Vincent’s POV
“V, I have something to tell you.” Monica, one of my classmates and my childhood best friend said while we were sitting on a bench under an apple tree in our secret place.
I looked at her as I fixed my eyeglasses. “Huh?”
“What is it?”
She hesitated to speak at first, but then she took a deep breath and looked at me. “I-I think… I think I like…”
“H-Huh?”
“I think I like Lance…” she almost mumbled, her cheeks turned pinkish, which made her look even cuter.
I wasn’t able to speak at first because of what she just confessed. Monica is my first love, and the only girl that I loved since we were just kids. I’ve been loving her secretly, and I thought she’s in love with me too but---
I forced a smile on my face. “R-Really? Then why don’t you tell it to him?”
“Y-You know I can’t tell him that…”
“And why not?”
“B-Because I don’t think he likes me… I-I think he likes someone else…” she said, tears were already filling her eyes.
I looked down.
Then why don’t you just love me instead?
But I can’t tell her that.
I patted her on her shoulders. “It’s alright, Monica. I’m here beside you anyway. You can also cry if you want, I’ll hear you out no matter what.”
“Vincenttttttt!!” she yelled then hugged me tightly.
*END OF FLASHBACK*
“Why didn’t you tell me that you already arrived?” I asked her.
Monica smiled as she leaned in her seat. “Because I wanted to surprise you. I wanted to see your reaction when you finally see me.”
“How do you expect me to react? You didn’t even tell anything to me when you left. You just left and I just knew it from Lance.” I said I know the tone of my voice surprised her, but that’s how I really feel.
She left the next day that I confessed to her.
“Is it because I confessed to you?” I asked her.
She shook her head. “That’s not because of that, Vincent. Besides, I knew from the start that you loved me.“
“Then why did you leave us? Why did you leave me?”
“Because I needed to do it…”
“Why?”
“Our company got bankrupt and dad had no choice but to send me to New York. I had no choice, Vincent. I wanted to help my dad… I wanted to help my family…”
“Then you should’ve told me about it. You know I could help you.”
She shook her head as she runs her fingers through her hair. “No, Vincent. I wanted to solve it all by myself. I don’t want to be a burden to any of you.”
“You know we never treated you like somebody else.”
“I know that. I’m truly sorry, Vincent. That’s the reason why I’m here, because I wanted to apologize to you.”
I took a deep breath as I stared at her face. Nothing actually changed with her, she’s still as beautiful as the Monica that I used to love back then. Except from her hair is longer now than before. “Are you going to stay here in New York?”
“Yes, definitely. I’ll stay here and I won’t leave anymore.” She said with a smile on her face.
The smile that I’ve always longed for.
The smile that I’ve always wanted to see.
“Happy Birthday, V.,” she said again as she handed me a box wrapped with a blue glittery paper.
“What is this?” I asked as I reached for her gift.
She smiled. “Open it.”
I started unboxing her gift until I finally saw two folded neckties. The other one was red and the other was blue. I laughed when I saw that she even put a little bear on it as a design. “Thanks, Monica.”
“Do you like it?”
“It’s cute.”
“That’s a relief then. I made those neckties by myself by the way.”
“Oh, so you’re still good at doing things like this, huh?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
“I knew it.” I said then we started laughing together.
Monica knows me better than anyone else. Aside from my older brother, she was the one who’s always been there for me whenever I wanted someone to understand me. And it makes me feel so happy now that I finally see her again.