How Did It End? (HamBebe)

Two Ghosts Standing

"Gwen is back."

"Ano? Staku, huwag kang magbiro ng ganyan, please. Alam mo namang nangungulila ang oat," Sheena replied, half-heartedly laughing at Stacey. Even though they had grown older, their funny banter never left. Stacey was always the witty one, the spark of their group.

"Nangungulila? Eh, kahapon, naiinis ka pa kay Gwen?" Stacey teased, her voice filled with lightness. "Pero totoo nga, Shee. Umuwi na siya."

The words hit Sheena harder than she anticipated. A wave of nausea welled up inside her as the bile crept to her throat. She felt weak, her legs betraying her as she tried to stand tall.

Why was I the last to know?

For the past few months, she had tried to bury thoughts of Gwen. But with every effort to forget, memories of their friendship gnawed at her from the inside. Gwen was back — did this mean she could finally see her again, hold her, laugh with her, and hear about New York? The city Gwen left her for. Sheena had imagined them together, talking late into the night about Gwen's adventures, her new life, and Sheena's own dreams of maybe one day joining her.

What if I move there? What if we can be together again?

But then, the harshest question clung to her heart, suffocating any excitement: Why didn't she tell me? If Gwen was back, why hadn't she reached out first? Is it a surprise? Why does Stacey already know? Sheena's chest tightened. Was our friendship just another chapter to her, something to be discarded when the page was turned?

"Alis na ako, Staks," Sheena muttered, not waiting for Stacey's response. She couldn't bear to hear more. She was already crumbling.

"Shee, wait!" Stacey's voice trailed off, but Sheena was gone, swallowed by her own spiraling thoughts.

As Sheena reached the gate of her home, a familiar car pulled up, its engine humming ominously in the dusk. Her heart pounded—not out of love, but out of frustration, anger gnawing at her insides. Not now. Not today. She wasn't ready for this, not for him, not for anyone.

Josh stepped out, his face a mixture of concern and impatience, as if he'd been rehearsing this confrontation in his mind. "Babe, kanina pa kita kinocontact," he said, his voice carrying a weight that made Sheena's chest tighten.

Sheena forced a smile, but it was hollow, cracking under the pressure of her crumbling world.

"Sorry, Babe. Galing ako kina Staku at Ate Jho."

Her arms wrapped around him, more out of habit than comfort, seeking a warmth that wasn't there anymore.

As they stepped inside the house, the silence was suffocating. It wasn't the kind of silence that offered peace—it was the kind that screamed, the kind that pulled her thoughts back to Gwen. Why hadn't she called?

Josh broke the silence, his voice tentative but sharp enough to cut through the tension. "Anything wrong?"

Sheena's eyes glazed over. She isn't here. Her mind is thousands of miles away.

"Wala," she said, her voice flat, distant. She wanted to scream, to release all the anger and pain, but not with Josh. Not now.

Josh sighed heavily, a deep, frustrated sound that made Sheena's blood boil. "Is this about Gwen again?"

And there it was—name, that name that stirred everything inside her. She felt a jolt of irritation, her fists clenching at her sides. Why did he have to ask that? Why now?

"What did you just say?" Her voice was sharp, brittle, like glass about to shatter.

"I said—" Josh's tone shifted, hardening. "You're always like this when it comes to her. I feel like... sometimes, I don't even know where I stand with you anymore."