Back Where We Started

Zak’s eyes widened for a split second before he started laughing out loud. Well, it seems like Zak has said whatever it was he wanted to say and was no longer depressed.

“Unlike someone around here, I haven’t been sleeping around…” Zak replied as he shot me a mocking glare.

Guess who is the most well-informed. If he could practically turn up right in front of my hotel room door then leave it to him to know exactly who I slept with. If Zak was jealous, he didn’t openly show it, although his small fit when he greeted me might count a bit as jealously.

“Am I supposed to apologize for that as well?” I asked, sounding a little braver than I felt inside.

“Hell no…because as I told you so many times before…my love means watching and caring for you and being there for you” Zak replied with a repeat of his definition of love that he has chanted to me so many times before throughout the years we’ve been together.

“…not to possess or own you…because I know that is not what is best for you…” I completed his sentence for him. That has always been Zak’s definition of love ever since that incident.

Never to possess or to own.

It was probably what happened to us in the past that made Zak this way. We learnt the hard way, if something was too precious to us, it would be taken away without fail…

…

“I haven’t been here since graduation. This place brings back so many memories…good and bad,” I said as I looked at the vast building where Zak and I used to study. This was where we started our relationship. This was where he changed my life.

“Don’t worry, I’ll only remind you of the good ones,” Zak replied with a charming smile as he locked the car and took my hand in his.

“You did mention to meet at the base but is it really still there?” I asked with wonder.

“Why don’t you see for yourself?” Zak replied as he pulled me after him.

We entered the school gate, and I was instantly overwhelmed by a sense of nostalgia. There were a couple of students walking around dressed in the same uniform that Zak and I once wore. I smiled a little as my mind skimmed through the various experiences I had at this place. Regardless of the pain and sadness I felt back then, this place taught me so many things and most of all, I bonded with Zak here.

I felt Zak give my hand a firm squeeze of support. He must have known that it wasn’t easy for me to return to this place. I smiled and squeezed his hand back signally to him that I was ok.

“Do you still remember the way, I wonder…” Zak teased. As if I would ever forget. However, it’s only been a few years since we’ve graduated, and my memory wasn’t that bad. Honestly.

“Stop teasing me. Let’s go,” I said as I dragged Zak behind me. Zak couldn’t stop laughing almost all the way earning us judgmental stares from those we walked past. Like always, Zak didn’t give a damn about the reaction of strangers.

Finally, we arrived at the hidden door to the base. I paused nervously in front of the door. What if…this room had been repurposed and used for something else already. We haven’t been here for years, after all. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. Realistically, that scenario was highly probable, but I wasn’t sure how badly hurt I would feel to see the base gone with my own eyes.

“What are you getting all scared for?” Zak mocked me with a small laugh as he unlocked and pushed open the door so casually as if we were back in our school days.

Sensing my hesitation, Zak pulled me by the hand, jerking me into the room with him.

“Oh…wow…” I exclaimed in pure amazement as I looked around the room.

Nothing has changed. At all.

The base was exactly like how we had left it. Everything that was in the room back then was still there.

The bunk bed, the table and chair, the rubbish bin, all the books and all of Zak’s games. Even the beer, everything was really still there.

“…but how?” I asked softly as if I was speaking to myself. I ran my fingertips along the tabletop. It was sparkling clean without a speck of dust.

“Who do you think is the top benefactor of this school?” Zak asked with a proud smile.

“Your mother…” I replied flatly. I didn’t need to mention that I did not have any fond memories of her.

“She was when we were still in school,” Zak replied as he shook his head slowly from side to side.

“You mean she isn’t the biggest benefactor right now?” I asked confused.

“Right. Because I am,” Zak said with a bewitching smile.

“Don’t tell me…” I started saying as Zak nodded in anticipation of what I was going to say.

These rich boys really do like to spend on the most ridiculous things. Being rich really changes how they handle the world. It was not based on pure luck that Zak got his hands on this hidden room in the first place. When your mother basically funded the school, clearly you could get away with doing a lot of things. Couple his mother’s money with Zak’s looks and raw talent and we get Prince Zak.

But to keep funding the school just to maintain this room is a little bit much. Then again, I didn’t know how much Zak was worth now with the inheritance from his father after he passed away, his share in the Rosenhall’s family business and the cash he’s raked in from his movies and fashion projects.

All in all, he must be worth a lot, I thought to myself after my brain calculator had finished assessing his assets and sources of wealth. I wondered if my eyes were like dollar signs when I was computing his net worth. Not that it mattered, I’ve learnt and am still learning how having too much money could lead to an excruciatingly painful and complicated life.

--To be continued...