Chapter 78 - Catching Up With An Old Friend

Alice smiled at the message that she had received from Adam. These days, she would receive updates about everyone's health from Adam in the most comic ways. This time, he had messaged her about Felix who usually never had much to talk about but suddenly now that he was not allowed to talk had become a chatter box and was ordering Adam around by writing things on a small white board while the laziest of them all Apollo was suddenly having the urge to play tennis, even though he had multiple fractures! A meme with him pulling his hair was followed. Alice shook her shoulders with amusement and sent him an emoticon patting his head like a baby. 

It had been a week since she had returned and tonight, she was planning to catch up with Lana before the other girl returned to Country A. Since her return, she and K had been in constant touch and she had let go of her resolve of not keeping in touch with him. This was for the simple reason that she would not fall for him. After thinking carefully, she had come to the realization that the more she pushed him away the more importance she gave him in her heart. But if she treated him like a friend like when she had been best friends with Lana, then in the future when they drifted apart naturally, then her heart would not have any regrets. But...now was not the time to think of all this. She needed to ask Lana about the past. Who was that guy that she had met at the seaside resort? 

She glanced at the time and grimaced. The girl had still not changed. She was late as always. Clucking, she sipped at the orange cocktail and waited patiently as she thought back to what she did remember..

They had planned to go to Lana's sea side resort with their classmates to ring in the new year. But she had been reluctant to go and wanted to spend some time in peace. However, she had gone to the resort because she remembered, Lana going on a date with Jeff and then the girl had messaged her that Jeff had proposed. She remembered squealing in excitement but she did not understand why she did not remember congratulating Lana. And why had Lana messaged her instead of telling her about this when she came back? And why did she not remember anything else from the holiday? After this, her first memory was of waking up in the hospital with her father sitting by her bedside. He had told her that she had fainted when she heard about her mother's sickness. The next month had passed in a haze with her sitting by her mother's bedside and watching her mother fade away little by little until she was in so much pain that she did not even recognize her own daughter. She had missed her friends but her father had refused to let her contact anyone saying that her mother would not want anyone to see her like that. At the time her father had fed her with so many anti depressant drugs claiming that it was for her own good. And she had not once doubted him until she returned from the funeral home and found Samual and his mother living in the home.

She had been hysterical and hated him but even then she had tried to tell herself that losing her mother had been hard on her so it must have been even more so for him as her mother had spent most of her time with her father. She had continued to hate him but also continued to take the medicines that he fed her regularly. It was at this time the dreams of that man had been the highest. By then she had already stopped going to school and most of her days were spent sleeping in her own room. But then his dreams started to make her restless as if she was missing out on something. As if she had promised him something and he was waiting for her. She had assumed that it was the result of having the medications. It was causing her to have hallucinations. It was why she had stopped taking the medicines."

Her face had turned grim from the thoughts of the past the previous smile vanished. She had hidden the fact that she had stopped taking the medication from her father under the mistaken belief that he would worry. Who could have guessed that this little bit of care for him would end up saving her. Because, as she had later discovered, her father's plot to send her to a mental asylum and throw her out of his way had been ruined by her. But when she thought that she had taken those medicines for more than three months, of how she used to have seizures and headaches for it when she stopped taking them, she could not help but hate everyone who abandoned her. Her so called maternal grandparents who abandoned her when they discovered that she was not their daughter's biological daughter, her paternal grandparents who had no idea what their son was doing to his own daughter. And even her friends who never bothered to check up on her. In hind sight, she knew that it may not have been their fault and her father must have done something to stop them. 

Just then she was surrounded by a scented embrace and Lana placed a few air kisses on her cheek before stepping back with a grin," I am so sorry for being late! I was shopping and the time just got away! Thank you for waiting for me Al!"

Alice genuinely smiled back at the bubbly woman and felt a bit of nostalgia at the thought that at least her childhood friend had not yet changed. Shaking her head, she said," It's not a problem. I really wanted to catch up with you."

Lana smiled back and looked at her friend carefully. After meeting Alice that day, Lana had realized  stupid she had been in the past. How could she have believed that Alice, her best friend since childhood would be jealous of her and resent her for being in a relationship. Her curiosity had caused her to ask around this last week and what she had discovered had confirmed her doubts. Something had been too wrong at the time but because her own ego had been hurt, she had not looked for her friend. And she had even held a grudge..

She looked down on Alice's hands that were placed on the table and placed her hands on top of hers before saying," Al! For the last six years, I have firmly believed that you owe me an apology. But this last one week has made me realize that it might just be the other way round. When your father told me that you felt betrayed that I had found a boyfriend and were jealous of me, I believed him. Even though I knew that you were not someone who would resent anyone their happiness, I still believed him. Coupled with your silence and no replies to my messages, I was really angry that you would be so too faced, telling me that you were happy for me one minute and then ignoring me the next. But now I can guess. Your father cut you off from everyone, didn't he?

I never liked that man but I always thought that he was your father and thus let it be! I should have trusted my instincts and fought him, dam* it. Alice, I am sincerely apologizing to you for being my stupi* teenage self, I hope you will forgive me."

Alice felt touched at her friend's honesty and clasping back the hand smiled, "We were both played, Lana. So don't feel guilty. And even though there are some things that I want to ask you about the past, why don't you tell me about you and Jeff. Did you not say in the past that Jeff was just a crush but you were going to marry Suga from BTS?1

"Hey! That was me being childish! But what about you? You actually are dating a member of SKY! That is every fan girl's dream come true!"

As the two people immersed themselves in the past and present, reviving the old friendship with ease, the dinner was finished soon. It was only as they were about to part ways, that Alice finally gathered her courage and asked, "Lana, you spoke about a boy. Someone that I liked. Can you tell me who that was? Did I meet him at your sea side villa? Was he an employee there or did any of our classmates bring him along."

Alice had looked away from Lana when she asked this question and that is why she failed to notice the shocked expression on Lana's face. When the woman failed to reply for a long time, Alice looked up then it was her turn to be stumped when Lana said, "Al, that year, you did not go to the sea side villa with us.. Don't you remember?"