Full Circle

Chapter 9 - Crash

Kit POV

"Are you sure it's okay for Yo to see me? Isn't he mad at me?"

"Of course not, P'Kit. Why would he be mad?"

"Well, you know, I'm Ai'Pha's friend."

"But you are not your friend. And besides, you yourself haven't seen him for a while now."

"You are right. I don't know what's gotten into him actually. After the break up, he avoided me and Beam, too. And for the past 2 and a half weeks, nobody has seen him around campus."

I am with Ming this Saturday morning on our way to Yo's dorm. My boyfriend called me earlier and said he will pick me up to visit his bestfriend. I'm getting nervous as we near his dorm because of the guilt I feel.

Beam and I weren't there to console Yo after hearing what happened. I mean, how can we? We're bestfriends with the person who hurt him after all. We don't know what to tell him when he starts asking us questions since we're also in the dark.

We parked in front of Yo's dorm building, but before getting out of the car, I asked Ming, "what happened last night by the way?"

He lets out a heavy sigh. "The FA gang invited Yo to go drinking, and to our surprise, he said yes," he starts. "So I picked him up and brought him to the bar I chose."

I nod.

"I noticed something different when I picked him up though. He seemed more open and receptive of my actions. He didn't ignore my jokes, it was like he was more alive," Ming tells me smiling.

I comment, "that's a good sign, isn't it?"

His smile fades, and continues, "I thought so, too, P'Kit. I thought that maybe he's starting to feel better. He's starting to open up to others and move on. I was really excited."

"And then?" I ask.

"When we got to the bar, everything was going well, Yo even smiled. Can you believe that, P'Kit? My bestfriend actually fucking smiled!"

Ming was telling me the story full of emotions, but his emotions are telling me that this is not gonna end well.

"When was the last time you saw him smile, P'Kit? Tell me! When?"

Whoa! Ming is getting a little aggressive. "Uhm, I don't remember. When they were still together, I guess."

"And how long has that been?" he asks.

"Uhm, about 3 weeks ago," I answer Ming.

"See, P'Kit, my bestfriend hasn't smiled for 3 weeks now, so we were all excited and hopeful last night when he finally wore a smile," he tells me, but he sounds frustrated.

"But why do you sound frustrated? What actually happened?" I ask him while caressing his arm.

Ming pulls out his phone. "He saw this, or maybe even more," he tells me and shows me a picture. I look at it and now I get why he's frustrated. It was a picture of Pha and a girl in what seems to be a private room of a bar.

"Oh, no! If Yo saw this, then..." but before I could finish, Ming looks at me in the eyes and says, "yes, P'Kit."

"The little progress Yo was making all came crashing down on him," he tells me with a sad look.

"I saw him run so I followed him. You know what I saw?" Ming asks me near tears.

I shake my head no in response.

"My best friend was wailing and clutching his chest, kneeling down the sidewalk," Ming starts to cry. I've never seen him cry before. He was always just so cheerful and playful. This is a different side of Ming. I caress his cheek and wipe his tears. My boyfriend's care and love for his best friend is admirable.

"I went near him and couldn't help but cry with him. I felt his pain, P'Kit! Just by standing near him, I felt his suffering. He's emitting so much pain and sorrow that I felt it myself."

I hold his shaking arm, trying to soothe him.

"Can you just imagine how he actually felt inside? How he was able to endure that intense pain when I myself couldn't, and I was just standing behind him?!" my boyfriend yells frustratingly, while crying. His eyes are so hurt that I actually feel the hurt, too, and to think I am just hearing what happened. I could not even imagine how Ming felt that time, more so N'Yo.

I hug my boyfriend and stroke his back. "It's okay, Ming." He stops crying and pulls away from the hug after a while, then he wipes my tears. Oh, when did I start crying?

Calming down a little, Ming continues with a sad voice, "I hugged him and cried with him. I told him that he still has me. I felt his loneliness. He felt so alone that time." He holds my hand and looks at me with pleading eyes, "that's why I brought you with me today, P'Kit. He needs to feel that we're here for him. That there are still people who love him. That he's not alone."

"I understand," I tell him. "But what happened after that?"

"I was able to convince him to go home and I tucked him to bed. He almost immediately fell asleep, maybe because he was exhausted from crying and the alcohol," Ming says.

"Poor Yo," I sigh. "I think we should call Beam and Forth, too."

"Yeah," Ming agrees.