Just Because You Are

Chapter 24 - How Would You Feel?

Love knows no answer for it does not question.
- Silent Lotus

Robert opened his eyes, feeling rather dizzy. He looked around and saw Louie with his brother talking to Raffie on the sofa nearby. “Am I…in a hospital?” he asked in a faint voice.

Raffie ran towards him as soon as she heard him speak. “Thank goodness, you’re awake!” Raffie exclaimed as she held his hand. “We were all so worried…”

While on their way to the hospital, Harvey explained to Raffie what happened earlier that night. Robert attempted to drive the car but since he was drunk, Harvey stopped him.

But then he was out of control that he punched Harvey and maneuvered the car out of the gate. Harvey, finding no other way to stop his brother, punched him back, giving him a hard jab that caused him to pass out instantly.

Robert was unresponsive even if Harvey tried to wake him up, which got him quite worried. He knew very well that his brother had a very tiny threshold for liquor and that placed him in danger of alcohol poisoning.

He rushed Robert to the nearest hospital, and true enough, the doctors found out that Robert suffered from severe intoxication, resulting to hypothermia and abnormal vital signs. They had him intubated and placed him on ventilator to help him regain his consciousness. 

With a faint smile, Robert looked at Raffie and said, “I’m happy you’re here, Raffie.”

“And I’m thankful that Harvey isn’t a professional boxer,” Raffie said, her worried expression fading as she tried to lighten up the atmosphere with her joke.

Harvey raised up his hand covered with gauze. “Did you remember what you did to me, Kuya?,” he asked his brother, pointing to his other hand. “I had to make sure you get knocked out to avoid a bigger accident.” He was also trying to sound perked up in spite of the fear that he felt earlier upon seeing Robert pass out.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make all of you worried…but I’m glad it happened,” he said, smiling weakly at Harvey. “I guess, it did knock some sense into my head.” He then tried to get up from bed, and so Raffie helped him sit upright.

At that moment, Quino arrived with a face all covered with anxiety. Robert looked up and smiled at Quino while shaking his head. He then cleared his throat and said, “Can you all give us a minute, please? Bro, can we talk?”

Raffie looked at Harvey and Louie, then signaled them to go out with her. As soon as they were out of the room, Robert pointed to the chair beside his bed.

“Baka gusto mo munang umupo…” he told Quino.

Quino sat on the chair beside Rob’s bed. But he merely waited for his friend to speak first. They just sat in silence for a few moments, as if trying to compose the words they will say to each other. 

“Bro, do you still remember when we were still in highschool?” Robert began with a crooked smile, after a few moments of awkward silence. “When we had our first petty fight because of a girl?”

Quino nodded, smiling reflectively. “I won’t forget that, Rob,” he replied. “We did a bet, and I won. But you got furious that you set me up to another girl and so in the end I got busted.”

Robert grinned. “Those were the days when our foolishness gets the better of us, right?”

“You can say that again,” Quino agreed.

Then another moment of silence ensued. Both of them seemed to be thinking about such an incident that happened almost thirteen years ago.

Then Robert broke the silence again. “To be honest, I thought of doing the same thing to you yesterday,” he confessed. “I was really frustrated that I planned something to destroy Raffie’s trust in you..in fact, I was ready to do that while I was with her at lunch.”

Quino looked at him with all calmness. He decided to just listen to Robert.

“But when I heard her call you Mr. Right and she went back to our table after you called her, I saw how happy she was. I felt guilty for planning something that would ruin that happiness in her. I knew how much she suffered recently because of that jerk, and now that she seemed to have moved on…with you…I can’t afford to take that kind of bliss from her.”

Quino listened to Robert in complete silence.
He was somehow astounded with Robert’s revelations but he chose not to react…well, not yet.

“So instead of acting upon my plans, I just tried to forget my own pain by drinking,” Robert went on. “I couldn’t express my frustrations and anger at you. But it was making me really crazy. Because for me, you are the most selfish man alive and it was unfair that you always got what you wanted. I don’t know if you even realize that…” He looked at Quino with pain-stricken pair of eyes.

“I’m sorry, Rob,” Quino said. “I didn’t know-“

Robert shook his head. “Don’t be,” he cut in. “I’m giving way because I can see that you are making her happy…for now. So you better make sure she stays that way because the moment I see her cry because of you, I will definitely pursue her again and I’ll make sure you won’t have the chance to get her back. Besides, I’m not sure if she has completely moved on from her past relationship, so just cherish every moment you have with her…as long as it lasts…who knows, you might just be standing on the rebound zone.”