YVONNE was turning her head from side to side as she walked out of the hotel’s lobby. She told Rohan she’d leave and didn’t want him to send her off or see her. Good thing he wasn’t there by the time she checked out.
Or maybe she was the only one thinking he’d be there. Yvonne shook her head upon reaching the taxi that’d bring her home. She must pull her senses together. Forgetting about everything was too hard to bear, and she just couldn’t be shaken that way by just seeing him.
Yvonne gave the driver instructions to get her home. However, while they were halfway there, she decided not to go home yet and go to her best friend’s place instead. There was no hassle getting there, though. Carmina’s house was just a few kilometers before hers.
“Thank you,” she said as she handed the driver her taxi fare.
Beaming, she rang the doorbell. It had been a while since they saw each other, and she was sure Carmina missed her a lot.
Soon her best friend opened the gate as she carried her two-year-old son in one arm.
“Hello there!” she greeted and pinched the chubby cheek of her godson. “How are you, baby boy? Did you miss me?”
Carmina’s gaze reverted to the luggage bag she was carrying.
“Did you run away from home, Yvonne?”
She shook her head in response and went inside.
Yvonne plopped down on the sofa upon reaching the living room. She didn’t hear anything from her best friend, of course. Carmina just left her there seated with her godson, which she played with until her best friend was back from the kitchen with a cup of coffee.
“Here, have some coffee.” Carmina handed her the cup and got her son afterward. “So… what brought you here if you didn’t run away from home?”
Her best friend looked at her intently, and she knew very well what she was doing. Carmina was trying to read her.
“What?” Yvonne took a couple of sips of her coffee.
“I know there’s something you want to tell me.” Her best friend sat on the sofa across from her. “Something happened, right? I know you, Yvonne. You won’t come here for nothing.”
She groaned and leaned against her seat. There she was, thinking that coming over would buy her some time before she faced her parents’ interrogation, but her best friend did it beforehand. If there was someone who knew her better aside from her parents, it was Carmina. And maybe her best friend knew her more than she knew herself.
“Right…” Yvonne heaved a sigh. “I got into trouble.”
Her best friend’s mouth dropped open.
“Jesus Christ, Yvonne! What kind of trouble—”
“It’s not what you think it is.” She shut her eyes and opened them again after a few seconds. “Actually, it was Anthony….”
“And?” Carmina probed.
She was having second thoughts if she’d tell her the truth about Anthony. Yvonne was sure she’d definitely scold her because Carmina had warned her about him many times already, yet she didn’t listen. But in the end, Yvonne realized she couldn’t keep it a secret for a long time. Carmina would eventually learn about it from her parents.
“He… he did something bad to me—”
“That’s it, Yvonne! Now the worst happened!” Her best friend sounded really mad, but her anger clearly wasn’t for her. “How many times did I warn you to stay away from that Anthony? One look at him and I already knew that he was no good for you. What did he do to you? Come on, tell me!”
She saw how Carmina gritted her teeth.
“He…” She let out a long sigh.
“He what, Yvonne? For Christ’s sake, cut to the chase!”
Carmina’s son even flinched due to the tone of her voice.
“He wanted to have sex with me, but you know me… I declined.”
“And he forced himself on you?” Carmina asked as her chest went up and down.
“It didn’t happen.” Yvonne stood up and went to her best friend’s side. “Someone saved me.”
“Who saved you?” She bit her lower lip and met Carmina’s gaze. “Yvonne, you know I don’t like it whenever you pause like this—”
“Rohan.”
A deafening silence ensued between them. Carmina then cupped her mouth and stared at her as though she couldn’t believe what she had just told her.
“Come on…” Yvonne slouched on the sofa and sighed. “It’s a small world, and it’s not impossible for us to meet.”
“It’s not that I think it’s impossible… I mean… look at the coincidence.”
“It’s not even a coincidence,” she countered.
“Eh?”
“His family owns the hotel, Carmina.” She folded her legs and hugged them.
“So, you mean to say you checked into their hotel intentionally.” Her best friend folded her arms over her chest.
“Nope. But my editor did.”
