Journey With You (Completed)

Chapter 19: Trauma

Journey With You
Chapter 19: Trauma

"Paano ko malalaman na hindi mo ako tinotokis? You insulted me before and almost pushed me off the balcony, you piece of shit! Tanga nalang talaga ako kung maniniwala pa ako sayo!"

"Shh!" Saway niya. "Tone down. Have some dignity! Can we just talk in the chapel?"

Napatingin ako sa paligid. Kailan pa umexit ang nurse na kausap namin kanina? Natakot ata na maipit sa sagutan namin ni Lloyd.

"Ayokong magmura doon sa loob," tugon ko. "Isa pa, wala na akong dahilan para kausapin ka."

He sighed. "Okay. I apologize for what happened that night at the club. Nadala lang ako dahil sa kagustuhan kong mahanap si Serenity and you knew where she was that very moment but you chose to take the wrong side."

"Wrong side ka ng wrong side! Kung feeling mo misunderstood ka, bakit hindi mo pinaliwanag ang sarili mo nung una tayong nag-dinner? Imbes na durugin ang self-esteem ko at ipamukha sa akin na wala akong kaya, sana noon mo pa ginawa 'to!"

"To be honest? Akala ko madadaan kita sa sindakan because at the time, you didn't know who you really were."

"And you did?!" Di makapaniwalang sambit ko. Mas una pa niyang nalaman kaysa sa akin?!

"I just overheard Sven chatting with Chairman Nicandro Gozun. Believe me, it wasn't intentional. Narinig ko lang talaga sila sa Club Hotelier." Paliwanag ni Lloyd. Hindi ako naniniwala!

"Fine," he breathed. "If you want proof that I'm not the bad guy here, then look at this."

He fished out a phone from his pocket, did a few taps on the screen and then showed it to me— it was a photo of him and Serenity, wearing... completely nothing! Si Serenity pa mismo ang may hawak ng phone noong kinuha ang litrato at nakangisi pa siya.

"So you guys... actually... made love, huh?" I grimaced.

"Made love? She doesn't even feel the same, so maybe banged would be a more suitable word." He said, his nostrils flaring with anger as he thought about her.

"So? Just because you banged each other, hindi ka na bad guy?" Sarcastic na tanong ko.

"Miss Arciaga, Serenity might be pregnant with my child that's why I'm looking for her." He explained. Right. That's why he said it could be an unborn child that I might be saving.

"Is that Serenity's phone?" I looked at the phone he just showed me while he was putting it back inside his pocket. Is that what Sven is risking so much for?

"Yes. She wants to retrieve it because of the compromising photos and videos in here." He replied.

"Bakit hindi niya nalang kunin? Bakit kailangan pa niyang utusan si Sven and because of that, Sven had to be CEO of Atlas to gain access to the club and for all of that to be possible, I was used as a sacrificial lamb."

"You don't look angry though, about being the sacrificial lamb. I can see that what you're annoyed about is that Serenity had to use her brother like a loyal dog."

Exactly.

"So what now, do you still think we have  nothing to talk about?" He eyed me and the next thing I knew, we were at the convenience store to buy some beer.

As usual, the tables were occupied so we ran to the gazebo at the park across the street. Luckily, wala nang naglalampungan sa kabila.

"So tell me, ginagawa mo lahat 'to dahil mahal mo si Serenity, or is it just about the child?" Tanong ko habang nagbubukas ng beer. Who would have thought I'd be doing this with Lloyd? A heart-to-heart talk? Really?