Chapter 7

1553 Words
Chantria On our second day, magkakasama kaming tatlo na nagtampisaw sa tubig. Noong una ay wala naman talagang balak lumusong si Carleigh pero hindi pwede. We're here to enjoy, not to sulk. Kaya naman nang hitakin namin siya ay wala na siyang nagawa. "What?” Chanel exclaimed. “Carleigh beat someone last night! What happened?” Nagpapatuyo siya ng buhok habang nakaupo sa ilalim ng payong matapos naming magtampisaw. “Yhup! If it wasn’t for me, the guy might be dead by now.” Nagkibit-balikat pa ako na para bang wala lang iyong nangyari. Kung kahapon ay inis na inis ako, ngayon naman ay wala lang para sa ‘kin. Alam ko naman kasi sa sarili kong hindi ako isang gold digger. “Wait! Why? Did he hit on you or something? Tell me everything.” Naupo ako sa gitna nina Chanel at Carleigh bago nagsimulang magkwento. “That guy marched in my direction, fuming mad, and accused me of something I didn't even do. I don’t even know who he is! And I guess what triggered Carleigh was when he called me a gold digger.” “What?! He did?” Chanel looked at Carleigh. “Good job, Leigh. That guy deserved it! No one calls you two inappropriate names. And gold digger? Really? You should have slapped him with your money.” “I don’t have money, Chanel. Dad has. But well, I was too stunned at that time. He didn’t even let me explain. He was too mad to listen to anyone.” “What did he say? Is he drunk?” Uminom ako sa baso ng juice ko bago sumagot. “He’s not drunk. But he keeps on saying how I embarrassed him at the bar. When I told him that I don’t know what he was talking about and I didn’t even go there, he accused me of lying. The hell, right?” Nang hindi sumagot o nagsalita man lang si Chanel ay napatingin ako sa kaniya. Nakaawang ang mga labi niya at napakagat sa ibabang labi na para bang may napagtanto. “What?” tanong ko. “I… ahm… I guess I owe you an apology.” She bit her lower lip before she grimaced. “It’s my fault. I’m so sorry!” Pinagdikit niya ang mga palad habang nakapikit. That’s when it hit me. “You’re the one who embarrassed him, didn't you?!” Halos manlaki ang mga mata ko dahil sa napagtanto. Bakit hindi ko agad naisip na posible ‘yon? Tumango siya habang magkadikit pa rin ang mga palad. Pero hindi niya ako madadala sa pagpapaawa niya. I knew one day that this would happen. Alam kong mapapahamak ako dahil sa kagagawan niya. It’s not too dangerous, I know, but it might happen again in the future. Hindi malayong mangyari ‘yon and something worse might happen. “He f-cking called me a gold digger, Chanel! Kung hindi dahil kay Carleigh ay baka kung ano na ang ginawa sa 'kin ng lalaking ‘yon. Paano kung masama pala siyang tao at balak niya akong saktan?” “I said I was sorry! Don’t speak in Filipino too fast, please. I can’t follow.” Mariin akong pumikit at huminga nang malalim. Kailangan kong maging kalmado sa mga ganitong pagkakataon. But that doesn’t mean I’ll let go of what she did. “Okay. Listen, Chanel. I know that you’re still young. The three of us are. You want to do what you want no matter how reckless they are sometimes. But please, bear in mind that other people might get hurt because of it. Not just with me or with Carleigh, but with other people as well. Dad could get hurt too, especially when we go out there and introduce ourselves as his daughters.” Habang pinangangaralan ko siya ay nakayuko lang siya sa harap ko. Carleigh is the one who usually does this, pero I think ako dapat ang mangaral sa kaniya tungkol dito. Bukod sa ako ang nadamay ay ako rin ang panganay. “I’m really sorry. It was an accident, really,” she explained. “I accused him of being a pervert when he accidentally touched my butt. And when I confirmed that it was indeed an accident, I didn’t want to embarrass myself, so I told my friends that he groped me. The bouncer kicked him out and people are already looking at him weirdly. I can’t blame him for that.” Napabuntonghininga ako. “Well, what’s done is done. You apologize, and I accept. The guy is at fault too since he bombarded me with an accusation without confirming it. But we can’t blame it on the guy alone since he doesn’t know you have a twin and two twins at that.” “Let it go.” Sabay kaming