VIGILANTE HEARTS SERIES 2: Sweet Suicide (Exclusive In The VIP Group)

Kabanata 7

Kabanata 7

Gresso yawned while sitting on a chair. Kanina pa ito nasa clinic dahil nagbabantay kay Gie, at kahit anong pagpapaalis niya rito ay talagang hindi nakikinig.

She glanced at him while attending to an inmate. Bagot na bagot itong nakaupo nang pabaliktad sa silya habang iyong alalay nitong si Frenchie ay minamasahe naman ang  mga balikat ni Gresso. Nang mahuli siya nitong nakatitig ay kumindat pa ang loko kaya umikot na naman ang mga mata ni Gie.

She patted the inmate's chest after heaving a sigh. "All good. You can go back to your cell now."

Akmang may sasabihin pa ang inmate ngunit nang mapatingin sa direksyon ni Gresso ay kaagad namutla. Nakita  pa ni Gie na lumunok ang preso bago dali-daling nagpaalam na aalis na ng clinic.

She looked at Gresso and lifted a brow. "Why do you keep on terrorizing my patients, hmm?"

Muli itong humikab. "Because they keep on stealing your time." 

Sinenyasan nito si Frenchie na lumabas na muna. Napairap naman siya sa kawalan nang ngingisi-ngising lumabas ang alalay ni Gresso na animo'y may kung anong tumatakbo sa isip nito. Nag-thumb's up pa nga ang loko!

She sighed. Lumapit siya sa kanyang desk at naupo ngunit kaagad na nagtungo sa kanyang tabi si Gresso dala ang upuan. Pabaliktad itong naupo roon at hinawakan ang naka-ponytail niyang buhok para singhutin.

"Ah, you smell sweet. Do you smell like this down there, Sweetcake?"

Matalim niya itong tinitigan. "Leave."

He smirked. "Can't do that." He licked his lower lip. "It's date time."

She groaned. Talaga naman, oo. Ganito ba tamaan ang masasamang tao? Korni ang mga banat? Wala ba 'tong masamang reputasyong iniingatan?

Again, she sighed when she remembered that Agent Lankova reminded her that she only has four weeks to gather information from Gresso and to convince him to help them find his brother. Kaya naman kahit naiinis siya ay kinalma niya ang kanyang sarili saka niya muling binalingan si Gresso.

"You want me to entertain you, hmm? Fine. Let me get to know you."

A meaningful smirk made its way to his lips. "See that's what I'm talking about, Sweetcake." Ginawa nitong brush sa pisngi ang dulo ng kanyang buhok habang nakatitig sa kanya ang mapanganib ngunit nang-aakit nitong mga mata. "What do you wanna know about me, hmm?"

'Bakit ang kupal mo?' tanong niya sa kanyang isip.

"Why were you jailed?" she asked.

"Easy." He straightened his back. "I'm a bad person, Doc. That's why I'm here."

Inianggulo niya ang kanyang katawan paharap kay Gresso nang maramdaman nitong interesado siya sa kanilang usapan. "Okay? Why did you turn out that way then? Why choose a harder route in life when you can just be someone else?"

Napansin niya ang pagkapawi ng kurba sa mga labi nito. Mayamaya ay humugot ito ng hininga habang nakayuko, at nang umismid ay naramdaman niya ang pagbabago ng mood ni Gresso na tila nainis ito sa kanyang tanong.

"You think people like me have a choice, huh?" He looked at her, this time with a darker expression written in his eyes. "You think that every goddamn person in this fucked up planet has the same opportunity, hmm? The same sets of choices to be this or be that?"

Napalunok siya nang maramdaman ang galit ni Gresso. "A-All I'm saying is you should've just worked hard like every decent person on Earth who's trying to survive in this world. You didn't have to do bad things, lest hurt people."

His jaw clenched but she could feel how much he's trying to control himself while looking at her straight in the eye. Tila takot na masaktan siya sa kahit ano mang paraan.

"Is that all, hmm? Or you still have something more to add?"

