Romance in Shambles

CHAPTER NINE

Chapter Nine

I rubbed my eyes as I sat up and leaned on the bed's headrest. I yawned and wiped the tears from my eyes because of yawning.

"Hello?" I replied to the one from the other line with my sleepy voice. God, it's still three in the fucking morning. Inilayo ko muna ang phone sa tenga ko at tiningnan ang caller. "Geez, this better be good for you to disturb me and my peaceful slumber." I warned while still yawning.

So far, ngayon lang ako nakatulog ng ganito katagal. Sumakit kasi talaga ang ulo ko kahapon to the point na halos hindi ko na mabasa ang sinusulat ko kaya I called up on Ully to proxy me with checking up on Conan kasi hindi ko na talaga kaya ang ulo ko.

"My birthday Hari,"

And just like that, my sleepiness left my system. Dali-dali kong inabot ang laptop ko and went to check my calendar of activities.

"October twenty-fourth... Fuck!" I cursed and cursed again. How could I forget? "Hey Hersh, I'm sorry." Napasuklay ako sa buhok ko at bahagyang napabuga ng hininga. "I'll come. Don't worry, I'll be there." I assured him.

"Thanks Hari! You're the best!" He exclaimed on the other line. "Anyway, gotta work para vacant ako later. See yah!" Then he hanged up.

Ang sama ko naman sa part na 'yon para makalimutan ang birthday ni Hershey. Basically, sa 25 pa naman talaga ang birthday niya, but we like celebrating our birthdays together beforehand.

I looked at the time again and it's already five pala kaya bumangon na ako. I went to the bathroom and washed up. After cleaning up, I went downstairs. Napangiwi naman ako nang makarating sa living room. It literally looked like shit. Tons of trashes are everywhere. Bottles of alcoholic beverages are scattered on the floor. May mga pakete rin ng sigarilyo. Nagtingin-tingin pa ako sa paligid and was relieved when I learned na walang droga sa paligid.

My breathing became heavy with the sight in front of me. Parang gusto kong manuntok. The place is a mess. Napahilot ako sa sentido ko saka naglakad papunta sa malaking bintana. Hinawi ko ang malaking kurtina and the ray of lights from the rising sun went in. Lumiwanag ang paligid pero wala paring ni isa man sa mga natutulog sa living room ang gumigising.

With gritted teeth, I walked towards Atlas' place. Nakahiga siya sa pinakagitna ng mga kalat habang nakayakap sa isang bote ng inumin na wala nang laman.

Without thinking twice, I kicked his leg. He just flinched but he didn't wake up. So I kicked him again. This time, I earned a groan from him.

"Ugh!" He groaned again when I kicked him for the second time. But this time, sa tiyan niya na dumako ang sipa ko. "Fuck! That hurts!" Reklamo niya at gumilid.

Sobrang hirap gisingin. Naglakad ako papunta sa kusina at kukuha sana ng malamig na tubig sa ref. There, I saw Jacob. He was leaning on the counter and from the looks of it, he must be just as drunk as them all.

Kaya I dismissed the idea of getting cold water. Instead, I went to where the garage is. Luckily, I was able to find a long hose. Pumasok ako sa loob at nagpunta sa banyo sa kusina. I connected the hose on the faucet and turned it on. Tinakpan ko muna ang bibig ng hose saka naglakad papunta sa living area.

Then I smiled as I let go of the hose's mouth and water started coming out. Parang nagdidilig lang ako ng halaman sa ginagawa ko and I was enjoying every minute of it.

"Holy fuck--" Agad na napatayo si Atlas mula sa sahig habang tinatakpan ang mukha niya kung saan ko tinatarget ang tubig mula sa hose.

I saw them stood up one by one. All cursing. Isa-isa rin silang nababasa dahil inagaw na mula sa akin ni Atlas ang hose. Itinatapat niya iyon sa iba na pilit umiiwas. I saw Ully avoiding the water too but it was his unlucky day. Imbes na makaiwas, nadulas siya sa basang sahig and the guys laughed hard at him.