Meghan, My Chaos

Prologue

Prologue

Adrien's POV

6:16 P.M.

"After this dinner, samahan mo naman ako magyosi sa labas, o," bulong sa'kin ng kapatid kong si Ashton.

He's older than me by 2 years. I've never really supported him about his habit, because all I can think about is the poisonous hydrogen cyanide, formaldehyde, arsenic, ammonia, and a lot of other harmful chemicals in tobacco along with the nicotine that makes my reckless older brother coming back for more.

"I don't wanna watch you inhale poison, Ash," I said, and he chuckled. Hindi ko nalang siya pinansin at patuloy na hiniwa ang kinakain kong steak.

"Lagi naman. Try mo rin kaya-"

"What are you telling your brother, Ashton?" Dad suddenly asked him, catching everyone else's attention.

"W-wala... tinatanong ko lang kung kailangan niya ng tulong sa—" My brother tried to come up with reasons, but Dad cut him off, and I kind of already saw it coming.

"I don't think Adrien would ever need your help on anything, Ashton. I think you were talking about making him smoke with you." Napatingin ako kay Ashton na walang nagawa kundi yumuko. "Naiintindihan kong mahirap itigil yan, pero wag mo nang idamay si Adrien sa mga kagaguhan mo, okay? If you're gonna be a failure, then go, but don't drag Adrien with you."

I quickly turned to look at Ashton, who's now in shock from what Dad said. 

"I'm sorry. I'm- I'm just gonna go, naalala ko may lakad pa pala kami ni Kent," he said and I could almost hear the pain in his voice. Tumayo na siya, wiping his face with the table napkin, at naglakad na palayo. The three of us sat in silence as we listened to Ashton's footsteps getting farther away from the dining area.

"You've been too harsh on him. Kawawa naman 'yong bata." My mom said in a sad tone, breaking the silence between us habang pinapakinggan namin ang kotse ni Ash na papaalis na ng bahay.

Lagi silang ganito ng dad namin. Always fighting. What can I say? My dad's a perfectionist and my brother was born a troublemaker. There's no doubt that they'll always be disappointing each other.

This happens a lot and I used to go after Ashton tuwing nangyayari 'to, pero na-realize ko rin na wala naman akong natutulong and the presence of his obedient young brother would do nothing, but make him feel worse about himself.

"I'll have to go work on something," pagpapalusot ko dahil nawalan na ako ng gana kumain. I dropped my knife and fork at my plate, drank the remaining water in my glass and stood up from my chair. "Goodnight, Mom, Dad," I said, giving each of them a kiss on the cheek at umalis na ng table.

Naglakad na ako papaalis ng dining at lumapit sa mga maid namin.

"I'm sorry about that. Nagaway na naman sila," I said, with a smile.

"It's okay, sir. Nasanay narin po kami. Gusto niyo po bang magakyat nalang kami ng pagkain sa inyo mamaya?"

"No, it would be bothersome for you, and hindi rin healthy na kumain right before sleeping, it will cause indigestion," I said after shaking my head. I smiled at them and headed upstairs.

I noticed my legs feeling the tiredness from the long day as I take each step in the stairs, so I held onto the familiar black railings as I make my way upstairs.

This is my favorite part in my everyday. I admit na paulit-ulit lang naman ang mga araw ko and others may call it boring, but I like being in control of my life. And I enjoy a lot of things alone.