Breathless (Book 1&2)

Harder to Breathe #22.3

Harder to Breathe #22.3
Cloud

Eight Years Ago
Manila International Airport

"I told you to stop crying..." I asked Noreen for the nth time but she really couldn't hold her tears back. "Paano ako makakaalis if nakikita kitang ganyan?" she wiped her face again and tried to smile at me but that didn't really help. Her breathing is obviously affected. Her swollen eyes were just one of the proofs that she's been crying non-stop even before we arrived here in the airport.

"S-Sorry..." she kept on apologizing.

"Stop saying sorry, Noreen look-," I cupped her face "This is for our future but if you really want me to stay just tell me and-," mabilis siyang umiling saka marahan na tinanggal ang mga kamay ko sa mukha niya.

"N-No, you h-have to go," she answered me "You n-need to go. I don't want to be a selfish person and ask you to abandon your dreams for me. Sorry, talagang h-hindi ko lang maitago ang lungkot ko ngayon. It's just that every time na iisipin kong nasa malayo kana, I just couldn't stop myself from missing you more."

"I know..." I whispered and gently pulled her towards me. "I know and I feel the same."

"We will going to make it work, right?" she asked me in between her sobs.

"Of course," mabilis ko ring sagot. "I know maraming kang hinaharap ngayon and I should be right beside you-,"

"I understand, I really do. Yung plans mo, they were planned na before I came into your life. I don't want to be the reason para ma delay or hindi matuloy ang mga iyon. As much as I want to be with you all the time, hindi ko pwedeng gawin, sa ngayon we really have to be separated and face our own problems individually."

She said those things but I know mabigat at masakit iyon para sa kanya.

"I love you Noreen," I whispered to her while embracing her tightly.

"I love you too Cloud, I love you so much,"

Cambridge, England

I woke up inside the university's infirmary. My body feels weak and my head still hurts. I noticed the IV drip connected to me but I don't quite remember how I ended up here.

"You're awake," the Doctor said while checking my status. "Do you feel pain anywhere?" she asked.

"My h-head," I simply replied. "H-How did I-," she didn't let me finish, she smiled at me before handing me a glass of water and some capsules. "What a-are these?"

"For the headache and take the other one thirty minutes after," she was observing me and after recording it she gave me a look that I wouldn't forget. "You're still young, do not overdo it. You should sleep, eat and rest."

I heard from my classmates that the department will let me take a vacation if I finish my papers early. Since I came here, there's no night and day. I keep on working on it and I even lost track of the days. I focused on my work that I sometimes stay awake for two straight days without eating a single meal.

I am also still under probation, I have to excel on my first term in order to secure my slot here in the University. Tasks are filing up. I never would have thought that the competition here is like this. I can't waste time and energy. I think I am actually lacking those two.

"I've explain everything to your professor. With a little rest, you should be fine and if you don't want to see me again, don't push yourself too much. It's really not healthy young man,"

"I u-understand. Thank you for attending me,"

The doctor went out of my room and my professor went in after that. He asked me about what I feel but aside from the headache, I don't feel anything weird at all.