The Golden Rule

Coming Clean

ROBBY

Robby got out of his car and a cool breeze hit him. Shivering from the cold, he zipped his hoodie closed.

It was an hour after Melissa and he spoke in that quaint cafe and while he was adamant on seeing Mia, he knew that Marco will find out about it.

Walls always have ears.

So Robby decided to come clean and talk to Marco again.

He had tried talking to him a few times in their shared classes and basketball practice but Marco would shut him down even before he could start.

Well this time, Robby thought with finality. Marco will just have to listen.

Robby stopped when he spotted the neon signage of the Irish Bar Robby knew Marco was in.

Before everything spiraled down, they used to go there after a hard day at school to down a few bottles of Guiness before heading home.

Robby pushed the door open and quickly scanned the room. He found him seated on a stool by the bar, his back facing him.

He took steps forward but before he could reached him, Marco looked at his direction as if sensing someone was walking towards him.

He scowled when he saw Robby.

" What the fuck are you doing here? " Marco snapped when Robby sat down on the empty stool beside him.

Marco grabbed his Guiness bottle on the counter and took a swig of his drink.

" I want to talk to you, " Robby told him calmly as he removed his jacket and placed it on top of the bar table and shifted sideways so he can look at Marco.

Marco snorted. " Now you want to talk? "

" You didn't bother talking to me when you were dating my sister behind my back. You didn't bother telling me what was going on. And now, you wanted to fucking talk?! "

The people who were seated near them turned to look. And those who heard what Marco just said, eyed Robby warily.

" Nice to see you back here, Robby, " John Olivares came up to him.

John owned the bar and the gym upstairs. When he was not working out, he spent his time helping the bartenders in the pub.

" Hey John, " Robby smiled at him weakly. He knew he heard Marco's outburst.

" Guiness? " John arched an eyebrow.

" Yes, please. " Robby nodded.

Robby quietly watched as John got him a glass and pushed it against the beer dispenser. He stopped midway to let the bubbles settle. He pushed it again and finally pulled away when the glass was full.

He pulled out a coaster from the countertop and placed Robby's glass of beer on top
of it.

" There's this saying, " John said thoughtfully as he slowly slid Robby's drink towards him. " There's nothing that a cold beer cannot fix."

John turned his head to look at Marco who just shrugged his shoulders carelessly.

" I hope this drink will not disappoint, " John said airily.

He winked at Robby before he walked over to another customer at the other end of the bar.

There was an awkward silence when they were finally left alone. They drank their beers quietly, their eyes glued to the football game that was playing overhead the bar display.

" I'm sorry about what happened, " Robby was the first one to break the silence. " I should have told you what was happening."

Marco didn't budge and continued to watch the game.

" I tried to fight my feelings for Mia. I really did. " Robby continued as he looked at the beer in his hands. " But somewhere along the way, I fell in love with her. "

Robby waited for Marco's reaction. But it didn't come. His eyes were still glued to the TV screen doing his best to ignore him.

" I'm not proud of betraying you, man, " Robby said quietly. " I know I messed up. "

" The fuck you did, " Marco snapped his head towards him, his eyes blazing in fury, his jaws clenched tightly.

" I trusted you with her because you were my friend, " he hissed angrily as he held Robby's gaze. " You know why I'm against this yet you fucking went ahead and dated my sister behind my back. "

Robby could see a lot of emotions emanating Marco's eyes: hurt, anger, betrayal. He knew Marco was not going to see reason. At least not tonight.

" I know and I'm sorry, " Robby repeated in a quiet voice.

" That's not going to fix things, " Marco quipped in a hard voice.

Robby balled one hand into a fist. He knew how stubborn Marco could be. But he didn't come here just to apologize.

" I'm saying sorry for betraying your trust, " Robby said in a clipped voice as he squared his shoulders. " But I'm not apologizing for loving your sister. "

A guttural growl came out Marco 's mouth, his nostrils flaring in fury.

" I'm not Alfred, Marc. I know you're afraid that I will hurt Mia the way Alfred hurt Iza. But you should know me better than that. I will never do anything to hurt Mia, " Robby told him in a determined voice.  " And I am not going to let you break us apart. "

Marco's face contorted into a grotesque scowl. " You are not going near her, do you hear? " He growled.

Robby narrowed his eyes at him. " I didn't come here to gain your forgiveness nor your permission, Marco."

" Well, your apology was crap anyway, " Marco shot back.

Robby clenched his jaw.

" I came here to tell you that I'm not going to stay away from Mia." Robby deadpanned eliciting another angry scowl from Marco. " You can hate me all you want but nothing's going to change how I feel for her. Forbidding her to see me is not going to matter because I will find a way to make things work out between us. "

He can see Marco's shoulders tremble but Robby was unfazed.

" I love her, man. And she loves me too," Robby dropped his voice. " And I hope you'd see past your anger and realize that the only person that you're really hurting with all of these is not me. "

" It's Mia, " he ended softly.

There. If Marco didn't want to speak to him for the rest of his damn life, that's fine. At least now, there will be no more hiding. He wasn't going to just disappear out of Mia's life. He will not do that to her.

Wrapping his bottle with one hand, Robby finished his drink swiftly. He took out a few bills from his pocket and placed it underneath his empty bottle.

He stood up and put on his jacket.

Marco didn't look at him, not that Robby expected him to. He just stared straight ahead at the myriads of bottles displayed decoratively opposite the bar counter.

" See you around, man, " Robby mumbled before walking out of the bar.

Once outside, he quickly zipped his jacket closed and shoved his hands inside his jeans pockets.

With one final look at the bar door, he walked to his car and jumped inside.

He backed out of the parking lot quickly and missed seeing Marco come out of the bar's double doors a few minutes after, a disturbed expression on his face.