Chapter 4
Later, Matthew once asked, "If it were me who showed up that night, what would you do?"
"I would never leave you."
Matthew was silent. He walked ahead of her and said in low spirits, "Sadly, there is no such thing as a time machine."
Yes, how nice it would be if there were a time machine.
After she grew up, Paisley also thought about why she had become so vigilant and suspicious. As long as someone came close, she kept her guard up. But she was not born like this. If someone made her who she was today, then her parents must be the first ones. They both said they loved her, but they hurt her deeply.
Paisley became cold-hearted from that night on, that snowy New Year's Eve when she almost froze to death outside her house.
Fortunately, Grandpa rescued her.
Paisley loved her Grandpa very much, not only for that night. They had also been very close since her childhood.
Her Grandpa, Justin George, was conscripted in the past and returned home many years later. Then he had a daughter and named her Madison. His wife died early and he had few relatives. Therefore, he adored his granddaughter. In the past, Madison was busy working, and Greyson was in Oakwood, so there was no one to take care of Paisley. Justin often took her to his place and looked after her.
Paisley liked riding on Grandpa's shoulders the most. She would also touch his ears, put her arms around his shoulders, and fall asleep in his arms. If she woke up and found herself back at her home, she would feel down for the following days.
Paisley cried at the sight of her Grandpa. She told him about her grievances that her Dad kept a mistress and her Mom drove her out... Justin knew everything, for it was Greyson who told him on the phone that Paisley was missing and he couldn't get through to Madison. So Greyson called to see if she was with Justin.
As soon as Justin got the call, he was not in the mood to scold his son-in-law, and he just rushed over here by bike overnight.
Luckily he came. It was heart-wrenching to see Paisley crouching on the ground. How heartless her parents were!
He brought Paisley back and complained about her parents with her. He also told her that he would give her pocket money after they got to his place.
Paisley felt better. She stopped crying and helped Justin sweep off the snowflakes on his coat.
The wind was blowing, and the snow kept falling. Almost everyone stayed in their houses to celebrate the New Year. With city lights on, Paisley looked through the window and saw families gathering around the table. Paisley thought that she would never go back home again. Anyway, her Mom didn't want to see her in the house, but she couldn't hold back her tears. She asked with a lumpy throat, "What about Mom? She is alone now."
Madison came over the day after tomorrow.
As soon as she arrived, she hugged Paisley and cried. She looked dreadful. Although she used to wear no makeup, she still looked not bad. Now she looked ten years older within just a few days. She said in a hoarse voice, "Greyson is back and wants to divorce me."
"Divorce? That's never going to happen!" Madison sneered with a vicious look, "He has done me wrong, but he now wants me to let him go? No way! I'll make him suffer at all costs!"
Speaking of Greyson, her Mom lost her mind. There were hatred and resentment in her eyes and it seemed that she was ready to go to extremes.
Paisley had never seen her like this before, so she got frightened and backed off. Justin stopped her and sighed, "Don't scare the child."
Only then did Madison think of Paisley, and asked with tears in her eyes, "Paise, you will stay with me, won't you?"
Paisleys was stunned, for it was the first time that she had had to face this problem. In the past, when her classmate's parents got divorced, everyone joked and asked her who she would live with. Paisley never expected that one day she would make such a choice.
The fight between her parents had just started.
Paisley felt that her Dad was different when he went back this time because unlike before, he was cold and distant toward her and her Mom.
At first, considering their past love and relationship, he apologized to Madison, but his guilt quickly disappeared from the constant arguing. Greyson showed a different side of himself. He was ruthless and heartless, and he acted like a businessman and treated his wife who had married him for many years like a business rival. He asked, "Tell me, how much money do you want?"
His words drove Madison crazy. She grabbed something and threw it at him. She shouted, "I wish you were dead!"
The house was in a mess. The two were quarreling, and they would do anything to hurt each other.
Greyson decided to leave, while Paisley was standing in the corner and crying, her head in her hands.
Seeing her Dad leaving, she tried to grab his arm. Greyson felt sorry at the sight of his daughter and asked, "Paise, go with Dad."
"Stay away from my daughter!" Madison stood up and came over to grab Paisley.
Madison was so nervous and anxious that she didn't care whether she pulled Paisley's hair or pay attention to her painful expression. She just pulled her over.
"You nuts!" Greyson snorted and stormed out.
As soon as he left, Madison stopped being so aggressive and collapsed, crying and swearing.
Paisley just stood there, looking at the broken glass all over the floor. There was the photo of her parents in the smashed photo frame lying not far away from where she stood. How happy they used to be. They always hung out with each other and took many photos together, like other young lovers. Paisley looked at that photo in which Madison nestled into Greyson and they smiled at the camera, but now everything had changed and their marriage was as broken as the frame glass.
Paisley raised her head and saw her disheveled Mom, wondering why people in love would end up like that.
Several months had passed since Greyson left. It seemed that he went to Oakwood to take a break before going back to argue with Madison.
