Ashford Series 1: Loveless Vows

Chapter 22

Pagkaraan ng ilang linggo, bumalik ako sa dati kong routine. Tuwing umaga, maaga akong gumigising para maghanda sa trabaho bilang flight attendant.

Pagkatapos ng biyahe, diretso akong umuuwi para asikasuhin si Sandy, mag-groceries, at minsan ay inilalakad ko siya sa park.

Tahimik at simple ang buhay na pilit kong binubuo, lalo na pagkatapos ng mga nangyari kamakailan.

Isang hapon, habang abala ako sa paghuhugas ng pinggan, narinig kong bumukas ang pinto ng apartment ko.

Agad akong napalingon, at sa aking gulat, nakita ko si Cyrus na parang walang anuman na pumasok at dumiretso sa sala.

"Cyrus?" tawag ko, ngunit parang hindi niya ako narinig.

"What are you doing here?" tanong ko, sinusubukan pigilan ang inis na nararamdaman ko.

Pero imbes na sumagot agad, tinitigan lang niya ako na parang wala lang.

"Can I come in?" tanong niya, pero halatang huli na ang tanong na iyon dahil nakapasok na siya.

Napabuntong-hininga na lang ako. Sa totoo lang, medyo nainis ako sa kanyang pagpasok na parang walang galang. Pero ano nga ba ang magagawa ko sa kakapalan ng kaniyang mukha.

"You're already inside," sagot ko, pilit na tinatago ang inis. Sinara niya ang pinto at naglakad papalapit sa akin.

Matagal na rin kaming hindi nagkita, at naramdaman ko na maraming tanong at pag-aalala ang gustong sabihin ni Cyrus.

Alam ko na hindi lang basta pagdalaw ang sadya niya, pero sa ngayon, wala akong lakas para pag-usapan pa ang lahat.

Kaya naman naghintay na lang ako, tahimik, sa susunod niyang sasabihin.

Napansin kong paikot-ikot ang tingin ni Cyrus sa loob ng apartment. Halata namang sinisipat niya ang bawat sulok, mula sa mga laruan ni Sandy na nagkalat sa sahig hanggang sa maliit na mesa sa gilid.

"Si Sandy tulog," sabi ko, para ipaalam na wala siyang dapat alalahanin sa ingay. Tumango siya, at napansin ko na parang talagang may pagkagiliw siya kay Sandy.

Umupo ako sa single sofa, nakaharap kay Cyrus na nakaupo naman sa mahabang sofa. Tahimik lang siya, halatang may malalim na iniisip. Alam ko na may gusto siyang sabihin, kaya inunahan ko na siya.

"May sasabihin ka ba, Cyrus? Mukhang may iniisip ka," diretso kong tanong, hindi na nag papaligoy ligoy. Parang alam ko na kung ano ang bumabagabag sa kanya.

Saglit siyang natigilan, parang nag-iisip pa kung paano sisimulan ang sasabihin. Tahimik lang akong nakatingin sa kanya, naghihintay ng kanyang sasabihin.

Cyrus leaned forward slightly, his expression serious. "Can you tell me exactly what happened that night? When you wanted to talk to Prime, but Rafael stopped you?"

I sighed, feeling the weight of the memory settle over me. "It was exactly like that. I was about to talk to Prime, but Rafael showed up out of nowhere and grabbed my hand. She was confrontational, asking me what I was doing there, and made it clear she didn't want me anywhere near him."

Cyrus listened intently, his eyes not leaving mine.

"I explained to her that I just wanted to talk to Prime, to clear the air, but she wouldn't let me. She even claimed that Prime doesn't want anything to do with me anymore, which... I don't know, maybe it's true."

Cyrus frowned, clearly bothered by what I was saying. "I get why you're worried, but you don't have to be. This issue-it's between me, Prime, and Rafael. You don't need to carry that burden."

He seemed like he wanted to say something more, but he stayed quiet, giving me the space to finish.

Cyrus leaned back slightly, his expression softening as he looked at me. "The reason I'm bothered, Sabrinna, is because I really care about Prime. He's my cousin, and we all know that messing with him can be dangerous. But among all of us, Prime is the kindest and the softest."

I listened quietly, sensing the deep bond Cyrus had with him.

"He's not the type to show that dangerous side of him unless someone really hurts someone precious to him. That's why we're all trying to help him out, especially now." Cyrus paused for a moment, then smiled a little. "Prime's always had the softest heart. He's been a crybaby ever since we were kids." He chuckled softly, the memory bringing a brief lightness to his eyes.

I couldn't help but smile a little at that, imagining Prime as a child, so different from the man he became. But there was also a pang in my chest, knowing that the situation had grown so complicated.

Cyrus looked at me with a seriousness that caught me off guard. "If one day Prime wants to talk to you, just let him. I know he wants to explain things and get some closure after everything that happened."

I raised an eyebrow, feeling a mix of curiosity and confusion. "Closure?" I echoed, not sure what exactly he meant.

"Yeah," he nodded, "but I'm not really in a position to tell you what happened to him. That's for Prime to explain."

The way he said it made me pause. Something in his tone hinted at something deeper, something I didn't know. I felt a twinge of concern-had Prime really suffered? Why would he, if Rafael was with him?

I couldn't help but question myself, Why would he suffer if he had Rafael? It didn't make sense. I knew he liked me, but I was certain he didn't love me as much as he loved Rafael. That much was clear.

But Cyrus's words left me unsettled, wondering if there was more to the story than I realized.

"Pag iisipan ko." Ayan lang ang tanging sagot ko sa lahat ng sinabi ni Cyrus bago siya umalis.

Napatingin ako kay Sandy na mahimbing na natutulog, madami akong dapat gawin at asikasuhin lalo na ang kagustuhan kong mabigyan ng hustisya ang pagkamatay ng magulang ko. Pero kahit anong gawin ko, hindi ako makakuha ng sagot na para bang sinasadyang hindi ko malaman.

Dumagdag pa ang muling pagkita namin ni Prime, alam kong nakita niya si Sandy. Kung talagang importante kay Prime ang pinagsamahan namin, hindi niya ipagsasawalang bahala ang nakita niya.

Note: Walang wifi ｡⁠:ﾟ⁠(⁠;⁠'⁠∩⁠'⁠;⁠)ﾟ⁠:⁠｡