Trevor had it planned out in his head many times before he went up to her.
All he would have to do is simply walk up, start some friendly banter with Hilda, give her the note and flowers, and then leave. It was that simple. He saw it done so many times in shows and movies that he watched. The characters always succeeded in doing those steps. Only four steps, all of which seemed so easy at first.
But now as he stood there, staring Hilda in the eyes for the first time in weeks after the incident, he couldn't even bring himself to utter a word. His mouth felt like it was crawling with butterflies, threatening to spill out and ruin the entire moment. His legs wobbled and whined, feeling like jelly ready to fall. He had no idea how he was able to even approach her with his state as it is, but now there was no turning back for him.
Hilda's eyes sent Trevor's heart into a panic. She looked confused but more-so annoyed that he was there, which was not a good sign. It made what he was about to say all the harder to do.
A few seconds ticked by full of silence, and at this point, the two kids that were with Hilda both noticed Trevor as well. One was a boy, and another a girl. Both seemed just as confused as Hilda, making a lump appear in Trevor's throat. He had thought a moment ago that they didn't matter at all to what he was about to do, but now he realized that with witnesses watching him, it would be even harder to apologize to Hilda.
"Just say the words Trevor," he told himself, "it will be over as long as you say the words…"
Trevor opened his mouth to apologize, but nothing came out. His head replayed the day again as if to spite him. He remembered the rock being thrown, the shock in Hilda's face, and then the anger that soon followed. It was almost impossible to believe that Hilda would even moderately forgive him after that.
A few more seconds, a bit more silence. Trevor was now panicking quietly to himself. His feet were ready to run, but his body stayed still as he looked for the words to say. It was almost impossible, but he forced himself to look.
"Can I help you Trevor?" Hilda calmly asked.
Shock, and then a bit of relief flooded through Trevor's heart. She actually said his name without screaming at him, or sounding disgusted by him being there. This was a good start so far. He just had to continue the conversation.
"U-uh no…" he replied, "n-no I don't need anything. I-I just…"
The words were fading again. It was so hard to maintain a sentence that he barely remembered what he was going to talk about.
"N-nice weather we're having today right?" he said.
"Nice weather?" Trevor thought to himself, "You idiot you couldn't come up with anything better to say?"
Hilda and her friends said nothing to Trevor's poor attempt at starting a conversation. He didn't know if it was because they didn't know what to reply with, or because they felt sorry for him in some way.
"Uh… yes," Hilda started, "it is quite nice out today-"
"I know right!" Trevor interrupted quickly, "i-it's so lovely out right now…"
Confusion spread across Hilda's face again, sending chills through Trevor's spine. Had he said the wrong thing? Or was she just annoyed he interrupted her? His heart pounded at the thought of upsetting Hilda again.
Silence spear across the air again, stressing Trevor out as he clutched onto the note with extreme care. Hilda's friends were both now whispering to each other, which worried Trevor even more as he tried to speak.
"Oh god why is this so hard?" he thought.
Hilda looked straight at Trevor with concerned eyes, and then down at the ground again. He wondered if she was eyeing the note.
"Um, Trevor?" Hilda started.
"Yes?" Trevor replied; a bit more nervous than before.
"Can you please move?" she asked, "you're standing on top of a dirty soda can right now."
Trevor's eyes darted down toward the lush grass below him to find that his boot was currently crushing a can of left-over soda. A bit of the fizzy drink was still leaking out of the can, spreading onto the grass under them.
"O-oh! O-of course Hilda…" he said, moving back a bit.
The moment he stepped back, Hilda leaned over and grabbed the can before quickly putting it into the trash bag she was holding. Trevor noticed that her bag was full of left-over junk that she had been picking up. Such as crumpled paper, crushed cans, food wrappers, and even a couple of old newspapers. Compared to everyone else's bag he saw; Hilda's was the closest to being full.
"You're picking up trash for the park?" he asked.
Hilda looked up, a bit confused at Trevor question, but also a bit nervous. He had no idea why.
"Well, yeah," Hilda said, "you won't believe how many people just throw things away without any consideration for the environment."
Trevor gulped nervously, remembering a few times when he did just the same thing without thinking.
"Wow, people just throw things on the ground like that?" he said, "not even into the trash cans?"
"Surprisingly yes," Hilda replied, "which makes no sense at all since trash cans are everywhere here."
Trevor considered what Hilda told him carefully, noticing the number of trash cans that the park had.
"Man," he said, "that must suck for the people who work here."
