章 19: Chapter 18
Jade's Point of View
It's finally prom night. Magkasama kami ni Bella na pumunta sa school. Kapit lang ako sa kaniya dahil wala naman akong iba pang masyadong kaclose dito. She don't mind it anyway since wala din naman daw syang date.
"Hey, gusto mo kumuha ng drinks?" Aniya.
"Yeah! Let's get some." Sagot ko.
Then pumunta naman kami sa table ng mga pagkain. There's a lot of people kaya medyo nahirapan kami kumuha. "My gosh, we should've just brought our own food here." Natatawang sambit ni Bella.
I just agreed dahil hindi ako satisfied sa nakuha ko. Ang gugulo din ng mga tao na nagsisisayawan. Napaupo na lang kami sa isang gilid habang nagkekwentuhan at pinagmamasdan ang mga sumasayaw.
"Gaaahd! I wish someone would come here and ask us to dance." Aniya.
"Yeah, i'm kinda bored now."
"Hmm, let me ask this if you don't mind." Bigla nyang sabi, napatango lang ako. "What if bigla kang nilapitan ni Leroi? I mean, what if gusto ka lang nya isayaw? Papayag ka ba?"
Napangisi lang ako. "I think that's impossible. That jerk's probably dancing with other girls."
"Pfft, pero what if nga?"
"Then i'm gonna say no."
"Oh okay." Then she took a sip on her cup. "You know, if you never tried to date that guys, you're probably still with your bestfriend right now."
That suddenly made me feel uneasy with her, why is she bringing this up anyway? "Bella, let's just not talk about it."
"Yeah sure. I was just saying what's on my mind, you know." Sometimes I don't get what she's thinking. Napa-iling na lang ako at inubos na ang iniinom ko.
Then may bigla namang lumapit sa amin, it was the group of girls that Bella's hanging out with. "Hey Bellaaaa! Sama ka sa'min!" Yaya nung isa.
"G-Guys!" Nataranta naman si Bella at napatingin sa akin.
We were supposed to be together this prom night since parehas kaming walang date, at dahil na rin sa wala akong ibang makakasama. Bella has been a really nice friend kaya ngumiti lang ako at pinagsabihan sya. "Sure, you can go with them."
"Are you sure? I mean, you'll be alone. Are you gonna be alright?"
I gave her a pat and nodded. "Yeah! I'll be okay. Have fun!" I said, trying to be cheerful.
Parang ayaw nya pa ko iwanan pero hinila na sya ng mga kaibigan nya. And since I was alone now, naisipan kong magpasundo na dahil wala na 'kong magagawa pa rito. But as I was gonna get out of the gym, nakita ko sa isang gilid si Ruben kasama ang girlfriend nya.
Damn it, sometimes I wish I was still friends with him so I can support him with his happiness right now. I just smiled at the sight seeing him laugh and enjoy his moment with his girlfriend.
After nun, lumabas na ko at nagtext na sa driver ko. But it was unfortunate that my driver was unavailable at the moment dahil sinundo nya daw si Dad sa airport. Napabuntong hininga na lang ako at napatambay na lang sa quadrangle since it's way more peaceful here and quiet than the gym.
Even though i'm here, I can still hear the music from the gym. Lakas din nila magtugtugan doon, di ako magtataka kung bingi na sila paglabas nila don.
I sighed again ng maisip ko na sana hindi na lang ako umattend rito. I don't really fit in at this kind of events. I was kinda hoping for something special to happen pero as I expected, nothing was really gonna happen.
A few more moments, nagbago na ang malakas na tugtugan nila. The songs playing were already soft and mellow, I guess it's already time for their slow dance.
Medyo napaasa rin ako na may sasayaw sa'kin, pero syempre asa lang ako. Who would even want to dance with someone like me anyway?
I'm just that girl who's invisible in everybody's eye. No one will ever notice me.
Habang nakikinig lang ako sa mga kanta, someone unexpectedly touched me on my shoulder. Napalingon ako't nakita ang isang lalaki na may maskara. I was freaking out inside but I was frozen from the shock.
He really looked scary. And his weird mask has the word 'october' on it. "W-What do you want from me?"
