Hate List

No. 8: Sweet Lie

Hate List
No. 8: Sweet Lie

Who knew cupcakes could be this badass?

I reach for the water I requested from the waiter earlier. It tastes... funny. I swirl it around. Malay mo, may lumabas na residue or mag-iba ng kulay. But after five seconds, wala pa ring nangyayari. Nevermind. I've been reading a ton of mystery novels, that's why.

I tuck a dark stray curl behind my ear. Let's get back to business, people.

I continue on staring intently on others as I gorge on my Chili-Choco cupcake using my fork. I bite a giggle back. Nakakatuwa. Para akong secret agent... Okay, childish. Tons of people crowd the large room. I think meron pang mga prof dito. They're scattered: some on the floor rug, some standing, and a lot are sitting on couches and ottomans. Most are chatting, a cup of temptingly aromatic coffees on their hands. Maybe I should get one later. Pag dumating si Ayi. Well, what I expected was something explosive. Like a uh, firecracker? No, ang stupid lang. Like a dark-illegal-trading-buisness meet-up place. Yeah, I really think I should cut my supply of thrillers and mysteries. Badly. If that's what I expected, you think I'd carry money with me? Ninakaw kanina ang banko ko--- I mean, si Ayi ni ateng behind the photocopying center kanina. Gusto ko sanang sundan kaso sa dami ng tao, na-waley na sila.

Although na-disappoint rin naman ako dahil the Underground, as they say, is a... night café, hindi pa rin ako kumbinsido. Like, why would you risk breaking curfew and being hunted by the Three Little Pigs kung café lang talaga ito. Something smells really foul here.

"Baby Kitten!"

Ay, alam ko na kung bakit may foul smell. I roll my eyes. Tumabi, or more accurately, siniksik ako ni Herald sa bilog na ottoman. Mahuhulog na yung pwet ko sa upuan, seriously. Nilapag ko muna sa nearest coffee table yung plate nung then-cupcake ko, wala na kasi. Tinulak ko siya ng konti--- ata--- para maka-upo naman ako ng matino.

"Ba't ka andito?" I snap. Siniksik nya pa rin ako. "Umisod ka nga."

He smirks. Hindi pa rin siya gumagalaw. "My lap is quite comfortable, you know, baby kitten."

"Do you realize that "baby kitten" is redundant? Come on, a kitten is a baby cat. Tapos dadagdagan mo pa ng baby. Ano yun? Baby baby cat?" I sneer at him. Itulak ko nga ng malakas. Muntikan na siyang magsungaba. Maaawa na sana ako pero he effin' deserved it.

"Grammar freak." come-back niya sa akin, then inirapan ako. Bakla ka ba? Irap? I drink the remaining water in the glass.

He squints at the coffee table beside us, zeroing in my water glass. "The heck, Ayi," he mutters, pronouncing ever syllable with frustration. Fudge. Isinandal niya ako sa pader sa tabi namin. My hands began to shake. He's scaring me.

Huminto ang universe nang biglang hinawakan ni Herald ang mga pisngi ko at sinubsob ang mga labi niya sa labi ko. It seems like it will last for hours. Until he pulled away, the tip of this nose landing on mine.

I can't breathe. I can't move. I can't look at anything apart from those honey-brown eyes. It sparks with a large dose of fear. What? I am shocked to the core.

He whispers so softly, I could not almost hear it. "When I release you, you go away and blend into the crowd. Don't look back at me. Find Ayi. She'll know what to do."

What the fudging hell?

He releases me from his grip. I feel his fear begin to intensify when he sees I am silently panicking. No, I get it, okay? After what I've been through for the past year, I learned two or more things. Panicking is normal. Panicking is healthy. Just as the same on fear. Normal. Healthy.

I draw in all of my strength to my feet. "Okay, but I'm going to get you back for that, Herald." I stood up ang walked away from him. Mga isandaang katao ang naandito at nagsisiksikan. Mahanap ko kaya si Ayi? I head into another large room. Walang Ayi. The back of my head starts to ache terribly. I bump into a guy in a ponytail, who glares at me. I ignore him. I almost even run into a wall.

Then a mop of messy black hair caught my eye. Thiern. And he's heading towards me. Parang tumakbo siya sa marathon. Beads of sweat glint down his face. He pulls me up close to him. Aside from sweat, he smells strongly of--- I almost cry--- Dad. He smells like my Papa. The very same cucumber soap smell and the sea. My goodness, I miss the sea. A tear falls down my left eye just as the one on the right trails down. Lumingon ako sa paligid. Lights begin to sway.

"Kumapit ka sa akin," bulong niya habang kunwaring ni re-re-attatch ang pendant ko. The floor seems to swirl around.

"Everything will be okay. Just hang on." he tells me as we thread on. His hands clutch me tighter, never letting me go.

But I know better.

That's what my father had told me. To hang on. That everything will be okay. But what happened to me now? To our family? That's nothing but a sweet lie.

On a sudden, the whole world blacked out.

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Ma-lerkey-bells na update. I wanted more depth to the story pero parang pinagulo ko lang ata. XD