Devastated was an understatement. Lustre was out of words seeing him looks like shit. At the back of her mind, she wants to go to Erin and confront her. Ask her bakit niya hinahayaang ganito si James. The girl knows nothing about them but seeing Reid like that is breaking her heart, too. She thought that who wouldn't be affected if this kind of guy is willing to be wrecked just for a girl. 'Ang swerte mo!' said Lustre, for Erin.
That moment, Lustre was still hesitant kung kakausapin niya ba si Reid o hindi. Iniisip kasi nito na baka kailangan ng privacy ng binata. Lustre decided to leave the room, but when she is about to leave...
"It was an honest mistake..." said Reid, in between of his sobs.
Napatigil ang dalaga. "Ahm, ako ba kinakausap mo?" sabi nito. "Ay, ako nga. Hehe. Sorry, ano nga ulit 'yun?" dagdag nito pagkatapos niyang marealize na silang dalawa nga lang pala ang tao sa loob.
"I didn't doubt her love for me. Never." sabi ni Reid.
On Lustre's end, napaisip siya na maybe Reid want to talk about it kaya nag-oopen ito sa kanya. Nagtataka lang siya kasi hindi naman sila close to begin with, magkaklase sila, oo, pero 'yun na 'yon. Hindi ito napapansin ng binata dahil he's too focused on Erin. Naisip pa nga nito na baka lasing ang binata, pero since nasa school sila, hindi posible 'yon.
"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. Hindi naman kita pipilitin. Sabihin mo pang ang tsismosa ko." Lustre said, defensively.
"I just love her so much that I got hurt when I saw her with that douche." Pagtutuloy ni Reid.
With that, Lustre decided to push through the topic. Para mabawasan ng bigat 'yung dinadala ni Reid, might as well pag-usapan na, nasa isip nito.
"Baka naman kasi kaibigan lang." said Lustre.
"Kissing?" sagot ni Reid, almost a whisper. Tila ayaw lumabas ng salitang iyon sa bibig ng binata.
"OMG!" said Lustre, shocked. For a moment, natahimik ito at hindi alam ang isasagot.
"She told me, she can't remember it anymore. That it was the alcohol that is taking over." sabi ni Reid. "I never let her go in that bar to begin with, she's still a minor, that's why I got angry." pagpapatuloy pa nito.
"Ano ka ba! Cheer up. Malay mo maayos niyo pang dalawa 'yan. If you two love each other, hindi niyo dapat hayaan na maka-apekto 'yan sa relasyon niyo." without looking at Reid, sinabi iyon ni Lustre.
"Sila na." said Reid. Na para bang 'yung mga salitang iyon na ang huling salitang sasabihin niya sa buong buhay niya.
And that completely shuts Lustre up. Wala na talaga siyang ibang masabi. Walang ibang nasa isip ang dalaga kundi ang sabunutan at saktan si Erin dahil sa narinig niyang iyon kay Reid. Hindi siya nagdalawang isip na lumapit kay Reid at yakapin ito. Nagulat din siya sa kanyang ginawa pero inisip na kailangan talaga ito ng binata ngayon. Kailangan niyang iparamdam kay Reid na hindi pa katapusan ng mundo.
Pero ang mas ikinagulat ng dalaga ay when Reid hugs Lustre too and buried his face on her shoulder. "I don't know what to do anymore. I love her... so much." said Reid, crying. Again, Lustre's heart melted. She knows for a fact that the guy is hurting so much. And all she can do is give him a gentle tap in the back. "Shhhh. You'll be fine. Matapang ka. Kaya mo 'yan."
Minutes passed...
"Uhh. James! Uy!"
Walang gumagalaw...
"Uy!" said Lustre. Pang-ilan na until she figured out na nakatulog sa balikat niya ang binata. That caused her to blush instantly. 'Pasalamat ka broken ka!' sabi nito at mas hinigpitan ang yakap sa binata. 'Ayos! Puntos!' dagdag pa nito sa kanyang isipan.
Makalipas ang isa't kalahating oras...
"Shit!" Reid just woke up. "Sorry. Kanina pa ba 'ko tulog?" tanong nito kay Lustre.
"Actually, I lost track of the time, nakatulog na din kasi ako. I was trying to wake you up though" pagdedepensa ni Lustre.
"Sorry. 'di ba may klase tayo? Shit! Sorry. You skipped a subject because of me."
"Ano ka ba, okay lang 'yon. Sometimes we need to pamper ourselves by not attending classes." Natatawang sabi ni Lustre.
"Non-sense. We're here to learn. Skipping classes is not acceptable. It is part of our responsibility as a student to be in every class possible." Said Reid.
"Tss. Welcome back to your old self, Mr. Grumpy slash Mr. Nerd." Mataray na sagot ni Lustre habang nagpapagpag ng uniform at akmang lalabas na ng room...
"Thank you nga pala kanina." Pahabol na sabi ni Reid.
She heard it just in time bago siya makalabas ng room. This time, lalabas siya ng room ng nakangiti.
'Damn you and your charm Reid!'
