Chapter Seventeen

Three weeks had gone by and I still can't believe I don't have friends anymore. I was right to assume that Patrick, Roby, and Chris ended our friendship that day at the mall's front parking lot. They never spoke to me ever since.

Sancho still does talk to me since we are classmates in most of our classes. But, we don't hang out anymore. He would always prefer the company of Patrick, Roby, and Chris over me. Besides, they knew each other longer.

About the mall incident, the situation's pretty okay now. The saleslady who lied about us stealing had AWOLed that very day. She was never seen again.

The mall made an intercom announcement that day. They made a public apology to Sancho and me and cleared our name. They requested the people to delete any photos or videos they had of us. They posted the same message on their social media profiles. They also gave a warning to those who will post about the incident under false pretenses. They will be reported and will undergo the procedure of the law.

That was not the only good news. The best news of all is that the evil snake never bothered me again. I had seen her around campus but it is usually at a distance. She never spoke or did something against me again. I do see Diane a lot but luckily, she did not have her evil snake cousin in tow

But lately, I had been noticing something off with Ryan. He seems to be in a bad mood most of the time. I had seen him angrily crumpling papers many times while doing his homework.

The worst thing I noticed is that one time he was on the phone with Diane. He was angrily talking to her. They seem to be fighting lately too. This led to Ryan rarely leaving the apartment. I once invited him to join me at the mall but he declined. I even told him that I would treat him to his favorite restaurant but he still didn't budge.

In my head, I thought it was just one of his mood swings that stayed a bit longer. After all, the transition from high school to college can be stressful. I believed sooner or later he would be alright, back to normal. But I was wrong... so wrong.

One evening, I was in the living room computing expenses on my budget planner. Then, Ryan came home practically barging in. He slammed the door shut as he ran to his room and closed it too. Worriedly, I followed him to his room and knocked on his door.

"Ryan, what's going on?" I asked.

"Just leave me alone." He said in a cracked voice. Wait a minute!

"Are you crying?" I voiced the thought in my head.

"I said leave me alone!" he said in a frustrated voice.

I didn't need to be told a third time. Knowing Ryan, he will not speak to me now. But I bet when tomorrow comes, he will be much calmer and easier to talk to.

The next day came. I woke up early to prepare breakfast. I cooked a very traditional breakfast: Hotdogs and fried eggs. I was almost done cooking when Ryan came out of his room. I looked at him. He had very tired bulging eyes that looked like he cried all night. His nose looked so red he looked like he was sick.

He was silent as he opened the cabinets to get the plates. He was setting the table as I served the food. Soon enough, we were both seated and ready to start eating. After a short silent solo prayer, we began eating. He was still silent. He wasn't even eager to eat. It was awkward... really awkward. I can't take it anymore!

"Okay. What happened?" I said blurting out.

"Nothing happened," Ryan said without any emotions.

And he expects me to believe that?

"That's impossible," I said but was only met by a silent Ryan. I tried again.

"Did you fight with Diane?" I asked the most logical and possible reason for his sullen mood.

Ryan stilled a bit but then he nodded slightly. So, they did fight. I didn't know how to deal with couple fights. But I do know one thing though. It will all come to pass. They just need to talk it out.

"Ryan, whatever the reason why you fought with Diane, I'm sure you two can get through it. You just have to talk to her about it properly. I'm sure you'll go back to normal after that."I felt proud that I was able to give a bit of good advice to my brother. I'm not a useless "Kuya". Ryan looked at me and held my gaze for a few seconds. Then once again, he looked down and said.

"I hope so, Kuya. I hope we can fix this... but we can't." His voice broke at the end.

"What do you mean?". I asked confused. When did my brother get this pessimistic about Diane? Ryan looked at me again with now dead eyes and said.

"Because we already broke up..."

I dropped the utensils I was holding upon realizing what my brother had said.

"You broke up!!! But why?!?!?" I said like I'm on the brink of a hysterical breakdown.

"It's a long story." He said attempting to discourage me from knowing the reason.

"We have all day," I said with determination. Ryan looked at me a bit surprised.

"But you have work in a few hours."

