The Space Between

Chapter 17: Warning Shots

Photoshoots, endorsements, speaking engagements... my calendar is fully booked. No hard practices scheduled yet, and it was a good thing I have prepared my unit before Ella's invasion.

Ella has moved in with me at the condo, and she has been getting sentimental moving out of the dormitory that housed us for four years. It is indeed heartbreaking... reminiscing the times when we have just been starting, how our bond was formed... all the tears, heartbreaks, and triumphs as witnessed by the four corners of our room.

I decided to pick up some feel-good food for us to munch on later tonight. Got some cake slices, doughnuts, and as I was waiting for our drinks, I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder. I turned around and to my surprise...

"Hi, Aly."

"Ye! Musta na?"

"Same old, same old."

There was this awkward silence, with the way Mika was just standing, hovering over me, while I was seated. I pulled the chair beside me and pointed it to her, and she smiled and gladly took it.

"Galing ka ba practice?" she asked.

"No, although nanuod ako ng practice nila. Pahinga daw muna ako. Pero sometimes I drop by and have a few light practices with them, but that's it."

She just smiled a small one. I could sense there is something big going on in her mind, and I have a feeling it has something to do with Kiefer. "So... ikaw, musta practices ninyo?"

"Alyssa, musta si Kiefer?"

I looked at her, trying to gauge what she's up to. I could see pain in her eyes. She must still be in love with him after all these times, somehow. "Mukhang okay naman siya. Why do you ask? Di ba kayo nag-uusap?"

She laughed a bitter one, "Ly, kailan mo nakitang tinawagan ako ni Kiefer?"

There was something in her tone that I could not put my finger on. "I wouldn't exactly know, Ye. I'm not Kiefer."

She looked at me, this time, gauging me, "Rinig ko palagi daw kayong magkasama."

"Yes, mostly on projects and work. And we still get to see each other in school."

"Alyssa...," she asked softly. She seems to be struggling with her thoughts. "Aly, kayo na ba ni Kiefer?"

I'm not sure, for the second time, how to answer her question. Technically, Kiefer hasn't officially courted me. Because I don't want him to. Yet.

So I have to play it safe.

"Ye, you know that Kief and I are just..."

"Aly, people talk. They see how much time you spend with each other... which is more than necessary."

"Ye, people could be wrong. We have been seen together for the longest time. I don't see anything wrong with us being seen together now," I explained firmly.

She contemplated on my answer, and fidgeted with her fingers. "Aly, call me crazy but I could feel something is going on between you two," she looked at me with sad eyes, "and somehow, I still wish you'd give me and Kiefer a second chance at what we had before."

I don't know how to answer her request. Just when I have started to feel something...

I put on a semblance of a smile, and said, "It's up to you both, Yeye. I don't have any hold on Kiefer. And it's not up to me to make any call."

Mika looked at me, maybe trying to read my thoughts. I looked down at my hands, avoiding her.

"Aly, are you... are you in love with him?"