Heartbound Part Two (Lovestruck Series)

Day 4 | E/N

#HeartboundWP

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Day 4 | E/N

ELIAS WAKES UP feeling much better on Wednesday morning. Alam niyang nakabawi na ulit ang katawan niya nang maunahan na niya ulit ang alarm. He doesn't get up yet, dreading the schoolwork that he inevitably has to face once his day officially starts. He stays in his bed, face down on his pillow, the duvet bunched up beside him.

He pulls his head up from his pillow when he notices something missing beside him. He slides to the other side of his bed, and there on the floor he sees the chicken stuffed toy that made his bed seem less empty last night.

Poor Chikoon. He reaches for it before bringing himself up to sit. Ilang beses niya iyong pinagpagan bago iupo sa lamesita. Imbes na sulitin ang oras sa kama ay bumangon na siya nang tuluyan at nag-ayos na lang ng kuwarto. He won't come home here later. Hindi niya alam kung kailan niya ulit magagamit ang kuwarto na 'to.

He picks up his phone when his alarm rings. He hits the stop button, then his thumb moves on its own to go check his inbox. He sucks in his teeth upon seeing Nadi's name and her contact photo. He exits the app and places his phone back down on the table beside Chikoon. No. He's not doing this again. Well, at least not this fucking early in the morning. He needs to do himself and Nadi a favor by accepting the consequences of his actions on one hand, and her decisions on the other. Elias can hear Z yelling "Not again!" in his head. Tama naman ito, but he's taking Z's words in a different context.

He takes a bath after cleaning up his room. He gets dressed for school and makes sure he has everything he needs before closing the door on his way out. He does everything quickly. But this time, it's not because he's afraid Nadi's going to get in his head and make all his limbs go weak. Nagmamadali siya dahil mas mahaba ang biyahe niya coming from Ate's house, and he cannot afford to arrive late.

He mutters a curse under his breath when he notices that he accidentally left something in his room. He immediately heads back. He turns the light on and Chikoon stares at him as if to make him feel bad for leaving it. Elias clicks his tongue and picks Chikoon up.

His eyes sweep across the room for one last time before closing the door. He finds himself stopping midway down the stairs. He looks at Chikoon and his head stops working again. 'Tang ina naman. Ano'ng gagawin niya rito? Shall he strap this on the front seat of his car? And what, think about Nadi on the way home? Shall he bring this home with him, in his room, like having Nadi in the air isn't a torturous enough form of reminding? Fuck, parang gago. Now he can hear Z maniacally laughing in his head, making fun of him for having a kid in the form of a chicken-shaped polyester. Why does this decision seem like a matter of life and death? It's just a fucking toy. Is this level of attachment even normal?

His sister hears the frustrated sigh he lets out when finally arrives at a decision. Elias tries not to show in his face how stressed he is this early in the morning when he notices Ate. Baka magtanong. Ano namang isasagot niya? Na iyong nananahimik na stuffed toy ay ginagago ang isip niya? How the hell would he even explain that?

"Breakfast ka?" Ate asks. Elias shakes his head and goes down the rest of the steps. "Coffee?"

"I'm okay," Elias replies. Pinigilan niyang magmura nang bitiwan niya si Chikoon sa isang sulok ng sofa. Zoa's in the dining area having breakfast, baka marinig siya. Baka bumalik ang sakit ng ulo niya kapag nabungangaan siya ng Ate niya dahil ayaw nito ng nakaririnig si Zoa ng mga ganoong salita.

He takes a throw pillow and buries Chikoon under it. The fuck. He feels as if the toy is looking at him and asking him if it did something wrong for him to leave him there. Parang tanga talaga, 'tang ina. He turns his back away from the living room. Well, fuck. He hopes that he's right that getting rid of Chikoon would help. Because if he's wrong and he fucking ends up associating with Nadi anything that enters his line of vision, he's going to rip his head off.