"Elsie, don't you know what's good for you? My friends came here specifically to see you and cheer you up because they know you are sick, and you have this serious face. What does that even mean?"
Logically, I should have argued back at this point.
However, at that moment, Sergio's words stirred no emotions within me.
I always thought that we should never argue with petty people and contend with fools.
My reaction only further enraged Kirsten and the others.
"Sergio, it seems your girlfriend doesn't like us at all and looks down on us. She doesn't even try to pretend. Forget it, we are leaving!
"You can't expect us to come back here again."
After Kirsten finished speaking, she stormed out angrily.
The others followed suit.
Sergio, seemingly feeling embarrassed, turned around and shouted at me.
"Elsie, what do you mean? Are you deliberately giving my friends the cold shoulder?
"Don't think that just because you are sick, I will always cater to you.
"I'll tell you, if you don't apologize to Kirsten and the others properly for this, I am done with you!"
With that, Sergio grabbed his coat and left in a fit of anger.
The door slammed shut with a loud noise.
I rubbed my knees, which were sore and numb from kneeling for so long, feeling an overwhelming sense of desolation.
The boy who once defended me at all costs was ultimately gone.
I did not care about the mess that Kirsten and the others had made in the room.
I just packed my belongings, took the cross I had brought with me and left.
While waiting for my flight at the airport in the middle of the night, I received a voice message from Sergio.
"Elsie, if you had any sense, you would hurry up and apologize to Kirsten and my other friends!
"They are right; I have spoiled you too much, which is why you are so reckless!
"If you keep being so willful, I'll just break up with you!"
On my phone, Sergio's drunken voice came through, occasionally mixed with the sounds of Kirsten and the others egging him on.
From the noise of Kirsten and the others, I could easily guess that they had already decided I, "the sick one", could not leave Sergio.
And Sergio, having discarded me as a "burden", had a bright future ahead of him; he shouldn't be held back by me, "the patient".
From the messages Sergio sent, it was clear he also agreed with their viewpoint.
I did not react much but simply blocked Sergio expressionlessly.