Chapter 33

Quintin stayed, just like Felicity asked him to do. That gay hadn't returned since he left, even though he had been gone for nearly an hour already. I was silently hoping that gay wouldn't come back. I would rather stay with the loud and talkative Quintin than be around him, who constantly nags; however, Quintin's loudness was becoming irritating to my ears. I wanted to tell him to leave or stop, but I was afraid to make him think I was rude. He was the only friend I could have at the time. I tried to focus on other things while he kept talking. I looked around the room, checking every corner. They put me in a private room that didn't look like a hospital room. It seemed like I had checked into a luxurious hotel aside from the fact there were a few medical apparatus beside the bed. There was an extra bed separated by a thick blue curtain and two sofas that anyone could lie down. The room was dull. I thought I could find anything that would distract me from Quintin's noise. I returned to him. I tried to listen, but most of the things Quintin was blabbering entered one ear and went out from the other. When he paused, I took the chance to excuse myself, "I need to go to the restroom," I said while slowly standing from sitting on the side of the bed. "Let me help—" "I'm fine. Thank you." He was near touching my skin; I stopped and immediately moved away before he could lay his fingers on me. I went to the restroom and felt some kind of relief after shutting the restroom door. There was total silence. Frankly, I only went there to escape Quintin, not to do anything. I thought of sitting on the toilet cover because there was no other place I would be sitting aside from it, but I almost winced from pain when my skin touched the surface. "Oh, gosh—" I whimpered. I waited until the pain subsided. When I turned my head, I saw my reflection on the sliding shower door. It was a mirror, not just a typical transparent sliding door like what I have in my bathroom at home. I saw my arms and neck that happened to be exposed. I felt stupid for burning my skin even though I couldn't remember how it happened. I sat facing the mirror and examined my body to see how much damage I got by removing the robe. I saw wounds. Most of my skin was peeling, but the outer skin was still fresh and wet. 'Disgusting to look at.' Honestly, even though I still had hair and my face wasn't scalded by the hot water, I still looked wasted. I couldn't understand my appearance when I looked at my reflection. It wasn't the same Elyana I used to know. The woman in front of me was weak and distressful. My parents crossed my mind at that moment. I started wondering if they already heard what had happened to me. I would be glad if they didn't because they would surely book a flight. "I missed you, Dad...Mom..." I whispered, and just that, my tears started falling down my cheeks like a waterfall. Sobs escaped from my lips. I bit my lower lip to stop it, but it choked me after a few seconds of trying to cage it. I got forced to let out a cry and didn't expect Quintin would hear it easily. "E-Elyana? Are you okay?" he asked while anxiously knocking on the door. "Elyana, open this, please," he begged, but I had no intention of opening it for him to see me in that state. "L-leave me alone! Go home, Quintin! Send that gay home, too; I-I don't want to disturb anyone of you!" I exploded. The knocks disappeared. He got stunned to hear me say those for sure. "Don't think like that," he responded after a while. "You're not—" "Yes, I am! I kept on bothering people and giving everyone a headache!" I cut him off. He didn't need to deny it because I could see how much stress I was giving Felicity. Honestly, I didn't expect saying these would make me feel a little better—lighter. "No, Elyana. Open this door and come out now. Let's talk here outside." I thought he was already gone. His voice remained tender even though I already yelled at him, but Felicity's voice and the way he screamed at me were those registered in my mind and what I was hearing. "No! J-just leave, Quintin!" I cried. He stopped talking, and I heard whispers outside. I was sure it wasn't Felicity who Quintin was talking to, but I didn't care. When I calmed down, those voices outside disappeared. I stood up carefully and went near the sink to wash my face, but the moment my hand got wet by the water, I almost screamed. My burns on the hand hurt. The pressure of the water felt like tiny needles on my skin. I turned the faucet to lessen the water pressure and gently washed my face. After composing myself and drying my face using the towel, I went out. I thought there was nobody I would see when I came out, but I was shocked to see somebody sitting on the sofa. It was no longer Quintin and not that dragon-like gay when angry. The unexpected visitor immediately stood from sitting when I walked out of the restroom. "H-hi!" he greeted me. It was evident in his eyes how ashamed he was. "I brought some food from home. Felicity went straight to the mansion to get you some clothes," he said and pointed to the table where he placed the cooked foods he was talking about. Felix, couldn't look me straight in the eyes. "Thank you, but I'm not hungry," I answered coldly and returned to the bed. "O-okay, just eat later when you're hungry," he replied. He remained standing next to the sofa. I didn't expect he would come. I thought he was still in Boracay, still trying to propose to Pretzel. I sat on the bed facing him, hiding that I was in pain when I sat down. It was excruciating, and I wanted to call a nurse to ask for medicine to drink or anything to apply to ease my discomfort. The ointment they used to remove the aching almost an hour ago had already disappeared. "Not to be rude, but I want to rest now," I uttered to make him leave already. "O-okay, but before I leave, I just want to say something—" I cut him off. "I don't think that's necessary." "Even though it's not, I just want to say I'm not hating you. I don't know where you got that idea, honestly, but I never did." "Huh! Really? You were showing it every day to me, and remember what you did when we were in Boracay?" I snorted. "I remember; that's why I'm here to make amends. Sorry for what I did—I got carried away with fear that you will tell Pretzel what I told you when we had a drink." "What the heck, Felix! You're so st****!" I yelled. I was beyond frustrated. He looked down. "I know I am stupid, and I'm sorry about how I acted back then." His voice was sincere. Even he couldn't look me in the eyes at that time; I knew those were genuine. For a moment, I suddenly felt tired of arguing, but I was curious to find out something from him. "So, how was it? Did you finally propose?" I inquired. Felix sighed, giving me thought that the proposal didn't go right, but when I saw a little smile on the corner of his lip and how his eyes brightened after a nick of seconds, I already knew it was the opposite of what I thought first. "She gave me a yes," he uttered. "I-I'm happy for you." I stammered, trying to sound chill, but I felt a pinch of pain inside my heart. "Thank you!" Felix smiled sweetly, and I looked away before he could notice the smile I was faking. "Are you okay?" It was too late; Felix already saw. "By the way, I want to clear something up. I heard you had been thinking I hate you since we were kids," 'I was shocked. I mean, how did he find out? Wait—the only person who knew that was Felicity. Did he just—?' "W-who told you?" I let out. "It doesn't matter," he answered. "What I want to say is when we were kids, I was envious of you and Felipe for having a strong bond and confidence. I was jealous how both of you could voice out what's inside your head, and Felipe was too brave to come out even though he knew Dad would get furious," he continued. I was confused and stunned. I didn't expect he would apologize to me and, at the same time, clear things out in all places and situations. All those times, I thought he hated me because he was too rude to me, avoiding me like I was carrying a disease, and I even remember him telling Felicity to stop making friends with me because I was a brat and a bad influence. "You know what—I want to punch you right in the face now," I said with a shudder. "I will let you, but it's not my fault if your burns will ache after." Felix chuckled. He made me raise my eyebrows with that excuse, but I realized he was right. For a few minutes, there was silence between us. There felt peace deep inside my heart after hearing he didn't hate me and Felix didn't hate me. In that short pause, Felix broke the silence, "Are we good now?" "I-I guess so," I answered, still a bit unsure. However, I knew that answer was enough to end the misunderstandings, and soon those disappointments would pass.