybe the way he saw it was out of his stubbornness, or the love he had for me.

He lowered his head to my level before placing his lips tenderly on mine, taking away the regret that I had in me. Everything would slip away, but shattered pieces will remain.

Someday, somehow, the memories would fade into emptiness. They would forget, perhaps I would be forgiven then. Only time would tell its tale, if it all had be in vain.
‘I still have a few things I have to do before we leave. Is it alright for you to wait here, or would you like to accompany me?’ Max asked me softly.

I shook my head; I shouldn’t bother him as a burden. He could finish quicker if I wasn’t slowing him down. ‘No, I’ll stay here. Hurry back.’

Max kissed me one more time before walking out of the room just as Katy entered. She handed me the cup of chocolate, which I accepted gladly in the freezing weather. It matched how I was feeling---cold, frozen.

‘You’re not wrong, Sophie,’ Katy began, breaking the silence. She must have eavesdropped on me and Max’s conversation. ‘Seeking after your own happiness is not a wrong thing to do.’

‘But-’

‘There’s nothing else you can do. Max is right. You are sacrificing yourself in a sense, for the sake of your people.’

‘Yet I could have abandoned our love-’ I tried to protest.

‘Yes, you can,’ Katy interrupted me, holding her mug with both hands tightly. ‘But would you was entirely another matter.’

I shut up, knowing I had brought back her memories of her lost lover, Dean. He was a nice guy, from what I had heard from Max, and he was also the fiancé of Katy. I was not sure what exactly happened, but in the end, Katy had to call off their marriage in order to help some other werewolf. It was a double-edged knife, cutting Dean and her with an eternal scar.

Three knocks from the main door broke the awkwardness. Katy placed her mug on the table and walked to the front door without saying anything. I felt guilty for reminding her Dean. I should apologize to her, princess or no princess.
I didn’t know I would never have a chance to do so.