Stranger Next Door

CHAPTER 8

Hindi pa rin nagsisink-in sa utak ko ang nangyari.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Keith seems worried.

I gave him my phone. Doon ko lang napansin na natahimik siya.

"If I'm not mistaken, that's the guy who gave you flowers the last time, right?" he asked.

I nodded.

I want to speak but I just can't believe that this is happening. Well, he seems a nice guy and I want to be friends with him so why so sudden? Hindi man lang kami nakapag-usap ng maayos. I wanted to say sorry for him the last time dahil bigla na lang siyang inaway ni Keith.

"Ayoko pa sanang umalis pero hinihintay na ako ni Harris. Susubukan kong pumunta dito mamaya," nagsalita si Keith pero tinanguan ko lang siya.

He also said goodbye to Ate Khaytelyn. After he left, I couldn't even say anything. I'm just sitting in the sofa.

Ate Khaytelyn also asked me if I'm okay but I just showed her the link that Yani gave me. I told her that the guy who died earlier was the guy who gave me flowers last time.

Ilang minuto akong nakatulala at nag-iisip. When I already came back into my senses, I take a look of the link once again.

Base on the article, the police found him dead just today, but the body seems dead for almost two days. Isinasagawa pa lang ang autopsy report kay Dale, so kailangan pa naming maghintay ulit ng bagong balita.

Niscroll ko pa pababa 'yong article, at sabi do'n, natagpuan sa may basurahan ang bangkay niya. Parang ang nangyari, after Dale was killed, the suspect dispose his body.

That means, this is literally murder.

Who the hell did this to Dale? A lot of people loves him. Wala siyang nakakaaway sa school dahil gustong-gusto siya ng mga tao.

Because of too much curiosity, I decided to call Yani to get some information.

"Have you already read the article?" Yani asked after she answer my call.

Funny yes, but I nodded tho she can't see me.

"Kawawa naman 'tong si Dale. Usap-usapan nga siya ngayon sa GC natin at ang sabi, bukas daw wala tayong maayos na pasok dahil bibisita raw ang mga teachers sa burol niya. Si Dale pala kasi ang naghahandle ng Swimming team kaya close na close siya mga staffs ng school natin."

I'm still sad for what happened. Hindi ko alam kung anong sasabihin ko, or kung paano ako magrereact.

"Mukhang mabait naman si Dale kaya mapapaisip ka talaga kung sinong gumawa nito sa kanya." Yani seems sad, too.

"By the way, kailan ba kayo bibisita rito? Ate keeps asking me about you, guys." paliwanag ko naman.

"Omg, nakakalimutan namin, girl. Gusto mo bang mag sleep over kami ni Andrei diyan? Magdadala kami ng snacks." she suggested.

"Kahit dito kayo tumira, okay lang din sa'kin." then I laughed, "I'll just wait here. Kapag may bagong balita about Dale, sabihan mo na lang ako."

Agad ko na ring itinigil ang tawag.

It was 2pm when Yani called me at sinabing mga bandang 6pm na sila makakapunta rito.

Tumango lang ako no'n saka tumungo sa kwarto para manood ng movies. Pilit kong iniwawala sa isip ko ang tungkol kay Dale pero naaalala ko pa rin.

Bandang 4pm, may lumabas na bagong article. Naisagawa na ang autopsy result. Sinasabing sinakal si Dale at sinaksak ng ilang ulit. Putol rin ang maselang bahagi ng katawan niya.

Hindi pa raw mailalabas kaagad ang full autopsy report. 'Yong suspect naman, hindi nila matukoy kung sino.

Nang icheck raw kasi ang phone ni Dale, walang kahit na sinong tinawagan.

Or maybe the suspect deleted all his contacts?

"Bella." Ate Khaytelyn is knocking on the door.

I opened it and she saw me scrolling the article in my laptop.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Wala sa sarili akong tumango. Okay naman talaga ako, talagang gumugulo lang sa isip ko ang nangyari kay Dale.

"By the way, Ate. Yani and Andrei are coming tonight." sabi ko sa kanya, "Magssleep over sila."

"Really?" she asked, "So I guess, I'm gonna slee in my room alone."

"Are you afraid?" pang-aasar ko.

