Beneath Her | [R-16]

Chapter Forty Six

NATALIE

Because I slept early yesterday, I woke up early. Naunahan ko na ring magising sila yaya. I made myself coffee and walked around the house while the sun was hardly shining. The light from dad's office really caught my eye.

The lock was disabled after the police took whatever they needed to do the investigation. Kahit matagal na 'tong walang lock, ngayon ko lang naisipan pumasok.

I sat on his chair and swirled it backwards, away from his chair and towards the window. Humigop ako sa mug na hawak ko habang tinatalikuran yung itsura ng office ni dad.

It was tidy but also messy. Tidy in a sense where everything was organized, but in the wrong place. It was nothing like how dad's place used to look like.

I heard a knock.

Binaba ko yung paa ko mula sa credenza malapit sa bintana at inikot yung upuan ko. It was Kim.

"Pwede ba 'kong--?"

"Yeah, sure." I smiled and gave a gesture to let him in. Umupo siya sa harap ng table, habang may dala dalang tsaa.

"Missing your dad?" tanong niya.

Napataas yung parehong kilay ko pero napangiti nalang rin. "Hindi nga ako sure eh. I mean, I do want to see him... Not in this office, though, but in prison."

"Do you have any updates from the police?" he leaned forward and crossed his hands.

"The only message I got after coming home was them asking where he could be staying." I sighed. "Kailangan ko rin palang pumunta sa resort... You can come if you want."

"Ah... Sure..." he took a deep breath in.

"Why? Ayaw mo ba? You don't have to drive for me-"

"It's not that..." umayos siya ng upo para klaruhin yung sinabi niya. "I just wanted to say sorry for ignoring you and... Not offering to drive for you. You must've been so tired."

I smiled, "Ano ka ba? Hindi mo naman trabaho 'yun."

"It's not a job. Responsibility ko 'yun bilang kaibigan mo... I should've understood what you were going through..."

"Okay na 'ko, promise. I want to move forward. Tapusin nalang natin lahat 'to." When dad's finally in jail, Louise's far away from us... That's when it'll all be over. Speaking of Louie... "I hope I can speak freely now."

"Yeah, totally." he nodded with a smile.

"I don't think Louie's done with his shenanigans. Natatakot pa rin ako..." I crossed my arms while I rub my index finger with my thumb.

"Normal lang yung takot mo. He is a deep shit without a doubt, but I think everything will be fine now that Drey knows about what happened. He's smart enough to know that Drey will never go back to him. Alam niyang hindi na siya mapapatawad ni Drey." he stood up only to sit on my desk.

I thought about what he said for a few seconds. It's true, I'm confident Drey would never go back to him and Louie know that too. But Louie in New Zealand was not something I could forget. Every move and action he made.

"When I... Noong nagkita kami ni Louie... He was acting crazy. Actually, remembering what he was like when we were in Jaxavier... Feeling ko ganon na siya dati pa." I was staring far away, having scenes of what happened before. Na-research ko na rin yung mga na observe ko sakanya and it was a mental condition. "Sociopathy."