Mágoa | SB19 Josh [SB19 Series #4]

1

December 2017
Grace's POV

"Uhhh!" I slammed my locker door, annoyed. I was late for work. On top of that, my parents had decided to bomb me with the best news all day.

"Grace, honey. We're getting a divorce," my mom calmly told me over a three-way videocall with my dad at lunchtime. I had sat there, stunned, trying to digest the news. Why? Why divorce so suddenly.

"It's not your fault," Dad told me. Well, of course it isn't. How can it be my fault? I wasn't the one married in this situation.

My parents had been married for twenty-three years, now. They have three kids together. And they're divorcing? "Why?" I asked.

Mom massaged her temples. "It's just not working out, dear."

"And why not try to work it out?" I demanded. That's what marriage is about, right? Working out the differences. All relationships have that. How so with married people.

My parents did not say anything. "This is for the best, Grace. You'll understand once you're older," Dad finally said before hanging up, leaving just me and my mom on the video call.

Silence ensued. I stared at my mother who was still massaging her temples.

"Did you tell Gavin and Grayson?" I asked her.

Mom sighed. "No. Will you please tell them?" she asked me.

My brows furrowed. My annoyance shifted to anger. "No. You tell them. I'm not the one getting a divorce." Then I hung up the phone.

I closed my laptop, frustrated. I made a beeline for my bed and slammed my body on the matress. Why were they suddenly getting a divorce? And why didn't they tell my brothers that they were separating?

I closed my eyes, annoyed and angry at my parents. Ever since I moved from the US to the Philippines to attend college here, my parents had been constantly fighting. I thought they'd be able to fix it. All couples fight, right?

I never thought that they'd resort to a divorce.

My parents are both half-Filipinos, half-American. My dad was born in the US. My mom was born in the Philippines but moved to the US where she met my dad during college. They said it was meant to be. They shortly got married after graduating and had three kids- me, and my twin brothers, Gavin and Grayson.

Going to college in the US was not cheap. So, I decided to study Computer Studies in La Salle. I wanted to be a software programmer and develop online games in the future. My brothers also followed me and decided to go to college in La Salle. Gavin was taking up Multimedia Arts while Grayson took up Mechanical Engineering. I had just graduated and was working at TaskMe as a call center agent, just to have some work experience. Gavin was a graduating student. Grayson was still in his 4th year.

My brothers were not going to be happy with the news. They would probably pester me as to why they were divorcing. Even I had no idea why. Why get married when they can't even commit to their vows, right?

I was in a bad mood when I arrived at work. It was already December and the company was filled with Christmas lights and decorations. I could hear Jose Mari Chan singing about Christmas carols and lanterns on the streets. That didn't help me at all. I was still annoyed.

"Why are you so grumpy?" my friend, Paige, asked me as soon as I sat down on my work station.

"I'll tell you during lunch," I replied. I peeked at my watch. It was 11PM. Our lunch break was still 4 hours away.

"Fine," she said. We got to work. I was busy answering calls, trying to distract myself from the news that my parents bombed on me.

At 3AM, Paige urged me to have lunch. I reluctantly agreed even though I was not hungry. We ate our lunch on the cafeteria. On our usual days, I would be so happy to get free food. This was what I love about our company, we get one free meal. Today, however, I was not in the mood to eat, even if it was free.