Of all the things

Chapter Nine

Oh no, Hera!

Hailey's

"WHAT do you want, Hera?"

My father stood beside me while Tita Hera was standing right in front of us. Si Mama naman ay nasa may gilid, mukhang hindi niya alam kung anong gagawin niya. Mahirap nga naman ang sitwasyon niya. Tita Hera is her cousin, and although they're not close with each other, iniisip pa rin ni Mama iyon, Dad is her husband, of course that matters too. She stood there, looking at us, palagay ko nga ay iniisip niya kung anon ga ba ang dapat niyang gawin. I was sighing. Bakit parang galit sa akin si Tita Hera? Bakit parang sa sitwasyong ito, ako pa ang may kasalanan? Aren't they blaming Percy too? It's not that I want them to blame him, it's just that... it's just not my fault. Dalawa kami rito.

What does she even want from me?

"I want you to stay away from my son, Hailey. He's suffering enough! Hindi pa ba sapat iyon sa'yo?!" Pasigaw niyang binitiwan ang mga salitang iyon. Napaawang ang labi ko. What the hell? Akon ga ang sinisisi niya sa pagkakataong ito.

"I'm the one telling Perseus to stay away from me, Tita Hera." Mariing wika ko. I looked at my father who was looking straight at Hera Vejar's eyes. His green eyes are a bit of a darker shade now – an indication that he's getting irritated.

"Really? Anong ginagawa mo sa unit ni Perseus kaninang umaga?' Sarcastic na tanong niya. I looked at my father, he doesn't seem to be surprised about that information, but my mom looks like she got the biggest surprise of her life. I sighed. Wala naman akong dapat ipaliwanag Naiintindihan kong galit sa akin si Tita Hera, nakikita niya kasing nasasaktan si Perseus, pero sana makita rin niyang nasasaktan ako. I know how much she loves her son, but then, how about me? Hera Vejar tends to invalidate my feelings, basta pagdating sa mga anak niya, handang sagasaan lahat ni Hera, kahit na mali, kahit na anak niya ang nakakaagrabyado, but hell! This isn't right.

"Tita, I'm so sorry." Wika ko sa kanya. "Yes, I was in Perseus' unit early this morning. I came there to finally tell him face to face that we need to end our relationship. Matagal ko naman nang dapat tinapos ang bagay na ito, matagal ko nang alam na mali, pero pinanghahawakan ko iyong nararamdaman ko para sa kanya. I was in love with him. Perseus made me feel special. There was once a time that I was willing to defy my parents, to leave everything just to be with him. Damn the morality, damn our blood relationship, I just want to be with him, but right now, after all this time, I realized that I was wrong, that it's not worth fighting for anymore." I said to her. Nangingilid ang mga luha ko pero pinipigilan kong umiyak talaga. I need to be strong. I am doing this to finally be free from all these shits. I want to be free. Kahit ako na lang ang masaktan, basta hindi na masasaktan ang mga magulang ko. I am willing to do everything to spare my parents from pain – the pain that I have caused them. I want everything to go back to normal. Hell! I would even marry the man my father chose for me – if that's the only way from him to finally forgive me. I would be an obedient daughter until the day I die.

"What?" She even asked me. Parang hindi niya ako narinig. I looked at her again, sa pagkakataong iyon ay mas malakas ang loob ko. I looked straight at her eyes, I realized that I had no reason to be embarrassed at all. Alam ng mga magulang ko ang nangyari, iyong pagpunta ko kay Perseus, ginawa ko iyon dahil iyon ang tamang gawin. Nasaktan ko siya, nasaktan rin ako but it's about damn time to finally let all this go.

Hindi ko alam kung paano kukunin pabalik ang tiwala ng mga magulang ko, lalo na ni Daddy, but I am willing to do everything to be in his right place again.

"I want to end it. Perseus doesn't. He keeps on begging me to consider. He keeps on telling me that he needs me in his life. He even told me that your love was enough for you to forgive us and let us be. I didn't want to hurt my parents anymore, so I told him that if he can keep on hurting you and Uncle Hades, then fine, I'll let him, pero tapos na ako sa ganoon. Tita." Biglang bumalik sa akin ang huling usapan naming ni Perseus, how he cried and whimpered, how he asked me to stay. "Nagsasabi ako ng totoo. Daddy, nagsasabi ako ng totoo. I'm so sorry for what happened, for what I did. I never wanted to hurt you or mom, I was just thinking of myself, of my own happiness. For a while there, I thought that I could bear it all, but now, I am regretting every bit of my decision. I'm so sorry, Dad, Mom. Tita Hera, I'm so sorry too."