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"Seb is my older brother. He didn't know that you and I were friends so he shared a few things with me."
Kali sat there frozen in place. She hadn't planned on letting any of her friends know about her situation. She didn't want them to pity her.
"Was that why you befriended me again...? Because you felt pity after finding out about it?" Kali's eyes turned sharp.
Avery quickly shook her head, "Of course not. I mean, I did felt guilty for accusing you for you know... what you did to Chand."
"But, you're one of my closest friends Kali. And I couldn't believe I allowed myself to selfishly judge you without even hearing your side of the story," she continued.
"And yeah, maybe finding out you're sick might've been the last stroke..." Avery trailed off, realizing that she indeed felt pity for her dear friend.
Kali blinked as she bit the inside of her cheek and nodded slowly, trying to understand her friend's words. She knew that feeling pity for her is inevitable. That's just how human nature works.
She gets what Avery was saying. But then she remembered how much of a burden she was to her own mother. She doesn't want to inconvenience anyone anymore.
"Have you..." Kali trailed off as she stared Avery in the eye to which the latter understood.
"Don't worry, I didn't tell anyone. I figured since you've been keeping it from us, you most likely don't want anyone from finding it out," the youngest spoke, her eyes casted down on the fine white sand.
Feeling a sudden lump in her throat, Kali could only nod at her direction. After a few seconds, Kali finally found her voice back and asked, "Let's just keep it between us, okay?"
Avery could hear the pleading her voice. Her eyebrows knitted in confusion. She didn't understand why Kali would want to keep it as a secret instead of telling them.
Reading her thoughts, the eldest gave her an answer, "I don't want more eyes to pity me, that goes to you as well. I don't want any of you to feel that way towards me."
Half-truth.
What she had said wasn't a lie yet it wasn't the whole-truth either. Kali really didn't want any of her friends to see her that way.
Moreover, she'd most likely hate it if she were to rebuild her relationship with them just because they'd feel guilty after finding out about her condition.
I also don't want to burden anyone, she thought.
Avery sighed after hearing Kali's response for there is nothing that she could really do.
It isn't her secret to tell in the first place and she just needs to respect Kali's request, it's the least she could do after how she had treated her in the past prior to knowing about her situation.
The stiff atmosphere between the two suddenly broke as they heard a shriek from afar.
The two saw Chantal and Phoebe shouting a mouthful of unfiltered words as the two were being carried over Declan and Pierre's shoulders before throwing the two girls unto the water.
On the other hand, Xena and Chand were both laughing while watching the two girls being downed into the water who eventually pulled the other two boys with them.
"God, they're such kids," the youngest uttered.
Avery's comment and the scene playing in front of them brought a small smile in Kali's lips. Indeed, she had missed them.
