The Saturday sun slowly slipped towards the horizon, painting the sky with brushstrokes of orange and violet. From my bedroom window in the mansion, I watched the spectacle of colors, but my mind was far from the celestial canvas. The day had passed in a strange, tense calm, a silent respite after the emotional storm of Friday at school.
Josep's reappearance on Friday had stirred up so many things. The initial surprise, the pang of memories of a friendship that was once unconditional, and the growing certainty of his involvement in something I didn't yet fully understand. I hadn't seen him again since his unexpected appearance in the school hallways.
It was a poignant irony. I had suddenly disappeared from Louie's life, and he had refused to listen to me when I had truly important reasons for my silence. Now, a similar situation was presenting itself with Josep. Although a part of me resisted, I knew I couldn't make the same mistake Louie had made with me. I had to listen to him, no matter how much it cost me to relive a painful and confusing past.
Now, as the shadows lengthened in my room, the anticipation of dinner loomed over me like a dark cloud. The idea of having Josep and his parents in our house, under the guise of a cordial family visit, turned my stomach. What did they expect? Did they really think that after everything that had happened, things could go back to the way they were before?
I dressed carefully, choosing an outfit that reflected my mood: a mixture of elegance and reserve. A dark blue silk dress, simple but sophisticated, that didn't reveal the storm raging inside me. The streetlights timidly illuminated my path to the dining room.
Upon entering, the atmosphere was tense, charged with a forced politeness that was palpable in the air. My parents were seated at the head of the table, with strained smiles etched on their faces. Mr. and Mrs. Dubois greeted me with kind smiles, but their eyes held a look of evaluation, scrutinizing my every move. Josep, for his part, observed me with an intensity that made me uncomfortable, as if trying to read my thoughts, to unravel the labyrinth of emotions that gripped me.
Dinner passed with superficial conversations and awkward silences, each word carefully chosen to avoid any sensitive topic. I tried to maintain my composure, answering questions with monosyllables and forcing a smile when necessary. But I felt that every word, every gesture, was a minefield, a silent test to which they subjected me without mercy.
After dinner, we moved to the living room, a spacious and luxurious room, decorated with antique furniture and heavy curtains, but lacking warmth. The atmosphere relaxed slightly, but the tension persisted, like an invisible mist that enveloped everything. Mr. and Mrs. Dubois spoke about business, about the future, about the importance of maintaining appearances and the good name of the family. I listened in silence, seated on a separate sofa, feeling that their words were a constant reminder of my own prison, of the expectations that suffocated me and of the facade I had to maintain before the world.
"Josephine, please," Josep insisted, his voice pleading, his eyes begging for understanding. "Just give me a chance to explain... for you to understand what really happened."
I stood up, letting out a barely perceptible sigh, feeling his gaze follow my every move. "Alright, but not here, let's go to the garden," I proposed, needing fresh air and a space where our words wouldn't be trapped between the walls of this house full of formalities.
The night enveloped us under the starry English sky, the cool breeze caressing our faces. The back garden, with its impeccable lawn and the soft murmur of the stone fountain, became a silent refuge, a space where we could speak without being overheard by curious ears. We sat on the wooden bench under the old oak tree, the silence of the night accompanying the uncertain rhythm of our hearts, creating a melody of uncertainty and expectation.
"I'm listening," I finally said, my voice laden with a mixture of pain and a sharp curiosity, my eyes fixed on his, desperately seeking answers that could fill the void of two long years. "Tell me, Josep, why did you suddenly leave? Why did it take you two years to come back into my life? But above all, why did you never tell me anything? Why never a call, a message? Did you forget that we were friends since we were children? That we grew up together in this mansion?"