He reached out his hand and talked. "Would you dance with me?" Di ko naman sya mabosesan dahil pinakulog ng maskara ang boses nya.
"Austin, is that you?" He stayed silent, but still have his hand reaching out to me.
But I feel like this isn't Austin, kaya tinanggap ko ang kamay nya. Even though he had gloves on, I was a bit comfortable holding hands with him. Then as we stood at the center of the quadrangle. He waited for the song playing at the gym to finish, then we started dancing as a new song was played.
"Who are you?" I whispered.
He didn't answer me, pero sinabayan nya na lang ang kanta na sinasayawan namin. "Every time we say goodbye baby, it hurts."
Nakatingin at nakikinig ako sa kaniya habang sumasayaw kami. I also kept wondering who this is.
"When the sun goes down, and the band won't play. I'll always remember us this way." Then he gave me a twirl. After that, he thanked me and quickly left.
I just stared at him while he was walking away, until he's out of sight.
I don't know why, but my tears suddenly tried to get out of my eyes and a part of me was trying to beg to make him stay by my side. But why would I do that? I don't know that guy.
He probably did all that out of pity, because he saw that I was alone doing nothing.
I fell down on my knees and started crying.
Ruben's Point of View
As I take off the mask, napapunas na lang ako sa mga luha ko. Tinapon ko na din yung maskara as I decided to throw away the feelings that keeps hurting me.
I know i'm a jerk for using Eliza as something to numb the pain, but I think it's time to see Eliza as she is. Not as a replacement.
Pagkabalik ko sa kanya, kagad syang napatingin sa akin while talking to some other members from the theatre club. "Oh tagal mo sa cr ah?"
Napangisi lang ako. "Yeah, andaming gumagamit eh. Sorry I made you wait."
"It's fine, let's just dance again!" Then she pulled me back to the floor to dance.
Tonight turned out to be great. Like the heavy thing in my chest is finally gone.
As tomorrow came, my morning was a bit nicer than usual. Maybe it's because of what happened last night? Or maybe today would just be a great day for me?
The amount of optimism i'm having right now makes me feel ridiculous, but I just laughed it off. Napatingin naman ako sa aking cellphone at nakitang nagtext sa'kin si Eliza. I greeted her back before starting my Sunday morning.
"Wow, you look in a good mood." Sabi ni mom ng makita nya ko.
Napangisi ako. "Pano mo naman nasabi?"
"You're grinning like an idiot. Did something good happened?" Tanong nya.
"Yeah, something good did happened."
She gave me a suspicious look and made the most ridiculous guess. "Did you slept with a girl?"
"What the heck, mom!? I'm not that kind of person." I told her.
"Then what happened? Atleast tell your mom."
"Yeah, that's not happening." Sabi ko na lang at kumuha na ng almusal na nakahain sa lamesa. Napa-iling na lang sya sa'kin at kumain na lang din.
While enjoying my breakfast, a bunch of thoughts were running in my head. I was thinking of how I was spend time with Eliza. Should we meet up at a mall? Or do a movie marathon at her place?
Maybe I should just help her with studying since she said nahihirapan sya sa isang subject the other day. It quite excites me to see her again.
I know it seems weird that last night I was kind of having a hard time accepting all this, but as I let go of all those feelings that was killing me, I think I've done what's best for myself. To forget and start over.
If I still hold on to those feelings, alam kong pahihirapan ko lang lalo ang sarili ko dahil hindi na talaga babalik sa akin si Jade. We're over. And i'm getting over her.
It's really time to accept Eliza in my life and let her do whatever she can to make me happy. And I swear i'll do the same for her.
And as I was eating and thinking, mom was busy checking out the news on TV but then someone suddenly called her phone. Since I wasn't really doing anything, nakinig ako sa kanila. At medyo natatakot ako sa mga nadidinig ko, lalo na't nung nalaman kong si tito Felix pala kausap nya. "...Felix, anong..." mom's face looked terrified.
Nagkatinginan kami at mukhang paiyak na sya. "No... she's not here. She literally didn't come home last night?" Napatayo ako sa narinig.
Are they talking about Jade? Yun kagad ang naisip ko.
