Meet me in the Afterglow [MMITA]

30 : Confused

KRISTEN YSOBELLE SORIANO

Kanina pa akong nakatambay sa office ko, nandito pa din si Riley. Tahimik lang sya na nakatungo. Pinagmamasdan ko sya, her silence bothers me so much.

I noticed that she's in pain, hurt and she's.....lost.

I don't wanna see her in that state. I've tried to change the topic and have a conversation with her but she seems pre-occupied.

Ang bilis lang naman ng pangyayari kanina, how she manage to capture everyone's attention by her mere presence. Nag-flashback sa akin kanina 'yung scenario sa cafeteria.

Can't deny it, she looks sophisticated in her dress, she's drop dead gorgeous and she's really cute when she's shy.

Conceited sya but her ears turned into tomato whenever she's hearing someone complimenting her beauty. Napailing na lang ako nung time na she's not looking at me earlier. Badtrip. That's the reason why I ended up rolling my eyes at her, ang manhid nya sa part na may nakatitig sa kanya pamula nung dumating sya tapos ni hindi man lang nya mapalingan ng tingin. Tsk.

Isama pa na she literally all smiley when that Jason came, worst tinanggap pa yung iced tea. Naguluhan ako bigla na lang sumigaw si Ae. At that moment nakita ko kung paano nanginig ang buo nyang katauhan, nakita ko rin ang galit sa mukha ni Ae kaya tuluyan na akong nabahala, when Ae walked out, I don't know but I found myself dragging her in my office.

"Elle Riley" I called her, she's still silent, mukhang hindi nya naririnig.

"Elle Riley" tawag ko pa ulit, napabuntong hininga na lang ako at tumayo sa swivel chair para lapitan sya.

Umupo ako sa harapan nya, doon sya nag-angat ng tingin.

"Let's go" pagyayaya ko sa kanya.

"Where?" she ask, hindi ako sanay na ganito sya.

"Ae's office" sagot ko sa kanya, nakita ko ang biglang pag-aalinlangan sa mukha nya

"Do you still want to talk to her?" I ask her.

"Yes, Shobe, let me" She bit her lower lip.

Tumungo na kaming dalawa papunta sa office ni Ae, hindi na ako nag-abalang kumatok, pumasok na agad ako.

She was sitting on swivel chair, while si Stella and Tiffany nananatili lang sa couch, mukhang pinapakiramdaman yung isa.

Napaangat naman ang tingin nila sa akin, habang si Ae nakatungo pa rin. Tumabi ako kay Stella, napatingin din sila kay Riley. Sumenyas ako sa kanila na dapat na kaming umalis. Hahakbang na sana kami nila Stella nang bigla akong hinawakan sa kamay ni Riley.

Damn. Naramdaman ko na naman yung parang may static.

"Please, stay." she whispered, I held her hands na nakapatong sa kamay ko and I squeezed it, I gave her a smile and nodded.

Kaming 3 ay nasa tapat lang ng pinto, hindi lumalabas.

"Gayle" Riley called her.