Josep sighed, his gaze lost in the darkness of the garden, where the shadows played with the shapes of the trees and flowers under the faint moonlight. "No, Josephine," he said, his voice hoarse, laden with a regret that seemed genuine. "I would never forget our friendship. I would never forget everything you mean to me." He paused, as if searching for the right words in the stillness of the night, as if fearing not to find the right ones to express the weight of his absence. "I left because I had no choice," he continued, his voice trembling slightly, revealing a vulnerability that I didn't remember seeing before. "My parents... they made decisions for me. Decisions that took me away from you, from everything I knew."
"Decisions?" I asked, my voice laden with disbelief, feeling the anger, that old acquaintance, begin to grow inside me at the vagueness of his explanation. "What kind of decisions snatch your best friend away for two years without a single word?"
Josep looked at me, his eyes filled with an intensity that made me doubt my judgment for an instant, as if he were about to reveal a dangerous secret that had kept him prisoner. He sighed deeply, as if about to release a weight he had carried for a long time in silence. "Listen to me, Josephine," he said, his voice hoarse and charged with a palpable emotion, his hands reaching for mine with a gesture that evoked the familiarity of our childhood. "I'll tell you everything. But first, I want you to know that I missed you terribly. I didn't stop thinking about you for a single day. Especially because I know what you go through with your family. It hurt me to leave you alone, knowing that..."
His words took me by surprise, like an unexpected blow in the darkness of my confusion. The sincerity in his voice was undeniable, but distrust remained a cold barrier between us, a wall that prevented me from blindly believing the truth of his words. "I know you, Josephine," Josep said, moving a little closer, his voice now soft and warm, trying to evoke the connection we once shared. "I've known you since we were kids. I know how strong you are, but I also know how lonely you feel sometimes under that facade."
Josep looked at me with an intensity that felt almost as if he could see through my soul, exposing the vulnerability I tried so hard to hide. "I lived through your silent cries, your loneliness disguised as perfection," he said, his voice laden with an empathy that seemed genuine. "I know what you go through, and although my parents make me go through the same thing in their own way, I'm sure they make it much worse for you. I've lived it alongside you, Josephine, and it hurt me to leave because I knew you were the only real support you had to survive this life, just as you were mine."
I stared at him, searching for answers in the depths of his dark eyes, while the reflection of my own face looked back at me, the tears in my eyes beginning to sting with a painful intensity, and I noticed that his were also slightly moist.
"You don't understand, Josep," I said, my voice trembling slightly "You don't understand what it feels like for your best friend to disappear from your life for two years without a single explanation, forcing me to hide my true feelings under a mask of indifference, to live in the emotional coldness of my parents without a hint of genuine love, having to carry the weight of always being perfect, without having anyone I could really talk to."
"Maybe I don't understand completely, Josephine," said Josep, moving even closer, his voice now soft and comforting, as if trying to soothe a wounded creature. "But I've seen your silent tears, I've felt the loneliness you tried to hide. I've seen how you strive to maintain a bright smile, even though inside you're slowly crumbling."
His words left me breathless, as if he had read the darkest pages of my soul, as if he knew my deepest secrets, my most hidden fears that I had never shared with anyone. "My parents..." Josep continued, his voice now laden with a pain that seemed genuine, as if reliving an old wound as he spoke those words. "They also force me to live a lie, to follow a path I didn't choose. They force me to be someone I'm not. But I know that what you live is much worse, Josephine. The constant pressure, the suffocating expectations... it's like living in an invisible cage, where every move is watched."
The sincerity seemed undeniable, but distrust remained a tall and cold wall between us. "Why are you telling me all this now, Josep?" I asked, my voice barely audible, feeling the uncertainty wash over me like an icy shadow. "Why after so long?"
"Because I need you to know, Josephine," said Josep, taking my hand in his, his touch warm and surprisingly comforting amidst my confusion. "I need you to know that you're not alone in this. That there's someone who understands you, who understands the weight you carry on your shoulders. And that... that has always cared for you."
I let out a sigh, trying to control the tears that wanted to escape my eyes, when he himself let out a sigh before continuing to speak.