Then mom cried out. "Call the damn cops Felix! I'll do anything to help!"
Pagkababa niya ng kaniyang phone, kagad akong nagtanong. "Mom, what's that all about?"
She wiped her tears. "It's Jade. Felix said she didn't came home last night."
Kinabahan ako sa narinig ko. "S-She's probably at some friend's place, right? Did they search for--"
"Felix already contacted the school about that, and she's really nowhere to be found."
"Shit." Napaupo ako muli at naalala ang pagsayaw naming dalawa kagabi. My good mood changed drastically fast. I feel devastated knowing that my bestfriend is gone missing.
Jade, where the fuck are you!?
Tinulungan ko si mom with the matter, at pinagsabihan ko din si dad sa nangyari. Having the Garcia family as a long time friend, we really did everything we can to help and search for Jade. Mom and dad just comforted tito Felix about his missing daughter.
They also contacted Jade's mom from abroad about the matter, at sinabi nito na uuwi sya sa makalawa. The whole day feel so exhausting physically and mentally. Buong araw, halos pag-aalala lang para kay Jade ang nasa isip ko.
Di ko din namalayan na marami nang text sa'kin si Eliza. I felt even worse because I almost forgot about her, kaya tinawagan ko sya to talk about what happened.
"Ruben naman! Bakit di mo ko sinasagot?! Kanina pa ko chat ng chat sayo tapos ngayon mo lang ako tatawagan." Aniya.
"I'm really sorry, Eliza. I really didn't mean to do all that."
"...did something wrong happen?"
I breathed in deeply. "Yeah, something worse."
"Ano nangyari?"
"I think you should know more about my ex-girlfriend." Parang muling bumigat ang kalooban ko ng sabihin ko sa kanya 'yon. She stayed silent to listen further. "To be honest, she wasn't really my girlfriend. We were already together since we were kids and she's more like a family to me, a sister to be specific. I really love her, Eliza."
"A-Are you breaking up with me or something?" I can imagine that Eliza's on the verge of crying, so I quickly made things clearer for her to understand what i'm saying. "No. I'm not breaking up with you. It's just that she's someone who's really important to me, Eliza. And something bad happened to her."
"W-What happened?" I can hear her sniffling. But I can feel that she understood my situation.
"She's gone missing, Eliza. And as someone who was with her for a long time, i'm gonna do whatever it takes to get her back. I'm really sorry, Eliza. I hope you understand all this."
"It's fine, Ruben. Do you want me to help too?"
"Yes, I'd appreciate if you do. Thank you."
"Yeah, i'm really sorry about that Ruben. I hope we find her soon."
"I hope so too."
"Don't forget to take care of yourself. I'm also just here if you ever need someone to talk to."
"Yeah, thanks." And the call ended. It was a relief that she decided to help. Now all that's left is to find Jade.
***
It's been already two days since she's gone missing. Naririto na rin ang mama ni Jade na galing abroad, and she's not handling it very well. "Why the fuck are you so fucking careless, Felix!? Pinilit mong kunin si Jade sa akin noon, tapos pababayaan mo ng ganito!?"
"Jen, please! Don't fucking blame all things on me! Our daughter was kidnapped inside school premises, and the school and cops are doing whatever it takes to find her!!"
"So what do we fucking do right now!? Just fucking wait for news about our daughter!?"
"What else Jen!? Of course we fucking wait! It's not like you're a fucking cop or detective anyway."
"You see, this is why I fucking left you Felix! You're
So fucking useless and stupid." He gave up from their argument and sat down.
Nanahimik lang kami nina dad sa isang tabi habang naghihintay ng balita sa mga pulis. Inawat naman ni mom si tita Jen at pinatahan din ito dahil umiiyak na rin sya.
I feel so bad about this matter. What ifs started messing with my head. And my guilt is torturing me. What if I just accepted Jade back into my life? What if we never fought in the first place? Would she still be here? Would no one be missing and crying right now?
"...all of this wouldn't have happened if I never fought with her. I'm the one to be blamed on this." I whispered, and tears started to get out of my eyes. My dad gave me a pat on the back, looking at me with pity.