“Your editor knew about Rohan?”
“No.”
“It’s a coincidence then—”
“You know I don’t believe in such a thing—”
“I beg to disagree. It’s just that you stopped believing.”
She and Carmina had a staring contest that lasted for she didn’t know how long.
“Ah, Carmina….” Yvonne buried her face in her palms and groaned. “What should I do now?”
“Your life must go on, of course.” Carmina gently caressed her back. “It’s you who said that this is a small world.”
“It’s been years and—”
“Stop right there.”
She raised her head and turned to her best friend.
“Why?”
“He had hurt you, right?”
She nodded consecutively. “Hm…”
“And you promised yourself you’ll forget about him.”
“Hm…”
“Then you must continue moving on.”
How ironic that she was trying to move on when she and Rohan didn’t even have a relationship. It was just that he had hurt her feelings back then when he rejected her after confessing what she had been feeling for him all along. She started hating him that day… or maybe she just hated the idea that he was someone she couldn’t have.
“Anyway, do your parents know about what happened?” Carmina asked after a while.
She exhaled sharply.
“You know what, I don’t know what to feel toward Rohan. I’m pretty sure it was him who called my mom and told her about it. I’d like to keep it a secret, but… they already know.”
“Whoa… that was fast. Maybe he’s just concerned about you—”
“It would be better if he’s not.”
“What?”
“It’s not good when I’m moving on,” she said firmly.
“Ah… right.” Carmina scratched the side of her neck. “You know what? You should head home now. If your parents already know what Anthony did, I’m sure they’re worried about you.”
“I know.”
“Come, Yohan and I will drive you home.” Carmina rose from her seat.
“Can I stay here a little longer—”
“Yvonne…”
“Coming.” She stood up lazily and grabbed her luggage.
SHE went straight to her room the moment she got home. Yvonne didn’t see her parents when she arrived and found out they were out. They thought she wouldn’t be home early, so the two decided to go to her uncle’s house to unwind. Maybe her parents really got stressed out about the news.
Sighing, she plopped down on the bed and started unpacking her things. Right after that, she had a quick shower and immediately went back to writing what she had left before the event.
But her fingers only managed to type a paragraph with three short sentences, and she was left hanging.
“Oh, no… not now… please,” she told herself before letting out a frustrated groan.
Yvonne leaned against her seat and tilted her head backward. Maybe it was a terrible idea to get herself back to work after what happened. Her emotions hadn’t ceased yet, and everything seemed overwhelming at that moment. She composed herself after a while, but she didn’t resume writing and turned off her laptop. And it was at that moment that her phone started ringing. Yvonne rushed to the bedside table and picked it up, only to find that an unknown number was calling her.
She was always hesitant to take calls like that, but it was funny how she answered that one without hesitation.
“Hello, may I speak with—”
“Rohan?” She recognized the voice immediately. Yvonne had memorized that voice, and she couldn’t be wrong.
“Yes, it’s me….”
“Where did you get my number?” She cringed, for it was too cliché.
“Your mom.”
“Oh.” So, he changed his digits. She remembered restricting his old number and all of his social media accounts from long ago. “And where did you get my mom’s number?”
“Come on, Yvonne. It’s the age of technology. I found your mom on social media and asked her.”
“I should’ve blocked you on her account, too.”
“What did you say?” Rohan sounded like he was almost laughing about what he had heard.
“Damn it,” she whispered upon realizing how loud she was earlier. “Nothing. Why did you call me anyway?”
“I just want to know if you got home safely.”
Yvonne’s eyes widened, and she immediately felt her stomach flutter. Was she dreaming or not?
She tapped her cheeks hard and even pinched them.
“Ouch!”
“Yvonne… is everything okay?” Rohan asked.
“Y-yeah. I just bumped my toe on the door.” Of course, it was a lie. “I-I’m fine. And oh, I got home safely.”
“I’m relieved to hear that.”
“E-eh?”
She didn’t know if she heard it right or if her hearing was starting to fail. But she didn’t hear any response from Rohan, and the next thing she knew, he had already ended the call.