A Lover of Rain

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE:

Every minute of every day I tried to make amends for the action that I have done that made Maya grow resentment towards me. However, everything that I did to repair the damage it caused in our friendship was met with cold response. It's been weeks since Maya had been home because she's sleeping in her cousin's apartment. Her room upstairs stayed the same and most of her clothes were still in the closet, yet their owner would refuse to come home. There's still the four of us in the house but whenever I'd look around, I'd get reminded that there's one missing which would always bring pain through my chest. Maya wasn't home most of the time, so I included watering her sunflowers in her room in my daily routine before I go to school just to prevent her treasured plants from dying.

The weekend came faster than I expected but I didn't have any plans so I took the initiative to help Shay pack her homemade meals she cooked for Jacob. He's still recovering from the car accident he was in six weeks ago but from what I know, the cast on his legs will get removed any time soon. Shay has been going back and forth from Manila to Cavite almost every day just to help with her boyfriend's recovery. The job she was eyeing on where she met Felix during the interview, like fate was trying to pull a prank on her, was a failure. She didn't get the job but it didn't hurt her the way I was expecting since it gave her time to fully commit to taking care of Jacob.

I took some of the last pieces of the parmesan crusted chicken Shay cooked earlier into the lunch box along with some fruits. His parents were busy preparing at the church since the holy week will start two weeks from now and Shay promised to stay for the weekend in their house to help Joshua take care of Jacob instead. I was quietly helping Shay pack when a notification from my phone caught my attention. I skimmed the text Charlie sent and it was an invitation to the opening of his aunt's restaurant tomorrow.

"I don't think I can go," I gave Shay a quick glance while she's reading her own invitation on the phone. "Nasa Cavite pa rin ako bukas at baka tanggalin na rin yung cast ni Jacob, we're still not sure. Just tell Charlie I'll visit with Jacob when he's better, but I can't go at the opening, okay."

"It's fine," I nodded. "I can tell him, he'll understand."

We continued packing the lunch box she made for the three of them in the kitchen while talking about Jacob's recovery until we noticed Clyde marching down the stairs wearing sweatpants with no shirt on. He was scratching his eyes when he came to the kitchen to get some water.

He wiped his mouth before acknowledging our existence at the table, "Good morning... did you guys put my papers in the trash can or something?" Clyde asked since he spent the night studying with Sera in the countertop table. After clasping the lids shut on the lunch box, I pointed at his stuff I neatly placed on the couch instead before helping Shay in the kitchen. He gave me a thumbs up as his way of saying thank you before grabbing some bread to make toasts for Sera.

"Are you going to the opening tomorrow with Eric?" Shay suddenly asked while putting the lunch boxes in a bag. I took a bite on the strawberry I prepared in a bowl earlier before shaking my head. "Probably with Yohan... I don't know yet." I said, my eyes were zoning out at the wall behind her.

"You do realize you can't avoid Eric forever, right?" She asked a question that makes sense yet I don't feel like answering.

It's been six weeks since our conversation in the hospital happened and I have been slowly putting some distance between the two of us. I have a lot on my plate that I couldn't afford putting my heart in more painful situations that I will only get by pretending I'm not affected with the blossoming tension between Eric and Clare.

I'd like to think I wouldn't back down when I fight for my feelings for him but how can I fight for somebody who kept putting out the fire between us? We were headed in a direction I thought we were destined to end up at, but Clare came and suddenly our relationship took a detour from the ending I was hoping for.