Chasing Boundaries (Parallel Rhythms Series 1)

Chapter 16

And I was right. Agad na sumalubong sa aking paningin ang imahe ni Archein. I was slightly taken aback. I thought... I thought he didn't follow me.

Hinihingal pa ito at malamang ay tumakbo pa ito para maabutan ako. His eyes were slightly red and his lips were lightly trembling. I was a bit shocked as I did not expect to see that sight.

"H-Harley." he spoke as our eyes met. Unti-unti itong naglakad papalapit sa akin. And I just found myself stuck at my place. Hindi ako makagalaw. Tila napako ako sa aking kinatatayuan at napako ang aking isipan sa pagkalito 'pagkat 'di ko na alam kung ano pa ang gagawin ko.

Should I walk closer to him? Or should I run away again?

The latter choice suddenly felt unavailable as my brows slightly met when I saw a glint of his pent-up and mixed emotions forming on the side of his eye, in the embodiment of a lone tear. He walked closer to me, with the lone tear falling from his eye.

And I just found myself looking at him, waiting, until he finally stood close in front of me.

"Harley. P-please, let's talk." he sounded almost pleading as he gently took both of my hands with his.

As to this moment, all I could think about was finally clearing things out with him. Because I already acted cowardly earlier, I don't want to repeat that same mistake again. And I admit, that was a terrible mistake.

My eyes dropped to his hands, cupping mine. I swallowed hard as I felt both his thumbs gently caressing the back of my palms.

Dahan-dahang bumalik ang tingin ko sa kaniya. And as our eyes met, I saw the vulnerability on his eyes, how he looked so weak, so tired.

And I almost wanted to give in.

Pero sa t'wing namumuo ang mga luha sa aking mga mata ay walang ibang pumapasok sa aking isipan kundi ang mga panahong lumuha ako dahil sa sakit.

As I stared into his eyes, all I could see was the times when he made me feel so small, so fragile, so weak. All I could feel was the pain, flashing before my eyes as I remembered how I cried because of how he made me feel.

Hinding-hindi ko malilimutan ang mga oras na pinaniwala niya akong espesyal ako para sa kaniya, ngunit pagkatapos ay pagtatawanan niya ako. I never forgot how he treated me as his toy, how he played with my feelings, and how he painstakingly broke my fragile heart.

I just wanted to be brave this time. And in order to do that, I need to do myself a favor by clearing things out with him, but at the same time, torture myself as I need to act with a heart of stone, just so he could never play with my feelings again.

"B-bakit ka nandito, A-Archein?" nanghihinang saad ko.

"I want to talk to you, Harley." he spoke with his hoarse voice.

Agad kong binawi ang aking kamay. Tila nabigla siya sa ginawa ko. Mas bumilis ang pagtibok ng aking puso nang magtama ang aming mga mata. Ngunit agad ko itong iniwasan at nahulog ang aking tingin sa lupa.

"Y-'yong kasama mo." paulit-ulit ang aking pag-iling habang sa baba lamang nakatingin. Matapos ay muli akong humarap sa kaniya. "B-bumalik ka na ro'n, Archein." impit kong saad.

Mabilis na nagsalubong ang kaniyang mga kilay. He walked closer to me, which I did not expect. But what I didn't expect more was him, grabbing my hands again and caging them with his.

"It's not important anymore, Harley." tila may bahid ng pagmamakaawa sa kaniyang boses at maging sa kaniyang mga matang kumikislap habang nakatitig sa akin. It was still red, probably because of tearing up earlier.

"P-pero—"

I never had that chance to talk when he immediately pulled me close and caged me within his arms. I could feel my heart thumping faster as he embraced me with his warmth. Silence reigned between us, our pounding heartbeats were the only sound we could hear.