Always Been You (Vic Fuentes) ✔️

CHAPTER 5

oh man. working two jobs does not leave much time to write. ugh. sorry guys.

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"So, what do you think about this? And be honest." Vic said as he handed me a small stack of papers, enthusiasm twinkling in his entire demeanor.

I raised an eyebrow as I looked at him, not even taking much interest in the papers. I kinda figured they were lyrics, anyway. "I thought we were here to talk... not discuss your dysfunctional writing." I murmured.

"I know," He said with a deep sigh. "But this is kind of a low-key apology to you,"

"An apology?" I glanced down at the first piece of paper, his terrible handwriting easily recognizable. At the top of the page was the word 'Circles' written and thickly underlined.

"It's a song I wrote after that attack in Paris a few weeks ago... it's about friendship, not letting go, always being there for each other. And it got me thinking about you... about us." Vic then said, the excitement leaving his body. "I kinda left you behind, Moo."

I snorted at that. Did he say kinda? Kinda?? "You don't know the fucking half of it, Fuentes." I snapped before dropping the papers on his bed.

"And that's why I wanna talk,"

I wasn't sure how this was gonna turn out, but part of me wanted to talk, too. Probably mostly to make him feel intensely guilty for leaving me behind those years ago. Yes I was bitter. Yes I was salty. And I had my reasons. But alright, fine, let's talk.

I sat down on the edge of Vic's King-sized bed and sighed. "Do you remember the last time you ever texted me?" I asked him.

His thick brows furrowed together. He was thinking about it for a moment. But then he finally shook his head. "No, I don't." He whispered thoughtfully.

Subconsciously I nodded, already figuring that this was going to be his answer. I did remember, though. I remembered it like it only happened a few days ago, while in reality it had been close to four years. Five years since we'd last seen each other, and nearly four since we last spoke at all. Not that our conversations were very lengthy even before that.

But the last time that Vic texted me was one of the worst days of my life, if not simply the worst one. My breathing hitched as the memory surfaced and I told him all about it.

I had been sitting on the uncomfortable wooden chair for hours. My ass hurt, my back hurt, but I wasn't getting up. I wasn't leaving her side.

No one could tell me what was wrong with her. Nobody could tell me whether she was going to be okay. "Please wake up, mom." I whispered, clasping onto my mother's cold hand.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I watched her. Sleeping.

She had been feeling really sick for a while now. She felt strange pains and with every day that passed, it only got worse. My mom never got sick, though. She had always been strong and healthy. That's why this was so weird.

It came so suddenly, and even the doctors didn't have an explanation. They decided that it was best if they'd chemically comatose her so that they could run tests without her having to deal with the sickness and the pain.

The only problem was, that after all of the testing, she never woke up. And still, there was no real explanation as to where the pain and sickness came from.

"Hey Viccy, are you in town?" I texted my best friend.

It didn't take long for him to reply, and it made me feel a sense of relief. "Yeah for a day or 2. I'm at Cara's."

Ah, the girlfriend.

"Do you have some time? Things are pretty fucked up and I could really use my best bud right now..." I then texted him.

Fifteen minutes slowly went by, and I got no message back from him. I sighed and sat back. Dad was at home. He wasn't able to stick around constantly, which I understood. I mean, he still had a daily job to do. And I promised to update him if anything happened.

And then something did happen. The heart monitor started going crazy. My mom's chest rose and fell, quicker with each beat. "Mom?" I asked automatically, grabbing her hand again.

But the second I touched her, her body went stiff. The heart monitor flat-lined and within a millisecond, her body was limp again. "Mom!?" I then screamed, once it dawned on me that her heartbeat was gone.

What happened after that was kind of a blur. Doctors started rolling into the room. They tried to revive her. A nurse tried to calm me down, but I didn't even take notice of her. She was dead. My mom was dead. Just like that. Gone.

And it wasn't until I heard the doctor note the time of death that I heard my phone ringing. It was a text from Vic, the last one I ever got from him;

"Kinda busy here, Moo."

By the end of telling Vic about that day, I was nearly sobbing. I hadn't thought about that day for a long time. Not in such detail, anyway. But for me it was basically where my friendship with Vic ended. It took a few more weeks before I realized that, though.

"I... I don't know what to say." Vic breathed, obviously speechless. Shock was written all over his face. And for some reason, even with his mocha colored complexion, he looked a bit pale.

I tried to wipe away my tears, but they just kept coming. "I've always wondered what you were so busy with that day," I murmured, my voice breaking occasionally. I tried to stay tough, but really, whom was I kidding?

Vic closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck before letting out a deep sigh, filled with disappointment. "Wow, I'm such an asshole," He then said, before rubbing his face with both his hands. "I was watching a fucking game with Cara's dad trying to make a good impression on him. Shit, Moo, I'm the worst friend ever,"

I didn't want to say that he was, but I wasn't going to deny it either. Especially not now that I knew this.

Vic sat down beside me and wrapped his arms firmly around me. His hug was different from what I remembered. But then again, he was much skinnier the last time he hugged me. He had actually gained some muscle over the past few years.

I dug my head into the crevice of his neck, finally giving in and melting into his arms. "I'm so terribly sorry about your mom, Moo. I should've been there for you," He whispered, running a hand through my hair.

I slowly nodded into his neck. "Yeah, you should have."

He pulled back and took my face into his warm hands. Sympathy and regret laced the look in his eyes. His thumbs wiped away the stray tears that were still falling, and for a moment I felt okay.

Vic then leaned in and connected his soft lips to my forehead, causing a small smile to erupt onto my face. It was only then that I realized just how much I had missed him. "Could you ever forgive me, Moo?" He then asked as he pulled away again, looking into my eyes with deep concern.

"Do I have to?" I responded, cracking a bit of a teasing smile. I did try to hide it, but I just couldn't.

"You totally have to," He then told me with a chuckle.

I guess I couldn't stay mad at him forever. What was the point of it, anyway? We had been best friends for so long... deep down I kinda just wanted that back. At least that, anyway. Because I knew it would never become more than that.

"I should probably go back to my room," I eventually murmured, after drying off the rest of my face.

Vic smiled. "Nah, let's have a drink while you criticize my writing, like we used to." He suggested as he reached for a bottle of red wine.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. One drink." I warned him, to which he just grinned in response.