Deceret Series #1: His Lips On My Neck

Chapter 6

"Gwen..." may pagbabanta sa boses ni Philodemus. Naguluhan ako sa inakto niya kaya't binalingan ko si Philodemus na seryosong nakatitig kay Gwen.

"Bakit?"

Gwen's lips pursed, before she shook her head. "Wala." Was her cold reply.

"Gwen!" Philodemus barked.

"Tapos na pala ang duty ko. Tanya, ikaw na dito..." aniya at dali-daling umalis sa bar.

With my heart sinking, I turned to Philodemus.

"Did I do something wrong?" I asked in a small voice.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, before blowing out an air of frustration.

"We'll talk about it outside." Then he turned to the waitress. "Tanya, two glasses of beers."

Mabilis na inihanda ng waitress ang in-order ni Philodemus. Nanatili lang akong nakatayo. Basa na ang parting kinatatayuan ko dahil sa ball gown. Pati din ang kay Philodemus. After a few minutes, the girl handed two tall glasses of beer. Kinuha ito ni Philodemus at prenteng lumabas ng bar.

I followed him.

"She was really nice to me last time..." I cleared my throat when we stopped on a wooden chair and table in the porch. "I wonder what happened?"

Philodemus set down the two glasses of beer and then glanced at me.

"It's your father she hates, not you."

"Huh?"

"Take a seat."

I followed what he said but never tore my gaze from him. Naupo din si Philodemus sa harapan ko at seryoso akong tinitigan.

"Your father stole her family's land in Sta. Rosa. Her mother got sick and eventually died. Sinamantala iyon ni Governor Roman at kinamkam ang lupang dapat sana ay para kay Gwendolline."

I gasped. "I didn't know that."

Philodemus stared darkly at me. Tapos bumaba ang tingin niya sa kwintas na nakahimlay sa aking leeg bago niya ininuman ang kaniyang beer. "You don't know your father."

I was taken aback by his words. Ilang minuto din akong nakatitig sa kaniya, hindi alam kung anong sasabihin.

Philodemus gestured towards my beer with his half-empty glass.

"You should drink your beer. It's getting warm."

"R-Right..."

I've felt worse with what I had discovered just now. Iniinom ko ang mapait na beer at tiniis ang lasa nito hanggang sa mangalahati saka ko inilapag ulit ang baso.

"Do you think... Do you think I can do anything to help her?" tanong ko pagkatapos nang ilang segundong katahimikan.

Itinukod ni Philodemus ang kaniyang isang braso sa sandalan ng upuan at tinaasan ako ng kilay. Seryoso pa rin ang naging titig niya sa akin.

"You can't even help yourself, Shortie. Why bother helping others?"

I shut my mouth tight. His words stung...

Napayuko ako sa kahihiyan. It stings but it is true. Oo nga naman, Stormie. Why play hero if you're the fucking damsel in distress in the first place?

"Focus on getting better first. All of us are fighting a silent battle within ourselves. It just so happened that your father is involved in Gwen's dilemma."

I felt silly all of a sudden. Gwendolline must've suffered a lot because of what my father did. And yet, she's still trying to survive and being her usual cheerful self.