One Point Higher

Let's Meet Again

Hannah Gonzales

Mas kinabahan ako dahil sa sobrang lapit ng mukha namin. Our eye contact was intense and his brown eyes were piercing through mine.

"Tell me what's wrong. Please don't shut me out." his voice was trembling, I can tell he's desperate. "Please tell me.. Or else I'll kiss you." nanlaki ang aking mga mata at uminit ang aking mga pisngi. Agad ko siyang tinulak palayo. "Okay, I'll tell you..!" feeling ko ang pula ko na ngayon. Ang weird naman kasi ng mga galawan niya! Kiss agad? Whatever!

"Tyler.." my eyes drop down to the floor. "Kasi.." huminga ako nang malalim bago magpatuloy. "I had been the first honor since I was a little child.. And that was what it takes for my father to love me. To be validated; to be loved." tuluyan nang tumulo ang mga luha ko.

"Anong.. ginawa ko?" napatigil ako bago nag-angat ng tingin.

"You.. distract me, Tyler. I don't know how but you make me feel things I've never felt before. And it's ruining my mind. Something that keeps me up at night and makes my heart race.. Until I couldn't focus on my studies anymore.." his gaze softens and I could see confusion, pain, and realisation in his eyes.

"What about your feelings? Hindi naman din tama na you'd ruin your mental health for grades... You can't do tha-"

"You don't understand, Tyler! You don't!" I bursted into tears. "Stop acting like you care because you don't even understand me! We're not the same! You.. You're so effortlessly smart and I envy you for that! While nandito ako na halos m*m*tay na sa pagpupuyat just to get some lousy numbers!"

"Do you think I have it easy? You're wrong. You don't know me, Hannah." parang nadurog ang puso ko from the look of his face.

Pain.

Sorrow.

Confusion.

Yet.. I couldn't see anger in them. After all I've said, if I was him, I'd be fuming. Bakit? Why are you like this? Don't you ever get mad at me for behaving like this?

"So stop commenting about how you see me... What you see is the present, have you even wondered about my past? What I've been through? No, Hannah. Because you're too busy in thinking I'm just a distraction. And that hurts. More than how much you think it does."

Gusto ko nalang magpalamon sa lupa. I was always thinking about my studies, yet have I ever thought of his feelings when I ignored him?

"I'm sorry.. Tyler, we can't be friends.."

"I never treated you like one. Hannah, manhid ka ba? Or am I too subtle?" anong ibig niyang sabihin?

"I like you, Hannah. Not platonically, but romantically. Not as a friend, but more than that." now all I can see in his eyes are pain and sincerity.

"Don't say that I don't understand you. I... I've been through more."

"Tyler... Please, let me listen... It's the least I could do..." hinila niya ako palabas ng cr at nagpunta kami sa garden. Naupo kami sa isang bench and a moment of silence wraps around us before he broke it.

"Hannah... When I was six years old,"

...

Third Person's POV

"Mommy, look! I only got one question wrong!" says the six year old Tyler. "You're proud of that? Look at your cousin, getting perfect scores in every exam. Are you trying to embarrass our family?!" his mother's voice echoed through the room.

"Don't be too harsh on her, Georgia. You know he's a little crybaby." his father's voice cold and intimidating. Tyler cried quietly in the room, trying his best not to get noticed. But his mother notices every move he makes, every single mistake.

"Tyler Mendoza!" her voice startles Tyler. "M-Mommy.. I'm sorry! I won't cry again..." Tyler cried out even more as his mother hits him with a leather belt. "Walang kwenta! Wala ka nang ginawa kundi umiyak! Mag-aaral ka na nga lang ayaw ko pa ayusin!" Tyler was squirming around his mother's harsh touch, until his skin bleeds.

Nagawa niyang makaalpas sa pamamahay na iyon isang araw, sa tulong ng kanilang kasambahay.

He lurked the dark, cold, and crowded streets for weeks with nothing to eat. Until one day, a kind lady adopts him.

The lady took care of him as her child. It turned out that she had a condition in which she couldn't give birth. And Tyler became her and her husband's joy.

Tyler's father was a businessman. Hardworking, intelligent, and most of all, born with a big heart.

This made it easier for Tyler to live with them. They made him feel loved. And so, he worked hard to make them proud. He was always the first honor in every grade, and words can't express how grateful he is to have loving, and caring parents.

...

Hannah Gonzales

"My biological mother... She never looked for me. Pero I'm glad that she didn't." saad ni Tyler. Now I feel bad for saying those words to him.

"I'm truly sorry, Tyler." yumuko ako. I'm so ashamed of myself.

"It's not your fault. And I'm sorry, too. I understand if you need space." tumayo na siya at naglakad palayo bago bumaling muli sa akin. "Let's be strangers for now. I hope fate brings us together again. See you soon, Hannah. Goodbyes aren't forever."

His words made me smile. It was bittersweet, yet I'm glad we had a closure, if that's how you call it.

I can finally study in peace. Maybe in my free time, I can sort my feelings. Answer my own questions.

Why did I feel that way?

Do I like him?

Platonically or romantically?

Too many questions to answer. But I can answer them one by one. Piece by piece. Until fate brings me to the unexpected future. Until we interact with each other again.

There's no good in goodbyes.

But, he's right.

Goodbye doesn't mean forever.

And I'll hold onto that until I'm ready, until we're ready.

Let's meet again, Tyler.

Author's note:

Heyy, guys! Quite short chapter for today. I am not able to post another chapter tomorrow because I am busy with my entrance exam. I love you all, thank you for the support especially to 1Nikoru_Mitsuya and kulangsakwarta ❤️❤️❤️