valdez/lazaro

war

THIS IS SAD IM JUST WARNING YOU IN ADVANCE. Fluff ang next few chapters to make up for this one, PEACE.

War au

Vietnam 1955

"Ly if I don't make it promise me you'll take this ring back to my dad." Ella pleads as she clutches on to alyssa's blood stained uniform.

alyssa could barely hear her through the sound of gunshots penetrating through the concrete walls they had hidden behind.

Ella pushes the ring into alyssa's front pocket before looking at her, begging for her to take it.

"Ly please." She was crying now. The ella de jesus was actually crying. She had put up such a brave face just months before, back when she had announced that she and alyssa were going to fight in the war together. That memory was so blurry now.

"i'm going to protect you no matter what. We're going to make it out of here alive." Alyssa yells as she takes ella's hand in her own, while her other hand applies pressure on ella's bleeding abdomen.

"You can't. Alyssa please." Ella clings onto alyssa tighter. She could feel ella's blood seeping through her fingers, could hear their platoonmates yelling as they ran for their life. This wasn't part of the plan, they had been ambushed.

"POTS DON'T YOU DARE CLOSE YOUR EYES. STAY WITH ME." Alyssa was crying as she did everything she could to keep the other one awake.

"I-" ella starts to say but was cut off when a bomb explodes in the distance. Alyssa could hear nothing but screams as she fell into unconsciousness.

**

She goes home a month after the ambush. The military had given the survivors time to mourn for their dead comrades, which meant alyssa was back in manila for five months.

She left manila with her and she came back without her.

Her parents had known without being told. The moment alyssa opened the door to her condo, they knew from the look on her face that the smaller one was gone. She had cried into her mother's arm's the whole day.

Days turned into weeks and still alyssa was inconsolable. She never left the condo unless she had to. In the third month dennise lazaro visits her. They used to be close. She, ella and her were basically buddies back in college, maybe that's why alyssa never contacted her. She didn't want to meet her and ella's old friends without ella. It made her death seem more real.

"Hey" den waves awkwardly. Handing alyssa a fruit basket as alyssa stood in the doorway.

"Hi." She receives the basket, not wanting to seem rude.

"So?" Den looks over alyssa's shoulder. The taller one gets the hint and steps aside.

"Oh, uh, come in."

Den smiles, the type that doesn't show her teeth. Alyssa finds it adorable, kind of.

She steps inside, alyssa could smell the familiar scent of vanilla as she walked past.

They're standing outside alyssa's balcony at night. Dennise is grateful for moments like these, moments where alyssa isn't falling apart or waking up crying because of a nightmare. These are the moments of quiet den craved with her. 

In the few months that she's been with her den felt closer to alyssa more than she's ever had back when they were kids. This type of closeness was different, iba.

Maybe it was the fact that den had always been a fixer, always wanting to put things back the way they were. The minute she realized how broken alyssa was, something inside her just clicked.

"Ly? When are you coming back."

Alyssa looks at her from the corner of her eyes. "Next month." She says quickly.

"Balita ko you need doctors out there."

At this alyssa faces her completely, a blank look on her face as she looks directly in den's eyes.

"If you do it i'll never forgive you."

Den could only nod, not wanting to tell her that she had already passed her papers the other day.

****

Someone knocks on alyssa's door on the morning she was scheduled to return to the Philippine army base. She checks her uniform one more time in front of the mirror before walking over to unlock the door.

The moment she sees dennise wearing the same camo colored button up she was wearing, a matching steth around her neck; alyssa knew what she had done. It took all of her strength not to get angry, to curse den for not following her instructions. For a second, she could see ella in front of her. She was suddenly scared, a dreading sense of de ja vu creeps into her bones and she wondered if den would receive the same fate.

"I'm sorry if hindi ako nakinig sayo pero-"

Alyssa hugs her tight, her tears falling from her face as she buries her face in den's neck. Den drops her suitcase in shock before putting her arms around alyssa's.

*****

Every time alyssa sees den running outside the camp to tend to the wounded, she can't help but feel like it's the last time she'll ever see her. That's why she always made it a point to kiss the shorter one's forehead for good measure. Just in case.

"Ly i'm not going anywhere." Dennise would chuckle. Even if her face was covered in mud and dirt she still managed to look as beautiful as she had when she first knocked on alyssa's door.

Alyssa would only smile bitterly.

*******

They were being attacked.

Choppers were open firing on their tents from up above. Nobody knew, nobody expected. Soldiers were scrambling around for cover, some were sitting quietly, apologizing to pictures of their loved ones.

Alyssa had been through this before, but this time she had brought another victim into her unlucky lifestyle, and that, she would never forgive herself for.

She looks at den, looks at her bloodstained white lab coat.

"Ly, i'm scared." Den buries her head into alyssa's chest. A bullet had made it's way into her leg, making running away impossible. Alyssa knew it wasn't a major hit, but without immediate medical assistance, she knew den was as good as dead.

Alyssa pushes den's head against her body tighter. She would shield this girl from this cruel reality for as long as she could.

"i'm going to protect you no matter what. We're going to make it out of here alive." She whispers as she kisses her hair.

Now where has she heard that promise before?