Chasing Sunsets (BINI Series #4)

Chapter 24: Ghost of You

Sheena's POV

I spent the past few weeks drowning in a sea of heartbreak. My recent breakup with Gweneth had shattered my world, leaving me with a gaping hole that textbooks and lectures couldn't fill. Sleepless nights and tear-stained pillows became my routine. 

"Seriously? A failing grade? You promised us na hindi ka na babalik sa kagaguhan mo wayback in high school. What is happening to you?" Mom angrily asked as I showed her my grades. 

"I don't know. I'm sorry, things haven't been good. I will not enroll muna for the next semester." I told mom and looked away. 

"We're so disappointed. You know how important education is to us tapos hindi ka mag-eenroll? You're graduating for pete's sake." dad added in. 

I shook my head and walked away, not wanting to hear their lectures and nagging. Of course, I am always the disappointment. Kailan ba nila ako hindi tiningnan ng ganoon? I'll always be the black sheep of the family. 

Kahit hindi naman nila sabihin, alam ko kung paano nila ako ikumpara sa kapatid ko. That he's better in all freaking way. He's responsible, smart, understanding, caring, etc. 

I messaged my friends to meet me at the bar near our subdivision. Studying felt pointless, the future a blurry mess. Here, in the dim haze of the night bar, a strange kind of peace settled over me. The throbbing bass drowned out the nagging voice in my head, the cheap liquor a numbing agent to the ache in my heart.

Faces blurred into a kaleidoscope of colors, conversations a background hum. I nursed my drink, the bitter tang a welcome sensation. Maybe I was rebelling, drowning my sorrows in a bottle instead of facing them head-on. But for now, this was my sanctuary, a world where Gweneth's absence didn't steal the air from my lungs.

Disappointment was a familiar ache, but this... this felt like betrayal. They'd sacrificed so much for my education, and here I was frittering it away in a haze of cheap liquor and cigarette smoke. The guilt threatened to spiral, but I shoved it down. Not tonight. Tonight, I was just Sheena, a girl seeking solace at the bottom of a glass.

How long could I keep running? How long before the music stopped and I was left facing the wreckage of my life, alone? The answer, like the future, remained shrouded in the smoky haze of the night bar.