Never / Forever

CHAPTER 2 - Patawad

DISCLAIMER : I do not own Enrique Gil, Liza Soberano , or any of the characters that you recognize. I'm also not a professional writer. I'm only just making this up as I go along.

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Hope was curled up in bed with dried tears staining her beautiful yet sad face. Her hand clutched a crumpled letter she had been reading intermittently for a week.

"Hopie?" There was a soft knock on the door, followed by her father's head peeking inside her room. She didn't answer. "EJ and Rhianna are here to see you," Daddy John told her. She still refused to answer. "I'm gonna tell them to come up here, okay?" He was met with more silence, until he chose to leave.

Hope didn't say anything because she was angry, and she didn't want to say anything that could hurt her father's feelings. She had been giving him and her Tita Rinnai the silent treatment for over a week now. As it turned out, they knew about Quen's planned proposal surprise for her on Valentine's night, and they didn't tell her. Quen had asked them for her hand in marriage a while back, and she never had an inkling.

Why are you angry at them? Surprise nga eh. Kasalanan ba nila na pinili mong mag-beast mode nung araw na yon?

She curled up into a ball, cocooning herself inside Quen's hoodie that she chose to wear that day. That was all she had been wearing lately...the hoodies that he left behind...because it smelled like him.

It won't smell like him pretty soon. Maligo ka kasi! Bakit pa? Para sa shower ka naman mag-iiyak?

Her thoughts were interrupted by another knock on the door. The door slowly opened, as if testing her temperament. You never know when she'd throw something against the door when she's in one of her moods.

"Hopie?" she heard EJ's voice. He slowly entered the room, followed by Rhianna who was hiding behind him. "Hi, Hope," he greeted her nervously.

"How are you? I'm sorry...stupid question," Rhianna apologized to her.

"Why are you guys here?" Hope asked them sniffling and not making a move to get out of bed.

"Andie sent us," Rhianna told her.

"That, and we were worried about you," EJ added, lightly elbowing Rhianna on her rib. Rhianna gave them a peace sign.

"Is she mad at me?" Hope asked them sadly.

"No, sweetie," EJ replied, shaking his head profusely.

"Why would she be mad at you?" Rhianna asked her.

"Because Quen left, and it's all because of me," Hope anwsered, tears starting to well up in her eyes again.

"Oh, no, no, no," EJ said, climbing on her bed and sitting next to her. Rhianna joined them, climbing on the other side, both of them flanking her now.

"Andie doesn't hate you," EJ said to her, wiping her tears away.

"She just kinda feels awkward, getting caught between you and Quen," Rhianna added, handing Hope some more tissue. "She's sad too, you know?"

"Yes," EJ agreed. "You know that she looks to you as if you were her own sister too."

Hope took the tissue that Rhianna offered, and blew her nose with it. Both EJ and Rhianna had their palms running up and down her back to comfort her as she tried to stifle a sob.

EJ saw the crumpled paper in Hope's hand. "Is that Quen's letter?" he asked. Hope merely nodded her head. "Can I read it?" he asked her again.

Hope shook her head vigorously. It had only been a week since Quen left for Spain. The wounds are still fresh, and she didn't feel like sharing her pain with anyone, not her family, not even her friends.