LSS: CLOSE

Chapter 29

"HAS he arrived yet?" Tanong ni Regina sa binatang si Justin habang pilit niyang iminumulat ang mga mata nito sa pagkakatulog. She was advised to stay at the hospital because she could give birth at anytime. Napatingin ang dalaga sa orasan na nakasabit sa puting ding-ding at muling nilingon ang binatang nakaupo malapit sa kanya.

"It's been six hours since his flight. Bakit wala pa s'ya?" she asked nervously. Hindi nanaman ito mapakali sa isiping hindi nito makikita ang lalaking minamahal.

"Shh... He'll come. I'm sure my brother will come. You just need to take a rest. Kailangan lumabas ng pamangkin ko nang hindi stressed," Justin responded jokingly. He looked at the time on his black watch and took out his phone from his pocket. Later on, excused himself from the room.

Ngunit bago pa ito makalabas ng pinto ay nakita n'yang kinukuha ni Regina ang remote ng telebisyon na nakalapag sa isang puti at maliit na lamesa. His eyes widened as he tried to stop her from getting it.

"Wait!" Patakbo itong lumapit at kinuha ang remote na ilang sentimetro nalang ay maaabot na sana ng dalaga.

Nagtataka man ang babae ay dahan-dahan itong bumalik sa kanyang higaan at umupo. "Justin, I want to watch. Ang boring," she pouted her lips and took a deep breath.

"Yeah, of course. But I think it's better for you to walk around. Sabi din ni doc 'yun para hindi ka mahirapan sa panganganak mo," sagot nito bago lumunok. The car accident was spread all over the news kaya minabuti ng binata na huwag s'yang panuorin ng TV. He even hid her cellphone dahil paniguradong kalat sa social media ang nangyari.

Nang makisigurong naglalakad-lakad na ang babae ay muli itong nagpaalam at tuluyang isinara ang pinto kahit pa napansin nitong sinundan siya ng tingin ng dalaga.

"God, Jace. Answer the damn phone!" Mahinang bulong nito sa sarili habang sinusubukang tawagan ang kapatid. Ngunit ilang minuto ay wala siyang nakuhang sagot. "Shit!" muli itong napamura.

He sat down and tried to calm himself. Hindi n'ya alam kung kanino makikibalita dahil kahit ang mga kagrupo ng kapatid ay hindi sumasagot sa tawag. Kahit ang manager nila na sinabihan s'yang tatawag muli para sa updated news ay wala. He leaned on his chair and closed his eyes to escape time. Pagkapikit nito ay larawan ng kanyang ama ang una nitong nakita. "Appa..."

Right, he's right. Muli nitong kinuha ang cellphone at tinignan ang mga numero na naka save sa kanyang contacts. Luckily, he has their dad's phone number saved. Hindi na ito nagpaligoy-ligoy pa at agad na pinindot ang call button. Hindi s'ya nakaramdam nang kung anong kaba, dahil mas nangingibabaw ang pag-aalala nito sa nakatatandang kapatid at sa babaeng nasa loob ng kwarto. Seconds later, he heard a man answered his call.

"Hello? Who's this?" A familiar voice asked him in their first language.

Ilang segundo itong hindi nakasagot, he was too stunned to speak because after a long time, he and his dad weren't on good terms. They never spoke to each other since the day he left home. He was about to end the call, but...

"Justin? Is that you?" tanong ng matanda sa kabilang linya. He released a deep breath as he responded.

"Appa..." sabi nito habang may namumuong luha sa kanyang mata. He could also hear his dad sobbing on the other line. Maging ang step mom nito ay dinig n'yang umiiyak din habang kinakamusta s'ya. Agad n'ya itong sinagot at sinabihan na h'wag mag-alala dahil nasa mabuting kalagayan ito.

"Wait, the news. I heard the news. Where's Jace? Is he okay? We've been waiting for hours. Where is he?"

"He's on his way, but he wasn't able to catch his flight on time due to the accident. He booked another flight, so he'll be there," sagot ng ama kaya nakahinga ito ng maluwag sa narinig.