The night was intense, and Molly's grandmother's clock was driving her crazy. She sat desperately on the couch waiting for her friend Francine to arrive. *My God, why is she so unpunctual? Molly thought as she grunted.
The ticking lacerating in her ears like sharp knives. She looked out the window every minute, but there was no sign of Francine. She decided to call her again, but her phone was off. She wondered where her friend could be, they should have been at the party an hour ago.
Meanwhile, Francine was parked on a city boulevard before a bar. She wasn't looking at her phone or the clock in her car, just watching the door of the bar, waiting for Chase to come out. He finally did, holding another woman's hand. Francine's heart stopped and it completely ruined her illusions.
Tears ran down her cheeks, for her suspicions were true. She remained inert in front of the steering wheel for several minutes sobbing like a child. The pain wouldn't let her breathe, wouldn't let her concentrate. She took an impulse and decided to turn on her phone to distract herself with something else.
She found several missed calls from Molly, who was impatiently waiting for her at home. She swallowed her sadness and decided to call her so as not to worry her. She gasped several times and with a forward movement of her eyes endeavored to speak to her friend calmly.
“Francine, where are you?” Molly asked annoyed. "My God, I've called you twenty times! It's been over an hour since we should have been at Kyle's party."
“Molly, I'm sorry, but I'm not going,” Francine whispered.
“What? Why?”
“I just... I'm just not feeling well,” she asserted, her voice cracking.
"Girl, don't give me that. For the past week, we've been waiting for this moment... Oh, no..., don't tell me this is about Chase!"
There was a long silence between the two of them. Francine lumped in her throat and couldn't even release a sigh.
"Francine...? Please, friend, answer."
“I saw him coming out of a bar with a woman...” Francine exhaled with her voice in pieces, then covered her face with her hand as she released small sobs.
“Oh, girlfriend, where are you, I'm coming to get you...”
"No, don't come! I don't want to ruin your plans with Kyle. Go to the party by yourself, I'll be fine."
“Forget it!” Molly exclaimed. “Tell me where you are right now or I'll call your father and tell him you're missing with his car.”
Francine wiped away her tears and in fear at that threat, decided to reveal the location to her friend. Molly immediately hailed a cab and, within a matter of minutes, met her friend.
She was devastated with her soul stuck in her chest. Francine, standing in front of her friend, laid her head on her friend's chest and burst into tears. Molly consoled her pitifully, watching the poison of that pain slowly consume her best friend.
“Francine, you have to let it go now,” Molly said, stroking her hair. “You guys aren't together anymore, you have to accept it.”
“I just still miss him, and it hurts...”
"I know, but doing this isn't going to make you miss him any less. Let's not go to any parties, let's go to your place and watch a movie instead, shall we?"
"No, don't come! I don't want to ruin your plans with Kyle.
Molly consoled her pitifully, watching as the poison of that pain consumed her shudderingly.
Francine lifted her head and in one swift motion wiped away her tears. She took a big breath of air in a heavy sigh and regained her composure immediately.
“Okay,” she said now calmer.
During the ride, there was a silence that was not broken by anything. When they arrived at Francine's house both girls hugged each other and stayed that way until they reached the doorway. They lay down on the bed in the bedroom and turned on the television. Molly watched her friend every minute, her countenance showing a new crack of sadness. Molly hugged her again and it was at that moment that Francine burst into tears again.
They chatted for a few minutes, then there was a steady calm that flooded the room and they both managed to concentrate on the movie. When it was over, Francine wrapped Molly's arms around her again and lay there as if dozing.
"Forgive me for ruining your plans to be close to Kyle. I know you were looking forward to tonight." Francine said apologetically.
"Don't worry, girl, I wasn't going to leave you alone with this. Anyway, if my advances with Kyle hadn't worked out, spending the night with you was my plan B." Molly revealed as she made a tender motion on her friend's nose.
They both started laughing and chatted until they fell asleep. By dawn, the mood was more cheerful. Francine had escaped the territory of melancholy with a glow in her heart knowing she had the best friend of all.
THE END
APÓYATE EN MÍ
La noche se hacía intensa y el reloj de la abuela de Molly la volvía loca. Se desesperaba sobre el sofá esperando la llegada de su amiga Francine. ¡Dios mío! ¿Por qué ella es tan impuntual? Decía Molly mientras gruñía.
El tic tac laceraba en sus oídos como filosos cuchillos. Miraba por la ventana a cada minuto, pero no había señales de Francine. Decidió llamarla otra vez, pero su teléfono estaba apagado. Se preguntaba dónde podía estar su amiga, hace una hora que debieron estar en la fiesta.
