My Untamed Princess

Chapter 3: The Race 1

Cassie blinked and huffed after the bittersweet taste of vodka burned her throat. She was out again for the nth time. Hindi siya natinag sa paglilitanya ng Daddy niya kahapon nang sunduin siya nito sa bahay nila Lizzie at ginawan pa iyon ng part 2 sa kotse habang pauwi sila at part 3, nang tuluyan na silang makauwi sa bahay nila. Pakiramdam nga niya buong araw siyang busog kahapon kahit pa hindi siya sumubo nang kahit isang kutsara ng solid food. Busog na busog kasi siya sa ilang milyang litanya ng pagrereklamo, pangangaral kuno, at pagbabanta ng Daddy niya. Tuluyan siyang nawalan ng ganang kumain nang magpakita ng plastik na concern si Bea, ang stepmother niya.

"Do you need someone to talk to Cassie? You know I'm always ready to listen," sabi nito kagabi nang silipin siya nito sa kuwarto niya.

She didn’t even bother to answer, she just pretended to be asleep.  Malay ba niya kung nagpapakitang-tao ito para ito ang laging sa Daddy niya.

She took another deep breath when as surge of memory engulfed her.

Bea was just a province girl who used to work as a sociology teacher in a government owned university in the metro. But when Bea and her father met again in a reunion organized by their elementary friends, they, as per father’s term, rekindled the flames of their love. They got hitched a week after. At ni hindi man lamang siya sinabihan ng Daddy niya tungkol doon. Anong akala nito sa kanya? Bata at uto-uto, na tatanggapin na lang nang gano’n kadali sitwasyon na pilit nitong pinaglagyan sa kanya?  Well what would she expect from her father, Ernesto was selfish and a liar!

She was there when he made a promise on her mother's grave that he'll take care of her and loved no one else but her mom. But...

She felt the familiar stinging in her heart and in her ears was a whisper she never even want to recall. She felt her chest tightened as if the whole place was running out of good air to breath.

She cursed and blinked to prevent her tears from falling before pounding her balled fist on the bar's counter.

"Bartender, two more shots please!" she demanded angrily. Mabilis ang ginawang pagkilos ng bartender. Wala pang isang minuto, nasa harap na niya ang dalawang shot glass na may laman ng vodka cocktail drink.

She grinned and immediately downed the alcohol, one after the other.

Napasigaw pa siya bago ibinaba ang dalawang shot glass sa counter. The alcohol gave her the immediate high she needed-- probably good enough to get her through the night. Again.

"’Di ba, si Cassie ‘yan? Yung pinag-awayan nina Rafe at Eamon? " anang boses sa likod niya. Agad na tumalim ang mga mata niya. Pinilit niyang h’wag lumingon.

"How could she party like this when two of her casual sexmates are in the hospital?" komento ng isa pa, maarte.

"I heard she refused to give Eamon a head when she gave Rafe one. Talking about favorites?"

Hagikgikan.

"I wander how many d***s were shoved in that dirty mouth of hers," sabi ng isa pa.

"Ew!" sabay-sabay na saad ng mga ito, bago muling natawa. Few seconds more, naglakad na ang mga ito palayo.

Kaya lang may humabol pa ng isa, "Slut!" anito.

She closed her eyes and balled her first. She started counting from 1 to 10. Ni minsan, kahit na gaano kasakit ang mga naririnig niya, hindi siya natutong pumatol sa mga ganoong komento. Because she knew, people would believe what they always wanted to believe even if it’s not true.

You are good. You are precious.

Tumingala siya at nagbuga ng hangin. She mentally repeated her mom's words in her mind like what she would always do when people kept hurling her with what they believed to be the truth.

Funny, because even if she's saying the truth, nobody believes her. Malapit na talaga siyang maniwala na ang pangalan niya ang may dala ng sumpa sa buhay niya. Why would her mom name her after a mythical Trojan princess who had a gift of prophecy but was cursed not be believed by others?

She huffed and requested another shot of vodka.

Matapos niyang inumin ang alak, mabilis niyang ipinaikot ang tingin sa mataong dance floor. Muli, hinayaan niyang lunurin ng malakas na   musika ang mga alaalang pilit niyang tinatakasan gabi-gabi. That’s what she likes with bar hopping. The music is loud. So loud it could drown your thoughts and awful memories.

"Hey beautiful!" pukaw ng isang lalaki sa likuran niya.

The man sitting on the stool behind her was wearing a casual pair of jeans and sports shirt. His skin was sun-kissed giving him a nice tan, which complemented his western features-gray eyes, pointed nose and delectable lips.

She smiled, flirty. Hindi na bago sa kanya ang ganoong eksena. Sa gabing iyon mula nang pumasok siya sa club na pagmamay-ari ng fiancee ni Lizzie na si Caleb, tatlong beses nang mayroong nakipagkilala sa kanya kagaya ng lalaki.

