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; for me, it was unforgivable.

"E, 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 not talk about it. Naiinis lang ako sa mga taong nanakit sakaniya. 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.

Lyle and I often talked to each other. Sakaniya ko nalalaman ang mga ginagawa ni Gasper kasi  naka-deactivate siya sa Facebook at messenger. Ang hirap magkaroon ng long distance crush na hindi ma-social media. Hindi mo malalaman paano ka magfi-first move. I do not usually do the first move before, but Gasper just made me do it. Noon hindi ko na kailangan mag first move dahil sila na mismo ang gagawa no'n. Pero ito? Dito ako nahirapan.

I spent most of my time studying for our final terms. Minsan sinisingit ko rin 'yong paglalandi  kay Gasper nang mag-reactivate na siya. He will only respond to my message with a heart reaction, and that's it. Sometimes, he won't react at all and will just leave my message unread. Nakakasakit sa damdamin lalo na naiinis ako kapag ako ang last message, pero ginusto ko 'to. I should have expected this already because I chose to do the first move.

Nakahinga ako nang maluwag matapos ang finals namin. My only focus right now is 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?"

Natigil ako sa ginagawa sa laptop at napatingin sakaniya. She's currently eating something, and when she notices me looking at her, she gazes at me through the phone and raises a brow. Umiwas kaagad ako ng tingin at bumalik sa ginagawa sa laptop.

"Talaga? Kailan?" Kalmado kong tanong, hindi pinapahalata na na-excite.

"Sa Sabado. Sakto rin tapos na exam namin n'yan," she still looks at me suspiciously, so I acted busy with something else. "Did something happen between you and Gasper?" Ayan na at nagtanong na nga.