Chapter 8: The Singularity
2 days before Dean's death
Victoria Abbel's Point of View
"Damien is staying here? Wow. That's new." Her name is Carla and she's the one who is responsible for cleaning the house. At ngayon naman ay nandito siya para maglinis ng buong bahay. May hawak itong trash bin na puno ng gusot na mga papel.
"I got a lot of trash from his room." Carla is a blonde woman and she's in her late fifties. Good thing she can still manage to do all the cleaning in our house. Palagi naman siyang may kasama maglinis, I don't know if it's her daughter or niece. I don't bother asking. That explains why she's holding a trash bin. That must be Trevor's trash.
Ibinaba ko ang baso na may tubig at lumapit sa kanya.
"It's not Damien. There's another man residing here and now he's staying at Damien's room." Kinuha ko ang trash bin kay Carla at nagulat naman siya dahil sa ginawa ko. Kahit ako ay nagulat dahil sa ginawa ko.
"Ohhh, another brother of yours?" She asked while looking at me with her curious eyes. The idea of us being siblings was cringeworthy. Eww.
"He's not my brother, okay? Just a friend of mine in the Philippines. And don't worry about this trash, I'll take care of it." She nodded her head and didn't even bother asking for more. Mabuti naman dahil wala na akong gumanang sumagot pa kung may itatanong man siya. Kinuha ako ng trash bin na mula sa kwarto ni Trevor and put it inside my room. Wala akong ideya kung bakit mas dinala ko ito sa kwarto ko kesa itapon sa labas.
Napahawak na lang ako sa noo ko. Huwag mong sabihin na naghahakot na ako ng basura dito sa kwarto ko?
I looked at the trash bin and stared at the crumbled papers. I reach for one and about to open it when I heard a knock on my door. Bigla ako nagitla at naihulog ang crumpled paper. Wala naman akong ginawang kasalanan, bakit bigla na lang akong nagugulat na para bang may ginawa akong hindi tama.
Another knock and that made me come back from my senses. Inilagay ko muna ang trash bin sa ilalim ng kama ko bago buksan ang pinto.
"Where's the hardware?" Trevor asks. Why is he asking about such questions. Ano pa ba ang purpose ng google map? Duh! Hindi ko maintindihan ang sarili ko kung bakit ganito na ang pakikitungo ko sa kanya. Siguro ay dahil masyado na akong napapagod sa kakahabol sa kanya. Plus, there's something I want to prove.
I'm about to open my mouth to answer his question but he caught me off guard when he grabbed my hand.
"Nevermind, come with me and lead the way." OMG. Palagi na lang akong ginugulat ni Trevor sa kanyang mga sinasabi at ginagawa. Tandang tanda ko pa noong mga panahon na ayaw na ayaw niyang magdikit ang aming mga balat. I stared stupidly at his hands while walking behind him. There's something wrong with him. Bigla akong natauhan nang makarating na kami sa labas. Agad kong binawi ang kamay ko at agad itong hinilot. Trevor looked at me with his eyes asking.
"You don't need to grab my hand, y'know." I rolled my eyes and entered the car. The whole ride is quiet as expected. Hindi ko na rin tinanong kung ano ang binili niya sa hardware, I just saw him bringing a paper bag and putted it at the back seat. Lumingon ako dito at may nakita akong string at iilang gamit.
"Can I open the radio?" I asks when he started driving again. Ayokong mabingi dahil sa katahimikan. Isang tango lang ang nakuha ko mula sa kanya. Okay, cool. I opened the radio and the song pretending blasts from the radio.
Face to face and heart to heart
We're so close, yet so far apart
Jesus!
I hurriedly clicked the next button. What's wrong with this radio?! Pati ba naman ito ay hindi makikisama sa akin? The next song is entitled K from my favorite band which is Cigarette After Sex. Their music is kinda limerent and often dreamy. Kaya naman ay hinayaan ko na lang itong tumugtog.
