CHAPTER 35: Knowing Her Secret

GABRIEL’s P.O.V.

I don’t know what’s with me, but I vowed to know the secret of my best friend. Even if she just hurt me like that, I’m still worrying about her. And I badly wanted to know the truth. If I found out about Claire and Darren’s fake marriage, then this one should be easier. Besides, she’s my best friend. She couldn’t hide anything from me. Not again.

Maybe I’ve became a good detective if I pursue being like that. But I guess being a businessman run through our blood. I will just use this skill to know more about the other things that I’m curious about... Things that I’m dying to find out the reason why. Like my best friend’s condition.

And so with an empty hand, I began to search for something... Something that is unknown to my side. I tried to visit the old hospital in town, the place where she often got confined before. It wasn’t that easy at first, having to start for nothing but scratch. I feel like I couldn’t move on from square one, but I have to, just for the sake of my dearest friend. However, as I finally found the doctor whom often checks my best friend before, everything got so easy, and I got the access to some of their hospital’s medical file.

“Gabriel, isn’t it?” the doctor asked me, removing his glasses to look into my face. “You are here for Ms. Smith’s medical records... You know that these files are pretty confidential, right? So what could be the reason for you to look through it?”

“Nothing, mister. I was just looking through my friends’ history because maybe, something can help her out,” I stated, hoping that he will buy my reasons.

“Really? No offense but... Your friend is way too strong, Mr. Elizar. I never expected that she’s still...” he trailed off, as if hesitating to tell me something.

“She’s still what, doctor?” I asked his curiously, my heart racing in panic.

“Nothing. Come one, let me show you something...”

I nodded. I was about to follow him when all of the sudden, my phone rang. When I looked the caller, it was no other than my best friend, Erevell. Maybe talking to her before knowing about everything related to her condition would be better for me. So I stopped midway, before facing the doctor in front of me.

“Sorry, can you wait for one second? I really have to take this call,” I stated, my voice sounded like I’m almost begging.

“Sure, sure.”

And with that, he left me behind before I answered the phone call. As I did I can immediately hear the voice of my guilty friend whom just pushed me away yesterday.

“Hello? Gab? Listen... I’m really sorry, alright? I didn’t mean what I’ve said yesterday... I was just being to naive and... I don’t know. Will you please forgive me? I don’t want to have a fight with you anymore,” she stated, voice ragged as if unable to breathe.

“Are you alright?” I asked her, worried.

“Yes, yes. I am. I was just... You know, tired maybe. Now please, say... Say that you already forgive me,” she insisted.

“Fine. I forgive you. But please, next time, don’t keep secrets to me... I am your best friend, Erevell.”

She didn’t answer, and I wonder is she just gave me a light nod and a thrifty smile just like what she always did while we are talking beside each other.

“I’ll be back soon. I’ll call you again. Promise. Bye for now.”

“Bye, Gab. I missed you already.”

“I missed you too,” I stated, before the two of us turned off the call. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach as we said those words to one another, before I finally decided to get inside of the doctor’s room. As I did, he offered me a seat in front of his desk.

“Take a seat. This will be a long conversation for us,” he stated, making me feel nervous.

“Let’s start, doctor.”

“Are you sure you wanted to find out about this?” he asked me, as if hesitating to show me something.

“Sure... Why not?” I asked him back and he just smirked.

“Fine then, let us begin.”

I gulped, waiting for the inevitable thing to happen as I was partially praying that nothing unusual should appeared in front of my best friend’s medical records. The doctor cleared his throat, before starting to speak up.

“Your friend has this disease called lung cancer... And based on the medical records I found, she’s probably dying by now... Sorry for the word, Gabriel. But I’m afraid that you have to know about that.”

“Wait... What?” I stopped for one second, trying to process what I’ve just heard. “C-Cancer?” I asked, voice trembling so bad.

“Yes... Ever since she’s just a child. She’s been fighting that disease and she had undergone different kind of medications and major operations. I’m afraid that her body already got a lot of complications by now... Also, back when she’s sixteen, she got hospitalized here and undergone a lung transplant.”

“No... That’s not true... Erevell is not sick... She’s young and healthy... We even gone to camping last week,” I tried to reason out, not wanting to believe his words.

“You cannot make sure of that. One person can be too good at hiding something... Especially if they knew that their love ones will be hurt by the truth.”

“But... Impossible... Why did she hide it from me?! I am her best friend!” I cried, still unable to believe about the real truth.

“I’m sorry... I’m sorry for what you have found out, Mr. Elizar. But you asked me for the truth, and I gave you nothing but what you wanted,” the doctor stated.

“No! I can still fix it... I will ask her about everything... Those information, it might be lying to us!”

“But it wasn’t. Your have to accept that fact, Gabriel. That is why I told you earlier that I’m surprised to know that she’s still... Alive,” he finished his statement, and I just gave him a deadly stare.

“You are lying!” I shouted, but he didn’t answered.

I walked out of his clinic, not wanting to accept what he just said. As I finally reached the outside part of the building, I cried, I cried out loud. I have to confront Erevell. I have to ask her myself. And so with a trembling hands and tears in my eyes, I decided to dial her number, badly wanted to confirm everything that I heard about her. If this is true, I don’t know what I can do.

It’s been years of friendship yet she still didn’t trust me enough to say something like this... She has been keeping this from me ever since we met and we became best friends for life. It took her a few rings before she finally answered, and thankfully, I managed to sound happy, in fact, joyful for her not to be suspicious and meet me in the place where I wanted to ask her about everything.

“Hello? Gab! How are you? What’s up?” she asked me those series of questions from the other line of the phone, sounding like she had no problems at all and everything is normal. But I’m not buying it. I wanted to get straight to the point.

“Can you get outside of the hospital today? Let’s meet up at the park later on... I stated, more like demanding rather than asking.

“Really? Sure, sure. I’ll come. Just wait for me,” and that’s the promise I have received, right after knowing her secret.