The Crimson Letters

6. "Forgive Me, Please."

KATHERINE'S  P.O.V.

I looked at myself in the mirror. For the first time, the black dress looked dreadful. Never had I thought that I would have to attend Ryan's funeral.

From my window, I saw Peter's car arrive. I went downstairs and out the main door.

I had told Peter that Jules and I could manage but he insisted on letting him drive us to the funeral.

The whole ride was as silent as a valley.

When I saw Ryan, laying there with his eyes closed and no expressions on his face, I could feel my legs becoming heavy. The horror of the scene was too much for me to take.

Ryan's mother was standing next to his casket, crying in silence. I could feel her. She wanted to scream, but she couldn't. She was powerless. I could feel her.

PETER'S P.O.V.

It still wasn't clear to me who Ryan was. I couldn't ask Katherine, of course. She wasn't in the best state of mind. I wanted to help her get through this, but I didn't know how.

Because this affected Katherine so much, I assumed that Ryan was a close friend.

KATHERINE'S P.O.V.

Abigail was standing at a distance from Ryan's casket. Her eyes had puffed up from crying. Even though we weren't at the best terms, I had to help.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"It w... was all okay. But now he's gone!"

"How did this happen?" I uttered.

"He was driving, back to his home... when a drunk truck driver..."

She started sobbing again.

"It's going to be okay, Abby." I said, putting my hand on her shoulder for the first time in months.

"No, it won't be okay! You... you wouldn't understand."

I wouldn't understand? Oh god, please tell me she didn't just say that. I felt anger, frustration and all the negative emotions I possibly could.

"What do you mean by I wouldn't understand? After all the things you did to me, it's shocking that you have the nerves to say that!" I screamed.

"Kat, please. Don't do this right now. I said I'm sorry! Multiple times!"

"We were best friends, Abigail. I was with Ryan. I liked him so much, and you knew it! Did you not think about me for once before kissing him that day?"

"That was two years ago. What do you want me to do?"

"I wanted you to tell me that it wasn't you. I wanted you to tell me that you didn't do it. I wanted you to tell me that you could explain things to me. But what did you do? You just said that you were sorry! That's all. Our friendship meant nothing to you."

"And yet, here you are."

"No, I am here because all this wasn't Ryan's fault. Even after you two got together, I had no hard feelings for him. Because it was all you! It was all your fault!"

"Are you saying that you didn't even try to understand the whole story? Not even once?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

She sighed. "Ryan was different back then. He wasn't a good person. He was cheating on you. That day, I was there to confront him. He saw you walking towards us and that's why he kissed me out of nowhere. That was the time you saw us. I pushed him away. But by the time I could come to you and explain, you shut me out. You refused to talk to me."

"Oh." That was all that came out of my mouth.

"After that incident I had no friends, no one to talk to. Maybe Ryan saw this and so he came to me and said he was sorry for all that happened. He promised that he would do better. He had changed for good. Eventually, we became friends and soon started dating."

"So that day, you didn't actually kiss him?"

"No, I didn't. I wouldn't do that to you, Kat."

That was a lot to take in, all at once.

"Forgive me, please." she said sincerely.

"You have nothing to apologise for. I was the one who jumped to conclusions. I'm sorry, Abby."

She stepped forward and hugged me hesitantly. I returned the gesture. We both had, somewhere, agreed to the fact that although we forgave each other and there were no hard feelings, everything couldn't go back to normal. Over the past two years, both of us had changed in so many ways. We couldn't be best friends again, just like that. But we were both satisfied that we cleared things up. I finally got the explanation that I wanted for the last two years. I decided to let it all go and remember Ryan by his better parts.