And right after she decoded the Playfair Cipher on Boxentriq, she got the following message:
WHYDONTYOUCHECKOUTKEVANTHESERVANTSPINXNEDPOSTONFACEBOXOK
Why don't you check out Kevan the Servant's pinned post on Facebook?
And so, she decided to close the window and opened her Facebook on TOR browser, pero bago niya pa iyon magawa ay narinig niya ang pagkatok ni Jack sa pinto.
The door opened, and Jack entered, holding a tray of food. Talagang ito na ang tagadala ng pagkain niya.
"You didn't eat."
"I didn't feel hunger."
"It's because you were working too hard. Damn, Jill," he clicked his tongue, "papatayin mo yata ako sa pag-aalala."
Lumapit ito sa kanya at inilapag ang tray sa kanyang mesa. Hindi siya nagsalita at pinanood lang ito.
He really likes to pamper her, and his gestures never fail to bring warmth to her heart.
He's probably the sweetest man that she knows. . . at selfish ba kung sasabihin niyang gusto niyang siya lang ang aalagaan nito? Except for his relatives and sibling, of course.
"Thank you for the food, Jack. Hindi tumunog ang alarm clock ko."
"Yeah, so I'll be your human alarm clock. I'll be the one to remind you when to eat."
Nakatingin pa rin siya sa pagkain kaya 'di niya namalayang nasa tabi niya na pala ito. Napakurap siya nang may lumapat na malambot sa kanyang noo, and when she looked up, Jack is standing beside her.
"Nag-aalala ako sa 'yo. What's keeping my Jill so busy that she forgot to eat, hmm?" Inayos nito ang kanyang bangs, and damn that 'my' again.
He tried to take a peek on her computer, at kumunot ang noo nito nang makitang nasa TOR browser lang siya.
"I didn't see your database. You aren't working. What were you doing, Jill?"
"Jack, when did we break up? This month, right? October twenty. . ."
"You're diverting the question. What were you doing, Jill?"
"No. . .No, Jack." Sunod-sunod siyang umiling dito at umayos ng upo. "It's because, I think a week after we broke up, I. . ." humina ang boses niya, hindi maipatuloy-tuloy ang sasabihin.
The heaviness slowly creeping up in her chest prevented her own words from coming out, keeping them stuck in her throat. Will she tell Jack? Matulungan kaya siya nito?
"You. . . what?" Bahagyang tumagilid ang ulo nito at nagkasalubong ang kilay, naghihintay sa kanyang sasabihin.
His eyes made her words retreat up to the folds of her brain. Wala sa sarili siyang umiling dito at bumuga ng hangin.
"Wala, wala. Don't mind me." Umiling siya rito, pero nakatitig lang ito sa kanya, halatang 'di kombinsado.
She let out a sigh and matched his gaze. "Like you, Jack, there are things I'm still not ready to tell you yet."
She's sure as hell na mag-iiba ang tingin nito sa kanya at baka. . . lalayo ito.
Jack stared at her for a few moments before nodding his head and giving her a small smile. He lifted his hand and tucked behind her ear some hair strands that got loose from her hair tie.
"And like you, I'll wait until you're ready."
Ngumiti lang siya rito at hindi na muling nagsalita pa. Ready? Hindi niya na yata magagawang sabihin iyon kay Jack.
Because last year. . . was the year she did something that could put her behind the rails.
"WHAT ARE YOU doing in the kitchen at this hour, Jill?"
Halos mabitawan niya ang hawak na tasa na may lamang gatas nang marinig ang boses ni Jack. She turned around to look at him, and she saw how he looked at his phone to check the time. Nag-angat ito ng tingin sa kanya pagkatapos.
"It's almost three in the morning, Jill. 'Di ka ba nakakatulog nang maayos?" mahinahon nitong saad at naglakad papalapit sa kanya. Jill could only nod.
She has been like this since. . . last year.
Since that happened.
It always comes back to her in dreams, hunting her.
Naputol ang kanyang pag-iisip nang maramdamang kinuha ni Jack ang tasa mula sa kanya at ibinaba iyon sa mesa. He gently pulled her head towards his chest, making her close her eyes and let out a sigh of contentment.
"What's disrupting your sleep?" Masuyo nitong hinaplos ang kanyang buhok, and all she could do is hum and hugged him back.
Wala siyang lakas na sabihin dito kung ano ang bumabagabag sa kanya.
Jack sighed and pulled a part for a moment. Kita niyang hinila nito ang isang upuan papalabas sa mesa at saka hinarap ang upuan sa kanya. Jack tapped his lap, and with no other words, paharap siyang umupo sa hita nito at iniyakap ang kanyang mga braso sa leeg.
This position is too comfy. . . too comfy that it makes her sleepy.
He hugged her back and buried his face in her neck. "Do you want me to sleep beside you?" genuine concern was etched in his voice, making her not think of anything other than sleeping.
Tumango siya rito. "I would love that, Jack."
And for her, sleeping beside Jack would be the best thing. . . but she didn't expect that doing it would make her nightmare worse than she could have imagined.
-----
Merry Christmas, my rains! ❤️
YOU ARE READING
Game Over, Engineer
Mystery / ThrillerFC Arcade Series #2: J She's known as the best hacker in their organization. . . but someone managed to hack her computer. ----- Jilyanzel Jalvore is working at a detective agency. She is known as the best hacker in their organization, until someon...