Victoria never showed up, but Madison would ask Paisley what the mistress was like. So Paisley told her about Victoria based on her impression during those days. Madison kept asking her over and over again, which made Paisley a little annoyed. Madison said with a grim face, "Well, impatient? Are you impatient with me, just like Greyson Logan?"
She now called Greyson by his full name while grinding her teeth.
Paisley did not dare to reply. Madison went near and pushed her away, saying, "Then leave and go to your Dad!"
Every time Madison wouldn't come to her senses until Paisley was scared to tears. Then she would hold Paisley in her arms and weep.
Paisley was a little afraid of her Mom when she acted that way.
Every time after quarreling with Greyson, Madison looked at those old photos in tears.
Paisley heard her Mom sobbing and murmuring, "How could you break my heart, how could you..."
Paisley felt very sad. Her Dad was so coldhearted because he could return to Oakwood where his lover and his son were, while her Mom could only cry while staring at the photos.
But there was nothing she could do.
Paisley was too young. At first, she was afraid and cried with her Mom. Later, after school, she knew that her Dad was back and they were fighting again when she got home after school and heard the sound of things dropping onto the floor. She stopped and did not open the door. Instead, she ran out while carrying her schoolbag.
She didn't want to go home. She wandered the streets and didn't know where to go. Thus, she could only go to the nearby Allen Poe Park and finished her homework in the dim street light. Then she sat there and let her mind wander. She thought that they might end the quarrel when she came back later because after all, the couple who were angry with each other couldn't possibly think of their daughter at this time.
Paisley didn't understand why her family fell apart. She was stuck in the middle, and she was exhausted.
A little black cat was lying in the middle of the bench, and it looked so relaxed. Paisley stared at it and thought it must be nice to be a cat. All a cat needed to do is be cute and nice, so it could obtain the love of its owner. She approached the cat and reached out to stroke it. The cat did not walk away and moved its head to look at her with its green crystal eyes.
Its eyes were clearer than water, and the cat softened Paisley's heart immediately. She asked in a low voice, "Do you have a home?"
She held the cat and told it her troubles, for example, she was going to be a child without her Dad...Until she heard a chuckle coming from beside her, Paisley didn't look up and see a teenage boy. She didn't know how long he had been standing there and listening. He was wearing a shirt and slippers. With his hands in his trouser pockets, he looked at her and said, "The cat is mine."
Paisley was a little embarrassed and put the cat down. The little cat jumped on the boy's shoulder, rubbed against him, and lashed its tail.
They were very close, and Paisley watched them admiringly. The boy nodded and sat down on the other side of the bench. The two of them were sitting on different sides, and for now, nothing happened. Only the little black cat jumped in the middle. Paisley couldn't help petting it. When she accidentally touched the boy's cold fingers, he just scratched the cat's chin and said, "It's Cottony."
Like its name, the cat was so soft.
He added, "You can hold it."
Paisley lifted her head and found that his eyes were gentle. He said, "When you are sad, you can hug something warm."
Paisley paused, and the boy smiled at her and added, "Like a cat."
That year, Paisley couldn't stop her parents' bitter quarrels, but she had an intimate friend.
The cat owner was very mysterious and he did not talk much. He sat on the bench with Cottony for a long time, and just nodded when he saw her. He was keeping his distance from others and this estrangement was exactly what Paisley needed. Paisley didn't know since when she had become afraid of getting close to people.
Allen Poe Park became a shelter for Paisley. When her parents quarreled and her mother lost her temper and beat her, she would go to him.
The cat owner never comforted Paisley, nor did he ask her about it. He just let her hold Cottony and accompanied her quietly.
Sometimes, Paisley talked to him, too.
She said that her parents were getting a divorce, while he told her that he didn't even know who his father was.
She said she hated them, since if they were about to end their marriage, her Mom shouldn't have given birth to her in the first place. He agreed with her and said that it was better not to have kids. As for children with flaws, they couldn't possibly live a good life or die.
The two talked about their own things, which had no connection, but Paisleys could always take comfort in them.
No matter what Paisley said, he always had a way to make her feel that she wasn't the most pathetic one in the world. He had type 1 diabetes and needed insulin injections three times a day to control his blood sugar. Paisley saw him needle himself, and there were many track marks on his arm. She asked him if it hurt, and he simply replied that he was used to it. Then he added, "Paise, you should also get used to the harm the world has introduced you to."
At that moment, Paisley seemed to find all the answers to her miseries and doubts. There was no reason why her parents divorced, or why these bad things happened to her. She could only face it and get accustomed to it. Growing up was a sad thing, but Paisley couldn't change the reality. She was glad that she met the cat owner. Although she didn't even know his name, he still opened up to her and told her that it was no big deal by sharing his traumas.
After Paisley asked what his name was, he shook his head and said, "Paise, let's not be friends. After becoming friends, we will demand more and more from each other, and finally, we will hurt each other."
Paisley didn't know what he had gone through and why he was so pessimistic, but she shared the same sentiment. Her parents' divorce told her that she wouldn't get hurt if she refused to love others.
Paisley called him Cottony's brother, the brother of the little black cat Cottony.
He was not a friend, but only Cottony's brother.
Life was always full of farewells.
But one had to learn to get used to it.