I am in misery
There ain't nobody who can comfort me
Why won't you answer me
The silence is slowly killing me
Girl, you really got me bad, you really got me bad
And I'm gonna get you back, gonna get you back
--Misery by Maroon 5
--
Lena wasn't planning on spending Christmas with her family because she thought that Lacey would not want her to be there. But her mom made her promise. She told her that her father already spoke to Lacey. Pupunta rin daw sa pasko ang kapatid niya. Pero sandali lang, dahil may movie premiere pa ito.
Hindi niya alam kung makakadaan man lang si Martin dahil hindi pa nagkakaayos ang dalawa. It turns out that Lacey went to Quinn, her onscreen partner, and spent two weeks with his family. In her sister's defense, close naman talaga ito sa pamilya ni Quinn. And they also needed that to get more exposure for the movie. Gustong-gusto kasi ng mga fans na magkatotoo 'yong relationship ng mga love team sa TV. Mas mabenta ang love team kapag in a relationship ang reel couple.
It became a problem for Martin and Lacey once, kasi seloso si Martin. Ayaw nito kay Quinn dati. But they eventually became friends because Lacey insisted.
Naaawa siya kay Martin. Nalaman niya mula kay Ramona na halos araw-araw itong pumupunta sa condo unit ni Lacey, nagdadala ng pagkain o kaya bulaklak. Tapos reporters lang ang sumasalubong dito. When he learned that Lacey stayed with Quinn's family in QC, he went ballistic.
Halos dalawang linggo na raw itong hindi pumapasok, sabi ni Cyrus.
Nainis siya sa kapatid dahil sa katigasan ng ulo nito. Kaya tinanong niya si Ramona kung anong oras pupunta si Lacey sa bahay ng mga magulang, para maagahan niya ang pagpunta. Ayaw niya itong makita. Martin didn't deserve that. He loves Lacey so much. The least her sister could do is to listen to his explanation.
When she learned that Lacey would come in the afternoon, inaya na niya si Cyrus na pumunta sa bahay umaga pa lang. They went to church with her family. Then they stayed at the entire morning. Ipinamigay na rin niya ang mga regalo sa pamilya niya, kahit tradisyon nila sa bahay na sa gabi pa ang exchange gift.
She gave her dad an illustrated version of his favorite book. Her version. She gave Nikola a box of his favorite chocolate cake (regalo nilang dalawa ni Cyrus). For Logan, she made a sketch of his favorite band. Cyrus framed it. For her mom, she painted the wedding picture of her parents. Cyrus had it framed as well. And for Kenna, gumawa siya ng bookmarks na yari sa manipis na kahoy. They were paper-thin, with carved out designs of girly stuff. Kenna loved it so much, she took out her favorite books and placed the bookmarks on each of them.
May regalo rin siya kay Lacey, pero itinago niya sa ilalim ng mga regalo na nakalagay sa ibaba Christmas tree. She didn't tell anyone about it. Hahayaan na lamang niyang makita iyon ni Lacey mamayang gabi, kapag magbibigayan na ng regalo.
In return, her parents gave her a new phone as gift. Kenna gave her makeup and accessories. Logan gave her a mixed tape. And Nikola gave her a poem that he made for her (he made one for each of them).
"Hindi mo na ba talaga hihintayin ang kapatid mo?" tanong sa kanya ng ina nang paalis na sila ni Cyrus.
She shook her head. "No, Ma. Just greet her for me."
"Will you be here for my birthday?" tanong naman ng daddy niya.
"I'll be here, Dad," she promised. Maybe Lacey will arrive late again. That would be for the best.
--
Ang plano nila ng araw na iyon ay pupunta sila sa bahay nila sa umaga at kina Cyrus naman sa hapon. Kaya nagulat siya nang biglang may detour pala. Pagkagaling sa bahay nila ay dumiretso sila sa isang bahay na hindi pamilyar sa kanya.
