Le Penchant

15| kung sa'n ka masaya

It's a start for a new week, sinubsob ko na ata talaga ang sarili ko sa trabaho kaya hindi ko na namalayan na nagdaan na ang isang linggo.

"We can still make her go to prison right?" Sambit muli ni Hera habang nakadungaw sa'kin sa kusina.

I smiled weakly. "Don't. I understand her, I deserved atleast some of it," mahina kong tugon.

Narito kaming tatlo sa apartment ni Shirley,  wala ang mga lalake dahil nasa trabaho, si Genieva naman busy sa med-school since exams na nila. Unfortunately, they learned about the scandalous act Alonzo's mother made, that's why of course, it took me about a full day to tame their raging emotions down.

Ipapakulong raw ni Hera at Sage, kakaladkarin rin daw ni Shirley, papaulanan rin daw ng sampal ni Gen. At siyempre, papakainin naman daw ni Vince ng literal na perlas ang matanda.

Mga brutal nga naman talaga.

"Deserved? Ilang taon ka na rin kinakawawa ng nanay niyang pisteng 'yan! Tigil-tigilan mo 'ko, nakakagigil!" Shirley exclaims, mas binilasan pa niya ang pagblower sa buhok, since ako lang naman ang may day-off samin ngayon at papasok pa rin siya sa trabaho.

"We told you to get a bodyguard Hershey, you didn't listen," pailing-iling na sabi ni Hera, she looked so disappointed at me.

I laughed lightly while I shooked my head, wala na rin naman kaming magagawa pa, nangyari na 'e. Ano pa nga rin ba ang ine-expect ko? Hiniwalayan ko 'yong tao sa mismong araw bago ang kasal namin, right then and there, I knew I signed up for hell already.

"Kaya kong ipagtanggol ang sarili ko, I just let her do what she did, because I know even for one bit, how much she loved her son. But I broke him, I t-tore him apart, I deserve some of the blaming," my voice broke mid-way, tumikhim naman silang dalawa at hindi na nagsalita pa.

Tinuon ko nalang ang atensyon ko sa paghuhugas ng mga pinagkainan namin. My adjustments throughout the week may have been bearable, but I knew seven years of being used to one person wasn't a joke at all.

Pero ginusto ko 'to.

At papanindigan ko 'to.

Shirley bid her goodbyes, bineso niya kami bago umalis sa apartment. Hera and I spent the day together, and I was thankful for having such friends who had my back through thick and thin. Simula dati ganito na kami, sa kanila ko lang ulit naramdaman ang magkaroon ng pamilya. Ever since my mother's death, they were there. Wala na talaga ang salitang 'iwanan' sa bokabularyo namin.

"I'll go with you if you want," Hera suggested, I shook my head lightly.

"Ako na ang pupunta sa grocery, pagkabalik ko magluluto na ako ng dinner, just fix our beds nalang. Are you sure matutulog ka rito?" Tanong kong nag-aalangan, she nodded immediately.

I shrugged. The apartment is already small for Shirley and I,  and Hera was used to having a luxurious life. Not that she ever boasted about it, gano'n lang talaga ang lifestyle na kinalakihan niya. Kaya naisip kong itanong ulit kung sure siya.

"I'll just tell my driver to lend me a foam bed and a few pillows, it's alright," she casually says, smiling at me with reassurance.

I nodded and proceeded to head out, the grocery is just a walking distance from Shirley's apartment, kaya naman hindi na ako nahirapan lakarin ito.

It was almost 7 pm, napansin ko ring maliwanag at buong-buo na ang buwan sa langit, it felt almost therapeutic to walk alone.

I gasped when someone suddenly pulled my hand, turning me over. Halos malagutan ako ng hininga nang makita ko kung sino ang nasa harapan ko.