Hope Bound

Chapter 2

                     It's 1:30 AM and Hope is late from the party. After dealing with Ronny and being utterly embarrassed in the club, she is in no mood to face her over protective parents. Hope had seen a pretty good childhood, with her parents very much in love with each other and a little brother, JOHN 7 years younger than her. John was her companion, until he passed away at the age of 11 in an accident. John was hit by a truck while he was walking back home from school. That has been the greatest tragedy in Hope's life till date. Ever since her brother's death, her parents have been over protective about her and they hardly allow her to go out for late night parties. Tonight as she knocks at the door, her mom opens, "Oh, love, we were so worried. Where have you been all night? You know you can't go out for late night parties, right? After whatever happened with John....", Hope snaps back interrupting her mom, "For God's sake, stop being so protective mom. I ain't a kid anymore. I am already broken after John is gone. Please don't worsen my situation by being so harsh on me." Hope runs upstairs to her room, disgusted. Both her parents are shocked to see their daughter in this state, so angry and snappy.
The next morning, Hope wakes up to see 20 missed calls on her phone, 15 from Ronny and 5 from Theo along with a couple of text messages. She checks the messages.
"Hey Hope, I am really sorry for whatever happened yesterday. Just called to check if you are okay. Reply asap."- from Theo.
"Hey, I hope you are fine. I can't get over my stupidity. I am a horrible friend. I am extremely sorry about last night. Please reply."-from Ronny.
Hope is least bothered to talk to either of them, so she doesn't reply to their messages. She is equally upset with Theo, because had he not invited her for the "so called party", she wouldn't have had such a fight with Ronny. Hope adored Ronny for the way she always used to comfort her. She never in the wildest of her dreams could imagine Ronny insulting her in public. So, she makes a decision of ignoring her best friend for the first time. At 5 PM, the same day, Ronny comes to see Hope at her place to apologize. Ronny is definitely guilty. As instructed by Hope, her mother lies to Ronny that she is not at home. Theo, too, drops in at her place a couple of times but fails to see her.
A week passed by, and Hope is totally isolated, not in touch with either Theo or Ronny. She is back to mourning her brother's tragic death and her horrible break up. She hardly gets out of the house and tries to keep herself busy the whole day preparing for her GMAT. Her parents are quite lenient now, scared to lose their only child. They are extremely worried about Hope, having to see her withdraw from the outside world completely. One evening, Hope receives a message from Theo while she is busy reading; reading being the only cure that keeps her away from reality. At first she was reluctant to check her phone, but finally she opens the message and reads. Hope is taken aback, speechless!
"It's an emergency. I know you are upset with Ronny and you have all the reasons to be, but right now she really needs us. She has locked herself in her room since two days without food . I went to check on her. But she refused to speak to me. She didn't even open the door. Her dad probably doesn't even know about her as he is always busy with his work and her maid told me that since two days she hasn't come out of her room. Call me", messaged Theo.
"Hey, what happened to Ronny?", asks Hope over phone.
"If you are at home can I come down? Like right now? Something is really wrong with Ronny", says Theo.
"Yeah please."
Theo picks Hope from her place and they head towards Ronny's.
Her maid opens the main door. They knock at Ronny's door but no reply comes from the other side. "Hey Ronny. Hope here, please open the door and let me in", says Hope. "Okay but only you come in, okay?" replies Ronny. The door opens and Hope enters, leaving Theo outside in the hall. Theo knows that Hope and Ronny are thick friends and doesn't mind that he isn't allowed inside or that he is not even close to Ronny anymore like they used to be in school. But still, he always wants the best for Ronny. She is like a sister to him and he is very protective about her.
Hope and Ronny hug each other. "I am really sorry for that night. I was drunk and .... at the back of my mind I was always worried about you, so I just blurted my inner feelings out. I really had no intentions to hurt you, you know that right?", says Ronny.
"It's okay, just forget it. You tell me. Why are you looking so miserable? What's up with you? Why have you locked yourself up in this room?", asks Hope.
"I am really depressed Hope. I just feel that everything is over. I don't want to live. I have been strong enough, hiding my feelings all this while...", Ronny breaks down. "but I can't anymore, I give up."
On further probing, Ronny opens up about her situation and everything that she has kept hidden under the layers, always pretending to be happy and strong. She cannot take it anymore, she has broken down completely now. Hope is shocked to see Ronny like this, she can't believe her eyes. Until today, Hope has always been the girl in distress while Ronny has always been the stronger one- the one who is careless ,free, rebellious and the one who lives her life completely.
