Trapped

Chapter 44: AFTER

Chapter Forty Four:

Visiting my own grave.

—

ANTICIPATION RADIATED THROUGH me.

The moment I woke up, excitement latched onto me like a second skin. I reckon I didn’t even sleep because I was fully delighted for this day to come. Moreover, I woke up even before my alarm, which rarely happened even when my soul was still attached to my rightful body.

I knew that the very thought of being able to see Warren again somewhat illuminated hope within me.

“Today is the day,” I mumbled through the air.

Despite the beige roller blinds set up in my room, the sun’s rays drifted inside casting a soft smile on my lips. It was already a good sign that it would be bright and sunny today. Before I even slept, I was worried that it may be gloomy or that it might rain today. Although the weather forecast specifically said that it wouldn’t, I was still anxious about that fact.

“Athena, roll up the blinds.” The smart speaker chimed the second I was done with my command.

“Blinds rolling up, Ms. Maxwell.” Athena answered and a few seconds later, the window blinds rolled up, revealing the radiant blue sky as well as the lawn garden in front of the house.

“Please be bright the entire day,” I huffed, stretching out my limbs as I dragged my legs out of the bed.

Eager as I ever was, I wasted no time as I spent a productive morning getting prepared before leaving the house and heading off to the memorial garden where my body was buried.

I wore a yellow shirtdress with a flowery design, its length two inches below my knee. The black belt was enough to enunciate my curves, but wasn’t even daring enough—only appropriate to the eyes. I made sure that it was my favorite color. Good thing that Maxwell had a yellow dress in her cabinet that was easy to spot—which was out of the ordinary since she didn't like wearing colorful clothes. Maybe someone gifted it to her, but nonetheless, it was perfect for me. We used to share clothes since we basically have the same body type. That being said, it wasn’t even difficult to find anything to wear even on a daily basis.

The make up I put on was on the lighter side, just enough to not make me look pale and lifeless. I stood by the full-length mirror, taking a good look at myself in Maxwell’s body. I shivered as soon as I caught a glimpse of my face. Until now, I’m still not used to seeing Maxwell whenever I look at my reflection. It made the shackles on the back of my neck stand up. Despite that, I tried my best to flash a smile at my image.

“I clean up pretty well,” I uttered to myself, mentally giving myself a tap on the back. Letting out a laugh, I added, “Might as well compliment myself so I’d feel a little better.”

Back in the days, Maxwell and I used to dress each other up whenever we felt like it. My cabinet was full of colorful and bright arrays of clothes. Most certainly, I owned a lot of dresses, shirts, and blouses in all shades of yellow since it’s my favorite color alongside with white. Meanwhile, Maxwell’s closet was full of monochrome tones—black, white, gray, and anything dark alike.

It’s hilarious that both of our clothes seemed to take after our contrasting personalities.

Glancing at the clock inside my room, I took note of the time. The cemetery doesn’t open until ten in the morning, and it’s already half an hour past nine. Considering where the estate we live in, that should give us enough time to arrive on time.

Although, I wasn’t entirely aware if Sebastian was already done preparing on his own. The moment I woke up, he wasn’t at his usual place where he takes a sleep. Maybe he woke up earlier to do some work in regards to his job at his home office.

If that was the case, I didn’t bother him. For I was focused on myself only.

Sebastian insisted on taking an emergency leave for today, but I refused on the get go. I was already causing enough disturbances. I didn’t want him to fully neglect his job just because he wanted to pacify my wants. He, however, didn’t want to take a half day leave since he deemed that it was unnecessary.

The man is the heir to Gonzales Enterprise. He can work on a flexible time frame without batting an eyelash. Sebastian can do whatever he wants, and if he wanted to work only when he wanted to—he was allowed to. But he’s respectable and professional enough not to be an example of that.

I’m guessing that he woke up earlier than his working hours, then got all agenda done for the entire day so he could accompany to the memorial garden.

