as the stars would have it

124

CHAPTER 124

NAPABALIKWAS SI JACHIN nang marinig ang tunog ng telepono niya at agad na kinuha ito sa center table. He wasn't expecting any call because he had already finished his group work earlier today, so they had no reason to call him at this hour. And Rigo doesn't usually call unless he was asking for a PDF or bugging him to join him for a drink.

His heart sank when he saw two missed calls. One from Fatima and the other from his sister, Jenyl.

Jachin immediately stood up and dialed Jenyl's number first, his head already swimming with worry because of the recent encounter he had with his father. Alam niyang ginagawan na ng paraan ng magulang niya na hindi ito makalapit ulit sa kanila. But with the slow and inefficient process, it's taking one second too long.

Evie gently rose from the floor, a hand on the couch behind her. "Bub? Sino'ng tumawag?"

"Tumawag si Jenyl at Fatima-hindi ko alam kung bakit." Jachin placed his phone on his ear and waited. His mind was like a ticking clock, counting the milliseconds that she wasn't answering and running through all the worst scenarios that he could think of.

"Fatima too?"

Tumango si Jachin at lumakad papalapit kay Evie. He didn't know why but he had the urge to stay close to her, like his body was working in overdrive in making sure that everyone around him was safe, pacing faster than his mind could understand.

It wasn't unusual that his friends would call him even after seeing them a while ago, but it was surprising that it was Fatima who was calling him. She never called him in the time they've been friends and it was a long time ago since he met her. Fatima would usually only text if she can help it, and even if she was in an emergency, Jachin wouldn't be the first person she would've called.

And the fact that he couldn't prioritize her call left a sour, burning mark on his throat.

At the sixth ring, Jenyl finally picked up the call and what he heard sent Jachin into a pit of fear and anxiety. Jenyl was crying on the other line, rambling about her and her sister, and Jachin could barely understand her through the noise.

"Kuya. . ."

"Jen, 'di kita maintindihan. Anong nangyari?" Even as Jachin was asking this, he was already gathering his stuff and shoving it inside his bag. Kumakabog na ang dibdib niya sa takot para sa mga kapatid niya kaya mas lalong naging mabilis ang mga kilos niya that he was almost flying through Evie's living room.

"Kuya, kanina pa niya kinakatok 'yong gate! Wala si Mama kasi bumili sa palengke and it's just me and Jeds. Tinatawag niya pangalan mo!"

Evie could only stand there in fear for his sisters, and she could only stare at Jachin as he was packing his stuff. And no matter how much she willed her mind not to spiral back to the little Evie almost 10 years ago, she couldn't help when the present faded in the background to give way to the unwanted and painful past that she had buried a long time ago.

She couldn't stop herself from seeing the way Jachin swept his stuff to put it inside his bag as the same as when her father hurriedly folded his clothes to shove it inside his luggage, while also on the phone with someone, not paying attention to Evie who was already in a state of confusion and hurt.

The memory was old, yet clear in Evie's mind, etched forever like an unfinished drawing.

That was the last time she saw her father. Hindi na ito muling umuwi sa kanya, o nagawa man lang tanungin kung kumusta na siya. Her step-mother told her that it was because she reminded him of his deceased mistress, and that it was painful for him to even hear her voice.