I remember when I first noticed that you liked me back
We were sitting down in a restaurant waiting for the check
My cheeks reddened when I realize that this song is something sexual. And I'm with Trevor inside an enclosed space. I gulp. Dahan dahan akong lumingon sa kanya. I saw him tapping the steering wheel using his forefinger. Na para bang sinasabay niya ang beat sa pagtap niya sa steering wheel. I looked at his lips and he was basically singing along with the music!
Kristen, come right back
I've been waiting for you to slip back in bed
When you light the candle
Trevor is a music enthusiast! How come I forgot such important stuff about him. He loves music. Mayroon siyang banda at siya ang vocalist! But how come he's here, living in our place? He had a life in the Philippines but what really happened?
I didn't know that I'm staring at him for a long time. I first notice his hair. It's jet black and kinda messy. Masyadong malago din ang buhok niya but I like it that way. I like it short too.
Shit. Am I staring too much to the point that I even noticed his hair? Come to your senses Victoria. He is dangerous for someone who is physically and emotionally unstable.
"What?" He scoffed. Tumingin sa akin ng wala pang tatlong segundo at agad ibinalik ang kanyang paningin sa daan. I coughed and looked away.
"Pull over, may bibilhin ako sa grocery store." Buti na lang at may nadaanan kaming isang grocery store. I tried changing the topic and the only topic that I can think of as of this moment was buying something from the grocery. He parked the car, I hurriedly went out and walk towards the entrance. Why is it always like that? I am annoyed with myself. Bakit pagdating sa kanya ay napakabilis kong matulala.
"Didn't know that you have a lot of stuffs to buy." Bigla na lang sumulpot sa likuran ko si Trevor. I yelped. Mayroong iilang tao ang napatingin sa amin.
I didn't notice that my cart is almost full of stuff.
"Didn't know that you love eating junkies." He said and grabbed the lays and opened it. He started eating it as we both walk through the aisle.
"Why bother saying that, Trevor. Una pa lang wala ka nang alam sa akin." My statement made him smirk. Nagpatuloy lang ako maglakad nang mapansin kong wala na siya sa tabi ko. I looked back and I saw him just standing while holding the plastic of potato chip. Napansin ko ang pagdilim nang kanyang mukha. He clenches and unclenches his hand.
He look straight into my eyes, like he have a lot of things to say. Sa paraan nang pagtitig niya ay parang tinitingnan na rin niya ang kaluluwa ko. I stepped backwards with he started approaching me.
"Trevor..." he took another step and my heart started racing again. What is he up to?
"Maybe you're right, maybe you're wrong," he started. He smiles at me. He fucking smiles at me. The kind of smile na magtataasan ang balahibo mo. He's not actually smiling na parang natutuwa sa'yo. It's a smile that can make you pray for your life. Another step and he's now inches away from me.
"Ngayon ko lang sasabihin 'to, Tori. You must listen carefully. I may not know every single detail about you but I know what's running in your head and what you want." He started caressing my head. Lalong lumakas ang tubig ng puso ko. Malakas na tumibok ang puso ko hindi dahil sa kilig kundi sa takot. I stiffened from my place when our skins made a contact with each other. But I won't lose to him. I stared back at his eyes which captivated me from day one.
"And what do you think is running in my head?" I snickers. Ha! For sure, sinasabi niya lang ito. Pero ang totoo talaga ay hindi niya ako kilala. Sino nga ba ang makakakilala sa akin, sarili ko nga hindi ko kilala. Is he now putting a prank on me? Who is he trying to fool? Me? Oh, c'mon.
He let out a chuckle. And now he's chuckling? Pinagloloko ba ako ng lalaking 'to? "Do you really want me to say that?" I nodded my head. I wanted to test him and prove that his statement is wrong. He lean forward to me and whispered something that made me rather pale.
"You hated the Dean guy so much. You want him to suffer in every way possible. You don't want him behind bars. You want him to vanish in thin air. You. Want. Him. Dead." He said and emphasized the last four words. Napatigil ako sa sinabi niya. I began to be unsteady. Why... How...?
"Bluff. Sa lahat nang ginawa sa akin ni Dean, of course I will think that way. Everyone can predict it." Tumalikod ako at sinimulang pumila sa counter.
"Whatever you say, Tori. Whatever you say." He whispered and looked upward, staring at the ceiling.
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