Raine Knows

Raine Knows | 1

Raine Knows | 1

Sophia Raine Landicho
Present time.

Mabuti na lang at may photoshoot ako kinagabihan ng kasal nina Chantel kaya umalis din ako sa Mosaic right after the wedding. I wouldn't be able to face my friend that morning after that stupid phone call had I happened to stay one more day. It was a good thing na nasa sarili ko na akong condo nang tawagan ko siya. I avoided talking to Chantel for almost two weeks since that day. She kept on calling me, asking me why I was looking for Zeke that day kahit sinabi ko na sa kanya na may gusto lang akong i-consult regarding some construction stuff, and that I realized that I'd just talk to someone else since mukhang busy pa naman ang half-brother niya sa Mosaic kung saan ito ang Head Engineer. She didn't buy my excuse. Aniya, my voice sounded urgent. Like it was a matter of life and death. Well, it is. Only, I decided not to involve myself in the matter anymore.

The dream was still so fresh on my mind tho. It was so disturbing. Kahit tutol ako ay may parte sa isip ko na pinipilit duktungan ang nangyari. Who was shot? Si Zeke ba? Most probably, dahil sa kanya nakatutok yung baril. Unless nagawang makawala nung babae sa pagkakatali sa kanya at iniligtas ang half-brother ni Chantel. O baka naman may dumating na tulong?
Bukod pa doon ay iniisip ko kung ano kaya ang dahilan para malagay silang dalawa sa ganoong sitwasyon? Was it because of business rivalry? Family feud? O third party kaya?
What the fuck? Nasa isang action drama ba sila or something? Bakit pang-telenobela ang istorya nila?!
I laughed humorlessly. "This is stupid." How can a love story be so complicated? Kaya ayoko na lang talaga magmahal.

Pero hindi talaga ako maka-move on. I could still remember how tactless I was that morning. Kung magpapadala ako sa instict at konsensya ay magmumukha akong tanga. I refuse to look like a fool again. I knew I should've just kept my cool and stayed quiet. Kapag talaga naiisip ko ang kahihiyan ko nang umagang yun ay gusto ko na lang kainin ng lupa.

I thought sa loob ng ilang linggo ay makakalimutan din ni Chantel ang tungkol doon. Pero ang bruha, ibinigay pa ang number ko sa kapatid niya. She even insisted na tawagan ako ni Zeke to ask me what was wrong! Dafuq lang! Imagine my embarassment when I answered a call from an unregistered number and found out that it was him on the other line!

"Who's this?" Tanong ko habang binubuksan ang white Range Rover ko. Akala ko ay emergency call iyon or something dahil hatinggabi na. It was 12 midnight at kaka-wrap up lang ng photoshoot ko para sa isang fashion spread. I graduated with a degree in Business Management, but I'm into editorial modelling. Part time nga lang. The rest of my time, I spend with party and booze. Depende sa mood, nagde-design ako para sa clothing line na pinapatakbo naman ng isa pang bestfriend ko at business partner na si Leona. We established "HTT" aka Head To Toe right after college. We used the money that we got as graduation gifts from our parents to start the business. Trip-trip lang 'yun nung una. Pero dahil kami sina Sophia Raine Landicho at Leona Audrey Briones ay agad nag-click ang negosyo. What can we do? Every girl wants to be like us!

"Is this Sophia?" Asked a very manly voice. I cussed silently when I realized who it was! Nakilala ko agad ang boses niya.

Tumikhim ako. "Yes, Raine." I corrected him. Either you call me Raine or Sophia Raine. Sophia alone sounds so angelic. And that's not me. "Sino 'to?" I feigned innocence.

"Oh! Si Zeke Dela Merced 'to. My sister said you need something from me?"  Napapikit ako ng mariin at minura ng ilang beses si Chantel sa isip ko. That woman, really! Bakit hindi na lang niya i-enjoy ang honeymoon niya?!

Hindi ko alam kung anong isasagot ko sa kanya. I was silent for the longest time habang nanatiling nakatayo sa labas ng sasakyan ko. I couldn't even move! Dammit!