"I'll tell you everything, Josephine," Josep said, his voice full of urgency, his eyes pleading for understanding. "I'll tell you why I left, why it took me so long to come back, why I didn't call you. I'll tell you everything, and then you'll decide if you can forgive me."
Silence fell over the garden under the starry sky. The night enveloped us in its mystery, and the truth hid among the shadows.
"Josephine, I need you to understand me," Josep began, his voice deep and laden with a sincerity that made me doubt my own skepticism, as if he were about to reveal a dangerous secret that had kept him prisoner. "My parents... they have always lived in a world of appearances, of power and status. Their company, their reputation, is everything to them. And two years ago, it all collapsed."
He paused, his gaze lost in the darkness as if reliving the pain of those distant moments, as if the wounds were still fresh despite the passage of time. "The company was on the verge of bankruptcy, Josephine, and their marriage was crumbling at the same rate. They were about to divorce, but they didn't want anyone to know. Appearances, Josephine, always appearances, even above the happiness of their own children."
His words resonated within me with a painful familiarity, reminding me of my own constant struggle to maintain the facade of perfection before my parents. "We left the country overnight," Josep continued, his voice trembling slightly, feeling the fear and uncertainty of that time wash over him again. "They left me at my aunt's house in the countryside, far from everything I knew, far from you. They forbade any kind of communication with the outside world, confiscated my phone... all to prevent me from telling anyone about their situation, from their scandal becoming public."
"Just three months ago, my parents managed to solve their problems," said Josep, his voice now filled with a palpable relief, as if freeing himself from an enormous weight he had carried for two long years. "It took them all that time, Josephine, but they did it... I don't know how, but they managed to save their marriage and the company. And finally we were able to return."
"The day I saw you at the airport..." said Josep, his voice barely audible, his eyes fixed on mine, desperately searching for a spark of understanding. "I had just arrived in the city. I was waiting for my driver to pick me up. I saw you there, in the crowd, and I wanted to run towards you, hug you with all my strength, explain everything that had happened. But I couldn't... just then the driver arrived with my bodyguard and they didn't allow me to approach you."
I looked at him, trying to decipher the truth in the depths of his dark eyes, sincerity shining through the tears that were beginning to blur them. A whirlwind of emotions consumed me inside, pain, confusion, rage... and now, a sharp pang of understanding. Apparently, Josep had also suffered in silence.
"Josephine... tell me you believe me please... tell me you can forgive me," his voice broke with emotion, his tear-filled eyes reflecting my own pain. Unable to contain myself any longer, I threw myself towards him, hugging him with all my strength, seeking in his closeness a comfort I had longed for for so long. And he, without hesitating for an instant, returned my embrace with a desperate intensity.
The embrace was a whirlwind of contained emotions finally being released, a long-awaited reunion that sealed the end of a painful silence. Tears rolled uncontrollably down my cheeks, mingling with his, as we clung to each other under the starry sky, seeking solace and a glimpse of forgiveness in the warmth of our contact. The silence of the garden filled with the silent echo of our sobs, a universal language of shared pain and a relief that was beginning to blossom.
"I believe you, Josep," I whispered, my voice broken with emotion, feeling an enormous weight lift from my chest. "I forgive you."
The embrace intensified, as if we both needed to make sure the other was real, that this moment of reconciliation was not just a fleeting dream.
"Thank you, Josephine," said Josep, his voice hoarse and laden with a palpable gratitude, his grip on my back firm and comforting. "Thank you for believing in me."
We separated slowly, our eyes meeting in the dim light of the garden. The sincerity that shone in his gaze made me feel vulnerable, and safe. A small spark of hope began to ignite within me, illuminating a future that had previously seemed bleak and lonely.
Like a lightning bolt that pierced the darkness of the night, the scene from the previous day at school returned to my mind with painful clarity, eclipsing the relief and the nascent hope of our reconciliation. My body tensed, and seriousness returned to my face like a cold mask. I pulled away slightly from Josep, my eyes now fixed on his with an inquisitive intensity.
