The Cold Nerd Is A Gangster

58

Ice parents couldn't answer him. They just looked at the ground with a concerning expression.

"Mum! Dad! Explain!!" Ice shouted. His parents continued to remain silent. At this point nagagalit na talaga si Ice. He couldn't understand what are the secrets that his parents keeping from him. 

"Icy. Sit down and calm down. We will tell you everything that happened in the past." Ice's father said with a blank expression. Ice tried to calm himself down and sat down.

Hindi makatingin ng diretso ang mga magulang ni Ice sa kanya. May bakas ng bigat sa kanilang mga mukha, at tila hirap na hirap silang magsalita.

"Mum! Dad! Ano ba talaga?! I-explain niyo!!" galit na sigaw ni Ice, ramdam ang tensyon sa bawat salita. Patuloy ang katahimikan ng kanyang mga magulang. Nagtatanong na ang kanyang isipan: Ano ba ang mga sikreto na hindi nila masabi?

Ice felt anger bubbling inside him. "Why won't you tell me the truth?!"

Finally, his father looked up. "Icy," he said, his voice grave. "Sit down and calm yourself. We'll tell you everything that happened... everything that you've forgotten."

Reluctantly, Ice slumped into a chair, his leg bouncing with impatience. His mind raced. Forgotten? What could be so terrible that even his own memories were hidden from him?

Nanginig ang mga kamay ni Ice sa galit, pero sinubukan niyang pakalmahin ang sarili. Naupo siya, ngunit dama ang kaba sa dibdib. Alam niyang may malalim na sikreto ang itatapat ng kanyang mga magulang, ngunit hindi siya handa sa sasabihin nila.

"Ang totoo... ikaw at si Lucas ay magkapatid sa magkaibang ina," nagsimula ang kanyang ama, ang bawat salita ay mabigat. "Simula pagkabata, hindi kayo magkahiwalay ni Lucas. Kasama rin ninyo si Scarlet... kayong tatlo, laging magkasama."

Nagulat si Ice sa binanggit ng ama. Lucas? Scarlet? Matagal na niyang nakalimutan ang mga pangalang iyon, ngunit may kakaibang sakit sa dibdib niya habang naririnig ang mga ito.

"Kami noon ni Lucas?" tanong ni Ice, pilit inaalala. "Si Lucas?" Ice murmured, the name sparking a flicker of something in his memory. He hadn't thought about Lucas in so long that it felt foreign, like a forgotten dream. He remembered that he had a brother and the leader of the demon gang killed his brother. His memory was altered and replaced a fake new memories of the past.

"Yeah, si Lucas," his father continued. "You two were close. Kasama mo lagi si Scarlet. The three of you were inseparable nung mga bata pa kayo."

"Yes. But something terrible happened that seperated the three of  you. " dagdag na sabi nang kanyang Ama. 

Ice frowned. Scarlet. That name sent a sharp pain through his chest. All he remembered was her—betraying him, choosing Lucas over him, and worse... killing Lucas.

"You used to love Scarlet, Even so far as almost getting engaged at a young age. She was almost your fiancé." his father said, and Ice recoiled at the thought. Love? Kami ni Scarlet?Fiance? 

"But then... Black. The blackmares came for you... For us...No. For her.... He came for Scar." his father's tone darkened. "He tried to kill you, but he got Lucas instead. Ginawa niyang magmukhang si Scarlet ang pumatay kay Lucas, at ikaw, kitang-kita mo ang nangyari."

The room spun. Ice gripped the arms of his chair, trying to steady himself. "Nakita ko? I saw it?" He whispered, feeling nauseous. In his mind he thought, why did he came for her? for me? Fofr us? Why? What is the connection between them

"Yes, anak. You saw everything that Black wanted you to see. But it wasn't Scarlet's fault. Black set it up, so that you will grow up hating Scarlet and try to kill her. And dahil doon, nagalit ka kay Scarlet. You hated her for something she never did."

Memories flickered at the edges of his mind—scenes of him, Lucas, and Scarlet, playing together, laughing, hiding from the world. They were like a distant blur, hazy, as if erased by time.

"Pero... bakit wala akong maalala?" Ice asked, voice cracking.

His mother stepped in, her voice soft but pained. "Black took them away. We couldn't tell you because we wanted to protect you—from the pain, from the truth. Black already altered your memories and replaced a new one. We couldn't do anything. So all those years you are hating the demon gang because of Black. He used you to get in the way of Scarlet. It's very complicated darling."

The weight of his mother's words crushed him. His entire past, his connection to Lucas, to Scarlet—gone because they thought it would protect him. Pero proteksyon ba talaga 'yon? Or was it just another lie?

"So... buhay si Lucas?" Ice's voice trembled as he asked, not sure if he wanted the answer.

"Buhay siya. But he doesn't remember anything. His memories of you, of Scarlet—they're all gone. All he remembers is that him and scarlet had been together for a long time. His memories are also fabricated."

Ice's heart sank. "How did you erase my memories?" Ice asked, his voice trembling, his anger simmering beneath the surface.

"Icy, We didn't. You were in a coma for a year," his father explained, the pain evident in his voice. "Some parts of your brain were damaged.  Black erase your memories of them and replace them with hatred towards her. We've been trying for years how to erase the memories he put on you and replace a new one. But we discovered that You choose to erase those memories of them. It's hard to explain this. But that's all that happend in the past"

The ground seemed to disappear from under Ice. Everything he believed—Lucas's death, Scarlet's betrayal, his anger, his hatred—none of it was real. They were all built on lies.

For the first time in years, he didn't know what hurt more—the truth, or the fact that he had spent so long believing in a lie. 

TO BE CONTINUED>