23 - Why Are People Dying On Me?

"Cristina, will you go to Korea with me?"

What the fuck have I missed? 

So, that boy .... the boy from the hospital ... from the bar ... the one who claims to be my boyfriend .... Is what? Lara's ex? And my boyfriend? 

I close my eyes and try to analyze everything. If I went to Korea with him, and Lara didn't .... Are we still friends? Could it be the reason why she isn't calling or visiting? Is it why she's not here? 

I suddenly feel guilty. What the fuck was I thinking? Why would I steal Lara's boyfriend? And where the heck is she now?

And my mom. Why would she lie about me being sick .... or was I really? I put a hand on my chest and feel the cut still there. But, why didn't she tell me these things? Most especially about Trey dying? 

And ... if Mark were really my boyfriend, where was he when I was brought back to the States? Why didn't he visit me in North Carolina? He was crying when he saw me last night though. 

"Cris." Karen taps my shoulder and I open my eyes. "Where have you been all these time?"

"How long have I disappeared?"

She thinks for a while. "The last time Trey called me, she was in Korea. She said she was looking for you and you've been missing for weeks. That was .... two? three months ago?"

Missing? 

"So? Where were you?"

I shake my head, furrowing my brows as I lick my lips. "I...I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I don't know." I say again. I look into her eyes and my tears start again. "I don't remember. I didn't know I went to Korea. Even that Trey ....." I can't finish my sentence. "Fuck!" I sob on my hands. 

"Cristina." She puts a hand over my shoulder and pulls me towards her. "What happened?"

"I don't know."

"Oh, shit!" 

"Ha Eun!" Zu Ho is kneeling in front of me. "We have to go. We're gonna miss our flight."

I shake my head, wiping my cheeks. "No. I'm not going."

"What?" He gets up and combs his hair off his face. "What do you mean you're not going?"

I look up at him. "I'm not going until I know the truth."

"You are, Ha Eun. You should." He goes back down, shaking my shoulders. "You are getting in that plane and you will go home. You promised me."

"I'm sorry. I'll .... I'll pay you back, ok? One way or another. Just ... please. Give me just a few more days."

"What are you two talking about?" Karen is clearly lost as she couldn't understand Korean. "Why's he angry?" She asks me. 

But, she gets ignored. "What would you want to do here? Your dad said he's fine. What else do you want to find out?" Zu Ho shouts. 

"My mom has been lying to me." I yell back. "I WAS in Korea for something other than the surgery. I trained to be a singer. Why would she not tell me about that?"

He rolls his eyes at me, his hand on his hip. "Maybe she has a really good reason for that."

"Why are you so angry?" I shout again, getting up now and facing him. 

"UGH!!!!" He turns around and walks out. 

"YAH!!!" I shout after him. "Zu Ho!"

____

"My parents are away so we can have the house all to ourselves." Karen is saying as she ushers us inside her home. I've only been here once, for her birthday when Trey and her were still a few months in their relationship. "Feel at home." She adds as she heads to the kitchen, leaving Zu Ho and I in the living room. 

"What?" I ask him. He is glaring at me with a very angry face. 

"Are you serious about this?"

"How many times do you have to ask?" I say, annoyed. But, I quickly follow it up with, "Sorry," after realizing I sounded rude. All he's done was help me these past few days. And all I'VE done is get him in trouble. 

Karen joins us back with some drinks. "So, what do you plan to do now?" She asks me. 

"Let's start by telling me what you know about my stay in Korea." I tell her. 

She takes a deep breath. "You don't remember going there?"

I shake my head. 

"I don't really know a lot since I wasn't here. I'm just gonna tell you what Trey has told me." She starts. "Shit....It's quite long though." She lays on the sofa and stares at the ceiling. "Where the fuck would I start?" 

"When did I go there?" I ask her. 

"Summer last year. You were supposed to go with Lara but she backed out because of .... SHIT... That's another story though." She screams. 

"What?" 

She sighs. 

"Where's Lara anyway? Is she mad at me because of Mark?" I ask. 

She sits up suddenly, looking at me wide-eyed. Then she sighs again. "Of course you don't remember."

"Remember what?"

"Lara's dead, Cris. And so is her dad."

I blink, not getting what she says at first. But after some time, my tears slowly roll down my eyes. "Lara? ... And Uncle Ed?" 

"I don't really know what happened. Trey just told me that Lara, together with Sean and their dads kinda betrayed your dad. And everything turned out really bad. And they died." 

I want to slap her for saying it so casually, like it wasn't a big deal. But, I stop myself. 

"Hey!" Zu Ho is already beside me, taking my hand and letting me face him. "Who are they?" He asks, maybe he understood what Karen just said. 

"My .... best friend." I say between sobs. I bury my face on his chest and he strokes my hair, trying to shush me. "How can this happen?"

