Buy Me

CHAPTER 51

Iba ang gabing 'yon kumpara sa mga normal na gabing namagitan sa kanila.

Ni-hindi nagtanong si Constantine nang igiya siya sa kanilang kwarto at punuin ng maligamgam na tubig ang bathtub. He took her wet clothes off and guided her to sit. He was very silent. Na para bang alam na nito ang hindi niya sinasabi.

"Nilalamig ka pa?"

Ella slowly shook her head. She then lifted her wrinkled hands from the water, watching how it slipped through her fingers. Her heart flinched when it reminded her of how her brother slipped from her grasp. Naikuyom niya ang kanyang palad kasabay ng pagpikit ng mga mata. 'Sht...'

"How about our baby?" She felt Constantine move. Inabot nito ang basang kamay niya bago dinala 'yon sa mga labi nito. He kissed her fingers one by one, tenderly, before dipping his other hand in the tub. And then, before she could even foresee what he was about to do, his fingertips had already lined her sensitive skin underwater. She felt the water boil when his touch traveled down from her navel to that part where their 'imaginary baby' should be. "Ayos pa ba siya, love?"

'Walang baby...' Ella nodded despite the bitterness that spread through her mouth. Pagkatapos ay pagod na pinikit niya ulit ang mga mata at isinandal ang kanyang likod sa gilid ng tub. She was deliberately lying; she knew that. But then she couldn't stop taking advantage of his warmth either. 'Cons, I'm sorry...'

"Do you need time alone?" It wasn't long before she felt his fingers comb through her wet hair gently. "Sa labas muna ako kung gusto mo."

Noon lang siya napamulat ng mata at napalingon sa binata. Her swollen eyes were suddenly wide, wondering where the hell he got the idea.

"Kanina ka pa nagpipigil umiyak."

"Ha?"

"Lasing na lasing ka noong huli kang nagkaganyan." He faintly smiled at her. "Buti na lang naisip mo si baby--"

"Wala ngang baby!' Hindi niya napigilan ang kanyang kamay nang marahas na hablutin niya ang kwelyo ng t-shirt ni Constantine. She didn't mean to do that, but then that last statement just pushed her too hard. She was more than certain that it wasn't the baby that led her to him. Kusa siyang umuwi dito.

"Ella?"

She sobbed loudly without holding back as the realization started to ebb on her. Pagkatapos ay niluwagan niya ang mahigpit na pagkakakapit sa kwelyo nito bago talunang napayuko.

"Sigurado ka bang ayos ka lang?"

"Y-Yes..." her voice swerved in two different tones. Then, using water in the tub, she splashed her face, hoping to wake herself up from the screaming reality that was echoing in her head.

"I think you better sleep. Let me grab you a towel--"

"Don't leave me." She managed to cut his worried voice off by grabbing his hand. She was barely breathing when she shut her eyes and, by instinct, pulled his hand to her cold cheek. 'Please don't leave me, love. Don't...'

.

.

Five in the morning wasn't made for phone calls. It wasn't made for muffled cusses—more so, angry thoughts, either. That wasn't the time for anyone's knuckles to be turning white with how hard they were balled into a fist. Sa ibang salita, wala dapat si Constantine sa madilim na sulok ng kuwartong iyon habang kausap si Benjamin.

"Damn it!" Constantine angrily combed his hair back. His frustration was dripping on his handsome face when he began walking back and forth before the huge glass window of his room.