after // alyden

31

-alyssa-

"Ate Ly, tubig?" Bea hands alyssa a glass of water while the rest of her teammates pace back and forth in a frenzy, trying to figure out where dennise might be. Julio, den's driver, was calling as many of the maids as he could, trying to ask them if she was somehow home. Ella, Amy and the others were trying to call den's phone but she wasn't answering them.

"no thanks." she says absentmindedly.

Alyssa still could not believe it. Kung kailan akala niya okay na ang lahat, just when she thought they were finally going to be alright, this happens. She knew den was a lot of things, but she wasn't a runner, never one to drop everything and leave without a proper explanation. Alyssa had come to realize that she was no coward. everything that she had done, good or bad, always had a reason behind it. Den wasn't selfish  like she had originally thought when she had left her those years ago, she was much more than that.

that's why is scared her how den was mysteriously missing now. This was so unlike her.

"let's try to backtrack. Where was den kagabi? " Amy says as she clutches her phone tightly in her hand.

"here, with us, eating. Tapos i think she and ate ly went outside, diba ate? " Jamie replies as she looks at alyssa for support. The taller one just nods silently.

"Ly, what were you two talking about sa labas?" Ella looks at her curiously. She knew the two were hiding something.

Alyssa on the other hand didn't know if she could tell them the truth. The topic seemed a little too personal and she didn't know if den wanted the truth out without her there to explain the whole thing. But on the other hand, Alyssa's friends had been there not only for her, but also for the both of them and she knew that the whole situation would be a lot easier to understand if they knew the whole story so she had no choice but to tell them. They deserved an explanation just as much as she did.

"call the others, I think you need to know this." Alyssa says seriously.

Once everyone was gathered around her, Alyssa begins to tell the story from start to finish. By the end of it almost everyone had tears in their eyes. They all felt guilty for loathing dennise for five years, and knowing that they were oblivious to her pain made it even worse.

Ella took it the worst, she was sobbing as Alyssa hugged her. It hurt her seeing her bestfriend so down. Ella rarely cried, she was always the one comforting other people, always the positive one in the group.

"Pots." She hugs the smaller one tightly. She knew why she took it a little bit more than the others. Ella was also close with den back when they were in college, sometimes to the point that Alyssa grew a little bit jealous of her because den always told her secrets first; And when ella had found her crying in the middle of the road that night, she vowed to never forgive dennise for what happened, despite being the best of friends with den.

"I hurt her besh. Wala siyang kasalanan and I hurt her; my bestfriend. " Ella says in between her sobs. The rest of the lady eagles gather around the two, engulfing them in a group hug. Like alyssa, they were not used to seeing Ella so open about her feelings.

"We all hurt her ate, hindi lang ikaw." Jia says as she lowers her head.

"If what you're saying is true, then I have a really bad feeling about this." Amy looks at ly, seriousness written all over her face. "you said she mentioned her lolo being in davao right? and is it just a coincidence that den is suddenly missing without saying anything? sounds super sketchy to me."