One of the Boys 1 & 2 (Published by Pop Fiction)

Chapter Thirty Two

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Chapter Thirty Two

Past

Months ago...

Ags was good at lying, but Apa knew her better. He knew when she was telling the truth, he knew when she wasn't. So when he asked Ags if she waited for him and she answered no, he tried to believe her, but he couldn't. He secretly hoped she didn't, though.

The next few weeks, their patients started teasing them. They called him Prince doctor and when he was asked who his princess was, he didn't speak, but he looked at Ags and smiled.

Czarina knew. Kalvin knew. The children knew who his princess was.

Sa cafeteria, si Ags agad ang una niyang napansin. May kausap siya sa phone at kasama na naman niya sila Kirk at Anthony. Napailing si Apa dahil hanggang ngayon, wala pa rin siyang kaibigang babae.

He was about to buy his food, but he got distracted when he noticed Ags was on the verge of crying. After she hang up the phone, lalong nilapitan nila Kirk at Anthony si Ags para i-comfort.

Papalapit na si Apa sa kanila noong narinig niya kung anong nangyari. "My dog died." Hindi siya sanay na ang tawag ni Ags sa mga aso niya ay 'dog' dahil mga anak ang trato niya sa kanila. They were her babies and Apa knew how important they were to her.

Nilapitan niya si Ags at hinawakan sa balikat. Nagulat si Ags sa kanya. Tinanong ni Apa kung sino sa kanila. She said it was Twinkle. He knew it was a stupid question, but it was the first thing that came into his mind. He took a seat directly across from her and observed... like he usually did.

He listened to their conversation. Inaya nila si Ags uminom at dahil hindi pa niya masyadong kilala sila Kirk at Anthony, wala pa rin siyang tiwala sa dalawa. He was grateful she had them, but he was thinking twice since for him, it was impossible not to like Ags.

Kaya kahit hindi siya inaaya, tinanong niya kung pwede siyang sumama, pero kahit hindi naman sila pumayag, sasama pa rin siya.

Kahit hindi pa sila tapos kumain, nagpaalam na si Apa at umalis. Tinawagan niya si Mycah para sabihing i-bigay na lang 'yung kakapanganak na aso kay Ags. Tinanong ni Mycah kung kamusta si Ags. He said he looked sad, but they didn't need to worry.

"Lex?" Mycah was smiling.

"No."

She laughed. "Hindi pa nga ako nagtatanong."

"You want to ask me if I still love her."

"Do you?" her smiled widened.

"I can't."

"But do you?"

"I do. I'm still in love with her, but I can't."

She sighed. "When will you ever learn to forgive yourself? And for the record, it wasn't you who hurt her. We did. Forgive yourself and win her back unless... you're worried about Lizzie."

"Yes, I've forgiven myself. No, I hurt her. No, I can't win her back. And yes, I'm worried about Liz." But he couldn't lie to her anymore. He must stop lying to himself. He had to tell her he was still in love with Ags and he didn't know when and how to move on.

-

Sa restobar, sila Apa at Ags lang ang hindi nagsasalita masyado. Magkatapat na naman sila. Busy si Ags uminom at busy si Apa tingnan si Ags pati ang mga lalaki na nakapaligid sa kanya. Laking pasasalamat ni Apa dahil hindi magkatabi sila Denzell at Ags.

Namumula na si Ags kakainom. As much as he wanted to stop her, he had no right. Hindi naman sila. Lizzie never stopped talking to him kahit halata naman na hindi siya interesado. He was staring at Ags deeply.

"Anthony, do you love your life?" she asked Anthony. Ags looked sad. Her eyes were sad. He didn't want her to be sad. Anthony answered her question and asked her if she was drunk.

Apa continued to observe. He was glad and sad that Anthony cared for her so much. What was Anthony planning? Did he like Ags?

Ags said she wasn't drunk. She wasn't, but she was tipsy already. "I love my life, Anthony. I do, but it's quite sad. I'm not happy anymore." Apa's stomach clenched. It was hard for him to see Ags that way. It hurt to see her like that.

Mahaba at malalim ang pinag-usapan nila Ags at Anthony. They were talking about life and happiness.

"I don't regret anything, but somehow, you're right, because I let go of my happiness, and every happiness I have seems fading. I try to be happy as fck, but I can't control my emotions. Feeling blue is inevitable, I know that, but I despise this feeling. I hate how I can't control my emotions. I hate feeling empty."

A tear fell from her eyes. Apa noticed she was holding back his tears. Then he asked himself if he was the one who made her like that, because if he was, he really didn't deserve her. He was bad for her.

He wanted to stop Ags from crying. He wanted to stop her from being sad. He wanted to wipe her tears, but Anthony already did. "Don't cry." Lahat sila, nakatingin na kay Ags. All of them were worried except Denzel. He was thinking how those guys could touch her, but he couldn't.

She smiled. "I don't usually cry, but when I do, it's because the drum's full. When it's full, the water spills."

Hindi na kinaya ni Apa at tumayo na siya. He stopped her from drinking and pulled her away from everyone. Hinatid niya si Ags sa dorm nila. They talked for a long time and as much as they wanted to be with each other, being with each other was painful.

They kissed for the last time and he left.

As soon as he got in his condo unit, he picked up his phone and called Lizzie nervously. "Liz..."

"Yuki? Hey, is there a problem? Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry," his voice turned into a whisper.

"Yuki..."

"Nothing has changed."

"Yuki! What the hell is happening?"

"Nothing has changed, Liz. I'm still in love with her."