Hope Bound

Chapter 8

Finally the week has arrived when Ronny will be leaving for London. Apart from missing Hope which is quite obvious, off late, Ronny is also missing Theo a lot. She definitely feels guilty for ruining Theo and Hope's so-called love relationship. She realizes that it wasn't the right way to convey the truth to Theo, though in a way she saved Theo from a false relationship, a relationship from which neither Theo nor Hope would get anything out of. But she misses their friendship knowing that she will be far away from them, from Theo very soon. She thinks of something and decides to try and make things better with Theo at least, if not with Hope. In the hope of getting her friendship back, she reaches Theo's house and knocks at the door. It's Theo who answers the door as his parents are out of town and he is all by himself.

Ronny awkwardly says, "Hey ...ummm..Sorry."

Theo surprised to see Ronny, asks her to come in and she follows him to his room upstairs without any exchange of words.

She sits on his bed and Theo sits on his bean bag casually. Theo's room is very familiar to Ronny, a place where she spent her childhood days playing video games, her teenage years jamming together and making prank calls to random people. She looks around the room. Nothing has changed much to her surprise, same metallic interiors and walls, with black rug and black furniture. The only change is that the Harry Potter posters are no more on the wall. In fact, the metallic silver walls are completely bare now, making the room naked.

Theo breaking the silence, very formally says, "So how come you are here?"

Ronny can easily sense from his formal tone that he is still upset with her. So she says apologetically, "Listen I know that you are mad at me for what I did. I deserve this, but I was very angry that day and more than that I was hurt which made me blurt out all that stuff...emm..I know that was not the right way to convey my feelings for Hope to you..but please forgive me because by the end of this week I am leaving New York for London and I really want to at least take our friendship with me. I already lost Hope but I don't want to lose you too."

Theo gets moved seeing Ronny's tears, the soft hearted one that he is. Even Theo was feeling very lonely without Ronny after he broke up with Hope. The break up took a toll on his mind, he was feeling extremely low as he really loved Hope and even his best friend Ronny wasn't there with whom he could share his pain. To kill time, he was spending his days interviewing for MBA colleges and his evenings drinking with his not so good friends. Though he was mad at Ronny, yet, he too hoped for things to get better between them. Now since Ronny is here to make things better, he feels a heavy load shifting off his chest. He hugs Ronny tight.

Theo says, "It's okay Ronny. I forgive you because I know how stupid you are. But I want to know..what is it with Hope? Does she feel the same way for you?"

Ronny taking a deep breath says, "Look Theo, I don't know about Hope but as far as I know her and I think I really know her well, she wouldn't kiss anybody just like that. If she kissed somebody with that intensity, then it definitely proves something, right? She says that it was just a kiss for her, but somehow I feel that she doesn't mean what she says..her eyes say something else..the night I went to her place to confess my feelings for her, she couldn't even look into my eyes when she said that she didn't feel anything for me and that the kiss was nothing. As for me, I am really proud of my feelings for her. I never in my dreams thought that I would love a girl. I always thought that I was interested in boys, but having explored my sexuality now, I feel a sense of freedom and I feel confident."

Theo after letting all this sink in, says in a light tone, "Hmmm..it definitely hurts knowing that I and my best friend have got our hearts set on the same girl..LOL", to which even Ronny smiles. He continues, "Anyways on a serious note, I know that Hope was definitely not into me, I discovered that while I was dating her...I always had this question in my mind that if she didn't feel for me then why was she even dating me. I also thought of sharing this with you but you were ignoring me then..and I always felt that she missed you. Somehow I could see that in her eyes. Obviously it wasn't easy for me to digest the fact that she didn't feel the way I felt for her. She used to be lost in a different world even when she was with me and even when we kissed, it felt nothing from her side. I was hurt, after all I really loved her..I still do."

Ronny feels really bad for Theo and says, "Ask me..it hurts really bad..I am sorry Theo."

Theo trying to lighten up the situation says energetically, "Well...whatever, at least I have my best friend back..so tell me..what can I do for you?"

Ronny says, "You can't do anything because we are talking about HOPE. You know how stubborn she is, right? I don't think she wants to accept the fact that she has feelings for a GIRL! and I really don't want you to talk to her..I have anyways lost all hope of getting Hope back into my life..LOL. So let's make up for the loss and spend as much time together as we can this week, okay? I am leaving day after, by 7 AM flight."

Theo replies with a grin, "Sure thing..wanna have coffee or beer hun?"

Ronny says, "Beer it is!"

Finally in this mess, at least two friends are back to what they are best at, being best buddies.

It's 2 AM and Ronny doesn't get sleep as usual. However, tonight Ronny is a little happy as compared to other days. Well, she has two reasons to be. The bitter relationship between Ronny and her mother has finally taken a positive turn after all these years, mending their long broken bond. Also, she finally got her childhood friend back into her life today, which is a big deal for her after she had spent days alone . She is happy that now, after patching up with Theo and revealing her sexuality to him, she can be open to him about matters related to Hope and share her feelings with him. But at the same time, her mind keeps traveling back to Hope. It's as if Hope has pierced her heart with a dagger. She feels nauseated with the pain her heart is bearing. So to distract herself she finally calls up Theo, "Hi, what's up? Sorry for calling so late. I wasn't getting sleep, so I called you."

Theo casually says, "Hey Ronny, it's okay. I was just playing some video game. You tell me. Are you okay?" Obviously she is not. She replies, "Yeah..emm.. I am good..it's just that I am feeling a little low. Actually..I can't deny the fact that I am missing Hope. I really want to talk to her once, you know? I mean, I have given up on her, but somewhere deep down, I can't seem to not think about her." Ronny gets emotional, but changing her tone, she says again, "Anyways, leave it. I don't want to get you bored by being all dramatic, and especially when I know that you too are going through the same phase. Atleast I am happy that you and I are friends again. Ain't you?" Theo can totally understand what Ronny is going through. They both love Hope after all. But now that Theo has no hope of getting Hope back into his life, he at least wants to help Ronny get her love. Theo says, "Ronny are you sure you don't want any help from me? I mean...I can help you in someway, right?"

"No I am really okay.. I don't need help. I will probably be back to normal once I get busy in London. So anyways, let's meet up tomorrow for lunch? Don't worry it's on me.. I will treat you..hahahahaha," Ronny laughs. Theo too laughs, approving the plan.