Chapter 8 No Medicine for Regret
After that day, I packed up and returned to my hometown.
It was just before the holidays. Sure enough, the reunion invites started rolling in. Old classmates found out I was back and wanted to catch up. As a result, I ended up bouncing
from one gathering to the next for a few days straight.
It was during the last of those gatherings that things took an unexpected turn.
I showed up about 30 minutes late, and heard my name just as I was reaching for the private room’s door. Well, not my name, exactly. Hers.
“Claire! You and Zach used to be joined at the hip, weren’t you? You two grew up together and everything. Why haven’t you gotten married yet?”
“Yeah, we all thought for sure you guys would tie the knot right after college!”
My hand froze on the doorknob.
Inside, there was a pause. Then, Claire’s voice, soft and hesitant, came. “We’re close. It’s
happening soon.”
That set off a round of whoops and teasing from the group.
I let
go of the doorknob and turned around. No way was I walking into that.
Alas, the door swung open right then. It was our old class president. Same wide grin, same
unfiltered enthusiasm.
“Zach! Man, perfect timing. We were just talking about you. Claire’s here, too—your
childhood sweetheart!”
“Yeah, not really interested,” I said, already stepping away. “I’ve got something to take care of. See you”
Then, I spun on my heel and left without a second thought. I didn’t even wait for a reaction.
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Once I was outside the hotel, I heard footsteps pounding behind me. I ducked into a narrow side alley just in time. Claire ran right past, still calling my name like a broken record.
“Zach! Come on, stop hiding from me! You’ve been avoiding me for three months! Why won’t you even look at me? Zach, please!”
And then… slam.
She mistook someone for me. Some poor guy who happened to be wearing a shirt the same color as mine. She ran straight up to him and threw her arms around his shoulders.
The guy reeled back, startled, before slapping her right across the face. Hard.
A small crowd started to form, murmuring about her harassment.
I watched from the shadows, utterly silent.
When the chaos was in full swing, I stepped out and strolled away, hands in my pockets, not looking back.
Claire spotted me as I left.
“Zach, don’t go! Wait!”
She tried to follow, but the crowd held her back. She failed to get through the throng of
people.
What happened to her after that? I had no idea. I really didn’t care enough to find out.
Later that night, my mom gave me grief about how I had been out every night since coming home. “You haven’t even had one proper dinner with me since you got back!” she chided.
So, I gave her a hug and promised I would stay in for dinner the next day.
The next evening, I noticed an extra place setting on the table.
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I frowned. “Mom, why the extra plate?”
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“Oh,” Mom said casually, “Claire’s mom said Claire’s back in town. It’s been a while since
we’ve seen her, so I invited her over. I figured we could check on her, see how she’s doing.”
My smile vanished. I barely touched my food before muttering that I was full and ducked
out of the house.
Sadly, I didn’t even make it past the neighborhood gate before I ran into Claire.
I ducked into the garden behind the building, hoping to avoid a confrontation.
Instead, I got front–row seats to a soap opera.
Claire and Leo were arguing near the path. Leo caught up to her, panting, and grabbed her
arm.
“Claire, why are you ignoring me? Is it because of Zach? You can’t be serious. After everything you did to him, do you think he’d ever forgive you?”
Her face twisted into something almost unrecognizable, her eyes wide and furious. “Shut up! Say a word, and I swear I’ll make you regret it!
Leo didn’t even flinch. He laughed, a sharp, bitter sound.
“Oh, now you’re scared? That’s rich. You weren’t scared when you were moaning on top of me, remember? Now you want your childhood sweetheart back? Claire, it’s too late. Zach knows everything. Why do you think he cut you off and vanished?”
Claire slapped him. She didn’t hold back at all. In fact, she sent him sprawling to the
ground.
Leo shot back up, grabbing at her shirt, and the two of them practically started wrestling.
I stayed hidden, watching the trainwreck like it was a prime–time drama.
Eventually, a few passersby intervened and pulled them apart. Claire was muttering nonsense under her breath, hair messy, clothes twisted. However, she still refused to leave
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the residential area. Instead, she straightened herself up, grabbed a gift box, and stormed
toward my house.
From then on, I kept close tabs on her movements. I didn’t do it because of care, but because I wanted to avoid her. If she showed up somewhere, I always made damned sure I
wasn’t there.
…
It was the same even on Christmas Eve. When I learned that Claire would be coming by early with greetings, I faked an excuse and slipped out. I didn’t care what day it was or what festivities were to be had then. I counted any failed meeting between us as a win as long as I
didn’t have to see her.
My mom told me later that Claire cried her eyes out. She said Claire apologized over and over, saying that she regretted everything. Apparently, Claire even swore she would never bother me again.
I scoffed before telling my mom not to worry about it.
Once the holidays were over, I gave up my old apartment and moved somewhere new. I
wanted a fresh start.
I ran into Mrs. Fisher at the train station the day I left town.
It had been a while. She looked older, tired even. There was more gray in her hair than I
remembered.
She didn’t say much. It was likely that she already knew everything, thanks to Claire.
She just reached up, touched my forehead gently, and murmured kindly, “It’s Claire who lost out. You did the right thing, Zach.”
For once, I didn’t have any words. So, all I did was nod and reply, “Take care of yourself.”
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I never asked about Claire again. I didn’t want to know anything about her.
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Years went by.
We never saw each other after that.
I heard about her again in passing. Riley said that Claire had bought the apartment I used to live in. She would sometimes sit outside the City Hall all day, doing nothing, just waiting.
Sadly, for Claire, life didn’t come with a rewind button.
There was no curing regret.
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