Everything happened so fast.
One moment she was on the verge of begging her love to take her back. The next... she was on her knees holding Theresa's bruised and bloodied body.
Camera flashes blinded her. She was sure that it will be on the headline of the news the next day. But she didn't care. She felt numb. She didn't feel the slightest bit of embarrassment as she screamed in agony and at everyone to call for help. She didn't even feel the prick of the needle as the medic administered some sedative into her hysterical body.
She felt nothing and everything all at once.
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Everything felt staggering. Hanggang ngayon, the younger Navarro still can't believe that her big sister was gone.
"Patricia, remember what I told you, ha. Love is love. Alagaan mo si Jo, mahal na mahal ka nu'n. Alagaan niyo ang isa't isa kasi you never know what the future may hold."
"Uy grabe si Ate. Why do I have this sense na you're saying goodbye? Aalis ka ba? Hahaha, baka magulat ako na sabihin mo na lang bigla na pupunta kang abroad ha. Ay wait, may plano na ba kayong magpakasal ni Attorney? Huy ate ha, hindi pwede na wala ako du'n."
"Alam mo ikaw, advance ka rin mag-isip eh. As if naman i'll do anything like that without telling you first hmmp. Ang sinasabe ko lang naman, cherish every second with your love kasi 'di natin alam na baka 'yun na yung last 'di ba?"
"Ay grabe 'to. Iyan parang huling habilin naman. Nakakainis ka, gusto mo yata i spoil and mood. Pero yes, tama ka naman. Here's to cherishing every moment with our better halves."
The sound of their glasses clinking kept echoing in her mind. Grabe ka, Ate. Sineryoso mo naman 'yung biro ko sa'yo.
Patricia kept to herself the whole time the service for her sister went on. She tried to be strong for her nieces and nephew but even she has her limits of keeping her emotions in check. She observed everyone in the room, every person has their solemn face on but one person got her attention the most. She decided to approach her.
Lenora looked like hell. Coiffed and made up as usual, impeccably dressed as was expected, but she stank of pain.
The younger woman could identify aura colors, unlike normal people could. Sadness, for example, had a deep Prussian blue hue, grief was a solemn indigo and pain was a crackle of white shot through with black.
She was surrounded by a miasma of all three... and it was drowning the older woman like in a typhoon of agony.
"Pat, I-"
"I know. I know you love her, and she love, loved, you, too."
Surprise was evident in Lenora's face. Her relationship with Theresa was a closely guarded secret between the two. Her daughters weren't even aware that she had been having a romantic relationship with the late politician, a messy one at that.
What the older woman didn't know was that the younger Navarro sister had been privy to their secret affair ever since she came out to her sister about her relationship with her colleague, Joanna. Patricia knew how the relationship strained her sister's relationship with her oldest son as he was very much against her mother entering a relationship, especially one who was also hot in the public's eye. He was the only one among the two women's children who knew about them.
"You wanna get out of here and catch some fresh air, Ate Lens?". asked Patricia.
Lenora could only nod in response as she, too, was too stricken by grief to even form a coherent response. This has been an ongoing reoccurrence in the Sto. Tomas household. Her children, especially Trina, have been worrying non-stop because of how their mother's behavior has been very out of norm since their Tita's untimely death.
"I can't stay long. Lian's going back to New York a day after tomorrow." Lenora uttered in a low tone, a stoic expression in her face that one can only perfect after being exposed to power-hungry people.
"Any updates on your damage control? The media has been very loud on coming up with stories on what happened that night but still no concrete statements from your camp."
Patricia has been itching to ask every detail surrounding the death of her sister. One moment she was having a fun drinking session with her Ate, the next, she was hugging her very tearful youngest niece who was inconsolable after receiving the news about their mother.
"I don't know, yet. I haven't been in the office these past few days, much less talk to my team about doing a goddamn damage control. Not sure if you've heard, but the love of my life just died in my arms so you'll have to excuse me if that's the last thing on my mind right now."
Anger was very evident in Lenora's voice. As she learned from her last phone call with one of the older woman's daughter, Lenora has been very short fused with anyone who dared to start a conversation with her. Patricia can't help but feel angry and resentful at how she has been acting, especially towards her daughters.
"You're not the only one who's grieving, you know. Not sure if you've also heard but you're not the only one who lost Ate Ris. Her children are also grieving and confused about everything. You may have lost the love of your life, pero sana alalahanin mo rin na nawalan din ako ng kapatid and ang mga pamangkin ko ng nanay nila." Seething in anger, Patricia left the woman speechless with her outburst. How dare she!
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After Patricia's outburst, Lenora decided to go home. She wasn't able to say goodbye to anyone else aside from Theresa's daughters as she didn't want to cause a scene seeing as the younger Navarro was glaring at her from afar while Theresa's son was giving her the cold shoulder. She had a nagging suspicion that he knew about her relationship with his mother, or atleast had an inkling.
She arrived at the condo she shared with her daughters. Her youngest and oldest daughters were already asleep while her middle child was still at work. She headed straight to the bathroom to wash off all the day's event.
She was searching for some clothes to change into when she stumbled upon Theresa's old sleep shirt.
I miss you so damn much, Mahal.
Tears flowed freely from her eyes. This was the first time, since that fateful night, that she was able to cry. It felt cathartic, as if the dam in her system decided to break loose.
She fell into the bed and into a fetal position while hugging the old shirt close to her heart.
Una si Jess, ngayon naman si Risa. Ganu'n ba talaga ako kahirap mahalin? Ba't palagi na lang ako iniiwan?
Lenora cried her heart out until she, eventually, fell asleep. Her heart aching and longing for her lost loves.
- page break -
Sun came shining through Lenora's bedroom curtains. A familiar smell of sweet floral with a hint of soft, evergreen note permitted the air. She has always loved the smell of lavender. It helps her sleep when she's having bouts of insomnia from too much coffee consumption.
She decided to bask in it when a warm arm wrapped around her, enveloping her in that intoxicating lavender fragrance which slowly lulled her back to sleep. It reminded her of Theresa.
Wait, wha-
Lenora suddenly sat up causing the arm around her to fall into her lap and the sheets to reveal the body beside her. Seeing the face to whom that body belongs to made a chill ran up her spine and make her blood go cold.
"Pangga, back to sleep pa. Ten more minutes, please. I promise i'll make breakfast."
What the fuck. Anong nangyayare?!
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Cosmic Hearts
Romance(slow updates) formerly Firsts, Lasts, and the In-Betweens (lnrs au) Tick tock, hands of time. Can you hear it? A LNRS AU (minor hntwbb) *also on ao3 DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, business, places, events, locales, and in...