"Ruben, don't think like that. You're not the reason why she's missing, okay? You're not the one to be blamed for this." My dad assured me.
"But dad, if we never fought, then I still might be with her right now! I could've protected her from whoever--"
"Just stop that Ruben. It's not your fault that she's missing, okay? Let's just focus on finding her."
Napabuntong hininga naman ako. Dad placed his hand on my head and messed with my hair. "I think you might be tired right now. You should go home and rest."
"Pero dad--"
"Yeah, just go home and rest first. Kami na muna bahala kay Jade, okay?"
Muli akong napabuntong hininga. "Okay. Just text me if you find her."
"Yeah, sure." At umalis na 'ko para umuwi gaya ng sabi ni dad. And as I got home, I skipped dinner since I wasn't feeling hungry at all.
Before going to bed, kinuha ko ang album namin ni Jade para tignan ito. I can't help but feel so bad and worried knowing she's gone missing. Bawat litrato naming magkasama at napagmamasdan ko ang hitsura ni Jade na masaya sya.
But as I look through the pictures, naaalala ko ang panggagago na ginawa ko sa kaniya. I've hurt her too much. And I regret all the things that I've done and said. "Damn it, why am I such a jerk!?" Sa inis ko ay nabato ko ang album sa basurahan.
And for the millionth time I sighed again. Muli ko ring pinulot 'yung album para itabi. Pero ng kunin ko ito sa may trash can, I remembered something.
flashback
Then i searched up the meaning behind those dots and dashes to decode this morse coded letter.
And the letter said:
I've always liked you Jade. And up until now, i still do.
I hope you notice me someday.
Your secret admirer,
August.
I knew it was gonna be something like this, but the last part gave me a good surprise. August? The only person that came into mind is the person from the C.C. with the codename August. Admirer sya ni Jade?
Nilamukot ko ang papel at itinapon sa basurahan. "Well it doesn't matter, that idiot failed to convey his feelings to Jade anyway."
end of flashback
"...that fucking admirer." I murmured.
I know I've seen that guy before, and I regret that I didn't pay too much attention to his face and identity. He must be the lunatic behind all this!
And the first guy I remembered to know more about that fucking person is the psychopath that I hate so much, Zachary.
I checked my phone if I still had his number. And I felt a bit of relief that I haven't deleted it yet. Kaagad ko itong dinial para kausapin sya. This might be the lead I need to bring back Jade. Nang mapick up na niya ang tawag ko, the first thing I hear is his chuckle.
"Never thought i'll hear from you again. What do you need, Ruben?"
I can feel my blood boiling already. This guy really pisses me off. "I think you know why i'm talking to you right now."
"Hmm, not really. Also i'm kinda busy right now, can you call me later?"
"Like hell I would. I need you to answer me now, Zach."
"Ano ba kasi yung gusto mo malaman?" Nagawa pa nyang tumawa sa kabilang linya. Demonyo talaga 'tong hayop na 'to.
"You're the fucking son of the damn school! I know that you would know about Jade Garcia, the missing student from the prom night!" Napasigaw na ko sa inis.
"Ah yeah, that girl. There's still no news about that girl. Why do you care though? I thought you don't care about her anymore."
"Just fucking answer me, will you? Who the fuck is August?"
"I told you, I pledged not to tell--
"Then i'll pay you! Or anything! Just fucking tell me, please!" I begged. He stayed silent for a while then answered as he made up his mind. "Okay, I guess I win the bet now." Aniya.
Medyo naguluhan naman ako don. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Nevermind. Anyways, you owe me a big favor and i'm gonna use that whenever I want. Is that clear?" Sabi nya.
"Yeah, so tell me already!"
"Atat lang? Hahahaha!"
"Zachary! I'm fucking serious here."
"Okay, pfft. The guy's name is Austin Marques. Don't tell him I told you that." As soon as I got the name, I ended the call and immediately searched up the guy. At nang makita ko ito, nakumpirma kong sya nga yung lalaki na nanggugulo kay Jade.
"Just you wait, you fucking bastard. I swear you'll regret the things you've done." I murmured, then proceed to take action in hunting down that damn guy.
to be continued
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