Group Chat (GC Series #1)

Epilogue (Part 1)

Author's Note: The Epilogue is divided into two parts, Part 1 and Part 2, and features six POVs: 0, 1st, 5th, 11th, 22nd, and 20th. The original Epilogue had only one part and was first posted in 2021, at kasama siya sa na-unpublish with some other chapters for extension. Sa wakas, nasa Epilogue na tayo! Salamat sa pagmamahal, hindi lang sa kwento kundi pati sa mga karakter. I'm happy you made it to the end, even if the story has been inactive for years.

The characters' paths are yours to interpret, and their endings exist between the story and your perspective. I know not everyone will see them the same way, but that's the beauty of storytelling and being a reader.

EPILOGUE - PART 1
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BLASTER

σκοτώνω. A word dressed in elegance, but in Greek, Skotóno means "to kill." Yet not everything it killed bled.

The group began with three teenagers: Freijah, Spencer, and me. We came from three powerful families and always had each other's backs. We thought nothing could break us, that together we were unstoppable. Nangako kami sa isa't isa na iingatan namin ang binuo namin hanggang huli.

But promises mean nothing when betrayal comes.

"Teka! Teka! Kumalma ka lang, man!" Clydeur tried to stop me the moment I stormed into the Sanctuary. Alam na alam niyang si Spencer ang hinahanap ko dahil sa gulong nangyari.

The Sanctuary was our hideout, where secrets stayed buried and loyalty was law. Pero mukhang ito na ang huling araw na aapak ako rito bilang parte ng Triad.

"Hayop ka, Spencer! Lumabas ka riyan!" Wala nang nagawa si Clydeur nang sipain ko ang pinto.

There he was. That smug piece of shit, standing in front of the mirror, calmly buttoning up his polo like we weren't falling the fuck apart. May lipstick stain pa sa collar niya, kapal ng mukha. Everything was falling apart, and he still had time to get laid.

Hinablot ko siya sa kuwelyo at malakas na hinila palayo sa salamin. "Hindi mo man lang inisip na may dapat tayong ayusin, Spencer? Why the hell are you acting like nothing is happening?"

Ngumisi lang siya at tinabig ang kamay ko. "Problema sa'yo, Blaster, you keep making things bigger than they are. Grow the hell up."

When we built Skotóno, we agreed that age didn't matter, loyalty did. Pero sa asta niya ngayon, daig pa niya ang isip bata. I was only nineteen, and he was two years older, yet he was the one acting like a teen.

"Grow up? Gago ka pala, e! Sino ba 'tong nagawa pang makipag-make out sa gitna ng nangyayari?"

Muli siyang ngumisi at humarap sa salamin sabay ayos muli ng puting polo. "Don't act like it's your first time seeing me making out. This is nothing new. Aayusin ko 'to. Everything's under control."

"Under control? Naririnig mo ba sarili mo? Sana man lang sinabihan mo 'ko! We're supposed to decide together!"

"Oh, come on!" he scoffed. "You're not the only brain in this group. Don't act like a moral compass."

My jaw clenched. I bit the inside of my cheek just to keep myself from exploding.

"You're facing the creator, kaya ako na ang bahala," maangas niyang tugon.

"Yeah?" I said through gritted teeth. "Creator na habang nagkakagulo, abala ka sa pakikipaglampungan sa kung sino-sinong babae? Pucha galing mo naman pala!"

"Watch your f*cking mouth," he warned.

"Or what?" I stepped closer. "You'll act like a man for once? Hindi lang ito tungkol sa grupo, Spencer. It's about us. The Triad. Pero anong ginawa niyo ni Freijah? You both betrayed me!"