Chapter 33
Toni had just explained why Mark had acted that way. Bryan finally broke the silence. “Well, we shouldn’t be sad now should we? I mean, we should spend our last hour together happily!” he said, going over to the cake and placing a slice of it on a paper plate. He reached for a fork but placed it down, suddenly running over to Kian and smashing it into his hair. “Argh! My hair! My hair!” Kian shouted, making Shane laugh so loud. Kian grabbed a piece of cake and stuffed it into Shane’s mouth. “So, who’s laughing now?” Kian asked, laughing as Shane coughed a bit. Shane started chewing and then he swallowed it. “Hey! That was actually delicious!” he said, wiping away the icing from the corners of his mouth. “Want some more?” Bryan asked, holding up another slice and throwing it at Shane. Toni was smiling at this point, but she just couldn’t laugh. The thought of leaving her friends depressed her. She looked at Nicky, who wasn’t even smiling at all. He didn’t look even a bit slightly amused. He was trying to fight the tears that were threatening to fall at any moment. “Guys! Excuse us for a moment.” Toni said, taking Nicky’s hand and leading him to the balcony. The other three were too busy with their little cake fight to have heard what she said.
“Why do you have to go?” he asked. “Nicky, I just told you that my parents need me.” Toni said simply. “What else?” he asked, going over to where she was standing. “Argh! You truly do know me too well!” she said, laughing nervously. “Well? What is it? Come on, spill it lil’ sis!” Nicky said, trying to make the situation light. “I can’t stay and it’s partly because of Mark.” she whispered. “Why? Toni, you’re being so dumb here! Everything’s going fine! The both of you can finally get back together. Things between everyone are finally starting to get back to normal. Then what? You’ll start crying all over again when you get home, feeling hurt and deprived of love? Toni, wake up from this thing that you’re doing. You’re the one who’s depriving yourself of the love you’re looking for.” “Nicky, you don’t understand. I’m afraid. I’m afraid to love once again. I’m afraid to learn to love Mark again. I might just lose him and I can’t stand losing him twice.” Toni said, looking at Nicky. “Toni, we’ve gone through this before. We’ve talked about this a thousand times already!” Nicky sighed, exasperation filling his voice. “Don’t be afraid to love Toni. You’ll never know if you’ve finally found what you’re looking for unless you give love a chance. Who knows? Maybe this time around things will change for both of you? And one more thing, stop being so selfish. Think of other people for once and what you’re doing to them. Think of what you’re doing to Mark. You’re tearing him into pieces.” Nicky said. Toni just smiled. “Nicky, even if I want to be with him, you know I can’t. Even if I do get back with Mark, he’ll always be away so much and you know how much it kills me when we’re apart. My parents also need me back at home. I love my mom. She’s like my best friend and she stuck with me through everything. I can’t let her down.” “So, you’re gonna let me, your other best friend down?” Nicky joked, making a hurt look. Toni laughed, giving him a hug. “So there’s no stopping you then?” he asked. Toni only nodded. Nicky pulled her for another hug. “I’m going to miss you. I’ll miss you so much that I’ll call you after every five minutes to ask how you are.” Nicky said, making Toni laugh. “I’ll miss you too.” she whispered into his ear. “Are you sure you won’t regret leaving Mark behind?” he asked. Sadness filled Toni’s eyes but she just nodded. Hand in hand, Nicky and Toni walked back into the room, only to find Bryan pinned to the floor by Kian and Shane, spreading icing all over him.
Toni stood at the airport, waiting for her flight to be called. Nicky drove her there, followed suit by Bryan, Kian and Shane after they finished cleaning themselves up. Alessia, Helen, Patricia and Sandra were with them. Toni looked up, glad that they were there. She was disappointed though that Mark wasn’t with them. Alessia pulled Toni aside for a while, saying how sorry she was about everything. They never really had a chance to talk about things. Toni forgave her, and they hugged. They were both crying and they didn’t want to let go. A voice came clearly over the speakers, announcing Toni’s flight. She stayed for a few minutes, praying that Mark would show up as the others showered her with hugs and kisses. Mark was the last person she wanted to see before she left Ireland. She wanted to remember him, and deep inside she knew she always would. She boarded the plane and took her seat. She took out her organizer from her bag and opened it. She looked at two pictures that she kept hidden there whenever she travels. One was her favorite picture of her and Mark together that Shane took at Hazel Woods. The other was a wallet-sized photo of Mark that she nicked during a photo shoot on the third day of their filming. She had never stolen anything in her whole life and she laughed at the thought of stealing a picture of her ex-boyfriend. It was really weird. The plane started to move and Toni had to close her eyes. She couldn’t bear to see that she was leaving Ireland for good.
Mark ran through the airport like a madman. He only stopped to ask for directions and then he’d start running again. He suddenly spotted Shane and the rest of the group. He started shouting Shane’s name, and everyone was looking at him, but he couldn’t care less. “Shane! Where is she?” Mark asked, gasping for air. Shane looked sadly at him and pointed to something. Mark’s eyes followed the direction where Shane had pointed. Mark suddenly looked away. He was too late. He looked back once more, watching the airplane as it took off, carrying away the woman he loved away from him forever.
It had been three days since Toni left Ireland. She was back in the Philippines, her home. Christmas was only a few days away, and she was excited at the thought of spending it with her whole family again. On Christmas Day itself, her cousins and aunts and uncles would come over and celebrate it with them. The doorbell rang and after a few minutes, Toni heard a soft knock on the door. “Toni, there’s someone in the living room looking for you.” her mother said. “Thanks!” she said, getting up from her desk where she had been wrapping presents. She thought it was probably one of her friends. She remembered they said they’ll be passing by that day, but they told her it would be later in the afternoon. She looked at the clock. It was only 10 in the morning.
She opened the door and went into the living room.