Sincere Lies

Fifteen

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Wow. I just walked my way down to Town in a Building, and thankfully, walang mga taong humahabol sa akin tulad no'ng dati. No creepy people. No bad things happened. Wow, again, because I did it alone.

Yup, I didn't have Lannie and Maddie with me when I went to Town in a Building. I just came all the way back from home to go to Town in a Building since wala pa sina Mom at Dad.

I was currently alone in the elevator, and I was going to explore some of the floors just as quick as possible. Kanina pa kasi ako naghihintay kay Chris ay wala pa siya. Babalik ako agad, lilibangin ko lang ang sarili ko.

Bumukas na ang mga pinto ng elevator nang makarating na ang sinasakyan kong elevator sa fifth floor kung saan may mga billiards pool at sports area. Naglakad ako papasok, and it was like the first time I walked into this place. The lights still partied as people held their glasses of alcohol, their bottles of wine, or whatever.

"Hey, Miss," ang sabi ng lalaking lumapit sa akin, which I thought was Chris because the whole time, I was thinking about him. "Are you new here? Haven't seen your mask 'til now."

"Uh. . ."

"Hmm? It's okay, you can trust me," ang sabi ng lalaking 'yon, at saka niya ako inakbayan habang papunta palayo sa sports area at mga billiards table. "Let's go to my friends."

"S-sure," ang nasabi ko na lang sa kabila ng kaba ko. Hindi ako sigurado sa kung ano ang dapat kong gawin no'n, pero wala na akong nagawa.

He led me to a low table with a set of couches sat on by a group of people. This must be what a squad looks like, I thought.

"Hey, Cerulean!" one girl waved at me. Oh, it's Hannah.

"Hannah," I smiled and waved.

"Dito ka sa tabi ko," Hannah said, tapping a seat beside her.

Following her, I sat beside her on the couch.

"Anyway, to make Town in a Building less suspicious, it's like an emergency when cops are about to come and see this place," Hannah said, turning to her friends and sipping on her drink. "The neon lights outside are suddenly turned off. Tinted din ang windows ng buildings for extra safety, although medyo weird 'yon."

Wow, it's like Town in a Building is an illegal thing.

"But don't worry," the young man who led me here said, sitting beside me. "Town in a Building is just another private property for the authorities. It's not that seen as illegal."

"U-uh, okay," I said upon realizing he, like, had read my mind.

"I can sense your worry, e," he said, smiling. "By the way, I'm William, and you're Cerulean, right?"

"Y-yeah."

William slid a drink towards me, smiling warmly.

"Let's drink, my lady?"

Hihindi na sana ako nang buong-lakas, pero nagulat ako nang biglang may lumipad na suntok sa mukha ni William. Napasinghap siya sa sakit ng kamaong nag-landing sa mukha niya nang tumingala ako at mapansing si Chris pala ang sumuntok sa kanya.

"No one calls my lady theirs," ang sabi ni Chris habang pinapagpag ang kamao niya, a bouquet of roses in his hand. "Fuck off, man. She's mine."

Nang matapos sabihin ni Chris 'yon ay hinawakan niya ako sa wrist at dinala palayo sa low table na 'yon.

"Damn it, Cerulean," Chris said as we walked further until we reached the elevator. "What happened? Did he force you into drinking with you?"

Mahigpit ang pagkakahawak ni Chris sa braso ko habang naghihintay kaming bumukas ang mga pinto ng elevator. Hindi makatingin sa akin nang deretso si Chris, pero lumilibot ang mga mata niya sa elevator. Bumukas naman ito agad at saka niya ako ni-lead papasok sa elevator. Papasok na sana ang isang lalaki sa elevator nang isara ni Chris ang elevator by pushing a button.