Only To Stand By

Kabanata 3

A loud beeping of my phone woke me up. When I checked it, I was bombarded with Brenda's messages.

From Brenda:
Dons!
Donna?!!
Donnatella, girl?! Have you open your twitter?

Kinusot ko muna ang mga mata bago umupo sa kama at nagtipa ng ire-reply sa kaniya.

To Brenda:
Brends? I just woke up. What is it? Anong meron sa twitter?

Wala pang ilang segundo ay nag-reply na siya.

From Brenda:
See it yourself, Dons. But please, please don't do anything yet, okay?

Kumunot ang noo ko. Kahit nalilito sa mga sinabi niya pinindot ko ang Twitter. I was just being curious... but what caught my attention is something that made me feel like... I shouldn't have been curious.

Because what I saw is a repost tweet of West.

Karie Velmundo @karievelmundo_
Feels like I missed so many events in five years. You really did succeed.

But what broke me isn't the fact that she's back. It was their exchange of messages from Karie's tweet.

West @westvegaz
Thank you for stopping by, Karie. I really appreciate it.

Karie Velmundo @karievelmundo_
No worries, West. I still can't believe it, pero congratulations on achieving your dreams!

West @westvegaz
: )

Karie Velmundo @karievelmundo_
: ))

It was Karie. It was West's ex-girlfriend... for 10 years.

Ipinikit ko bigla ang mga mata nang umagos sunod-sunod ang luhang hindi na napigilan. The thought of Karie made my heart ache. The thought of her being back made me feel... miserable. The idea of her presence made me feel... threatened.

Suddenly, all the insecurities kicked one by one. Because Karie's presence and absence made West's family worried about her. Their break-up broke the unmeasurable bond his family had with her... that made it hard for them to notice my presence as West's girlfriend.

Paano na ako ngayong bumalik na siya ulit?

All of the sudden, I was taken back to the past where I first learned about Karie's existence in West's life.

"BRENDS, help! I don't know what to wear!" tarantang sambit ko nang sagutin ni Brenda ang tawag.

"Oh, Dons?" narinig ko pa ang paghikab niya.

"West's invited me to their family reunion. Gusto ko maging presentable sa harap ng pamilya niya, pero hindi ko alam kung ano ang susuotin..."

"Are you kidding me, Dons?"

Napanguso ako. "I mean, all of my clothes are decent naman... pero should I buy na lang?"

"Are you really kidding me?" narinig ko ang kaunting inis sa boses niya.

Mas lalo akong napanguso. Hindi ko na mabilang kung pang ilang beses ko na ba itong buntong hininga. Sinuklay ko ang mahabang buhok at muling huminga ng malalim bago tinignan ang mga nakakalat na damit sa higaan.

"Nakakainis ka, Donnatella. Why are you even bothering buying other clothes? What you wear shouldn't matter to them, Dons," sambit ni Brenda.

Hindi muna ako sumagot. Lumapit ako sa kama at pinulot ang isang plain white dress. Iniharap ko ito sa sarili at tumingin sa salamin.

"Parang mukha naman akong a-attend ng binyag kapag all white," nakangiwing sambit ko.

"Just wear anything you're comfortable, Dons. Gusto mo maging presentable, that's given, but that doesn't mean that you're required to impress them," aniya mula sa kabilang linya.