Falling For the Rockstar (Published under Pop Fiction)

Shrink

ABIGAIL

I checked the time on my cellphone. It's 6 PM.

Siguro ay nagugutom na si Tony. I stood up from the sofa and went back to the kitchen.

Inihanda ko ang pagkain and then I set the table. Pagkatapos ay kinuha ko ang cellphone ko sa aking bulsa and sent a text message to Tony.

"Dinner's ready."

Lumipas ang limang minuto ay hindi pa rin dumadating si Tony. Hindi rin ako nakatanggap ng sagot mula dito.

Is he okay?

I sat and waited for him for a few minutes. Nang hindi pa rin ito dumating ay tumayo ako at pinuntahan ko ang kwarto nito.

"Tony!" Sigaw ko sabay katok sa pintuan ng kwarto nito.

Walang sagot. Bigla akong kinabahan. Baka ano na ang nangyari dun. Baka nadulas sa banyo o di kaya ay nahulog mula sa kama.

Muli akong kumatok.

"Tony? Are you okay?"

Nang wala pa ring sumagot ay binuksan ko na ang pintuan.

"Tony?"

Napalitan ng inis ang aking pag-aalala nang makita ko si Tony na tumatawa ng malakas. May ka videocall ito sa kanyang laptop.

ANTHONY

"You got your ankle sprained because of some chick?" Jacob laughed so hard when I told him about what happened to me.

"I was drunk, man! You know I get stupid when I'm drunk."

Jacob was still laughing. I want to punch his laughing face on my laptop screen.

"I'm so sorry. It's just that you're so stupid!" Jacob started laughing again.

Si Jacob ay parang kapatid ko na. Nagkakasundo kami sa maraming bagay. Ang daddy niya ay isang American habang Japanese naman ang mommy nito. We went to the same high school.

I hated my very first days in New York. Lalo akong nagalit sa mga magulang ko dahil sa ginawa nilang pagpapapunta sa akin sa New York. I had a reputation of beating people when I lose my temper back then. At 'yon ang dahilan kung bakit nila ako pinatira sa bahay ni Faye.

I lived with Faye, my half-sister, and her family. Mabait si Faye pero strikto. She even made me go to a shrink to have my head checked. Gusto niyang ipatingin ako sa eksperto to make sure na hindi ako maging isang criminal dahil napadali kong magalit.

Laking pasalamat ko naman at ginawa 'yon ni Faye para sa akin. The shrink told me to divert my anger to things I like, to express my anger and create something out of it.

At doon ko nakilala si Jacob. He was starting his band at naghahanap ito ng lead guitarist. Then came Michael our bassist and Noah our drummer.

After high school graduation, our band took off. We became an instant hit. We got a deal from a huge recording company and the rest is history.

Hindi naman nagustuhan ng mga magulang ko na hindi na ako nag-college. They even stopped sending money just so I will listen to them but I was already earning a lot that time.

And I was spending money like there's no tomorrow. Mabuti na lang at nandoon si Faye.

She works as an accountant sa isang malaking kompanya. And she became my unofficial financial adviser. Tinuruan niya ako kung paano gumastos at mag-ipon ng pera sa tamang paraan. Kinausap niya rin ako na pagbutihin ang guitar and songwriting skills. I went to music school when I'm not recording.