Between his arms (Azares Family Series)

BHA 8 | Heartbeat

Chapter 8
Heartbeat
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"Carp?" Pinasadahan ko ng kamay ang bandang dibdib n'ya, pero wala akong narinig na pag inda mula sa kan'ya. He doesn't respond at all!

"Carpian!"

Halos hindi ako makahinga. Gusto ko nang umiyak at sumigaw sa takot. Yumuko ako para pakinggan ang kan'yang dibdib. His breathing sounded garbled, rattling. As if his lungs were drowning. If seawater or blood, I don't know.

"No, don't die on me!" I lifted his arm, took his pulse, and found it almost gone.

That's when I tugged up his shirt and discovered his belly and chest had turned purple. Kung ano man ang tumama sa kan'ya, it shredded his inside badly. And he'd been lying here, slowly bleeding to death.

Yumuko ako ulit para paulit-ulit na tapikin ang kanyang pisngi.

"Wake up...Please...don't fucking leave me here alone..."

But he didn't even groan, and that had me raising my voice. "Listen, fine! Yes. Oo na, pakakasalanan na kita. Do you hear me? I'll marry you, Carpian Azares...just...just fucking stay with me, okay? You have to stay alive!"

He didn't open his eyes. He looked peaceful lying there, like he might be just sleeping, the sun turning his beard to rose gold, his cheekbone high, his hair that almost turn blonde because of the sea.

I pressed my hand to his chest, pinakiramdaman ko ang pagtaas baba nito. Saka ako pumikit.

Sa puntong ito, hiniling ko na sana kasama namin si Gabriel. Because he'd pull out his bible and pray, at kung totoo man na nakikinig ang Diyos, if He really cared, He'd do something. At least Gabriel have Someone who has his back.

Because Gabriel believe in Him.

Have a little faith.

Carpian's word echoed in my head. Pagkatapos kong marinig ang kwento n'ya, kung bakit s'ya napunta sa pangingisda at kung bakit s'ya nandito ngayon, it clicked me. I saw him hanging out with Gabriel when he was reading the bible, maybe that is what he meant. Faith. Maybe he believe, too.

Maybe that's why he wanted to look at the sunrise, knowing that it was created by Someone, believing that Someone cared. Watching over.

Umupo ako sa tabi n'ya, wishing my hand could warm his body, wishing that he shouldn't had told me his life dahil hindi ko mapigilang maisip kung ano ang susunod na maaaring mangyari. I can't imagine his devastated mother, wondering why Carpian didn't call her and his siblings, and they will reveal his body, not breathing, dead. I can see his brother, Nicholas, regretting that they had a fight over a woman.

Damn it! This man really made me care for him.

Have a little faith.

"How could you have a family and not..." Umiling ako. "Tama ka nga. You're a jerk. First you save me, then you flirt with me, then you make me hungry. I'll love to eat a chocolate chip cookie right now, thank you so much. And then you—propose? Of course you do. Because you're dying and it won't matter anymore when you die. Lahat ng sinabi mo at pinangako mo ay hindi naman magiging totoo. Well, listen, you're not getting out of that proposal that easy. You better live because I say yes."