Just Hold Tight (Bittersweet Solitude Series #1)

Chapter 01

The Unraveling

. . .

The library was silent, save for the occasional rustle of pages and the hum of the air conditioner. I sat at a corner table, furiously scribbling notes for my upcoming exams.

Tumingin ako sa phone ko at binuksan ang screen, hoping for a message from my boyfriend, Terrence. It had been days since we last spoke properly. Palagi kasi itong busy. Always buried under a mountain of academic work.

In-open ko ang messages namin at tumipa ng mensahe sa kaniya.

Ethan:

Hey, want to grab dinner later?

Nilipat ko ng pahina ang librong binabasa ko at bumalik sa pagsusulat ng reviewer. Kasalukuyan kasi akong nagbabasa ngayon ng isang makapal na libro at sinusulat ang mga importanteng detalye sa isang papel. But after a minute of waiting, of course, no reply. I sighed, running a hand through my hair.

Hindi ko alam kung bakit hindi ako mapakali ngayon. The stress was getting to me these past few days. Hindi naman sa marami akong ginagawa, pero ang dami ko kasing inisiip.

Nang tinamad ay niligpit ko na ang gamit ko at sinukbit ang bag. I got all of my things and left the library of our school after.

I'm currently in my 3rd year as a college student and it really is not surprising anymore that my schedule is becoming hectic.

Well, both of our schedule.

Muli kong tiningnan ang cellphone ko sa kamay at tulalang binasa ang message ko sa kaniya.

It's been a week already since our last hang out. Terrence and I are both 3rd year students. Nasa iisang university lang din kami. Although we both study in the same environment, our courses are not in the same field.

I'm currently taking nursing while he's an architecture student. At dahil walang connect ang mga courses namin, may mga beses talaga na hindi nagtutugma ang mga schedules namin.

Katulad ngayon.

Lumabas ako ng building namin at tinahak ang daan patungo sa building nila. It was quite a long walk dahil sa distansya ng building nila pero hindi naman ikakahingal. I sat on a bench near the place and looked at my wrist watch. 6:49 pm.

Ipinatong ko sa tabi ang bag ko at tahimik na hinintay ang dismissal nila. Eleven minutes nalang naman at mag-uuwian na sila.

Nilibang ko muna ang sarili ko at nagscroll saglit sa facebook. In-open ko rin saglit ang messenger ko and chatted some of my friends hanggang sa dumating ang oras na pinakahihintay ko.

I watched the other students walking towards the gate and waited for Terrence to show up. Mahigit limang minuto rin yata akong naghintay at pinanood na maglabasan ang ilang estudyante pero nanatiling kunot ang noo ko nang hindi makita si Terrence.

Where is he?

I opened our messages once again and typed if he already went home. But as expected, I received no reply.

Bagsak ang mga balikat kong tumayo at ibinalik sa bag ang phone. Hindi ko alam kung nasaan siya. Should I go home now? Or should I wait a bit more?

I chose the latter. Naghintay pa ako ng ilang minuto pero hindi na ako umupo. Instead, I walked closer to the building so that I could clearly see the faces of the archi students passing by.

Baka naman nalagpasan na ng mata ko?

But if he's already outside, he should've replied already. Ilang segundo pa ang hinintay ko bago napagpasiyahang umuwi ng tuluyan. But before I left the scene, my eyes immediately stopped midways when I saw my boyfriend.