Man in the Rain

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

The Past:  Claim

I wanted to be at Luke's side. I wanted to know if he was badly hurt. I wanted to check on him but Celine  was right. I should be at Gio's side dahil ang alam ng lahat ay siya lang ang boyfriend ko. Lumapit kami sa bench nila. He was being attended by one of the university medics. The medics was wiping the blood that was continously gushing from his nose.  Mukhang hindi naman niya iniinda ang nangyari sa knaya. He was just sitting still. His hands were fisted and resting on either of his legs.

"Ang yabang nang number twenty-three na iyon!" I heard someone from their team bristled.

Gio's jaw clenched but he did not say anything. Alam ko na galit siya.

Nagpatuloy ang mga teammates niya sa pag-uusap.

"Who was that motherf*cker anyway? Ngayon ko lang siya nakita. Noong huli nating laban sa kanila ay hindi naman siya kasama."

"I don't know. Ngayon ko lang siya nakita."

"Ledesma? Nililigawan yan para sumali sa basketball team ng university natin," narinig kong sagot ng isa pa nilang kasama that's why nakuha niya ang buong atensyon ko. "Sabi nila galing siya sa US and he played during highschool. Ang balita ko, he was an exceptional player. He was the go to guy. He could make difficult shots and he's a clutch player. He did not pursue his basketball career during, college though."

May isang tumawa. "Baka walang university na gustong kumuha sa kanya."

"That's where you are wrong. The guy was well scouted. Ages ago, universities wanted the guy on their team, including Bruins.

"The fuck! How the hell did you know know all of these?"

Right question! How the hell did this guy know things about Luke na ako ngang girlfriend niya ay hindi na inform?

Wala na ang atensyon ko kay Gio. I was shamelessly looking at the guy who knew about Luke's basketball past.

"Dude, hindi ba nga kasama ako sa line-up ng basketball team?"

"Oo nga pala. I almost forgot kasi you're always on the bench."

"F*ck it, dude. At least I made it to the team. How 'bout you."

I greeted my teeth and cursed under my breath. I wanted to smack them both dahil inuna pa nila ang pag-aasaran.

"So going back, our coach was too excited when he learned na dito na nag-aaral si Ledesma. He believes na malaki ang maitutulong niya sa team kahit pa ilang taon na siya tumigil sa paglalaro. And coach was right afterall. Kita mo yung laro niya kanina? That on your face three? No doubt, he still has it."

"So bale ibig mong sabihin lalaro na si sa team this coming season?"

"No."

No? Why?

"The bastard turned down the offer to join the team. Halos magmakaawa na nga sa kanya sina coach pero wala talaga."

Gio's teammates continued talking about Luke. Saka lang sila natigil at naagaw lahat ng atenston namin nang magsimulang magpalakpakan ang mga natitirang estudyante sa gymnasium. Ang iba ay nagtilian pa.

"And the bastard's popular among the girls."

I frowned. My eyes immediately flew on Luke's bench.  I saw him stood up at nasa tabi niya ay si Laura.

It felt like someone pinched me on the chest.  That should be me walking beside him. He's mine godd*mmit!

Sinundan ko sila ng tingin hanggang mawala sila sa isang exit ng gymnasium. I started to wonder where they were going. I started to wonder kung okay na siya o kung nagamot na ba ang naging sugat niya.