napatingin kay Carleigh nang magsalita siya. “Whether he knows or not about the two of us, he doesn’t have the right to call anyone he just met names. I don’t feel sorry for what I did to him.” Nagkibit-balikat na lang ako. Wala naman kaming magagawa kung ganiyan talaga ang nararamdaman niya tungkol sa nangyari. I guess I just have to pray that we won’t see that guy again. Ayoko na rin lumaki ang gulo kung sakali. “Like what you said,” pagpapatuloy ni Leigh, “we need to enjoy this vacation. Forget about that guy. Kung manggulo pa rin siya sa ‘tin pagkatapos nito, I’m going to sue him.” The rest of the day went well. Hindi namin nakita ulit ang lalaking ‘yon, thankfully. Mukhang nakaalis na siya dahil naglibot kami kanina sa isla ngunit wala kaming nakita. Kaya naman sobrang na-enjoy namin ang lahat ng activities na mayroon dito. And on our last day, nag-stay kami sa spa para makapag-relax matapos ang pamamasyal namin nang buong araw. Sobrang sarap sa pakiramdam na halos makatulog ako. Samantalang si Chanel naman ay naghihilik pa. Kahit kailan talaga ang babaeng ‘to. Chanel groaned. “Time is so fast here! Our vacation’s already over. Can’t we have an extension, please?” she asked particularly no one. I couldn’t agree more. Honestly, nabitin din talaga ako sa bakasyon na ‘to. To think na babalik na naman kami sa normal na buhay namin, which is bahay-school lang din naman, ay para bang gusto kong bumalik at tumalon ulit sa dagat. Parang pumikit lang ako rito nang ilang segundo at ngayon ay gising na naman ako sa katotohanan. Nagpatuloy si Chanel sa pagrereklamo hanggang sa makasakay kami ng eroplano. Mabuti na lang at si Carleigh ang katabi niya ngayon dahil baka mabatukan ko siya sa pag-iingay niya. Bukod sa sobrang nag-enjoy ako sa tatlong araw na ‘yon ay sobrang napagod rin talaga ako. Kahit papaano naman ay may maibabaon akong magandang alaala mula sa trip na ‘to. Napapaisip na lang ako kung kailan ang sunod naming bakasyon gaya nito. Magiging busy na ako sa pagtatapos ng kolehiyo habang mina-manage ang company na ipamamana sa ‘kin ni dad. Si Carleigh naman ay tiyak mag-aaral na sa Maryland kaya malalayo siya sa ‘min. Samantalang si Chanel naman ay magkokolehiyo rin kung saan ako nag-aaral. Siya na naman ang makakasama ko ng ilang taon. Ilang taon na naman kaming maglolokohang dalawa. Sa pagkakaalam ko ay kukuha siya ng kung anong kurso patungkol sa fashion. Wala naman akong alam tungkol sa kung ano ‘yon kaya hindi na lang ako nagtanong. Saka ko na lang siya uusisain kapag naroon na kami sa university. Mas maiintindihan ko ‘yon kapag nakita ko na kung ano talaga ang aktwal na ginagawa nila. Sinundo kami ng private car ni dad pero hindi siya kasama. Mukhang busy na naman siya, as usual. Minsan ay nakakatampo na lang talaga. “Hindi na naman natin na-celebrate ang birthday natin kasama si dad,” sabi ko habang nakanguso at nakapangalumbaba sa bintana. Pinanonood ko ang gusaling nadaraanan namin na hindi pa pamilyar sa ‘kin. Medyo malayo pa kasi kami sa syudad kung saan kami nakatira. "I know, right? He hasn’t spent our birthdays with us ever since mom left. He always sends us gifts, but you know, it’s still different when he’s with us physically.” “Dad’s just busy,” Carleigh interrupted. “You know that this is the only way dad can cope with his loneliness ever since mom died. Let’s give him what he wants. I know, for sure, that he’ll invite us when he’s ready.” “Right!” Chanel beamed. “We all have the time in the worl–“ Chanel’s voice was suddenly muted, and everything spun around me. Agad akong napahawak sa ulo ko upang protektahan iyon ngunit ramdam kong tumama pa rin ito sa may bintana ng sasakyan. Napapikit na lang ako at hinintay matapos ang pag-ikot ng mundo. And suddenly, I feel hot. Hindi ko maigalaw ang buong katawan ko, but I was conscious. Pilit kong dinilat ang mga mata ko para lang makita ang isang senaryong ayaw na ayaw. Chanel and Carleigh were lying on the ground like I do. Nasa ilalim kaming tatlo ng nakatumbang at umuusok na sasakyan. Duguan pareho ang kanilang mga mukha, and I felt something trickling down my own cheeks. That’s when I realized it was my blood.
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