Hindi niya alam kung napangunahan na ba siya ng takot o sadyang masyado lamang siyang na-ku-curious sa magkapatid na Lindstrom kaya naman bago niya pa mapagtanto ay naitanong na niya ang bagay na pumigtas sa pasensya ni Gresso.

"Why did you have to wait for your brother to betray you before you realize that he deserves to survive?"

Kitang-kita niya kung papaanong dumilim ang mukha ni Gresso. Bumakat ang mga ugat sa leeg nito dala ng sobrang galit habang ang panga ay umigting nang husto. Even his feral gaze remained at her as if he's about to tear her apart.

"Why the fuck do you know that my brother betrayed me, hmm?"

Hindi siya nakasagot kaya sa inis nito ay nahampas nito ang desk. Jesus, she almost jumped from her seat yet all she could do is keep their eye contact so he wouldn't sense her lies.

"I've seen your inmate report back then, remember? I interviewed you." She swallowed. "They said Trojan Lindstrom betrayed you and left to escape. He was trying to survive from the hellhole where you dragged him into against his will--"

"Oh don't you fucking get me started about survival. You know nothing about what the fuck I had to fucking go through so that son of a bitch brother of mine could survive!" 

Inis itong tumayo at naglakad patungo sa pinto, ngunit nang akala niya ay lalabas na ito ay muli siyang binalingan. Ang mga mata ay hindi na lamang kumikislap dala ng galit. Naroroon na rin ang sakit na tila napakatagal na panahon na nitong kinikimkim.

"You think just because you're a fucking professional, you already know what real life means, hmm? Well let me tell you something, Doc." His jaw clenched. "You fucking know nothing."

She clenched her fists and swallowed the lump in her throat. "Well then educate me," hamon niya.

He scoffed. Mayamaya ay hinilamos nito ang mga palad sa mukha saka  bumuga ng hangin na tila sinusubukang magtimpi. She knows how bad his temper is. She'd read even the psychological assessments done to him. That's why seeing him try his best to calm himself is . . . surprising her.

Bakit? Hindi ba ay may history ito na gustong-gustong nakikitang nahihirapan at nasasaktan ang mga babae? They said women's pain gives him the kind of bliss even drugs can't offer. So why? Why isn't he walking towards her right now to strangle her to death?

Pinanood niyang magtaas-baba ang mga balikat nito bago nito tuluyang binasag ang katahimikang bumabalot sa silid.

"You said my brother betrayed me so he can save himself from the hellhole where I dragged his ass into, hmm? Well, news flash, Doc. I saved his ungrateful ass from getting murdered when he was six. I was a goddamn kid, too, Gie! I was a goddamn kid who was so fucking scared of the dark but I kept running and running for fucking hours with my little brother on my back just so he'd fucking live!" 

His eyes went bloodshot as if the memories were too painful to remember. Para tuloy siyang nakunsensya habang nakatitig siya sa namumula nitong mga mata.

Pati na rin tuloy ang mga mata niya ay nagsimula nang humapdi dahil tila ba karugtong ng kanyang puso ang puso ni Gresso, kaya kung anong sakit ang nararamdaman nito ay umaabot sa dibdib niya.

He sniffed. "Do you know how it feels like to go out of your goddamn house in the middle of a cold night wearing nothing but your fucking sleepwears because you gave your jacket to your brother so he wouldn't freeze to death, hmm? Do you have even a single fucking idea how disgusting it was to dive into trash bins to find some fucking leftovers because your little brother was hungry? To. . . to sell your goddamn self to nasty pieces of shits and lose your innocence in exchange of some money so you can at least buy your little brother a fucking toy car that's worth three times your own meal? And do you. . . " Tuluyan nang namuo ang mga luha nito. "Do you know how it feels like to look into the mirror every goddamn day and see nothing but the stranger you never wished to become but you had to so no one could ever hurt the little brother you love more than your own life?"

Her chest tightened. "You did all that. . . for him?"

A broken smile made its way to his lips as his bloodshot eyes spoke for him. "Now tell me, what right do you and Trojan have to talk about survival when the only reason I survived every fucking thing that happened to me was because I knew he needed his older brother?" A lone tear fell down his cheek. "You know nothing, Gie. . . You fucking know nothing. . . "