"Yeah, It really goes to show that some people don't think before they act," Hilda said, glaring at Trevor, "which is just a shame if you asked me."
Trevor's heart sped up after Hilda finished her sentence, noticing that she was staring at him the whole time while she said that. If he wasn't convinced before, he knew now that Hilda had still remembered that day with the raven as clear as freshly baked pie.
"Y-you still remember what happened?" he asked.
Trevor instantly winced when he realized he said exactly the wrong thing.
"Oh yes, I do remember Trevor," Hilda said, "and I don't see how you coming up to me now after weeks of avoiding the problem is going to change my view on you."
Her eyes were full of annoyance now, making Trevor's heart ache with pain. He knew she had every right to be mad at him, but he also knew that he had to somehow make this right. Even if she hated him for eternity, he had to still apologize.
"Hilda…" Trevor started, "I know that you're angry-"
"Beyond livid," she corrected.
"Yes… "beyond livid"… about what I did," he continued, "and I know it was wrong, and a stupid thing for me to do."
There was silence now, and for a moment, nothing existed except Hilda and Trevor.
"Go on…" Hilda said, eyeing him closely.
Trevor's hands shook, but he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. The air around him smelled like sunflowers and roses from all the flowers that surrounded them.
"What I did can never be forgiven," he said, "but… I hope that I could… atone for what I did and make it up for you somehow."
He expected Hilda to roll her eyes after he said that, to walk away in disgust and leave him there alone. But she did something he never expected her to do.
Her eyes softened, and her glare was now gone. She actually looked interested in what he had to say next, which Trevor prayed was the case.
A few moments of silence lingered on between them, but this time, Trevor was no longer nervous.
"Frida and David," Hilda said, "can I talk to Trevor alone for a bit?"
Trevor was so focused on the conversation that he had actually forgotten the other two kids that were behind Hilda. Both of them were just staring at him, both seemingly annoyed like Hilda was a moment ago. He was sure Hilda had told them about what he did to cause them to be so cautious of him.
"You really want us to go Hilda?" Frida asked.
"Yeah, you sure you don't want us to stay?" David said as well.
Hilda nodded to both of them.
"I'll catch up with you later," Hilda replied.
Both seemed weary to leave Hilda alone with Trevor, but eventually, Frida took her bag and walked to the other side of the park, with David soon following as well. With both of them now gone, it was just the two of them.
Hilda and Trevor were both now alone.
Trevor had dreaded this moment for days, weeks even. Knowing that at some point he would come across Hilda alone and have to face her by himself. He had no idea what she would say now that her friends were out of earshot.
Hilda examined Trevor with her eyes, worrying Trevor to the point where he was sure she was about to slap him. However, she did no such thing and actually looked a bit nervous as well. He wondered what was happening through her brain. Was she thinking about that day too?
She seemed to still not trust him, which was understandable. He knew she had the right to hate him, but he hoped he would be able to convince her that he wasn't like that anymore.
Not anymore…
Before Hilda could speak, Trevor opened his mouth to cut her off.
"You have no reason to forgive me," he started, "and I get that. I wouldn't really forgive me either. But I wanted to tell you that I was sorry, and I completely understand that what I did was awful. If I could turn back time and correct one moment of my life, it would be not throwing the rock at that bird."
He breathed in when he was finished, shocked that he got the words out. For days he thought, and even dreamt of saying all this to Hilda, but never did he actually think he would be able to tell her in person.
Hilda stared at him with uncertainty.
"How can I know you changed?" she asked.
Trevor breathed in deeply before he responded, knowing that his next few words could either make or break the conversation.
"Every day I beat myself up over what happened," he said, "I couldn't stop thinking about how much I messed up when I threw that rock. I had nightmares and constantly was paranoid. I just wanted to make things right again, but I didn't know how. I Didn't know how to fix everything…"
It was silent for a long time before he said the next words.
"Until now," he said.
Hilda's eyes widened a bit as Trevor handed the note and flowers. The flowers were bright daisy's, bought and planted right from "Oliva's Garden" shop. The note was neat, and the poem was long at the end. He hoped it would convince her to forgive him, at least for a little bit.
For a few moments, Hilda said nothing.
Then she looked up at Trevor.
"You wrote me a note and got me flowers?" she asked.
Trevor simply nodded.
Hilda looked down at the gifts Trevor had given her with curious eyes
And with careful hands, she opened the note.
Next chapter will be the last part!
Hope you guys liked this.