A Safe Haven

11

Amara's Pov*

I was pacing around my room when my phone buzzed with a text from Colleen.

@colleen_alsava
Want to hang out?

I smiled. Colleen had been busy lately, and I missed our little trio—me, her, and Leila. But Leila had been distant these past few weeks.

I quickly typed back.

@ara_ellis
Yeah, sure! Let me check with Leila. Maybe we can all meet up?

Nagsend ako ng message at naghintay pero may nagsabi sa akin na baka hindi makakasama si Leila.

Simula ng gumraduate kami, tahimik siya and distracted. Ramdam ko din ang distansya sa pagitan namin, and I don't know why.

A moment later, my phone buzzed again. It was Leila.

@Leilafaith
Can't make it tonight. Busy. Maybe another time?

I frowned, staring at the message. Busy with what? She hadn’t mentioned anything going on, but then again, she hadn’t been talking to me much at all. Something was definitely up.

I sighed, sending a quick reply to both Leila and Colleen before throwing my phone on the bed. Whatever was going on, I just hoped Leila would talk to us about it soon. We were her best friends, and I hated the thought of her dealing with something alone.

Leila's Pov*

I glanced at my phone, the guilt gnawing at me as I saw Amara's message. Ayaw kong magsinungaling sa kanya pero hindi ko magawang makipagkita sa kanila. Not now, not when everything was so fragile. Colleen would be there, and I couldn’t face her—not with this secret hanging over me.

My phone buzzed again, and this time it was Rick. He had gone out to cool off after our talk.

@rickglavera
Can we talk?

@leilafaith
Okay

I needed space from the apartment, I moved out of Rick's condo after our argument.

I arrived at the park first, sitting on a bench under a large oak tree. The autumn breeze was crisp, and I pulled my coat tighter around my body, watching a few children play on the swings in the distance. It's peaceful here.

Lumitaw si Rick makalipas ang ilang minuto, ang kamay nya ay nakapasok sa bulsa habang sya'y naglalakad.

Mukha syang pagod. Pagkaupo nya sa tabi ko, ilang saglit na walang nagsalita sa amin.

"You’re pushing me away, and I don’t know how to fix this."

I swallowed, looking down at my hands. "I’m not trying to push you away. I’m just... I don’t know how to deal with all of this. It’s too much."

He turned to face me. "Do you think leaving will solve everything?"

Dahan-dahan akong umiling. "Hindi ko alam. Pero parang kailangan ko ng space."

Isang buntong-hininga ang pinakawalan ni Rick, pinasadahan nya ng kamay ang kanyang buhok. "Leila, we’re having a baby. We can’t just take space from that."

"I know," bulong ko, naramdaman kong tumulo ang mga luha sa gilid ng mga mata ko. "Pero hindi ko alam kung paano haharapin ang lahat ng ito— lalo na kina Colleen at Amara. Hindi nila alam ang tungkol sa'tin, Rick. At si Colleen... s-she’s still in love with you."

Rick blinked, as if the mention of Colleen had caught him off guard. "Colleen? We haven’t talked in ages, Leila. That’s not even—"

"But i-it m-matters!" nanginginig ang boses ko. "It matters because she’s my b-best friend. She’s in love with you! And I’m here, hiding everything from her. How am I supposed to face her when she finds out about us?"