"I'm really sorry, Cris." Karen is behind me, her hand on my shoulder. "But, I think she was pretending to be your friend all along just so they could embezzle money from your dad's firm. Well, that's what Trey told me."

"You're lying." This can't be happening. Why would Uncle Ed do that? And Lara? It's what Sean and his dad did to us long time ago. Uncle Ed was even there to help my dad put a stop to it. 

"I'm not, Cristina. It's the truth. You can ask Mark. He was with you when it happened."

I shake my head furiously. "Lara would never do that."

"But, she did. And now she paid the price."

"No." I refuse to believe it. Not Lara. Not the person I trusted the most. Yes, we've had bad times. But, we consider each other as sisters. 

An image of Lara's body on the floor with me holding her while crying. There's blood all over and some people shooting at each other. I squeeze my eyes shut. This is not true, is it? But, why would Karen lie to me? What would Trey lie to her? 

"Cristina," she holds my shoulder and turns me, putting a finger under my chin, making me look at her eyes. "Lara wasn't the person you think she was. She used you. Because of their greed, they betrayed your family."

My heart tells me not to listen, but my brain sees the honesty in her eyes. "But, why? Why did they have to die? Why did I not stop it?"

"Cris, it was you or her."

"Who killed her?" My voice cracks as I continue with my loud cries. 

She shakes her head. "It was a shoot out, Cris."

"When?" 

"Last year."

____

It was already dark when I open my eyes. I don't know how I got to the room. I look around and realize I'm alone. My eyes hurt from crying, but, as soon as I remember what Karen just told me, I tear up again. 

Why are the closest people to me dying? Trey, Lara, Uncle Ed. 

Wait.... that's not possible. 

I quickly get up, wiping my tears, and head out of the room. I find Karen and Zu Ho talking in the backyard, a bottle of booze between them. 

"Hey!" Zu Ho is the first to see me. "You hungry?"

I shake my head and look at Karen. "When did Uncle Ed die?"

She furrows her brows at my sudden question. "Last year. Why?"

"I clearly remember he was in the hospital in Korea with me. Just before my mom flew me back here." 

"No," she raises an eyebrow. "Lara killed him. So, he died before she did."

"What?????" I exclaim. I want to laugh at the absurdity of it. Or cry at the revelation. Or maybe scream .... or thrash the house ... or hit something. What kind of story is this? Lara would never do that. But, then again, she almost killed me, too. 

This is why my mom didn't want me to remember. It's the reason my mom kept me away from LA. It's because of this that she lied to me. Clearly, everything that happened for the past year or so that I don't remember, they all come down to Lara being the bad guy. I recall the time my mom had me see a shrink so I'd forget about Lara when she was put to the facility. It's happening all over again. But, this time, Lara's gone for good.

"Don't." Zu Ho points at me, pressing his lips together. "Don't start crying again."

I swallow my tears and blink several times. I take the glass he's holding instead and drink the rest of his vodka. 

"It's kinda getting late." Karen clears her throat and stretches her arms above her. "I'm going ahead." She gets up and walks in the door, maybe avoiding more questions from me. 

I guess I'm stressing everyone out. I sigh and pour myself another drink. 

"YAH!" Zu Ho grabs the glass from my hand. "Didn't you say you just had surgery? Why are you even drinking?"

"You're not the boss of me." I tell him, trying to get my drink back. I grab the bottle instead and tilt it in my mouth. 

"YAH!" He shouts again, but before he can get it, I put the bottle behind me. "You little brat." He says. His arms go around me as he tries to reach the booze. 

I lean back and a giggle escapes my mouth. Amidst the confusion and complications going on around me, there's this one innocent guy. A smile forms on my lips as I look up at his angry face. 

"What?" He raises an eyebrow. His face is just inches from mine and I can clearly see the details on his face. He's not so bad looking. Actually, he looks like a Japanese animation character came to life. 

I shake my head. "Nothing."

"Give me that bottle," he continues to reach behind me. 

"No." I stubbornly say. 

The next thing I know, his lips are pressed against mine. For a second there, I stay frozen. Only when he laughs aloud that I move. 

"What the fuck!"

He's grinning from ear to ear, holding the bottle in his hand. "So, that's what I need to do to get what I want."

Deja vu much?!? 

I push him really hard on his chest and get up from the step I'm sitting on. "How dare you." I manage to say before storming inside the house and back to the room. My hand goes to my chest as it aches from the loud pounding from inside. 

As I lay my head on the bed, trying to clear my mind of what just happened, another image comes to me. 

"So, that's what I need to do to shut that fuckin' mouth of yours."  

It's Mark's voice, though. 

"Mark." His name leaves my mouth as I furrow my brows, staring at the wall. "Twain. Mark Tuan."

I jolt up from my laying position and jump out of bed. Tuan. That name. Rey Tuan.

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Sorry for the late update.