Sinclair Secrets

Chapter 12: When the heart can't contain it the mind blocks it.'

Patty's POV

"Patricia!" Papasok na ako sa classroom pero napalingon ako pagkarinig sa boses na yun!

Si Zed Maylabs!

Patakbo siyang lumapit sakin! Ganda ko talaga!

"Hey! [breath] how's [breath] [breath]–How's Elle??" he was really panting so hard.

Ouch. Napangiti nalang ako. "She's fine now."

Ay engot. Bigla yata siya nagliwanag or namamalikmata lang talaga ako?

"Then where's she? Can't find her in the clinic anymore."

Oo nga pala pinalabas silang lahat kanina. Sina Steve, Hozzai, Zed at Vaughn. Nagalit si Nurse eh kasi ang dami-dami na daw namin sa loob. Babae pa man daw si Besh.

Nginitian ko siya. Ang gwapo-gwapo talaga netong lokong to!

"Vaughn brought her home. Mas okay na yun. Don't worry about her. She's fine already. Eh, where were you nga pala?" Yung tropa kasi nasa labas lang ng clinic naghintay hanggat nagising si Besh. Mga 50 mins. din yun. Tsaka isa pa, matagal ko na napapansin, parati nalang nawawala tong isang to. Kadalasan pa nga umaabsent pa siya eh.

His smile faded. Nagtaka naman ako. Ang bilis mag-change mood ah.

"I had to attend to something important, you know business matters."

"Ohhh... yeah." Mayaman nga pala to. Natural, may business!

Biglang parang may sumagi naman sa isip niya. Napatingin siya sakin with brows twitched. "So, what happened back there? Why-did she cry?"

"Oh...that." Natahimik ako.

He looked confused. "Yeah, why?"

I tried to smile but failed anyway. "Arielle.. She has this- sort of 'Singing Trauma'."

He looked confused. "A singing –what??"

I smiled bitterly. Hanggang ngayon, nakakalungkot pa rin isipin. I leaned to the railing and looked down the ground below. Sumunod naman siya sakin at tumingin sa kaharap na soccer field.

I sighed. "When Arielle was eleven, she starred in a theatre production.Her mom was there. Bryan was there but her dad did not make it." I said and looked at him. "He died on a plane crash trying to get to the country just to watch her perform."

"Oh...! That's-."

"Horrible? Yes. Imagine how terribly she had blamed herself after that. She thinks it was her fault. She thinks her dad died because she was too selfish to invite him to watch her. She doesn't think it was just an accident. It's as if she had killed him herself. Brutal, right? She had it soo hard. It was traumatic for her. Since that day, she never sang again. That was... 7 years ago. Somehow, performing triggered her."

And I wasn't there. That was the hardest part to it. I wasn't there to comfort her.

"Did they consult a specialist?"

Tumango ako. "They did. She had counselling sessions and all that stuff. The breakdown had stopped three years ago. We thought she was fine... up until now. That's why we are so worried. We already called her mom. We really thought she had overcome it. We were wrong tho. We just don't know what triggered it this time."

Naramdaman ko nalang ang kamay niya sa balikat ko.

"Arielle... she just look strong and happy and cool outside." I laughed, bitterly. "But she's not. She's not alright. That's clear to me now. The pain and the fear... it's still inside her. You know, when the heart cannot contain it, the mind blocks it. It's our body's defense mechanism for pain. And it's what she's doing. When she woke up in the clinic after she fainted, she looked fine. As if nothing happened. She was smiling. It was so -creepy, actually.We're getting worried sick about her."