Mientras tanto, en un bulevar de la ciudad, Francine estaba estacionada frente a un bar. No miraba su teléfono ni el reloj de su auto, solo pendiente de la puerta de aquel local, esperando a que Chase saliera. Él finalmente lo hizo tomado de la mano de otra mujer. El corazón de Francine se detuvo y eso arruinó completamente sus ilusiones.
Las lágrimas corrían de sus mejillas, pues sus sospechas eran ciertas. Se quedó inerte frente al volante por varios minutos sollozando como una niña. El dolor no la dejaba respirar, no la dejaba concentrarse. Tomó un impulso y decidió encender su teléfono para distraerse en otra cosa.
Halló varias llamadas perdidas de Molly, quien la esperaba impaciente en su casa. Se tragó la tristeza y decidió llamarla para no preocuparla. Jadeó varias veces y con un movimiento frontal de sus ojos procuró hablar con su amiga con calma.
“Francine, ¿dónde estás?” Preguntó Molly molesta. “¡Dios mío, te he llamado veinte veces! Hace ya más de una hora que debimos estar en la fiesta de Kyle.”
“Molly, lo siento, pero no voy a ir,” susurró Francine.
“¿Qué? ¿Por qué?”
“Solo… es que no me siento bien,” aseveró con la voz quebrada.
“Chica, no me vengas con eso. Desde la semana pasada hemos esperado este momento… ¡Ay, no…, no me digas que esto es por Chase!”
Hubo un largo silencio entre ambas. Francine tuvo un nudo en la garganta y no pudo siquiera liberar un suspiro.
“¿Francine…? Por favor, amiga, responde.”
“Lo vi saliendo de un bar con una mujer…” Exhaló Francine con la voz hecha pedazos, luego se cubrió el rostro con la mano mientras liberaba pequeños sollozos.
“Oh, amiga, ¿dónde estás? Voy a ir por ti…”
“No, no vengas, no quiero arruinar tus planes con Kyle. Ve a la fiesta tu sola, yo estaré bien.”
“¡Olvídalo!” Exclamó Molly. “Dime dónde estás ahora mismo o llamaré a tu padre y le diré que estás perdida con su auto.”
Francine se secó las lágrimas y con miedo ante aquella amenaza, decidió revelarle la ubicación a su amiga. Molly inmediatamente pidió un taxi y, en cuestión de minuto, se encontró con su amiga.
Ella estaba destrozada con el alma atorada en el pecho. Francine, al estar frente a su amiga, posó la cabeza sobre el pecho de ella y rompió a llorar. Molly la consolaba con lástima, viendo cómo el veneno de aquel dolor la consumía estrepitosamente.
“Francine, tienes que olvidarlo ya,” dijo Molly acariciándole el cabello. “Ustedes ya no están juntos, tienes que aceptarlo.”
“Es que todavía lo extraño, y me duele…”
“Lo sé, pero hacer esto no te va a hacer extrañarlo menos. No vayamos a ninguna fiesta, mejor vamos a tu casa a ver una película, ¿te parece?”
Francine levantó la cabeza y en un movimiento raudo se secó las lágrimas. Tomó una gran bocanada de aire en un fuerte suspiro y recuperó la compostura de inmediato.
“De acuerdo,” dijo ahora más calmada.
Durante el trayecto hubo un silencio que no se rompió con nada. Al llegar a la casa de Francine ambas chicas se abrazaron y se mantuvieron así hasta llegar al portal. Se recostaron sobre la cama de la habitación y encendieron la televisión. Molly observaba a su amiga cada minuto, su semblante advertía un nuevo resquebrajamiento de tristeza. Molly la abrazó nuevamente y fue en ese instante en que Francine volvió a romper a llorar.
Charlaron por unos minutos, luego hubo una calma firme que inundó la habitación y ambas lograron concentrarse en la película. Al terminar, Francine se abrigó nuevamente con los brazos de Molly y se quedó allí como si dormitara.
“Perdóname por arruinar tus planes de estar cerca de Kyle. Sé que esperabas muy ansiosa esta noche.” Dijo Francine disculpándose.
“No te preocupes, chica, no iba a dejarte sola con esto. De todas maneras, si mis avances con Kyle no hubiesen resultado, pasar la noche contigo era mi plan B.” Reveló Molly mientras hacía un movimiento de ternura en la nariz de su amiga.
Ambas comenzaron a reír y conversaron hasta quedarse dormidas. Al amanecer, el ambiente estaba más alegre. Francine había escapado del territorio de la melancolía con un brillo en su corazón al saber que tenía a la mejor amiga de todas.
FIN
