Chapter 35 Broken Relationship
Tear drops stained the path, mixing in with the stones and the dirt. Tear stains also accentuated the golden skin on Celia's cheeks. Tears poured from her eyes like a faucet turned up to the maximum setting.
They had no right. None at all. They were horrible, absolutely horrible. She had been called horrible things in the past; scum, trash, worst mistake a human ever made. But abomination? No. No one she had ever encountered had ever called her an abomination. Least of all one of her own relatives.
That was what stung the most; the fact that that woman, that...creature….had been her grandmother. A quarter of what made Celia Celia came from Mavery specifically. That just made this sting all the more. Her family hated her. What was the point of doing anything if she didn't have the support of her family? What was the point?
Celia stopped to catch her breath, for at this point she felt like she was going to pass out. She didn't know exactly how far she had run, but it had to be a long way. She had exerted all of her willpower and physical strength into trying to get as far away from that house as possible. She didn't want to see either of those Koopas again. They were horrible Koopas who raised an even worse Koopa in her father.
Celia swallowed a batch of tears. Despite knowing how much her grandmother hated her and how much it hurt, the sad truth...was that her dad's hatred towards her was probably a thousand times stronger. After all, Mavery hadn't been the one who abandoned her. This bone chilling fact made Celia collapse to the ground and start sobbing.
"Celia!"
Celia didn't even turn toward Roy. She hugged her sides as a wave….no, a torrent of tears made itself known. Roy gently placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Are you okay?"
Celia shook her head, unable to speak.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Celia shook her head again. She was too much of a mess to have a passable conversation.
Roy sighed and sat down beside her, right in the middle of the path. He didn't dare take his hand off her shoulder as he reoriented his position. He crossed his legs, all while keeping his eyes on her.
"You don't have to listen to her. Literally none of what she said was true."
Celia just whimpered and buried her face in her hands. This prompted Roy to wrap his arm around her. The two sat in silence before Roy cleared his throat.
"Don't tell anyone I said this," he said, "but one thing that makes me feel better after I've had a rough day is listening to one of Ludwig's songs." He chuckled as Celia looked at him. "I know; a sissy thing to say. But...I don't know; Ludwig's music can be very soothing."
Celia dried her eyes and looked at him. She still didn't have the strength to speak, but she looked into his face like it was a precious treasure.
"Now, I definitely would deny that I offered you this if you told people, but...do you want me to sing for you? It might make you feel better." He lowered his head. "But if you don't, forget I said anything or whatever," he mumbled.
Celia smiled at Roy and placed her hand on his knee. "I'd like that."
Roy blinked before nodding. He opened his mouth and began to sing. It wasn't a song Celia had ever heard before. For all she knew, he could be making up the lyrics as he went along.
I know how you feel
In this cruel and awful world
The pain just feels so real
But you need to hold your head up girl.
.
I...I hate that this is happening
I hate that there is….pain?
Yes, it's a real thing.
But from it, what do we gain?
.
I would build you a perfect world if I could
I would invite you to be my queen
I don't know if I should
But for you...well, I mean.
.
You don't deserve this pain.
You don't deserve the headache.
You don't deserve the rain
You don't deserve the heartbreak.
.
You deserve the world.
You deserve to live your dream
The day's a precious pearl
And you need to smile and beam.
Celia's eyes grew wide. Roy's voice...Roy's voice….
It was awful. There was no getting around that. The poor guy couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. If he sang any louder he would be able to break glass.
And yet, in that moment, Celia loved his song more than anything else in the world.
Roy let out a breath when he finished. He noticed Celia staring at him, and his face turned crimson. "Oh. Right. I forgot I'm tone deaf." He lowered his head. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. That was very nice."
Roy blushed an even darker shade of red. "Th...thank you."
Celia put her hand to her face only to find that the tears had disappeared. Her heart also beat softly as opposed to a mile a minute. She smiled. That song...that horribly sung song...actually helped.
"You two! Wait!"
Roy and Celia turned around, and when she saw who was coming after them, Celia's heart sank. It was her grandfather; Saliday, she believed his name was. Why was he coming after them? To rub more salt into the wound?
Roy seemed to have the same thought process as Celia, as he stood up and crossed his arms. "Hey, man, you got what you wanted; your granddaughter's in tatters. That doesn't mean you have to come evaluate the damage."
Saliday shook his head, horror on his face. "What? You think I wanted my wife to say that?" He looked at Celia, clearing out his throat as he did so. "I came to apologize."
Celia stood up, scrunching up her eyebrows. "Why?" It was the only word she spoke to him, but it was so laden with hurt that it caused Saliday to cringe.
"I...I…" he sighed. "You shouldn't have had to hear that, first off. Whether Mavery likes it or not, you're our granddaughter. And you should be treated as any grandchild should."
Celia felt bile rise to her throat and she didn't know why. "And how exactly is that?"
Saliday scratched the back of his head. "You...need...to be treated with love. Even though you're half hu…." Saliday tried to get the word out, but ended up choking on it. This just made the taste of bile in Celia's throat all the more potent. She wanted to say something, but the taste paralyzed her tongue.
Thankfully, Roy came to her rescue. He scrunched up his brow. "You had your chance to treat her with love. But you screwed up as soon as your wife called her an abomination."
Saliday whimpered. "I know. I know I screwed up." He lowered his head. "I'm the reason your life was hell, Celia. I'm the reason why your dad wasn't present."
This, admittedly, caught Celia's interest the tiniest bit. "What do you mean?"
Saliday bit his lip. "I...I…" suddenly, he shook his head. "I can't. I can't say it."
"Would it help if you were under duress?" Roy asked, his fists clenched.
Saliday looked horrified. "No! No." He looked between the two. "I just...I don't think this is something worth sharing in the middle of the road." He put on a smile that looked beyond forced. "How about I take you to a diner?"
Celia raised an eyebrow. "A diner?"
"Consider it as an apology for the past sixteen years. An early birthday gift from your grandfather."
Celia looked into Saliday's eyes. Her instinct, her primal, base instinct, was to yell at him. Kick him in the shins, punch him in the teeth; anything. She wanted to do anything to get revenge on Saliday; anything that would convey or even transfer her pain.
But, at the same time, the look in her grandfather's eyes was so….genuine. It looked hurt on her behalf, desperate to form a connection. He almost didn't seem to care what kind of connection that was; in his eyes, any sort of connection would be more than enough. This relationship was clearly broken, sure. But was it broken beyond repair?
That was a hard question for Celia to answer, and it actually made her hesitate. If her grandfather was anything like her grandmother, she wanted nothing to do with him. But if he was genuinely apologetic…
"Okay."
What was wrong with giving him at least a little bit of a shot?