"It doesn't matter. Tell me why."

Ryan looked at me as if I had another pair of eyes.

"I'm not having this conversation today."

Then he stood up and left me and his half-eaten meal at the dining table.

Maybe I shouldn't have pressed him for information when the breakup is still fresh. I should give him some time. I should wait for him to tell me what happened between them. Yes, that is what I should do.

But the following day had come, and I couldn't take it anymore. My curiosity had been eating me up since yesterday through the night. I couldn't even sleep. I'm so bothered. What happened to them?

I kept asking Ryan even though he didn't give me the reason why. He would say "I'm not answering that." or "Not today, please. Not today.". Still, every chance I got, I asked him about it. There are times he would avoid me. That went on for three days until he finally got fed up and talked to me.

"Dammit, Kuya! Fine! I'll tell you. Just stop pestering me, okay?" Ryan said raising his arms as a gesture of surrender.

"So... what happened?" I asked with a triumphant smile on my face. We both sat down on the couch of our apartment's living room.

"Well..." Ryan began but trailed off.

"Well?" I said starting to get impatient again.

"I don't know how to say this."

"Simply answer the question. What did you fight about?"

Ryan puts both of his hands on his head and starts to massage them.

"Damn. This is harder than I thought. It's because..." he trailed off again. That is where I lost it.

"Oh, for the love of-, just tell me!" 

"Okay! It was because of you and Ate Claire."

What!?!?!

"Wha- I don't get it. What does this have to do with us?"

Ryan let out a sigh as he tried to relax on the couch.

"I found out from Kuya Sancho what happened three months ago at the mall. He told me what Ate Claire did and how she caused a misunderstanding between you and your friends. I told Diane about it and said that what Ate Claire did was below the belt and she should talk to her about it. You know... ask her to apologize to you."

Ryan paused for a few seconds before beginning again as I listened.

"Diane didn't want to do what I asked her to do. She said it was pointless to talk to her cousin because she wouldn't listen anyway. I ask her to at least try or find a way to convince her to apologize. Diane still refused. I got mad. I thought she didn't care about you enough to do my request."

Ryan started to massage the right side of his head as if he was trying to soothe it.

"She got irritated." he continued. "I got even madder. We started to have a heated conversation. The next thing we knew, we were screaming at each other and saying hurtful words. We ended the conversation by walking it off. Every time we met or got a chance to talk, we would bring that up and start fighting. It went on for a month until three days ago happened."

"What happened?" I asked since Ryan was suddenly silent.

"We fought again. But this time, it was much harder. This time, Diane lost her temper and suggested we break up. I lost mine too so I said "Sure! Good idea!". Then, we walked off and I went straight back here." Ryan finished as he held his head with both of his hands.

I couldn't speak, mainly because I did not know what to say. But one thing was very clear. It was my and that evil snake's fault why they broke up. If we could have handled this hostility maturely, we could not have affected the people around us.

"I'm sorry," I said to Ryan. He raised his head to look at me and said.

"Don't. It's not your fault. If only I had reigned in my anger, this would have not happened." 

"But I was the reason you fought in the first place." If only I reigned in my anger that day, I couldn't have pushed her and started this chain of events.

"Hay, Kuya. You are not at fault. If you won't accept that, then fine. I forgive you. That's it. My only request is that you just leave me alone and don't interfere with my problems."

With those words, Ryan stood up and went to his room. I was left alone in the living room with my thoughts. I lie down on the couch as I think about this.

As much as Ryan does not want to hold me responsible for their break up, the more I feel guilty about it. I was the root of their fights. Even if Ryan told me not to interfere with his problems, I feel like I should still help him. I didn't like seeing my brother hurt especially when I was the cause. He and Diane didn't deserve to get caught up in this mess me and that evil snake made.

But what can I do? How can I get them back together?

As I was thinking of a possible solution, an idea hit me like lightning. But I didn't like the idea, not at all. But my subconscious is also screaming at me saying it's the only effective solution.

Is it the only way? I can't honestly think of a better solution. Is it worth the shot? Yes, I can always try. Will it be easy? That is what I am going to find out.