Celestial Strings Tied To You

Chapter 04

Oo nga pala, nauna akong umalis sa kanila dahil may gagawin sana ako.

"Nasaan si Madie?" Ngumuso sila at nanglaki ang mga mata ko dahil naglalakad siya papunta kay Rence.

"Madie!" Tumakbo ako palapit kay Madie at hinarangan siya. "Madie, huwag. I'm telling you, I'm really okay." Nagpatuloy siya sa paglalakad kaya atras ako nang atras.

"He hurt you again, Julie. Do you think uupo—"

"I got it, okay? Just trust me. He'll definitely regret it and I swear he's gonna stop pestering me after this." Huminto si Madie sa paglalakad.

"Huh?"

"Just trust me." Bumuntong-hininga siya at tumayo.

"Julie! Nandito na service mo!" Nasa labas na ng campus si Nica pero nagawa niya pa talagang sumigaw.

"I have to go. Huwag kang gagawa ng kahit anong kalokohan. Just wait and see until tomorrow, okay?" Hindi ko na hinintay ang sasabihin ni Madie at nagmamadali na akong lumabas ng campus.

And there he is. Waiting in his car.

"I'm sorry, si Madie kasi parang babalatan na ng buhay si Rence." Nagsimula nang magdrive si Vince.

"And you stopped her?" Napataas ang kilay ko. This is the first time that I heard that tone. "Ganun din ang gagawin ko kung papayag ka." Tumawa ako, thinking that it's a joke. Pero hindi siya nagsalita at seryoso lang ang mukha niya habang nakatingin siya sa daan.

"Na in love ka na ba, Vince?" The traffic light is red kaya tumingin siya sa akin.

"Yes, I still am. Bakit?"

"Wala."

Hindi na ako nagsalita pagkatapos nun. I'm lost in my thoughts again. Kung in love naman pala siya, bakit parang ang bait niya pa rin sa akin? Baka naman mabait talaga siya sa lahat?

"Thank you." Pagkatapos kong magpasalamat sa kanya ay lumabas na ako ng kotse niya at dumiretso sa bahay ko.

Wala akong masiyadong gagawin ngayon kaya napagdesisyonan ko na mag-order nalang ng dinner at manuod ng movies. Actually, kailangan kong mag-aral pero wala pa ako sa mood.

Hours passed and it's already 8 pm kaya naman I decided na mag-aral na. Pagkapasok ko ng kwarto ko ay nakita ko ang laptop ko. That's when I remembered kung bakit ako umuwi ng maaga.

Ang OA pakinggan but I'm gonna tell them our story para naman maging peaceful na ang ko sa campus.

At first, I didn’t want to say anything kasi paniniwalaan din naman ng mga tao kung ano ang gusto nilang paniwalaan. But now, for me, that's the point. Hahayaan ko na sila kung ano ang gusto nilang paniwalaan pagkatapos kong i-post ito.

Maybe this is for the better.

I stared at the screen for a long time before I finally decided to tell the truth.

At first, I didn’t want to say anything. I told myself it was better to stay quiet and just let the noise die on its own. However, I was suddenly the villain. The one trying to ruin his new relationship. Like I hadn’t spent months trying to heal from what he did.

I want to keep it to myself because I don't want to ruin his image because as you all know, he is a famous basketball player you all love. Just by that, I bet you already knew who I meant. And I'm sorry to disappoint you, he's not what you think he is.

We started dating back in senior high. It wasn’t public because he said he wanted it to be private. Just ours. I thought that meant something sacred. I thought it meant he cared.