"Josep," I said, my voice now firm and devoid of the warmth of the previous moment, "why did you behave like that yesterday at school? Why that hug so... effusive? Why that smile afterwards?" Confusion and a sharp sense of betrayal clouded my emotions again. After his confession, the idea that there might still be secrets or manipulations hurt me deeply. "Why, Josep?" The question resonated in the silence of the garden, laden with the fragility of a newly recovered trust.
Josep sighed deeply, his face showing a mixture of regret and an old need. "I was an idiot for behaving like that, Josephine... I know. But I couldn't help wanting to hug you when I saw you after so long. It was an impulse... a need I suppressed for two years." He paused, his gaze searching mine with a vulnerable intensity. "And then... the intensity of the moment, your evident discomfort with Louie and Anna's gazes... I wanted to protect you. I wanted to interpose myself with my body so they wouldn't see you anymore, so you would feel that someone was there for you." His voice was deep, laden with a sincerity that, despite my confusion, resonated with the familiarity of our past.
His words took me by surprise. The idea that his hug, although impulsive, had had a protective intention, however clumsy and misinterpreted, planted a small seed of doubt in my growing distrust. His explanation didn't justify his two-year silence, but it offered a different perspective on his behavior the day before.
"Protect?" I asked, my voice still laden with skepticism. "Protect from what, Josep?"
"From their gazes, Josephine. From what they might be thinking. I knew your return hadn't been easy, that you were vulnerable... and seeing them both looking at you like that... I felt the need to... to mark territory, I guess. It was stupid, I know. Jealousy maybe... an instinctive reaction from someone who cares about you and had lost you." His voice broke slightly at the end, revealing a fragility that I didn't expect.
His words, raw and honest, managed to pierce part of my armor. The mention of his jealousy, although it didn't justify his actions, at least humanized him, showed him as someone imperfect and hurt, just like me.
"Alright, Josep," I finally said, feeling the tension slightly leave my shoulders. The idea of returning to the old normalcy, although tempting, still felt distant. However, the sincerity in his eyes and the weight of his confession prompted me to offer him a glimmer of hope. "Let's go back inside. And don't worry... I think... I think we can be friends again like always." The last sentence came out with a hesitation I couldn't hide, a promise more from my mind than from my wounded heart.
Upon re-entering the warmth of the mansion, leaving behind the dimness of the garden and the revealing conversation with Josep, I felt a weight lift from my shoulders, although uncertainty still lingered. I said goodbye to Josep with a distant cordiality, a courtesy required under the watchful eyes of our parents.
Once in my room, I picked up my phone and opened the group chat I shared with Brianna and Louie. My fingers typed quickly, pouring out in words every detail of the conversation with Josep: his confession about his parents' pressure, his sudden departure, his unexpected return, and his explanation for his behavior at school. I omitted nothing, from his regret to his clumsy attempt at "protection."
Brianna's response came quickly: "Wow... that changes things, don't you think?"
A few seconds later, Louie added his comment: "We'll have to wait a little longer then. We can't act rashly."
Brianna replied almost immediately: "Exactly. We'll have to continue as we are, letting Anna believe nothing has changed. And from there, closely observe how Josep behaves now that we know his side of the story."
I read their messages, feeling a knot of anxiety in my stomach. The situation had become even more complex. Josep no longer seemed to be a simple pawn in Anna's game, but someone who had also suffered and now seemed to be on our side. However, the distrust sown by his two-year silence didn't disappear easily.
"I agree," I typed in the chat. "We need time to process all this and see what Anna's next moves are... and Josep's."
A virtual silence spread through the group as each of us absorbed the new information. The night progressed slowly, and although a part of me longed for resolution, I knew that patience would be key to uncovering the complete truth. We would have to continue acting, maintaining the facade of normalcy before Anna, while closely observing Josep's every move, trying to discern the sincerity of his words and his true role in this complicated web.