The Prince of K-Pop || Bang Chan FF

Chapter Thirty-Six

          "I put it all on the line for you," Chan's face appeared to shine with how the light reflected off of his tears, "My whole career on the line and...and it just hasn't been worth it," Chan's voice echoed through Naty's entire existence."

          "We can try," she whispered.

          "There's nothing to try. Tara and Ashley will reach out to you in the morning. I'm sorry. We're over," the man hung his head as he turned his back.

          "Chan!"

          Naty was awakened by her own voice. She instinctively reached out for the man in question but came up with empty space. There was no one there. For a moment, there was a complete shift of reality. She felt a startling confusion as she tried to pinpoint exactly where she was and exactly on which continent. Her pounding headache made memories come back at a much slower rate than she would have liked.

          The woman turned onto her side and reached for her phone. She cringed at the brightness and turned it down as quickly as she could. Even the lowest setting was damaging but she needed to see the time. All she found was a blank screen and the haunting image of the hour. The screen read 5:15 a.m. on her Saturday morning.

          A deep groan left her.

          It was the curse that ran in Naty's family. Nights of heavy drinking were met with early morning hangovers. Her parents, her cousins, aunts, and uncles all experienced the same phenomena. It was part of being Higuera. It was also the reason why she woke from her nightmare into something far worse.

          The space beside Naty was empty. From the cold sheets, it seemed to have been empty for a while. The woman laid quietly in search of any sounds that would echo in the massive condo. She had screamed pretty loud and if Bang Chan was present, he would have heard. All she found was silence and darkness. Naty understood that she was alone.

          Tears fell backward into Naty's hair. Her body ached, her head pounded, but her heart felt in much worse condition. Where had Chan gone?

          No.

          Naty forced herself to wobble into a sitting position. It was her abandonment issues. She had been working on them in therapy and so she could identify the feelings without letting them take control.

          Abandoned.

          Betrayed.

          Angry.

          Alone.

          Sad.

          Scared.

          More than anything she was scared. The night before seemed to stomp on her head repeatedly with the weight of a thousand elephants. No matter how much it stomped, there was a certain point she couldn't remember. Everything after singing with Chan was a blur but everything after her talk with Jimin was a hiccup. There were bits and pieces and that delicious ramen but not much else.

          At any time, Naty could have done or said something stupid. The fear grew stronger at that realization along with the feeling of being sick. Chan, being the gentleman, probably got her back safely before leaving her in shame.

          Nicole was right.

          No!

          Naty stood from bed to sway her way to the kitchen. She would never call Nicole "right." Especially after how she butchered 'Amor Prohibido.' Naty laughed to herself. Of course, she remembered that.