Walking outside my room and heading to Sebastian’s home office, my heart felt heavy. Every step I took, I could hear the loud hammering of my heart. It was deafening my ears and it was the only sound that I could hear—not even the noise of my own footsteps.

Unlike the past years, today was a rather bizarre one.

Not only was it Warren and my supposed third year anniversary, I was also visiting what I assume is Maxwell's grave. On top of that, Sebastian will be accompanying me.

Odd, right? It’s not like that scene happens every passing day in this world.

Knowing that I transmigrated to my sister’s body, I was assuming Maxwell’s soul had also been trapped to mine. At some point, I believed that our souls got mixed up after the life-threatening accident that we were both involved in.

It was the only fitting explanation to what happened.

A soft knock echoed in my ears as I reached Sebastian’s home office. There was no answer on the other side of the door for a whole minute, so I slowly reached for the knob, unlocking it on my own. The second I opened the door, I saw Sebastian sitting at his swivel chair wearing a full suit and tie attire in front of his laptop while on a conference meeting. Wireless earphones were attached in both his ears hence why he didn’t hear me coming. His face was contorted into a serious expression—his forehead creased, brows knitted together, and his jaw tensed…. even both his arms were flexed under his tuxedo.

It seemed like the topic was entirely crucial, as well as my timing.

Hesitant, I didn’t want to disrupt him since it looked like he was in between a very important talk. It does, however, look like he wasn’t going to wrap up with the conference anytime soon.

I puffed out a deep breath, mustering some courage before I waved a hand at his direction, gathering his attention. It was a successful attempt for he gawked at me, his eyes wide as saucers.

Sebastian swiftly averted his eyes to the wall clock inside his office, making his eyes grow only wider—if that was even possible. Upon noticing the time, he titled his head to the side in chagrin. Our eyes met again, and this time, he offered a regretful expression on his face.

“I’m sorry,” he mouthed, which I easily catched. He uttered some words through the meeting, which I figured was him excusing himself, then he took out the earphones. Sebastian stood up and strode towards my tracks. I was about to stop him, but he was persistent.

“I lost track of time, Max.” were the words he said the very second he was near me.

“Oh, no,” I hurriedly discarded his apology. “No need to be sorry. I understand, work is important.” My comforting words weren’t enough to soothe down his emotions as he winced in pain due to my reply.

“No, I told you I’ll accompany you today. I should’ve taken an emergency leave instead.” Releasing a dejected sigh, he raked a hand in his hair.

“I can wait a little. We can leave as soon as you’re done with the meeting.” Assuming that he had been working since earlier, it might only be a couple of minutes before the conference ends. “I’m willing to wait if that’s your concern, Seb.”

“Are you sure? I know that this is an important day for you.”

His statement almost made me choke on my own saliva. Important? Is he aware of my plan? Of the anniversary? My heart pounded loudly in my chest, and I was close to putting a hand over the area when he continued.

“This is the first time you’re visiting your sister, and I’m only giving you a hard time,” he heaved out a deep sigh. “I’m sure you have this entire day planned out already.”

Biting my lower lip, I didn’t know how to respond. My hands fumbled on the black leather belt on my hips. Of course, I couldn’t just agree with him because I know that it’ll make him feel worse than he already looked. Instead I offered a soft smile at him, “It’s alright. I’ll be waiting in the living room for the time being.” I gestured my hand towards his desk, “You should probably head back, and continue with the meeting, Seb. It looked really important.”

His eyes followed the direction of my hand, looking back at his workplace. His shoulders slumped at the thought of going back to work instead of accompanying me to the memorial garden. It was profound and he didn’t even bother hiding that fact from me. “I’ll wrap up the meeting in just a minute. Have you eaten yet?” he asked with full sincerity.

I shook my head sideways. “I still haven’t. I didn’t have the appetite to eat.”

“Max,” he cooed in a warning tone. “You should at least fill yourself so you’d have the energy for the day. There’s still some leftover food in the refrigerator that you could reheat, or you could eat the overnight oats instead. I know you like those, so I made you some.”

