The Void In My Heart - 14. CONFLICTS AND A SECRET

When Meg met Joey in the morning, she could sense that something had happened last night after she left as Joey was not talking in complete sentences. “Hey, out with it!” she asked Joey to tell her what had happened. “What! I told you nothing happened,” the boy shushed her. “Okay, well, then why you seem to be in a different zone altogether?” Meg asked him. “Wait a second, did you kiss him? Or maybe he kissed you?” she could not hide her curiosity.

“No, it was just a hug. Don’t you think you are steering horses of imagination extremely fast?” he gave a sarcastic look to the girl. “Ah! So romantic!” she exclaimed to which Joey said “Hello! It was just a hug, a friendly hug. What is romantic in that?”

“Why don’t you tell him what you feel about him? At least you would spare your brain and heart from getting engaged in conflicts on a daily basis” she advised him to confess his true feelings for the doctor.

“Have you gone crazy today? I guess it would be best for me if I attend my activity classes today rather than chat with cupid of this center” he got up and waved at Meg. She hollered “I was just trying to knock some senses to your brain” to which Joey just waved again. She looked up at the sky and said “Dear God! Please guide him and help him realize his feelings before it’s late.”

As she was walking to her dorm, she met Felix on way. “Hey, I have a good news for you,” the doctor sounded really happy. “Is Catherine coming to the center?” she asked the doctor. “Well, that too, but I just got a call from the doctors who are treating your leg and they told that your recent reports have shown tremendous improvement. If everything goes as per the plan, then it’s just a matter of month when you won’t require those crutches to walk.” Meg was so happy that she had tears of joy in her eyes, “this is great news. Thank you so much doctor. Had it not been for your constant efforts, I would have lost all hopes a long time ago.”

“Hey, your determination was the most important factor in your recovery. To make your day even better, Catherine will be coming to the center soon.” News was quite overwhelming for Meg as she paced up her steps to the doctor's cabin. When she reached the office , Catherine was already waiting for her. She was seeing her younger sister after a long time and to add to their joy, Meg was about to be free of crutches in a month's time. They chatted to their heart's content.

Meanwhile, Joey tried hard but Meg's words were constantly ringing in his ears. He washed his face and as he looked in the mirror, he said "just a hug means nothing. Stop fooling yourself. Felix is cordial with everyone."

To make the matter even worse, he heard the doctor's voice coming from the corridor. "Damn! I need to get away from here before he comes," he rushed outside but was stopped by Felix. "Seems like you are in a rush. Anything important?" he asked the boy who was trying his best to remain calm.

"Well yeah, Meg called me up. We were to meet 20 minutes ago and as you can see I am late," he wasn't looking into the doctor's eyes. "I will see you later," he rushed downstairs as Felix wondered if everything was alright with Joey.

Meg was taking a stroll as Joey flashed towards her. "Well, well, are you participating in next year's athletic championship?" she smirked at him as he made faces at her. "So, you've started playing games with doctor now" her comment startled Joey.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Joey, it is so obvious. I saw Dr.Felix heading towards your dorm and then the speed with which you came running said everything. You are avoiding him now, aren't you ?" she wanted to bring truth out of her best friend who was caught in a sea of conflicting thoughts.

"I cannot lie to Miss Nancy Drew's stunt double. Well, yes, I am trying to restrict my conversations with him as that hug and your words have left me in a dilemma. I don't know what I want. Whenever he is around, I feel so good. The way he looks at me sometimes is really heartwarming. At the same time, I haven't seen him giving a special treatment to me over others, which again brings me to a dilemma. What’s happening!!” he shouted.

“Hey, go easy on yourself. This is the first time you have fallen for a guy if I am not wrong or…,” she looked at Joey. Joey looked at her and then looked away, his face turning red. “What is it Joey? Come on, don’t hold it back if you have something to tell me. From your silence, should I interpret....” before she could complete her question, the boy blurted out “Yes, your assumption is correct. This is not the first time I am having feelings for a guy. It’s a secret that had been buried in my heart only and now I am telling it to you in good faith. My parents will never accept me if I told them that I cannot bring a daughter in law for them.” He got overwhelmed with emotions as tears trickled down his cheeks.

“Hey, it is perfectly okay. You must take time and come out only when you are ready mentally and emotionally. Your secret is safe with me. I knew that something was bothering you since you told me about your feelings for Dr. Felix. It is good that you told me the truth. At least you will have one person with whom you can share your feelings without the apprehension of getting judged” Meg smiled.

“You are really the best friend one can have” Joey smiled and hugged his best friend.

“Now I don’t want you to shed a bucket load of tears. Though, let me tell you. Felix is straight as far as I know and that’s why don’t have high expectations from him. I don’t want you to break your heart. Okay?” Meg was concerned about Joey.

“Yeah, I will take care. I don’t want to risk our friendship at any cost. I like his company. Avoiding him was a stupid thing. It must have been obvious to him, isn’t it?” Joey asked Meg who smiled and said “don’t worry. I will cover up for it. I will tell him that I had an urgent thing to talk about and that is why I had called you. Just make sure you don’t act awkward around him. I have seen how you keep on looking at him.”

“Thanks. Okay, I will leave for now. I just hope that I don’t make it seem too obvious to him. It would spell doom for our friendship,” he bid goodbye to Meg left for the dorm and felt pretty relaxed after coming out to her.

Later that evening Joey and Meg met for the dinner. They were joined by Felix soon after as Joey once again started looking at him. Meg lightly kicked his leg under the table as she gave a warning with her eyes. Joey smiled and started having dinner. “Joey, is everything okay with you?” Felix asked. For once, the boy stopped eating and looked at Meg and then turned to the doctor, “yeah, why?” “In morning, you seemed nervous and before I could ask you the reason, you just rushed away,” the doctor replied.

Fearing that Joey might make a mistake, Meg said “I had an urgent matter to discuss with him and that’s why he was in a hurry.” “Ah, I see. Anyhow, how was your meeting with Catherine?” he asked as she described in detail and Joey just focused on his dinner. The doctor left first and they bid good night to each other as Joey whispered to Meg “thanks for coming to the rescue. I was at a loss of words when he asked me that question.” “It is not a new thing now, I noticed that and seeing the way you act around him, I don’t think that you will be able to keep this secret for long,” Meg smirked at him. “This won’t happen again. I will think of him as a friend only and things will be alright,” he gave a half-reassuring smile to her as she was still smiling. “What’s with that stupid smile of yours!” he looked at her.

“I was just estimating the time it would take until the bubble bursts and you confess your feelings to him” she was about to burst into laughter seeing Joey’s reactions as he said “Very funny. Keep estimating and building castles on clouds. Someone needs sleeps so he can get up early tomorrow” Joey pointed towards himself. As he left for the dorm, she hollered “Sweet dreams” and then went to her dorm with a smile on her face.