Cuts and Bruises

Chapter 1

"You should've at least talked to him—

"Ilang beses ko ba siya kailangang kausapin?" I heard her sigh. "The last time I went to his dressing room to clear things out, ano ba'ng ginawa niya? He pushed me away, Anne. He told me na wala kaming dapat pag-usapan— na kalimutan na lang namin lahat because everything... everything that we had was worthless."

Malinaw na malinaw pa sa ala-ala ko how he said that. It was with full conviction. "There's nothing to fight for, Karylle. Wala namang dapat isalba because everything that we had has no value."

"Kailangan kong manahimik, Anne. I have to keep my mouth shut dahil kahit magsalita ako, ako pa rin ang talo. Habang buhay akong uusigin ng konsensya kung sakaling mawala kay Vice lahat ng pinaghirapan niya. Saving him has always been my priority," hindi nakalagpas sa mga mata ko ang pagbagsak ng mga balikat niya. Alam kong pagod na siya sa akin. "Kaya ko pa, Anne. Kakayanin ko pa."

"Hello, Tito Carlo?" I was on my way home when I received a call from him. Sa totoo lang ay kanina ko pa nabasa ang mga pauna niyang text messages, pero mas pinili kong i-set aside 'yon dahil hindi pa ako handa sa mga tanong niya.

"Where are you?"

"Katatapos lang po ng Showtime. I'm on my way home,"

"Are you driving?"

"No, Tito. I'm with Kuya Arnel." I told him. "Bakit po kayo napatawag?"

"I guess, you haven't read my messages yet." no, nabasa ko lahat. "It's all about the offers, Karylle. Nakapag-isip isip ka na ba?"

Matagal ko naman nang hinihintay 'to, pero bakit ngayong nandito na— hindi ako agad makasagot? I'm not sure if I'm having second thoughts whether to accept those offers or not. O baka naman may hinihintay lang akong suporta?

"Karylle, hindi trabaho ang maghihintay sa 'yo. They're all asking for your answer." dagdag niya kahit wala pa man akong naisasagot sa una niyang sinabi.

"I can't leave Showtime just like that,"

"I'm not asking you to leave that show." katwiran nito. "You only need a few days every week for the rehearsal and for the shooting."

"I still need to get permission from Direk and... and Vice."

"Vice? You mean, Vice Ganda? What does he have to do with it?"

"He works with the segment producers, Tito. He needs to know kung sino ang mawawala for the meantime so they can replace the host with someone else."

Hindi ko alam kung guni-guni ko lang lahat, but I heard a laugh from him.

"I'm sorry," he apologized nang marinig niya ang pagtahimik ko. "I just don't understand why you still have to tell Vice about your plan of accepting the offers kung meron ka mang balak... e swerte na nga lang kung mabigyan ka ng 10-minutes exposure per day e."

Those words started stabbing my chest. Well, where's the lie? Lahat naman sila napapansin 'to— ako lang talaga ang pilit na nanloloko sa sarili ko. Karylle, they're just giving the other hosts the time to shine.

"I'll give you until tomorrow, Karylle. I need your yes or else, wala akong choice kundi ioffer 'to sa iba."

"Okay, so what is this all about?"

Vice went in and looked at Direk John who's sitting beside me. It's Saturday at halos katatapos lang ng Showtime when Direk asked him to stay for at least a few more minutes for a quick meeting.