“I’ll try. Thank you, Seb.”

He nodded. “Alright, I’ll head back and finish it as quickly as possible.” Sebastian trailed, then flashed a smile. “You look incredible by the way. I see you’re wearing my present to you for the first time. You look lovely in bright colors, Max. It makes your complexion stand out more.”

My cheeks flushed, heat coated my existence even after Sebastian fully excused himself and headed towards his desk. I stood immobilized at the doorway with his comment. I didn’t even know how I reached the dining room and how I stuffed myself with the overnight oats that he prepared.

Despite the time constraints, it made me sighed in relief.

For I was still anxious about the whole ordeal. It gave me more time to prepare myself for what’s about to unravel later on.

If my assumptions were true, Warren would be visiting my grave on this particular day, and I would be seeing him. Although, in his point of view, I would be nothing but his girlfriend’s older sister. He would see me in a different light, and he wouldn’t be able to notice anything different unless I do something out of the ordinary. But knowing that Sebastian would join me later, it’s something that I know I shouldn’t do.

… especially not in front of Maxwell’s boyfriend.

Reaching for my mango drink, I gulped the entire remains, then proceeded to wash the dishes. As soon as I was done, I saw Sebastian materializing from the living room, and was walking towards my direction. A frown settled on his lips, and his expression was dim.

My heart sank at the very sight of him. An inkling tells me that something seemed off. I gripped tightly on the counter top in order to support my wobbly legs.

“Seb?” I called out, my voice wavering. “What’s the problem?” It was the only thing I could inquire about since asking if his meeting is already done seemed inappropriate considering how sullen he appeared.

“The meeting’s done,” he answered, clipped.

“Isn’t that supposed to be good news?”

He sighed. “I have an urgent meeting at 12, Max,” Sebastian informed, his frown intensifying.

“That’s an hour and a half from now,” I whispered looking at the clock.

Clearly, not enough time to visit my grave. It would take as half an hour to travel back and forth, giving me only 30 minutes to stay at the memorial garden. Surely it wasn’t even enough time since I’m not certain what time Warren would visit… or if he’s ever going to visit.

“Why don’t we just reschedule?” Sebastian’s suggestion was enough to fuel negative emotions inside me. “I can clear my schedule for tomorrow, and take a proper leave instead. I’ll accompany you throughout the entire day,” he informed, giving me options—not that I even wanted to.

Letting go of my hold on the countertop, I threw him a sharp glare, in which he flinched at the harsh stare. “I waited an hour for your meeting to finish, Sebastian. You said you’d wrap it up in just a couple of minutes. And now, you’re telling me that we should just reschedule?” I scoffed in disbelief. “I feel like I wasted time for nothing.” He noticed my immense emotions since I called him by his first full name which made him wince.

Sebastian frowned, looking forlorn. “We were addressing important issues in the company. It couldn’t be delayed further. I apologize for making you wait, Max. I’ll make it up to you by tomorrow, I promise.”

I disagreed, shaking my head. “Make it up to me now. Drive me to the memorial garden, you’ll have enough time to get ready for your next meeting,” I beckoned, voice stern as I could possibly be. I shifted my weight onto the other foot. “I’m going today, and not tomorrow. I know the memorial garden by heart. I’ve been there a couple of times before, so you don’t have to worry if I’ll ever get lost. I can fully handle myself,” I pressed, not backing down. “My decision is final, and you can’t talk me out of it, Sebastian.”

We stared at each other for an ample of time before he sighed in defeat. “You’re still as stubborn as ever, Max.”

Even though I’m aware that it wasn’t directed to me, I felt myself grimaced at his words. Has Maxwell always been stubborn when it came to him? Has she openly pushed him away whenever he would reach out to her? The thought made me sad for Sebastian. However, I didn’t want to show him some sympathy when he made me wait for an hour only to cancel my plan for today.

“Alright, I’ll drop you off, Max. But as soon as I’m done with the meeting, I’ll come and fetch you,” he announced.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” I answered, my lips curved upward.

