Starlace
Pagkabukas ko ng pintuan ng aming bahay, agad akong sinalubong ng matinding hampas ng aking ina gamit ang isang makapal na aklat. Sinubukan kong umiwas at magbago ng direksiyon, ngunit nahabol pa rin ako nito. Hindi ko na rin alam kung paano ko siya pipigilan. "Nag-cutting ka na naman?" tanong niya, ang boses puno ng galit at pagkadismaya.
When she noticed Arden standing outside the door, she immediately stopped, her expression softening as she greeted him with a warm smile. "Anak ko, nandito ka pala," she said, her tone completely shifting. My jaw dropped at how quickly she changed—like a flip of a switch. She approached him, ushering him inside with open arms. As she passed me, she rolled her eyes with a glance that said everything, then turned to Arden with a broad, almost sweet smile, completely ignoring me.
Just as I was about to follow them inside, my phone rang. I answered it, and immediately, Yael's voice came through loud and clear. "Ano?" I shouted, barely holding back my frustration as I caught the full force of what he was saying.
Madali akong pumunta sa kwarto at nagbihis. Nang makabihis, nagpaalam na ako kay mom na may pupuntahan ako. Their faces were full of confusion, at kitang-kita ko ang mga mata nila na nagtataka kung bakit bigla akong aalis. "I don't have time to explain. I'll explain it later," I said quickly, trying to keep my voice steady, bago ko hinagkan ang pisngi ng nanay ko. Tinutok ko ang tingin ko kay Arden sandali, na para bang siya na lang ang naroroon, at sinabi ko, "Stay here! Wait for me and I'll be the one to drop you off." Habang binabaybay ko ang mga hakbang ko patungo sa pintuan, hindi ko na sila nilingon at tuluyan na akong umalis, pinipilit na kontrolin ang mga alingawngaw ng aking isipan.
When I arrived at Hyacinth's house, I immediately ran through the entrance. "Tito," I called out, trying to calm him down as he was throwing things around their house. Tita couldn't tamed him because he was just too strong, while Hyacinth and Hershey were crying out loud, completely clueless about what to do. I looked at Yael, my eyes silently asking what happened.
"Gray," I called out as I finally managed to calm him down a little. "Call Gavin," he said, but I was completely lost. I had no idea what that guy had done this time. Tito didn't want to tell us either, while Tita, Hyacinth, and Hershey were still crying uncontrollably, unable to speak properly or explain what was going on. It felt like everything was falling apart, and I had no clue how to fix it.
I tried to ask Yael, but he had no idea either. Frustrated, I approached Ava and Keaira, hoping they'd know something. They both just shrugged and said that all they knew was that Tito was really mad at Gavin.
Rocco, Javier, Seph, and Aub finally spoke up, telling us that Gavin had created a mess, taken something from Tito, and now, he was nowhere to be found. Everyone was confused, scared, and tense, but no one seemed to have a clear answer about what had actually happened or where Gavin had gone.
That id-ot! Tinaguriang honor student pero hindi marunong mag-isip.
If he really needed that something he took, he should've let Tito know about it. Dapat kasi malinis yung pagkakagawa niya, at hindi 'yung basta na lang aagawin nang walang paalam. Kung ganun man, sana'y naging malinaw siya sa dahilan, at hindi nagdulot ng gulo. But now, we were all confused, and Tito especially, got very angry.
Pagkaalis ni Tito, bigla namang nagpahiran ng luha ang mag-iina, parang wala lang sa kanila ang nangyaring gulo. Para bang hindi nila ramdam ang tensyon at galit na bumalot sa buong bahay. It was as if they were pretending nothing had happened, wiping their tears as if everything was fine. All of us were in complete shock. My jaw dropped in disbelief, struggling to understand how they could act so calm after everything that had just transpired. Javier, on the other hand, kept blinking repeatedly, his mind trying to process what was going on, his face a mix of confusion and disbelief. It was hard to fathom how things had shifted so quickly—from chaos to this strange, almost surreal calmness. We all just stood there, unsure of what to do or how to react, completely caught off guard by how easily they seemed to move on.