She made her signature hair-flippin' move and flashed her rehearsed smile and seductively uttered, "Hey, handsome! What's your idea of fun?"

Ngumiti ang lalaki, may malisya.

Another asshole, she thought.

"Why don't you come with me sweetheart and I'll show you what's F-U-N?" anang lalaki bago kumuha ng ilang hibla ng buhok niya at inamoy iyon. Muli itong ngumisi pagkatapos.

"She's not interested!" ani Lizzie na bigla na lang sumigit sa pagitan nila ng lalaki mula sa kung saan.

"Liz!" kunwari ay reklamo niya. She even pouted her lips for the guy to see.

"And you are?" nagtatakang tanong ng lalaki, malapit nang magsalubong angmga kilay nito.

Namaywang na si Lizzie. Ngumiti ng plastic bago in-up and down ng irap ang lalaki.

"No need to know my name, mister," mataray na bungad nito. "Why don't you just go back to where you're from or better yet evaporate! Hm?" Pinagkadiinan pa nito ang salitang evaporate.

Natatawa niyang hinigit ang sleeves ng suot nit Lizzie na blouse. Lumingon naman ito pero umirap lang sa kanya bago ibinalik ang tingin sa lalaki.

Tuluyan ng nagsalubong ang mga kilay ng lalaki. Umiling ito bago bumulong ng bitches. Iyon lang bago ito tuluyang naglakad palayo.

Agad siyang hinarap ni Lizzie. “Maria Cassandra!” gigil na tawag nito sa kanya bago siya walang imik na hinila palabas ng bar.

"Liz, ano ba?" reklamo niya nang nasa parking lot na sila.  "Masakit ‘yon Elizabeth, ha!" patuloy niya habang minamasahe ang nasaktang braso.

Lizzie rolled her eyes before giving her another sharp glare. "Talagang masasaktan ka sa akin Cassandra kasi lumabas ka na naman!"

"E anong gagawin ko sa bahay kung hindi ako lalabas?" pagrarason niya, kaswal.

Lalong nalukot ang mukha ni Lizzie. "Narinig mo na ba ang salitang tulog Cassie? Uso ‘yon. Araw-arawin mo." napapairap na sabi nito bago siya nilapitan at inamoy. "At uminom ka pa talaga ha!"

She averted her eyes from Lizzie's questioning gaze. She angrily raked her fingers on her soft brown curls, before walking towards her car.

"Hey Cassie, wait!" habol ni Liz sa kanya na mabilis na sumakay sa shot gun seat ng kanyang Ferrari. Hinayaan na lang niya ito at hindi nagreklamo. Ngunit nang akma na niyang bubuhayin ang makina, bigla siya nitong pinigilan. "Wait! How many... how many shots did you have?"

Sandali siyang napaisip. "Five... Six? Don't worry, I'm sober."

"You don't even know how many drinks you've had and you call yourself sober? Oh my God! Six shots is the half of your crazy number, Cassie!" anito sa nagpa-panic na tinig.

She just rolled her eyes. Lizzie is exaggerating again.

Twelve.

According to the ever reliable math genius future CPA Lawyer Lizzie Escudero, if she gets to have twelve shots of vodka, tequila, or whatever cocktail drink there is, she'll definitely go bonkers and make a scene. Like she always use to.

She's not even sure if Lizzie counted it correctly. But what she's sure of is that, she's beginning to feel a little lightheaded right at that very moment to even care about her crazy number.

"And why were you flirting with that foreigner? ‘Di ba napag-usapan na natin na tigil-tigilan mo na ‘tong pag-aasta mong easy girl. ‘Yong opinyon ng ibang tao, opinyon lang nila 'yon. Hindi mo dapat inuugali! Baka naman gusto mong ipangalandakan ko na ang untamed princess na si Cassie Echavez ay isang virgin!" sadya nitong nilakasan ang pagkakasabi ng huling salita.

She scoffed, patamad na umiling.  "No one would believe you. Besides, I just heard another bitchy tale coming from stupid losers regarding what really happened two nights ago at your party. They said that Monty and Rafe are my casual sexmates and I refused one to give a head so the other one got jealous and beat the s**t out of the other," she explained in a casual tone.

Napamaang si Lizzie. She may not know what happened that night, but she's sure she gave nothing to anyone that night.

Those bitchy tales don't surprise her anymore.  Maybe she really got used to it. It all started when she was 16 when...

She shook her head. The memories she’d been wanting to forget came to her vividly all at once, drowning her with fear and regrets. And in an effort to dismiss the horrible memories, she unknowingly gripped the stirring wheel and switched the engine afterwards.

"Cassie!” tarantang sigaw ni Lizzie. "Itigil mo ang sasakyan, ako ang magmamaneho!"

But she didn’t listen. She just drove… as fast as she could in the hopes that memories won’t catch up at her.