Between the Ice of Hearts (Cold Hearts Series #1)

Chapter 24

It's been a two weeks since that sex happened and like the usual, iniwasan ko si Sage dahil doon. It feels cheating. Betrayal. May mali. Maling-mali. Kaibigan ko si Irina.

Two weeks na rin since that injury of Irina happened and now she's back to the hospital. Nahulog kasi siya sa hagdan kaya dalawang linggo rin siya hindi nakapasok. And now that she's back, she'll probably notice why I'm maintaining my distance to the both of them. She's like an eagle that notices the littlest of details.

In those two weeks, it was a lot.

Two weeks, I cried.

Why did I cried anyway?

Is it because I felt sorry for myself? Because no one will take me seriously. Na hanggang doon lang 'yon. Because I feel like everyone will be after me for pleasure.

I felt sorry for myself because that was a sex of betrayal.

Katatapos ko lang ng rounds at nandoon ulit ako sa nurses station para tingnan ang chart ng nga pasyente. A resident stood in front of me after signing one of the patient's chart. Without looking at the resident itself, I know that she's under my guidance.

"Finished admistering the medications?" I asked while my attention never left the patient's charts.

"Yes, Doc," he answered.

I left after finishing the papers kaya naman naglakad-lakad na lang muna ako sa halls ng ospital.

"Doc Bermudez?" I heard a doctor who called me. I turned around to see who is it. Napaturo na lang ako sa sarili ko para kumpirmahin kung ako nga ba. Tumango pa siya saka inabot ang isang envelope. "Pakibigay na lang ito kay Doc Soriano. Sorry po ah? Nagmamadali ho kasi ako. Tinatawag na ho ako sa emergency room."

Hindi ako nakasagot at tumakbo na siya agad. Since the contents inside might be confidential, hindi ko ito pinakialaman.

Kahit na ayaw ko man, wala akong choice kundi ibigay ang envelope kay Sage. When I reached the halls that lead to his office, a shiver of tension ran into my system, especially now that I'm standing in front of his door.

Huminga ako saka kumatok sa pinto. I heard a faint come in saka ko binuksan ang pinto. I went inside and stood in front of him. Nakatitig lang siya sa akin habang ako naman itong hindi makatingin sa kanya ng diretso.

"Uh... I came here to give this to you," sabi ko sabay lapag ng envelope sa harap niya. "Una na ako..."

I turned my back and walked towards the door and attempted to open it but...

"Addie..." I heard him called that made me stop.

"I have to go now..."

"Addie..." he called again.

Bakit naman kasi ganito?!

I pursed my lips and looked down as if I'm glued and couldn't turn around at him.

"Addie, please look at me," he said.

Mariin akong nakapikit and malalim na huminga saka ko siya hinarap.

"I have nothing to say, Sage," sabi ko. "We're fine. We're still friends. Hindi ako galit. Why would I?" It's just sex. We both got carried away. "What happened has already happened. The best we can do is to not repeat it." I bit my tongue. "Friends don't have sex."

Pain crossed on his eyes when he looked at me, but he concealed it right away.

He licked his lips. "Yeah... I know."

"I have to go now," I mumbled. Tumalikod na ako at bigla naman siyang nagsalita.

"I got a scholarship from Johns Hopkins," he said.