GOING HOME
GOING HOME
Now that she realized everything, pieces came into place and she remembered she didn't even hear her own voice last night. The thing she heard were her thoughts but not her loud yells and screams.
With this realization in mind, she pulled out her phone from the drawer and raised the volume to the highest level. She picked up a song after song but she couldn't hear them. She turned on the faucet but she couldn't hear the sound of the running water. She opened the window in her room and closed it loudly but there wasn't any noise that she could hear. It was awfully quiet and she was losing her mind.
"Ahhhh!" Winter screamed and threw her phone on the ground. "This can't be! How could this be?!" she mumbled to herself, curling her body on the floor in one of the corners in her room. She can't hear her own voice. "I can't hear anymore."
She can see Valkyrie standing in front of her, mumbling something that she couldn't understand. Her tears fell on the cold floor without any signs of stopping. 'Why am I so unlucky?! Why?! I just want to love?! I just want to get him back?! I just want to start over?! Why is this happening to me?!'
She was kidnapped accidentally with Travis when she was young. She lost her memory of the person that she should have loved from the start. She fell in love with a jerk! She had her heart broken from treachery of her best friend and fiance. She refused to remember her past. Now that she did, the person gave up on her, faked his death and refused to come with her. She fell on the cliff-side, almost meeting with the angel of death. She fell in the river, mocked with the person she loved himself. Then, she lost her sense of hearing.
Valkyrie was at a loss for words. Gabriel came in behind him with surprise in his face. "What happened here?"
"I don't know. She's saying that she can't hear anymore."
Gabriel was dumbstruck with this news. Last night, he mocked her again and again but she said that he was just mumbling in front of her. He even said hurtful words at her. Gabriel didn't know if he should be thankful or sad about this. She didn't hear anything that he said.
Winter kept crying in the corner of her room. The valiant, beautiful and strong Lieutenant Colonel couldn't be seen anymore. What they got in front of them was a weak and miserable Winter Avery.
"I want to go home. I want to leave this place now. Val, let's go home." Winter begged with her tears gathering like a puddle on the floor.
Gabriel's throat constricted from the mixed emotions he felt for her. His conscience was telling him that he was at fault. If he didn't push her away, she wouldn't fall on the cliff, she wouldn't be wounded and she wouldn't be in this misery. He remembered Valkyrie's words. All that happened to Winter now, it all all started after he took the mission in Pantar and faked his death.
Valkyrie approached Winter and pulled her up. "Let's go home." Even though Winter made him keep his hands off from Brown before, he knew that she did it out of concern for Brown. She was so kind that she didn't want Brown to experience the pain she went through. Valkyrie really pitied her at this point. She was so unlucky!
"Can I come.. home with you?" Gabriel asked Valkyrie, gulping down the emotions that blocked his throat.
Valkyrie just nodded his head. He carried Winter on his back and walked out of the room. "I'm sorry for causing this mess but we have to go now. Thank you for your hospitality."
He didn't wait for their response and left. "Take this as compensation and payment to repair any damage." Gabriel handed them a bunch of money without counting it. They were so shocked that they reacted late.
"No Gabriel. We don't need this." The village chief hurried to follow him but Gabriel just smiled at him.
Mattias who heard about the commotion came and found him on his wheelchair as he tried to make it back to his house. "What happened?" He asked Gabriel and helped him push his wheelchair.
"It's a long story. I don't have time to explain either. I will be going back with them Mattias. I'm leaving the children to your care. Annie will be a good tutor to them as well. She can have my laptop from now on. Let her manage whatever supplies left in my house."
"I'm glad you are finally willing to get back what you deserve. Don't worry about us here, we will protect what we have."
"I trust you to do that. Anyway, I need your help one last time. I need you to drive us back to the city."
"No problem."
Valkyrie waited for them with Winter behind him, still weeping silently at her current condition. "How can you be this unlucky?" He murmured to himself while watching Gabriel and Mattias come to them.
When Winter saw them, she felt another pang in her heart. "Why are you here? You don't have to send us yourself. We can manage on our own." She said this towards Gabriel.
Her loud voice made Valkyrie covered his ears since he was the one closest to her.
There's no point in responding to her since she couldn't hear him anyway, thus Gabriel stayed silent.
Valkyrie didn't say anything either and just helped her get into the car that Mattias will be using. Gabriel sat on the back seat with her while Valkyrie sat on the front seat together with Mattias.
"Where are we going?" Mattias asked Valkyrie.
"Send us directly to the airport. We're going home now."
Mattias just nodded his head and drove the car. The ride was so silent with only Winter's soft hiccups and sniffs can be heard. She didn't even look towards Gabriel, not a stolen glance during the whole time.