Every Bad Thing

Chapter Thirty-Six

Dad brought his hand to the side of my head and brushed my cheek with his thumb. His eyes were filled with gentleness and anguish as he scanned my whole face.

He brushed my hair beside my ear and looked directly in my eyes. "Accept your punishment and repent. Bring my old daughter back. That's all I want, Laurene."

I pursed my lips to keep it from trembling. I closed my eyes and held my breath.

Daddy sighed again and leaned down to place a kiss on top of my head. He gripped on my shoulder and briefly squeezed it before leaving me alone in his home office.

I woke up the next morning feeling low and emotionally drained. I ignored my phone. I was in complete auto-pilot as I got dressed for work. My phone beeped and rang non-stop and I knew it was Orion, but I don't have the strength to talk to him. 

I was a mere décor in the dining table when we ate breakfast. They must have felt the dark mood surrounding me because they never attempted to include me in the conversation.

Hadeon volunteered to drive me to the office. I just nodded in response. Naging tahimik ang umpisa ng byahe pero nang magsalita na si Hadeon ay napag-isip ko na kaya lang siya tahimik ay dahil bumubwelo lang siya sa sasabihin.

He cleared his throat. "What's wrong, L?"

I didn't respond immediately, thinking if I'm going to tell him or not. I thought that maybe my chest will feel less heavy if I tell him the truth. With that in my mind... I took a deep breath.

"Silas..." I started. "He's interning at Dunatos."

"What?" he asked with widened eyes, but recovered and his face turned sharp. "What did he do?"

"He talked to me... He was nice to me." I sounded like a tormented soul.

His forehead creased. "Huh? Shouldn't you be glad? Kinausap ka niya─"

"He moved on." my voice broke. Hadeon muttered a few curses after that. I stopped from talking. He did, too. Hindi na niya ako tinanong pa.

I tried my best to avoid Silas the whole morning and I was successful. Sumama ako sa iba pang interns sa floor namin. Our floor has six interns who came from different Universities. They were all friendly that I didn't have a problem socializing with them.

"May alam akong affordable at masarap na Korean restaurant malapit dito. Gusto niyo?" aya ni Emma.

"Game." Carmine agreed. "Let's make aya rin the other interns para we can get to know each other."

"Kasama ni Joaquin yung dalawa. I-text mo, Carmine. Sabihin mo magkita na lang tayo sa lobby."

Fuck. For a thought that I made it half the day without seeing him.

"Is it okay sa'yo, L?" tanong ni Carmine.

I forced a small smile. "Sure."

Nauna kami sa lobby kaya kinailangan pa namin hintayin na bumaba ang tatlong lalaki. That includes Silas. While waiting, I diverted all of my attention to their conversation. Kahit na dumating ang tatlo ay nagpatuloy ako sa pakikipag-usap kay Carmine.

I could feel him but I never looked at him. I avoided it all cost, like my whole life depended on it.

The group chatted and I hardly talked. Fortunately, they were too absorbed with their conversation to notice that I wasn't talking. I silently finished my remaining food while pretending to listen to them talk animatedly. Patapos na ako sa kinakain pero sila ay nakakalahati pa lang dahil sa pag-uusap.

"You ba, L?" I sat up straight. My brain went on high alert at the mention of my name. It was Carmine who called my attention. "You have boyfriend na ba?"