The Broken Soundtrack

Track 29: Stuck in the Middle

I must be living in a nightmare right now. I just desperately wanted to wake up and I needed someone to do it for me because I surely couldn't do it myself. Nothing seemed to be going right these days. When I came here, I just wanted to find my dad. I never expected to find people who would turn my life upside down.

Rolling on my bed, I reached for my phone on my bedside table and saw a message from Aunt Claire. "Hija, please do me a favour and give the maja blanca on the fridge to Olive. Thank you."

First thing in the morning and she was already giving me an errand. I wouldn't normally complain, but with half of my body paralyzed and my head about to burst, I just wanted to bang my head on a concrete and lay in bed all day.

But of course, as a good niece, I wriggled up in bed and pulled myself down the stairs. I dreaded having my period every month because it would always be painful. I had been taking painkillers for it, but sometimes I would rather endure the pain than destroy my kidneys.

Reaching the foot of the stairs, the stinging pain hit me again. It felt like my fallopian tubes were being cut into pieces. I suddenly felt something hot and stirring inside my gut, but I tried to control myself from throwing up.

When the doorbell rang, I straightened myself up, ignoring the pain inside me. "Is anyone home?" The voice startled me from behind the door. I recognized it to be Asher's at once.

Holding onto the guardrail for support, I forced my feet towards the door. I leaned towards the side, touching the hallway table. A loud shatter ensued as broken pieces of the vase scattered on the floor. Oh no!

I stopped on my tracks and bent down to pick up the pieces of the vase. I would seriously get in trouble with this. I knew Aunt Claire was very meticulous and wanted everything to be in place. And who knows if this vase has a sentimental value to her? I was so dead.

"Hey! Who's there? What's happening?" Asher roared as he banged the door continuously.

I grunted, standing up again and dragging myself towards the door.

Asher's squinted eyes welcomed me as I pulled the door open. "Jam, are you all right? What happened?"

Pressing my lips in a thin line, I answered, "Uh, yes. That was just me."

Asher fell silent, inspecting inside the lounge. "Was that it?" He pointed at the mess I created just behind me.

"Yeah. It was an accident," I explained, diverting my eyes on his dirty black Chucks, instead of his hair pulled up in a man-bun.

"Are you sure you didn't hurt yourself?" He asked again.

"I'm all right, Ash," I mumbled.

"God! I miss hearing you say my name," he blurted out and my eyes darted back to his sparkling blue eyes.

I inhaled a deep breath, not letting his words cloud my thoughts again. "Are you here for the maja blanca?"

"Yes, that's the one," he pointed out. "When nana told me this morning, I kept on forgetting its name. Is it a Filipino dessert?"

I nodded. "I'll just go grab it from the fridge," I said as I turned my back at him.

"Be careful of the broken pieces," Asher mentioned as I walked past the table. "Do you mind if I come in? I'll help you clean that up."

I didn't want him to come in, but when I looked over my shoulder, he was already making his way in, bending down to pick up the pieces.

"Ash, you don't have to do that," I told him, but he continued what he was doing.