Hello, Yellow Fellow

Chapter 29

Hello, Yellow Fellow
Chapter 29: Trigger

Tumambay muna ako sa lounge chair and tried to calm myself down. After Reign's confrontation, my mind is swirling with so many thoughts. I cried, of course. Masakit eh. Hindi naman ako bato para hindi makaramdam ng ganito after hearing Reign's words. 

I wiped the tears from my eyes and stood up. Tumingin ako sa salamin na nasa pocket ko, trying to make myself look like I didn't just cry. Pero alam ko na namumugto ang mga mata ko after umiyak. Hindi ako pinalad sa part na 'yan. And knowing Maki, mapapansin niya 'to agad.

"What if... I drink?" I whispered, nagbabakasakaling mawala ang lungkot. Maybe if I drink enough, I could blame my red eyes on the alcohol too. And to be honest, gusto ko rin uminom— kahit papaano, baka gumaan ang pakiramdam ko.

Without thinking twice, I headed back to the venue. May mga tao pa rin, pero hindi na kasing dami kanina. Siguro marami nang umuwi dahil late na rin naman.

Nandoon pa rin 'yong iba naming kaibigan and even Maki, palinga-linga sa kanyang upuan. Pero 'di ko na mahanap si Reign sa table namin.

Pumunta ako sa drink station, where bottles of alcohol were laid out. I grabbed one, got a shot glass, and poured myself a drink. Ininom ko agad ng buo, and I gasped when it hit my throat. 

"Gosh." I refilled my glass and took another shot. Sunod-sunod. Before I knew it, I had taken three more. My head spun a little, and I felt like a loser for barely handling alcohol.

I was about to pour myself another shot when someone suddenly grabbed the glass from my hand. Naiinis akong tumingin, only to see Waiian standing in front of me, smirking.

"Dahan-dahan lang, Eli," he chuckled. I pouted and reached for the glass again, but he pulled it away from me.

"Kulit mo ah. Ilang shot na 'yan?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Just four," I mumbled.

"Then that's enough." With that, he threw away the alcohol in my glass.

"Masakit sa ulo 'yan, lalo na't sabi ni Maki, mahina alcohol tolerance mo," he added when he noticed me glaring at him. Gosh, pati ba naman 'to, pagbabawalan pa ako.

"Just let me. Kailangan ko lang talaga," my voice cracked as I tried to sound unaffected.

"Why?" His eyes narrowed as he stared at me, trying to figure out what was wrong. I looked away, avoiding his gaze.

"Wala."

"Tell me. It's about Matthew, isn't it?" I bit my lip, holding back more tears.

Umiling ako. "No."

He kept staring, waiting for me to spill the truth. Pero pilit kong tinawanan ang awkwardness to brush off his curiosity. "Bawal na ba uminom ngayon?"

"Hindi naman, pero hinay-hinay lang. I saw how you gulped down four shots in less than a minute." Tumawa siya, pero alam kong nag-aalala pa rin siya.

"I want to sleep," I sighed, feeling the alcohol slowly kicking in. "Do you know where Riri is?"

"Wala na sila ni Gio." His smirk told me enough— Gio and Riri were probably off doing... well, something.

"Gusto mo ihatid kita sa guest room?" He offered, voice gentle. I nodded.

We headed upstairs to the villa's second floor. Ang dami pang bakanteng rooms, talagang for vacation purposes itong bagong resort nila Rio.

"Here, take a rest, okay? 'Wag ka na uminom, lagot ka kay Maki," he said with a teasing grin as he opened the door for me.

I smiled weakly. "Thank you," I whispered. He gave me a nod before leaving, closing the door behind him.