Sentimental Chances (On-Going)

Chapter 36 : What We Could've Done

About a couple of hours later, after my brother left, I wanted to call it a night, but my head wouldn't let me because of the news that I had to process. So I read the book that I borrowed from the attic library to keep my mind off it.

All of a sudden, my stomach started to rumble.

I decided to go down to the dining room to get a snack. There was a free snack shelf there where they put various chips and sweets.

It was a bit dark, and the only light coming in was the warm glow of the porch light shining through the window. I would've turned it on, but I couldn't find the switch. When I got to the dining room, I began choosing which one I would get.

"Pepsi?" someone called out to me.

"Jesus!" I exclaimed, and it made me drop a couple of bags of chips from my hand. It nearly gave me a heart attack for the second time.

It was Roy, standing by the door, looking rather guilty for unintentionally startling me. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"That's alright. Are you here to get a snack too?"

"Not really, I heard your door opening, and when I got out to check on you, I saw you coming down..."

His reason was odd to me, yet I just nodded to ease the awkwardness. "Okay... I just got hungry. I'm gonna eat it in my room."

"Oh... cool, by the way, I saw your brother coming in earlier, looking for you? I didn't get a chance to talk to him. I was kinda... preoccupied. Did something happen?" he asked.

"We... just had a little argument, but we talked it out, so we're okay now."

"I'm glad. Where'd you go?"

"No... Nowhere special, just to get some air, and then Roldan saw me and gave me a ride back here," I lied, because I didn't feel like telling the whole story.

"At least you're okay, and that you and your brother worked things out," Roy said.

"Yup. What about you? Is... Is everything okay? I noticed you look upset this morning, and you didn't want to go to the studio..." Well, I had to ask.

"Yeah..." he stammered, but then he shook his head. "Actually, no."

"What's wrong?"

"I... have to leave Barcon."

"WHAT!?" I reacted so loudly that I thought I might wake someone up. Moreover, I felt my stomach drop. After realizing my volume, I paused for a bit. "You're leaving? Why?"

"My dad's colleague called me this morning from Johannesburg, South Africa. They said he got into an accident."

"Oh... God."

"He got hurt falling and hit his head on a rock in a cave."

That was so hard to hear. It was so devastating. One big news was a shock enough, and then that. All that together in one day.

It was too much to process, but this wasn't about me or my dilemma. "Is he... Is he in the hospital right now?" I asked.

Roy looked so helpless and anxious. "Yeah... Now, he's in a coma and I'm really worried," he stammered because he was starting to cry, yet felt embarrassed showing his tears. "I'm sorry."

All I could do was hug him. He hugged me back tightly as I felt his tears fall on the back of my shirt, feeling very desperate to make it all go away.

"It's okay. It's gonna be okay," I whispered. "When are you planning to leave?"

Roy pulled away from me and wiped his face. "I was hoping to leave tomorrow, but that's not possible. I've spent the whole day trying to book a train ticket to the city airport, but the earliest departure is in four days."