"No. Of course not." she's saying no but I can see in her reaction that she's afraid.

"Ate, just knock on my door if you're afraid, okay?" suhestiyon ko and she just nod.

Naghintay na lang kami na mag alas sais ng gabi. Akala ko nga hindi na darating sina Yani but they still came.

"Good Evening." I greeted them.

Natawa na lang ako because they literally bring a big backpack.

"You guys seems prepared." natatawa kong sabi, "Isang gabi lang naman kayo rito but look, ang laki ng bags niyo."

"Girl, mas mabuti ng handa." nakangiting sabi ni Yani.

Pinapasok ko na sila saka kami tumungo sa kwarto. Ikinuwento nila sakin ang tungkol sa pagkamatay ni Dale at usap-usapan sa mga GC.

We even watched murder movies dahil baka matuto kaming mag-investigate about his death pero ang ending, nagtalo lang kami dahil sa kanya-kanya naming theories.

Mga bandang alas nuwebe ng bumaba kaming tatlo dahil naamoy namin ang niluluto ni Ate Khaytelyn.

Cooking has been her hobby now. Good to her, atleast hindi na kami araw-araw na kakain ng instant noodles at de lata.

I walk straight to the kitchen to see what is she cooking.

"That smells good." I utter, "Anong niluluto mo?"

She smiled.

"Carbonara. You inow it's my favorite." she said, "Wait for me in the dining table. Matatapos na rin 'to."

Tinanguan ko lang sita at mayamaya, inihanda niya na rin ang niluto niyang carbonara.

Yani and Andrei praised her for being a good cook. I definitely agree dahil habang patagal ng patagal, gumagaling na siya.

After we ate, we decided to go to sleep. Hindi ko alam kung paano nakakahimbing ng tulog ang dalawang 'to sa kabila ng lahat.

I opened my phone, it's eleven in the evening. I decided to go to the terrace again, hoping that I would see Keith there and I'm right.

Hindi ko alam kung bakit nakakasanayan ko ng abangan siya sa terrace at pagmasdan siya habang pinapakiramdaman niya ang hangin.

"Hindi ka ba inaantok o inaabangan mo lang talaga ako dito?" seryoso niyang tanong kaya naman natawa na lang ako bigla.

"Hindi pa ako inaantok. And that doesn't mean I'm waiting for you there." I retorted.

"Okay, if you say so." sabi niya saka niya muling pinakiramdaman ang hangin.

Pinagmamasdan ko lang siya habang nakapikit. Keith seems to love the night. Gabi gabi, palagi siyang nandito.

"By the way..." Keith speak again and he open his eyes. "She told me that you invited some friends to sleep over."

Fear crossed my face. Who the hell is he talking about?

"Who's she are you talking about, Keith?" I tried to speak normal but I still stutter.

"Someone you didn't know." he answered quickly.

"And who is that someone?" I know I maybe sounded upset but I badly want to know who it is.

Bigla kong naalala yung scenario namin dito.

"I'm going to sleep. It's nice talking to you, Bella." again, he smiled at me.

"M-matutulog ka na?"

"Yes. Pinapatulog niya na ako." he left me dumbfounded.

Napailing iling na lang ako saka ibinaling ulit ang tingin sa kanya.

"Whoever she is, I want to know her." naglalakas loob lang akong sabihin 'yon sa kanya.

"Why are you so desperate to know her, Bella?" he asked.

"Because you're freaking me out, everything is acting weird and I want an explanation." I'm looking at him but he's reaction didn't change.

"You are not part of this so stop being curious." his voice is still in monotonous, "Kapag pinilit mong alamin ang bagay na hindi mo alam, masusunod ka sa kanya."

"A-are you threatening me?" my heart is pounding and swear, Keith is acting really weird.

He smiled. A creepy one.

"No, Bella. I'm just telling you the consequences. You know, we've been living in this hell for almost a decade." his voice is deep. "I want to help you and the best way to help you is not knowing the truth. Why? Truth can kill you."

I stunned. I'm just staring at me while he's smiling.

"Goodnight, Bella. Keep safe." he saluted before he left.

Nakatayo pa rin ako sa terrace. Pilit na pinapawala ang kabang nararamdaman ko. Anong totoo? And what did he said? Truth can kill me? In what way?

