The Girl Who Woke Up

Chapter 18 Fiancé

Cristine stared at Clint. Not knowing what to say in an awkward situation, her mouth felt dry. The two just stared at each other, not knowing what's in each other's head.

Clint cleared his throat and retracted his gaze. He looked at the ground and uttered, "At least for now, trust me. I am responsible for you, so whatever happens to you will be my responsibility."

Cristine wanted to sigh, but she suppressed it. It seemed that whatever actions this guy showed, he will always state that it was all because of a responsibility.

Cristine smiled, "Okay." She shifted her sitting position. "So, who's turn is it to ask a question?"

"I lost count. You can start again", Clint said in a soft voice, still looking at the ground.

Cristine, "Sea or mountain? Which one do you prefer?"

Clint, "Mountain."

Cristine nodded in acknowledgment.

Clint thought hard for a question. He remained silent for a moment.

Cristine, "No more questions?"

Clint, "I can't think of any."

Cristine frowned.

"Really? You can ask me anything", Cristine enthusiastically said.

Clint remained silent.

Cristine sighed, "Okay. Let's just end it there. It's late already. Let's go to sleep."

Clint nodded.

Clint stared at the wall of his room. It's not that he didn't have any questions to ask Cristine. It's just that he already knows a lot of trivial things about the girl. Such as, she prefers the sea than the mountains because she doesn't like hiking. She likes listening to varieties of music, but doesn't like the hard and heavy ones like rock and EDM. Her favorite color is pink. She likes to eat ice cream, particularly the coned ones. Vanilla is her favorite flavor. She likes reading...

He knows a lot...

This is all because he listened to Cristine's mother whenever she told stories about the girl. With the few years that Cristine was asleep, many stories about her were narrated by Stacy.

Stacy would seat near her daughter and solemnly narrate stories. Once, she was wiping her daughter's hand and told Clint that her daughter wanted her nails trimmed in a square shape to match the shape of her fingers and would look slimmer.

Another time, it was raining and Stacy stood near the window. As she stared at the droplets trickling down the window, she mentioned how Cristine loved to play in the rain when she was little but suddenly hated rainy seasons when she grew up.

Clint subconsciously smiled as he recalled the memories of accompanying the sleeping girl. It was weird but during the five years of accompanying the girl in the hospital, he found peace and rest whenever he sat with the girl. So, visiting the girl and sleeping at the hospital became his habit. Stacy caught up to his actions and prepared some necessities for him. She bought toothbrush, shampoo, soap, and towels for him. Apparently, he lived in the hospital for some days.

Clint suddenly recalled the incident in the cave. He himself doesn't know why he was very angry at that time. Before Cristine fell into the water, he saw Giselle pushing her causing the girl to walk backwards and slip. When the girl said it was not Giselle's fault, his blood boiled. He didn't like it that Cristine would deny the truth. He was not angry at Cristine, but rather, he was angry at himself. He felt like he was not trustful enough. First, Cristine never informed him about her plan to go back to work. And now, she'd rather blame herself rather than point fingers.