Stuck in Between

Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Sandro’s Point of View

“What exactly happened, Sandro?”

So my parents invited us to go to the palace and stay there for a night, together with Reign’s brother.

I told my parents what exactly happened that I didn’t even missed a single detail, mula noong gabing iyon hanggang sa araw na ‘to.

“What!?” katulad ng inaasahan ko ay nagulat si Mama. She massage the bridge of her nose and turned to Reign. “Hija, I’m sorry if that happened to you.”

Tumango lang si Reign saka ngumiti ng tipid. “It’s okay now, tita. He got what he deserve.”

“Rouge, hijo, thank you for helping as well.” Baling ni Pops kay Kuya Rouge.

“No worries, President.”

“Nah, just call me Tito.”

“Okay po, hehe.”

“Reign, hija. I really don’t know how to thank you for cleaning Sandro’s name in the public.” Si Mama.

“Tita Liza, pareho pong sangkot ang pangalan namin sa gulong ‘to, at hindi lang naman pangalan ni Sandro ang nilinis ko sa mata ng publiko, pangalan ko rin po. And you don’t have to thank me naman po, you owe me nothing.” Ngumiti si Reign.

“Still, for the nnth time, I want to thank you for what you and your brother have done. If not for the two of you, then this will be a big mess.”

“I am happy to help, Tita.” Sumingit naman si Kuya Rouge at ngumiti naman si Mama sa kaniya.

“Anyway, I’ll excuse myself, hmn? I’ll just help them to prepare our dinner. Bong, call Simon and Vinny. Tell them to be here before eight so we can eat dinner together.” Anang Mama saka tumayo na.

“Yes, love.” Dad responded. “I’ll excuse myself for a minute, you guys make yourselves comfortable.”

Nang umalis si Pops ay kami na lang nina Reign at Kuya Rouge ang naiwan rito sa may sala.

“Buong buhay ko ay ngayon lang ako nakapasok dito sa Malacañang, I never thought about this kind of interior inside, it looks stunning.” Anang Kuya Rouge habang nililibot ng tingin ang sala. “I’ll just wander around. Excuse me.” Saka ito kaagad na tumayo at naglakad palayo.

And now, kaming dalawa na lang ni Reign ang naiwan rito. There was an awkward atmosphere between us and the silence was deafening. Sumulyap ako kay Reign at tahimik lang siya habang nagtitingin sa mga litratong nasa dingding.

I cleared my throat, “hmn, do you need anything? Drinks? You want water?”

Sumulyap lang siya sa‘kin saka umiling, saka muling itinuon ang atensiyon sa mga litrato.

“Reign,” kinuha ko ulit ang atensiyon niya, siya naman ay kaagad na lumingon sa‘kin.

“Hmn?”

“I’m sorry...” yumuko ako.

“Sorry for what?”

“For hugging you a while ago without even asking your permission.” My voice sounds earnest. “I just can’t hold back of my emotions—”

“I actually needed that hug too.”

Natigilan ako nang bigla niyang sabihin iyon. Parang nag-slow motion ang lahat nang tumingin ako sa kaniya. My eyes were pinned to her and the surroundings become blurry.

I was too stunned to speak that the least thing I can do was to stare at her.

She pulled a brief smile. “We’ve been through so much, Sands. The past weeks have been so tough and I know that we’re both crawling to reach this day. That hug...” tumulala siya saglit, saka muling tumingin sa‘kin. “I know we both needed it.”