Change

Chapter 7

6 months later:

Forth's pov: 

I blankly stared at the people standing in front of me. 

"It's been a while." Max smiled thinly. 

I didn't say anything. 

I had no idea what to say. 

Do they really expect me to greet them cheerfully? 

It's been almost a year since that incident. 

I just recently learned to live normally. To not panic at the slightest touch by a stranger. For my nightmares to stop haunting me. For me to be able to talk normally using full sentences. 

 "What are you guys doing here?" I asked after a few minutes of tense silence.

Max, Tul, Lam, Park, Pha, and Kit looked at me with guilty expressions. 

Oh. They finally found out the truth. 

"You found out the truth," I said flatly. 

They nodded. 

I felt no happiness.

I'm already too far past that point. 

"I don't hate any of you. So you don't need to ask for forgiveness." I sighed pushing my hands into my jeans front pockets. 

They looked at me surprised. 

"I was hurt. I was never angry. I didn't really have the time nor energy to spend getting angry at you guys." I said. 

They bit their lips. 

"If the truth has come out, then it's good. The real perpetrators are already behind bars anyway. There's nothing more you need to do." I looked away. 

"Forth-" Lam spoke up. 

"Please don't expect me to go back to being your friend like in the past. Because I can't do that. I don't hate any of you. And I wish you will have a happy life and avoid being deceived by someone like that again. But that's the most I can do. I can't do anymore." I cut him off. 

They looked down. 

I could feel guilt crawling up inside me seeing their sad expressions. 

"Maybe. Sometime in the future, we can be friends again." I spoke up. 

They immediately lit up and looked at me wide-eyed. 

"But I can't right now. I hope you can understand. I can't bring up the energy nor the will to become friends with you again as of now. But maybe sometime in the future, I'll be able to do it." I added. 

They were a bit disappointed but nodded nonetheless.

 "We understand. What we did was unacceptable. We understand how you feel. You have our numbers. So don't hesitate to reach out when you're ready. We'll respond right away." Tul said. 

The others nodded in agreement. 

 "We'll leave now. Reach out if you ever need us." Pha added. 

I nodded silently. 

With that, they went out of the house. 

I went to the living room from the entrance and slumped onto the couch. 

I sighed and laid my head back on the backrest before closing my eyes. 

I felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest.