The Last String

|16| Her pieces

|16| Her pieces

I don’t know how long I was staring at the results of the test they conducted to me but I’m so sure that I stared at it longer than I should’ve. 

The paper isn’t made of something special but those words written in it are. I was just shocked and…thankful.

Fuck. It’s f*****g negative! 

“I suggest that you have to have your blood test every month to monitor your health, Ms. Gray.” His words flew out of the window and I can’t hear him properly it cos it seems like I’m trapped in a trance. The feeling is euphoric. I’ve never been so thankful in my life until now.  

For the past few days, I was scared to wits as I agonizingly wait for the results of the tests they conducted. There were so many what ifs clouding my mind and unconsciously, I was trapped into my own world again. 

I was weary, anxious, and scared and no other words can explain the feeling that I felt. Good thing Gavin was there to knock some sense into my brain. 

He’s really a life saver. 

“It’s good to be back,” I ran inside my condo and jumped into my couch. I can hear Gavin’s voice from my bedroom telling me to settle down nicely and Maria and Taehyung’s daily dose of bickering. 

“You’ve been in the hospital for a week,” Gavin pointed out. “It’s natural to miss your comfort zone.” 

“Uhuh. But what I really miss the most is good food. Hospital foods are bland,” my face scrunched as I remember how tasteless the foods were in the hospital. Eating those foods is traumatizing! 

“Speaking of food, what’s up for lunch? I’m hungry,” I said. Gavin glanced at me before looking at the bickering old couple at the kitchen. 

“Taehyung said he got it covered,” Gavin shrugged off his hoodie before lying down next to me. 

“I’ll kick him in the a*s if he ordered tasteless foods,” I said seriously and it earned a laugh from Gavin. Ah. His laugh sounds like music into my ears. I should record his laugh so I can listen to it before sleeping at night. It would be a nice lullaby.

“You rant about how tasteless the foods were in the hospital but your favorite food is vegetable salad,” he pointed out. My eyebrows furrowed as I flicks his forehead hard, earning sharp glares from him.

“Vegetable salad is delicious!” Gavin snorted with what I’ve said and hugged me as he snuggled beside me. 

“Whatever makes you sleep better at night,” he retorted. 

“I ordered samgyupsal set!” Taehyung announced which made me frown. Here I thought we’re ordering ready made foods! 

Ugh. This korean dude! 

“Haven’t you realize that we still need to grill the meat before we eat?” I asked him but Taehyung only laugh my question off. I am seriously hungry! 

“That’s what I told him!” Maria popped up and sat on the couch next to ours, crossing her legs in an indian seat. “That’s too much work!”

“I miss korean foods.” That’s what he said which made Maria and I groaned in unison. 

“You better grill the meat good, Taehyung or I’m gonna bash your head with a tong!” I warned him. 

“Trust me, Finn. I’m an expert in grilling,” he said with a confident smirk on his face. 

True to his words, Taehyung ordered samgyupsal set and he even grilled the meat for us. 

There were plenty of side dishes which were mainly vegetables and I don’t know how we did it but we finished all the foods. Imagine the whole table filled with so much foods and there were like the four of us. 

There were kimchi-jigae, doenjang-jigae, jokbal, kimbap, bibimbap and other foods that I can’t even remember. I was amazed when I witnessed how plenty Taehyung can eat cos honestly, it looks like he ate half of the foods that he ordered. He was all smiling during our lunch and it seemed like he really missed eating korean food. I saw how Maria stared at her best friend with a small smile on her face. 

It looks like my ship is sailing. 

“Hey! That’s cheating!” Taehyung yelled as soon as I laid down a plus four uno card. 

“It’s called tactic, V.” Gavin said and the latter groaned in annoyance. 

It was a series of plus cards and it ended up with him, getting a total of twenty-eight cards in total.

Uno can really break friendships. 

We did every single card game that they knew and it ended with Taehyung being a sore loser. We even tried playing scrabble and Taehyung was blabbering korean words that I can’t understand. I only know Annyeong, Saranghae, and Oppa and that’s it. 

“Jokbal is not an english word,” I said. 

“But it is a word!” Taehyung retorted. 

“V, we agreed in using Merriam,” Maria said nonchalantly. “There’s no Jokbal in Merriam, V.”

And then there’s this rock, paper, scissors game and Taehyung weirded us out by using different signs aside from those that represents rock, paper, and scissors! 

“What the hell is that?” Gavin asked as Taehyung used a unknown sign. The thumb and the pinky finger were folded while the rest were up straight. Smugly, Taehyung raised his hand to explain what it means. 

“This is fire. It wins against scissors, snake, human, tree, wolf, sponge, and paper.”

We all gaped at Taehyung like he has three heads. 

“Sponge? Who the hell will use sponge!?” Maria asked. 

“Don’t belittle the sponge, babe.” Taehyung said with a smirk. “It can win against paper, air, water, dragon, devil, lightning, and gun.”

It’s confirmed. He’s definitely a weird korean dude. 

The three of them stayed until seven. They won’t budge from their comfortable seats in my living room and I had to kick them out, literally, so I could finally rest. 

With my eyes closed, I massaged my temple as I walked into my room. I’m nursing a bitching headache and I don’t want to worry them and kicking them out of my condo is the best thing that I could think of. 

Knowing Gavin, he would stay here if he knew that I’m not feeling well, again. I will not be surprised if ever he knows about it and persuade me to be admitted again in the hospital. 

He’s such a worry wart!

But hey, I love that worry wart.

Sighing, I strip my clothes off and showered with cold water. 

It’s already the second week of December and Christmas vacation is near. I don’t know what will be my plan this coming vacation but I know that it will be different from the past years. I’m hoping that I will not spend it alone. 

A girl can hope, aye? 

Since it’s December, it also means that the year-end gala is near. Like the first plan, I will go with my friends and Gavin as my date. It will be the first social gathering that I’ll attend and for me, it’s basically like a family day at MAE’s since I’m sure that I’d be seeing my fellow students there, looking all prepped up. 

Family day. I’ll be going with my family tho—with Maria, Taehyung, and Gavin.

Being with them for the past few months made me realize that family do not end with blood ties. Family is a relationship between people that you genuinely care, support, and love. I may have a disfunctional real family but I found a new one and I can’t be any thankful for that. 

They were always there when I needed them.

They were always there to support me.

They were always there to make me smile. 

They were always there when I needed help.

I was dead in the inside but they breathe in life by being there for me.

I was broken into pieces but they made me realize that broken things can be fixed.

Now, I’m picking up my pieces because I know that they are…there, waiting for me because they are the glue that will help me to be whole again. 

And if ever that there are missing gaps, I know that they will fill it for me just because they are family.

And for me, that’s what family do.

#

end of chapter sixteen