章節 29: Regret 1 (Gina)

She was exhausted at first from the events of the day. Her heart, however, felt healed when Zeryon called her. Furthermore, she was aware that the man had assured her that he would always be there for her. As if there was a new place to seek refuge.

However, when falling into the worst moments of life, there was one place that was always the final destination. A sanctuary that would always accept her, no matter what. That place was the one she thought was the worst person in the world; her mother.

Staring at the phone with a wavering mind, Gina subconsciously pressed the dial button to her mother's number.

"Hello there, Gina. Is everything all right at home?" Her mother inquired.

Her voice became choked, as if a clump of hair had become lodged in her throat. Her heart was racing with regret, guilt, and fear. She wanted to tell everyone everything, but she couldn't.

"Gina?" Her mother's second call woke her from her deep thoughts.

She cleared her throat and answered, "Yes, mom."

In her mind, she prepared a long series of sentences. Specifically, an acknowledgement and an apology. However, no words of explanation came from her mouth.

She just listened to her mother talk about how well her work was going. She would occasionally say "okay" to let her mother know she was still paying attention.

"Gina, listen. Stay at home and do not leave. As I always say, there are many dark sides to the world that you are unaware of and that can harm you in the future," her mother said.

'I think I'm starting to figure it out, Mom. This world is not as cute as in the novel.' Gina thought to herself. However, she did not utter those words.

"Don't eat late and stay up until midnight staring at your phone's screen. Health is expensive. Prevention is better than cure."

"Okay."

"Are you really listening now? You have to take care of yourself."

Gina started to feel the corner of her eyes warm. The longer it went on, the more humid it became. Tears streamed down her cheeks unknowingly. She felt like she wanted to bury her face in her mother's shoulder.

"Yes, mom. I'm here."

"And remember that you must take good care of your sister. Don't fight with her."

"I will take care of Modesty, Mom. I promise."

"Good. Don't let anything bad happen to her."

"It's not going to happen, mom," Gina answered, doubtfully.

Chastity Blitz had to end the conversation while the job was waiting to be completed. Gina said her goodbyes and hung up the phone.

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Her heart wasn't completely at ease yet, but it was feeling better than it had been.

"Gina, have you told mom?" Modesty rose from her bed and sat beside Gina.

"No," Gina said with a shake of her head. "This will be a difficult conversation to have over the phone. We'll have to wait until Mom returns. We then print everything." Gina paused her speech to let out a long, ill-fated sigh. "She's also at work right now. I don't want her to quit her job and go home because she's worried. It's nearly impossible to find a job that pays well. She's fortunate to have gotten one," she went on.

"Okay. I understand."

"How do you feel right now?"

"It's fine. Especially after eating the pizza you ordered."

"That's good." Gina smiled at her.

Modesty seemed to bite her small lips and then she said, "Gina..."

"Yeah?"

Modesty rushed into her arms and hugged her sister without saying anything. Gina felt completely out of place. It was as if this were a natural occurrence that happened once every hundred years.

"I'm sorry," Modesty said quietly.

"For what?" Gina inquired.

"Because I had doubts about you. If you never considered me a sister."

She suddenly became emotional. She recalled how her parents had treated her unequally in the past. She was enraged, envious, and hurt. Her heart was pierced by the wound.

The corners of her eyes began to wet gradually. She quickly wiped it away. Although the pain was still present, it faded as they began to open up to each other.

Gina raised her hands and hugged Modesty on the back. Her heart began to lighten, after she tried to let go of the past and turn over a new better leaf.

"It's not that I never considered you as a sister. You should know that I love you."

"Aww, I love you too." Modesty raised her head to look at her sister.

"Go take a rest. Tomorrow you will go to school."

Modesty let go of her grip and turned to face her sister, then said, "You are the only one who will go to school. It's still summer vacation for me."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. I'm sorry that you didn't go for vacation."

"Let's go have one then?"

"How? I have to go to school. But where should we go?"

"Anywhere. We can visit the beach, an art show, or your friends' homes. That will be fantastic as long as you are not alone at home."

"All right, we'll go tomorrow as you wish."

"Yeay! Thank you my big sister." Modesty hugged Gina once more before letting go.

"You look like a big girl now, Modesty. Time flies so fast. I still remember how little you were when mom brought you home."Gina rubbed the top of her sister's head.

"Take me home?" Modesty asked.

"Yeah, don't all mothers bring their children home from the hospital?"

"Oh! I thought of something else." Modesty laughed and continued, "Because we look so different, don't you notice?" Modesty lowered her gaze.

"Then what's wrong with that? Not everyone has the same appearance as their siblings. What were you thinking, actually?" Gina frowned at her forehead.

Modesty shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing. Just a child's imagination."

"If there's something you want to say, just say it."

Modesty nodded.

Gina was quite touched by the progress of her relationship with her sister. No more puns, bad calls, or ignoring each other anymore. She really wished this moment would be a good start for her family.