A Collision of Hearts and Heroes

Chapter 5

Clarissa's POV

Unsuitable

Ang plano kong bisitahin si Zedi ay hindi na natuloy dahil sa trahedyang nangyari. She experienced harassment, which has left her traumatized and continues to affect her to this day. Despite some improvement compared to before, there are still moments when she suddenly becomes overwhelmed and experiences emotional breakdowns. Pero hindi na katulad noon na ilang beses sa isang araw.

She stays in the house for a month until she finally recovers. Galit ako sa pamilya ni Zed. I loathe them for letting her experience all this. Kung sakaling sa akin nangyari ito ay hinding hindi ko sila mapapatawad. Zedi has experienced a lot of obstacles, and for me, it was unforgivable.

"Tapos wala man lang bang ginawa ang pamilya niya para mag imbestiga at nang malaman na hindi siya 'yon?" Lyle asked.

I am talking to him on the phone. Ilang weeks na ang lumipas nang bumalik na sa skwela si Zedi. Lyle is my so-called reporter. I constantly asked him about her, and he told me everything he knew. Ngayon napag-usapan namin ang nangyari noon kay Zedi.

"They investigated it pero duda ako ro'n. It was not proven that it was fake. The investigation results just failed us."

"Maybe they sabotaged it?" He concluded.

"Baka," kibit-balikat ko. "Basta, let's stop talking about it already. Naiinis lang ako sa mga taong nanakit sa kanya. Like, ugh! Sarap ganitohin ng mga mukha nila," umakto akong may kinukurot na mukha.

Lyle laughed, "Pano'ng gigil? Pano'ng gigil?"

"Ganito..." I expressed it with gritted teeth and wide eyes.

"Ang cute naman manggigil ng isang Clarieth Sancha," he chuckled.

A few days after Gasper returned to Heidue from the tournament, he deactivated all his social media accounts. Hindi ko alam kung bakit, pero ang sabi ni Lyle ay normal na raw 'yon sa kanya, dahil na rin hindi ito masyadong ma-social media. He'll either uninstall his social media apps or temporarily deactivate them.

E, 'di ako naman 'yong nahirapan ngayon 'di ba?

It's hard having a crush on someone who lives far away and isn't into social media. Pero kahit active siya ay hindi niya rin naman ako pinapansin. It's not like I'd message him every day anyway. I'd reach out once or twice a week, so I wouldn't bother him too much. Checking his social media and sending him messages had become part of my routine, and now that his accounts are gone, it feels like something's missing from my day. Hindi naman dapat ganito kabigat, pero tinatablan talaga ako nang malala. Tumagal kasi talaga ng ilang buwan at hindi ko man gustong aminin, pero na-miss ko siya.

As if may mapapala ako sa account niya kahit active. Para nga akong nag-stalk ng pader.

During those days, I shifted my focus to our final terms. After that, I felt my spirits lift, and now my attention is solely on the company. Kuya, on the other hand, was doing good with his own business, and he can now finally help us somehow. Kahit papaano ay bumalik na ulit sa normal ang lahat. The company has finally recovered from its loss kaya ako ay nakakabalik na rin sa dating mga ginagawa.

"Kailan ba matatapos 'yang klase n'yo?" I asked Zedi.

I am inside the office, and it happened that she called me. I badly wanted to have a break. The sea breeze is calling me already, but Zedi still has a class. Gusto kong mag-bakasyon kasama siya.

"Finals na namin next week," aniya. "Anyway, Gasper's birthday is coming, and he invited me. He told me to bring you. Makakapunta ka ba?"

Natigil ako sa ginagawa sa laptop at napatingin sa kanya. I haven't spoken to him for months already, and now I couldn't contain my excitement. Hindi ko masabi kung pangungulila ba 'tong nararamdaman ko, pero sabik na sabik na akong makita siyang muli. Though he recently reactivated his social media accounts, I didn't bother reaching out for thinking that he might not want to be disturbed.