Smoke and Mirrors

𝕊𝕞𝕠𝕜𝕖 24

Lucian's

     "Skye, why did you do that to your nanny?" I asked my son, who was sitting on the couch."

Sinamaan niya ako ng tingin at nakasimangot na naman. He even crossed his arm and turned to the other side.

I took a deep breath. "You won't talk?" I tried again, fighting my voice to keep calm.

I refrain myself from getting angry and raising my voice at him because I knew what he want through.

It's been more than a month since Claude kidnapped him, but since then he's changed. Laging mainitin ang ulo, nakakapanakit na siya na hindi niya sinasabi ang dahilan, at minsan ay nagwawala na lang ng bigla. The doctor said he had PTSD or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder because of what happened to him.

Skye used to be different. He was never one to hurt anyone or raise his voice. When he was upset, he won't look at you but will just cry right away. Now, it was like the child I once knew had vanished, para siyang bomba na laging sasabog kapag nagkamali ka ng paghawak sa kaniya.

"Bad!" he shouted at me, naluluha na naman ang mata na pinunasan kaagad ng kaniyang braso.

Lately, he had been distancing himself from everyone, especially me. He didn't want me to touch him, and when I did, he always tried to push me away. He spent most of his time in his room or playroom, and when we asked him to come outside, he would obey, but you could see on his face that he didn't want to.

"The bad one here is you. Hinampas mo ang nanny mo ng laruan mo. You hurt her," I said, trying to make him understand.

He turned to me and he burst into loud sobs. Napahawak ako sa noo habang nakatingin na lang sa kaniya. Hindi ko na alam ang gagawin ko. Kahit nag-u-undergo siya ng therapy because of his condition, there's no improvement. Palala pa ng palala habang tumatagal.

"Lucian, anong nangyayari?" Amanda's voice broke through my thoughts. She was holding paper bags full of luxury items again.

She put down her bags and walked over to Skye. Kinarga niya ang anak ko, ngunit hindi sa kaniya yumakap. Sa kaniya lang nagpapahawak ang bata. Even if I wanted to send her away, I couldn't because she was the only one he obeyed.

What did you do to my son, Claude? Hindi lang ako ngayon ang nag-iisang takot ng magtiwala sa iba, pati ang anak ko.

"Stop crying, Skye," Amanda ordered. Skye's loud sobbing stopped immediately, though he continued to whimper softly.

Amanda carried Skye up to his room while I leaned back in my seat. I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead, feeling the weight of everything pressing down on me.

I'm still searching for him to this day. I want to ask why he did this to me and Skye, and why he chose to hurt us. Hoping he has valid reasons for breaking our trust and causing us pain.

It is so hard to accept that someone I loved, someone I chose to love despite my fears, is the one who hurt me. Not just me, but also my son. My son son loved him so much, pero ginamit niya lang ang pagmamahal ng bata para sa sarili niyang plano.