"Okay, promise me that you are not going to tell this to anybody, not even to Theo. I know that he cares for me a lot, but this is really something that I wouldn't like to share with anybody, okay?", says Ronny sobbing.
"Okay I promise", assures Hope.
Ronny says, "You know what? I have always promised myself to never let anybody know what's hidden behind my rebellious eyes, behind my loud laughter and behind my silly jokes..I didn't want any pity from people, or mostly didn't want people to think that I am weak. I was enough for myself, I didn't need any help. But now, I..I just don't know where to go. I am tired, I just want to sleep off and never wake up", she breaks down.
Hope hugs her and then assures her, "It's gonna be okay. Just tell me. We shall find out a solution. And no matter what, I am there for you always. You know that right? C' mon now what is it? Tell me", even Hope is about to cry.
Ronny holds her hand tight and says, "You know about my mom right? She left me and dad when I was 8", Hope knows that, she nods and asks her to continue.
Ronny continues, "My mom got married to this guy named Clive with whom she had an extra marital affair. And though I always hated my mom for leaving us, I still for the heck of it, reluctantly used to go to mom's place in California during vacations. What I didn't tell anybody till now is... ", she breaks down. Hope gets her water and asks her to hang on and be strong. Ronny takes a sip of water and then continues, "My so called step-dad Clive, came to my room one night. My mom was asleep in her bedroom downstairs. This guy used to behave extremely sweet towards me always. So I had no idea what was he doing in my room so late. I asked him if he wanted something. He didn't say anything. He just came and sat on my bed and told me that he came because he thought that I was lonely and that he just wanted to make me go to sleep. My mom never sang me a lullaby or told me bedtime stories and my dad was always busy with work, so he never got the time to do that. My mom in spite of being at home, used to be always busy over phone with her friends or may be, with her then boyfriend Clive. So I was used to going to bed alone without any parental love and care. Okay, coming back to that night, Clive started telling me a bedtime story and I was enjoying it. Then he slowly stretched himself on the bed by my side and started caressing me, saying, "It's okay, I am here with you, don't worry". I got a little uncomfortable and asked him to leave. I told him that I was sleepy. But he started touching me all over. I knew that something was wrong. I tried to raise my voice, but he gagged me with one hand and the other slid under my pants, hurting me. And then there was this sudden noise from downstairs which startled him. He thought that mom woke up and so he stopped what he was doing and started to leave. But he warned me that if I ever told this to mom, then she would never see me and that even my dad would never believe me and would send me to a home!", Ronny stops and she isn't even crying now, instead staring blankly at the wall. Hope cannot believe what she just heard. She is shocked beyond imagination. Tears roll down her face. She can't imagine that this is the same happy-go-lucky Ronny who had always been her pillar of strength, who had always been consoling her during her low phases ,when she missed her brother and when she had that ugly break up.
Ronny starts speaking again, before Hope could say anything, "You know he molested me that night. This doesn't end here. Next day when mom went for a walk, he even tried to rape me. I was so small that I didn't even know what he was trying to do. But my conscience told me that he was going to do something terrible with me. However, he couldn't rape me as the doorbell rang and I got spared. Not being able to take this anymore, I called up my dad and pretended to be sick. I asked him to pick me up immediately. I also told my dad that I really hated my mom and never wanted to see her again. That was the last time I saw my mom. Even she never forced me to visit her again as she was busy holidaying with Clive. She had never loved me enough. I was like an unwanted child for her. I know that mom and dad had problems in their marriage, but how can a mother ever abandon her child?" Her tears have dried now. It's as if she has had this conversation many times in her head and she isn't bothered anymore. But obviously she is. This will bother her, her whole life.
Hope is out of words. She is feeling guilty that she didn't talk to Ronny for a week- Ronny, who had so much pain inside her. She doesn't know where to start and what to say. So she keeps quiet, trying to cover up her tears. But she breaks down as she gives Ronny a tight hug. Even now, like the usual times, Ronny is the one trying to console Hope, which should have been the other way round.
Ronny continues, "You might be thinking why all of a sudden I am telling you this and why I am depressed, right? Hope, I have been depressed many times, but this time it is just too much to handle. I left my past behind. But now, after so many years, my ugly past is about to confront me again."
Hope is confused, "What do you mean?"
Ronny says, "My mom and her devil husband has shifted to New York because of work and that too, in our neighbourhood! And she wants to see me, because after all these years she apparently realized that she has been a hell of a mom and she wants to repent! But I don't think she actually realized anything. Where should I go now?????"
Hope doesn't know what to do or say!