He's acting a creep right now and I can't help it.

Pumasok na ako sa kwarto hindi para matulog. I get my luggage and started to fix my stuffs. My decision is final, we're moving right away.

"What are you doing?" Yani and Andrei woke up because of the noise I made.

"Andrei, please wake up Ate Khaytelyn. We're leaving." seryoso kong sabi saka ako dali-daling nagtiklop ng mga damit.

"But—"

"Juat do what I said, Andre!" I shouted at hi so he doesn't have a choice.

Yani hold my hands.

"Bella, think about it a thousand times. Stop being impulsive. If there's anything we can help you, you can tell me naman. Ano bang nangyari, okay pa naman tayo kanina lang. Saan ka magpupunta nito? Tell me.," she's scolding me but I shooked my head.

"Yani, I don't want to be with that creepy Keith anymore. He keeps on telling me weird things and if you're in my position, is it okay to you?" hindi siya nakapagsalita agad, of course I have a point here.

Natigilan ako ng pumasok si Ate Khaytelyn. She's trying to stop me pero hindi ako papigil. She's asking me what happened but I told her na sasabihin ko na lang after naming makaalis dito.

Akala ko hindi siya sasama but I also saw her packing up her things.

"Kanino tayo makikituloy nito?" She asked while I am too busy fixing my luggage.

"Anywhere. Basta hindi rito." wala sa sarili kong sagot.

"You can stay with us habang wala pa ang tita ko." Yani suggested.

Nasa labas na kami ng pinto ng makita kami ni Keith. He look confused.

"Ate, Bella. Saan kayo pupunta?" his eyebrows met, "Bakit may mga maleta kayo?"

I faced him with a serious face.

"Isn't it obvious, Keith? We're moving out. From now on, please don't talk to me." pagalit kong sabi pero nakatingin lang siya sakin.

"Why? Did I do something wrong?"

"Ask yourself, psycho." I glared at him and he didn't speak.

Sakto naman na may dumating na taxi kaya agad agad kaming pumara. Nakahinga ako ng maluwag kahit paano. Ate Khaytelyn hold my hands, saying that what I did is right.

Nagpaalam na rin si Andrei na uuwi na siya sa kanila.

When we reached Yani's house, she keeps on saying sorry for her house is small but I don't mind. As long as there are no creepy people living, I'm fine with it.

"Pasensiya na talaga kayo sa bahay namin. Maliit lang." Yani keeps on apologizing but the truth is, we are the one who should apologize. "Gusto niyo bang magmeryenda muna?"

"No, thanks. Talagang matutuluyan lang ang kailangan namin ni Ate Khaytelyn kahit ngayong araw lang." I answered.

"No, you can stay here as long as you want. Mabuti nga 'yon at may makakasama kami ng kapatid ko." she answered happily.

Ate Khaytelyn is looking me with her confused face that's why I told them everything. Nagets naman nila ang ibig kong sabihin.

"Sabi na nga ba." Yani hissed, "No'ng una pa lang talaga kasi, iba na ang pakiramdam ko kay Keith. Siya kasi yung tao na parang nasa loob ang kulo."

I didn't speak. Kapag titingnan mo naman siya, mukha siyang masiyahin na tao kaya wala kang maiisip na iba.

"Si Keith yung tao na palaging nakangiti. Mapagpanggap." Yani added.

Hindi lang ako nagsalita, naiisip ko pa rin ang mga sinabi niya kagabi.

"Huwag mo ng isipin pa ang tungkol do'n, Bella. Ang importante, nakaalis na kayo ng bahay." kinuha ni Yani ang mga maletang hawak namin saka inilagay sa may gilid ng pintuan, "Doon na lang kayo matulog ni Ate Khaytelyn sa kwarto ko. Okay lang ba na magtabi kayong matulog? Wala kasi kaming maraming kwarto at kung mapapansin mo naman, wala kaming ikalawang palapag."

She keeps on apologizing, almost a hundred times. The fact that she let us stay in her house is a big thing, so she shouldn't be sorry.

"Yani, 'yung pinatuloy mo kami dito sobra na. Kahit saan naman, kaya naming matulog." sagot ko.

"Ano ng plano mo?" she asked.

"Ibebenta na namin yung bahay."