Colton

It had been so long since I went back to my old school in Dansville. I was invited to give a speech. I wanted to decline, but I realized I had been declining the invitation many times already.

As I walk through the hall, memories rush in, some good and some bad. It felt strange being back and seeing most of the things were the same - the classroom, the lockers, and even some teachers.

After my speech, I stayed talking to some teachers, catching up with our lives and discussing the improvements they plan on the school. I was ready to leave when I saw someone standing at the corner, an older man, most probably in his late sixties, as if waiting for me.

My heart pounded so fast. I already expected it to happen, coming face to face with the man I dreaded for years.

Mr. Brick. One of my grade school teachers.

Seeing him again made my stomach twisted in knots.

Maybe I could pretend not to see him and slip away. But before I could move to the exit of the auditorium, Mr. Brick moved closer to me.

"Colton Treble," he said my name with respect. "You made it so well in life."

"Mr. Brick," I said his name with a forced smile. "Haven't seen you for too long."

He nodded, "but I know what you're doing for our town. You contributed so much, building hospitals, the community centers, the schools and others. Quite impressive."

"Thanks," I responded, though I wasn't sure where our conversation was going. The only thing I was sure at that moment was trying to get rid of the man. I had been avoiding him for years.

He looked down at the floor for a second as if planning on what to say, then looked at me again.

"Colton, I know it's too late, but I want to apologize for what happened in the past. I'm so sorry for embarrassing you in front of your classmates. I messed up. I had some issues in the past and unfairly took my frustrations out on you. That was so cruel."

His apology came as a surprise to me. I just stared at him for a minute, unsure of what to say. I had mixed feelings - angry, sad, disappointed and frustrated.

"You seriously caused some damage, Mr. Brick. I was a kid back then."

He nodded, his face flushed in shame. "I know. I'm so embarrassed. There's not a day that I don't regret what I did to you. For years, it's been eating my conscience. I'm really sorry, Colton. I hope you can forgive me."

I inhaled deeply, trying to sink in his apology. He humiliated and disrespected me and my family in front of everyone in class. Because of what he did, I worked so hard to uplift the social status of my family, so I could prove to everyone that Mr. Brick was wrong to point out that the Treble family would always belong to the lower class in the history of Dansville.

Too many times, I imagined him crying in front of me, begging for forgiveness, not only from me, but to my whole family. I wanted to kick his ass so badly and punish him for what he did.

But I'm not a cruel man. He was tired and looking really old. His own conscience obviously tormented him.

"I appreciate you apology, Mr. Brick. It's good to know that you owned up to your mistake." Then I nodded, "And yes, I forgive you."

Mr. Brick's face lit up. He looked relieved.

"Thank you so much, Colton." He offered his hand, and I shook it. His eyes filled with tears as he continued, "you don't know how much this means to me and my family."

As soon as he left, I felt a sudden relief. He surely left some scar within me, but it was good that it didn't have the power to inflict pain anymore.

That evening, I went back to the city and met Luna. We had dinner at our favorite authentic Japanese restaurant. We were sitting on the floor, eating sushi, ramen, tonkatsu, miso soup and others, when I told her about my meeting with Mr. Brick.

"I'd like to share something with you." I started looking at her with suddenly curious eyes. "Actually, I haven't talked about this with anyone."

Her eyes suddenly got serious.

"Tell me about it."

"I have had some issues since grade school that affected who I am as a person."

"Oh." She sipped her soda, then leaned closer to me. "What is that?"

I told her about the incident with Mr. Brick back in grade school. My feelings as a kid, emotionally and mentally tortured, and how I turned my pain as motivation to uplift the social status of my family.

"You did so well, Colton. And now, you've proven him and everyone in Dansville wrong. I'm so proud of you, and so does everyone."

I smiled a little and gave her hand a squeeze.

"Guess who I ran today?"

"Who?" Her eyebrows rose.

"Mr. Brick himself," I chuckled softly.

"Oh, really?"

I nodded. "He was there waiting for me after my speech. I had no choice but to confront him. I realized, eventually, I'm going to face the past, and it's best to do it now."

"You're right. So, what did he say?" She asked with concern on her face.

"He apologized." I told her everything that happened in my conversation with Mr. Brick, and she listened eagerly. "Of course, I accepted his apology. It's time to let it go."

"You did the right thing. I'm so proud of you, Colton." She squeezed my hand.

I kissed her lips briefly, then continued. "Despite the bad things he said to me, I couldn't deny that he's one reason I've pushed myself too hard to achieve great things today."

"I agree. You proved to him and everyone wrong by motivating yourself."

"Yeah," I nodded, feeling like an old torn was lifted off my chest.

Afterwards, we went to my penthouse to hang out and made love until we were both sated. We were both lying on the bed, wrapped in each other's arms.

"I love you so much, Luna." I said, warmly.

"I love you more, Colton." She replied,

I've never felt so at peace and happy like I did at that moment. With Luna by my side, everything seemed so perfect.

Luna

As my relationship with Colton got deeper, I became closer to his family as well, especially to his twin sister, Erin.

One day, Erin and I hung out in a famous cafe in Manhattan, Sweet Dreamer Cafe. I came early and ordered my favorite Caramel Macchiato.

While sipping my coffee, I reminisced about the time I got super close with her. It happened during Sweet's bachelorette party in Vegas. The girls were having a party in the living room of their rented penthouse, while Erin and I stayed in one bedroom, watching Vampire Diaries and talking about our shared obsession with vampires and werewolf love stories. Vegas brought the two of us, both introverts, together and became close friends.

Erin entered the coffee shop. The moment she saw me, she waved at me and grinned widely. She ordered her coffee, then joined me at my table.

"Hi! It's good to see you, Luna."

"Good to see you too!"

I stood up, and we gave each other a brief embrace, then settled on our chairs.

"So, what's up?" I asked.

"Well," she wiggled her eyebrows playfully, "as usual, busy making lesson plans and questionnaires for the kids."

Erin worked as a grade school teacher and administrator of the school that Colton created in Dansville.

"How's it going between you and my brother?"

The mere mention of Colton made me smile.

"We're hanging out a lot, and it's always amazing." I said, then sipped my coffee.

"I'm thrilled for both of you, but Luna, keep in mind that my brother is no Edward Cullen."

I couldn't help but giggle. "Trust me, I'm nothing like Bella Swan either. Relationships aren't always perfect, but I'll do my best to make things work with Colton."

She smiled, then said. "You're absolutely right. I'm sure Colton is also doing the same."

"Okay, enough about me. Tell me about the guy you like a lot. What's the progress?" I asked her.

Her smile widened at the mention of her someone special.

"Well, we've been talking every night now. You know, being flirty and all."

"Did he ask you out already?"

Her lips twisted. "Not yet, but I can feel that he's going to ask me out sooner."

"Aw, I'm sure it will happen." I gave her arm a pat.

"I really like him, you know. And I think I love him already." She chuckled aloud, her face flushing.

"Yeah, I can tell. So, are you going to tell me the name of the guy now?"

"Not yet. I'll keep everything private for now, since I'm not sure where our evening chats are going."

"I hope it will lead you to the altar." I teased her, and she flushed harder.