Forgotten Love

Chapter XLVIII

XLVIII

Advance

WHATEVER WE were doing, I knew that it was dangerous. We shouldn't have come here without a plan.

Nag-iisa lang ang Papa ni Adrian, at nakatago lang kami sa isang sulok. Mukhang makalma pa silang nagkaka-usap ng mga drug dealers.

"Adrian, you need to call the police," I said.

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, pero hindi ko kayang ipakulong si Papa. Kahit gaano pa man siya ka-gago."

I couldn't hear what Adrian's father and the goons were talking about, pero bigla atang uminit ang usapan. And then suddenly, the goons were surrounding his father.

They started beating him up, and before I could stop Adrian from attacking without a plan, he already ran and started punching the hoodlums who'd beaten up his father.

"Adrian!" I shouted.

I knew that Adrian was good at fighting. Both of us were black-belters, after all. But I didn't think we could manage a lot of them. Especially when they seemed to be armed.

One of the goons tried to lunge at Adrian, but before he could, I was able to kick the goon's stomach twice, knocking him unconscious.

And then the ramble happened. Hindi pa din bumabangon ang Papa ni Adrian.

Napalibutan kami ni Adrian. We had each other's back. We were in so much trouble. One by one, they tried to attack us, but all the martial arts movement we knew had been put to use.

Wala akong ideya kung ilan ang umatake sa'min. Basta kung sino man ang nagtangkang lumapit, agad naming sinusuntok, sinisipa, o binabalian ng buto. The adrenaline was preventing Adrian and I from making us feel weary.

It was as if we were in a movie. Natalo namin silang lahat. When the coast was clear, tumakbo si Adrian sa Papa niya.

His father was still unconscious.

"Elliot, ihatid natin siya sa ospital. Tulungan mo ako dito," he ordered, and I just did as he said.

Tinulungan ko siyang ihatid ang Papa niya sa kotse ko. We placed his unconscious body on the backseat.

"Elliot!" he exclaimed. "Sa likod mo!"

Mabilis ang pangyayari. Agad akong niyakap ni Adrian, dahilan para matumba kaming dalawa. Narinig ko nalang ang sunod-sunod na pagputok ng baril. I placed my trembling hand behind his bock, and then I felt a hot liquid behind.

And I knew then that it was blood.

I froze.

"A-Adrian." I shook him, trembling.

There was a bullet in his chest, back and neck.

"E-Elliot." He was gasping, struggling to talk. "Y-Yung pangako mo."

I rarely cried, but right now, I couldn't control myself. I was sobbing as I held him in my arms. Ayokong maniwala na nangyayari 'to sa kaibigan ko na parang kapatid ko na.

"A-Alagaan mo . . . a-ang kapatid ko," he coughed, and blood spilled out from his mouth, "a-at . . . p-protektahan mo siya."

I just wished this was a nightmare.
Please tell me that this is just a bad dream. I badly need to wake up.

Adrian and his father were dead on arrival. Maraming nawala na dugo kay Adrian, at natamaan ang mga vital organs niya. Samantalang ang ikinamatay naman ng Papa nila Ria ay internal bleeding.