.

.

.

THE CAR HUMMED to a stop.

Unbuckling my seat belt, Sebastian didn’t do the same as I could feel his stares boring on the side of my cheek. I, however, didn’t throw him a single glance not until I was done with what I was doing.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you to the place? I still have enough time for the meeting, Max,” he stated. I averted my eyes at him and the same forlorn expression was still written on his face. “Come on, Max. Let me accompany you just until I make sure you’re safe and fine.

No matter how much he’d insist or beg, I’ve already made up my mind. If I ever encounter Warren while at the memorial garden and while I’m with Sebastian, I wouldn’t know how to act eventually. So him being out of the picture before I even find Warren would be an advantage for me.

I know that it sounds bad, but it was the only way I can think to save myself from an awkward atmosphere. As much as I wanted a support system accompanying me to my own grave, I have to handle this all on my own.

“There’s absolutely no need. I told you, I know this place by heart. Stop worrying so much, Seb.”

“I just want to keep you safe. Let me keep you safe, Max.”

My heart swelled. “I’m safe, Seb. Nothing can possibly harm me here. You should head back. Thank you for driving me here,” I said dismissively. Shifting in my seat, I glanced at the things on the passenger seat, making sure that everything was accounted for.

Sebastian hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Alright, Max. You should go as well. Call me or your mother if you want to be picked up, okay? I’m sorry I can’t be with you today,” he breathed out heavily. “Say my regards to your sister.”

“I will. Thank you,” I muttered, exiting the shotgun seat, then opened the passenger's door. I reached for the flower and some food we picked up on the way. Before closing the door, I gave Sebastian a smile. “Thank you again, Seb.”

A lopsided smile etched on his face. “Anything for you. Be safe, Max.”

“Drive safely, Seb.” I closed the door with a thud.

He honked his car before driving away. I waved a hand at the retreating car even though I wasn’t sure if Sebastian could see me right now. The moment that his car blurred into vision, I heaved out a deep breath then walked to the lobby.

I didn’t even need to ask for directions as I waltzed past the lobby. I knew the exact place not just by mind—but also by heart. My strides were fast, and my heart was beating erratically. I clutched tighter to the bouquet of yellow peonies and picnic basket in my hands as if it were my lifeline.

At some point I’m convinced that it was.

I feel like I was walking into my own grave—literally and figuratively.

Seeing a fraction of our relative’s museleo inside the memorial garden, my heart almost combusted inside my chest. Stopping in my tracks, I stared at the place.

I still can’t believe it.

My body is buried there inside? Is Maxwell’s soul really dead? My breathing grew ragged every passing second. With a heavy heart, I continued walking towards the museleo.

Not long after, I saw a familiar figure inside the place. Even though he has his back turned to me, I knew very well that this man—just a few meters away from me—is Warren Callahan.

My boyfriend… my other half… the love of my life.

I approached him without making a sound. Although, Warren was so engrossed that he didn’t notice me. Just like me he was holding a bouquet of yellow peonies in his hands, but it was more than the quantity that I was holding.

Once he was in front of my tomb, he stopped in his tracks, and I did the same. Warren carefully placed the flowers on top of my grave, then caressed the tombstone with my name on it.

He cleared out his throat. The moment he spoke, I noticed that his voice was strained. “I-I brought your favorite yellow p-peonies…” his voice cracked.

I couldn’t exactly see the expression on his face, but I know for a fact that he was so close to breaking down. He still hadn't noticed my presence, and I wanted to run to him and engulf him in a warm embrace. But the sight of him rendered me immobilized. I felt a lump in my throat, and my vision began to blur.

“Hi l-love, I’m here n-now. I’m s-sorry I didn’t v-sisit sooner,” Despite his back facing me, I’m already aware that Warren was already crying as he said those words. The wavering of his voice was profound and it tugged on my heart. “H-happy third anniversary, my l-love.”

The next thing I knew, I was sobbing already sobbing hard.