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Fly Before You Fall p. 2

Maine, what are you thinking? She corrects herself. Richard's ex-girlfriend was in the picture. EX.

Maine took a deep breath and opened the app. Yes, Ysa was in the photos. And from the looks of  it, she was really not with Richard when it started and the succession of photos seemed like she moved around until she was near Richard.

There must be a logical explanation... Maine pondered.

Why would Ysa be there? It must be a weird coincidence that she ended up in the photos. In Hong Kong. It's not like she is part of the debate team. She already graduated!

Maine ended up checking Ysa's Facebook page. It only had random updates, and mostly, it was tagged photos or articles or what not.

She switched to Ysa's Instagram page. For a strange reason, Maine did not unfollow her after Richard and Ysa broke up. Maine saw a few touristy pics.

One of the pics was captioned " Friday Night Fun" .  She swiped on that post and saw a couple of group pictures, one of which was Ysa holding onto Richard's shoulder, laughing.

Seems innocent enough. I mean,  I should be happy that they are okay now, right? Maine questioned.

She browsed through the comments, and an exchange between Ysa and her friend caught her eye.

AnnaBanana17 : Ysa! Ex's and Whys?

PrincessYsa143: Sira, friends na kami.

AnnaBanana17: Yeah right.  Naka kapit ka lang naman ke mystery guy. Char not char!  *cough*

PrinessYsa143 : Kung pwede, why not ? ;)

AnnaBanana17: Tarush! Go Girl!

Maine felt like she was sucker punched.  She knows Richard is not at fault (yet , Maine thinks) . Why is Ysa with a bunch of law students in Hong Kong? Why is she posting pictures ? Why is she next to him? Why is AnnaBanana17 assuming that something else is going on?

Maine checks her phone and it says its 11 pm, Hong Kong time. She tries Richard's phone again and it rang a few times. Did he leave his phone somewhere? Was it stolen? Did it break? She has all these questions and no answers.  She desperately wanted to message one of his friend, but she held back, thinking it was a bit too much. If I asked, it would seem like I'm not trusting Richard? Plus I only met some of his law school buddies once or twice, no real interaction with them. I've only added them in social media as courtesy.

She felt so frustrated. Maine did not realize that she was at home already. No one was home anyway; her aunt and uncle were away for the weekend to visit family. Maine opted to stay home even when she was invited to get more packing done, and to get some rest.

Maine trudged upstairs to her room, turned on Spotify and began packing. Distracting herself since she can't seem to feel at ease with this.  There were times that Maine & Richard would go several days without talking, but that was before they got together. If things were really hectic, they at least snuck in a few minutes of FaceTime. This would be the first time in months that they have not spoken for more than 2 days. And it made her feel sad.

Her phone rang and she grabbed it quickly, only to find it was Auntie Agnes checking in with her.

"Maine, bella, have you eaten? It's almost 10pm and I got worried as you were not responding. You usually return messages so quick, iha!"

"Scusi, Tia Agnes. I lost track of time. I was packing and I had my music on."

"But have you eaten?"

"Not yet, I will though. I think me cheeses and bread pa naman. I will be fine."

"Are you sure? You sound a bit off, bella."

"Yes, just a bit worried. Richard is in Hong Kong and I haven't really heard back."

"He might have just left his phone in their hotel. Just busy since it's academics naman."

"Maybe. But thanks for calling. Say hello to everyone."

"Grazie! Sleep well!"

Maine fixed herself a light dinner. She had no appetite, but she was getting a migraine. She took some pills and washed her face & got ready for bed.  She felt conflicted . Why was she overthinking? Why did Ysa have to post that? Why has Richard not called or messaged her?

One last time, Maine checks her Facebook account. She sees nothing unusual. No updates from Richard. No emails, messages or what not. She looks at Ysa's Instagram and sees she is still in Hong Kong. She seems like she is with girl friends now getting ready to go back home.

She was about to log off, until Ysa's Instagram story pops up. Along with Ysa's friends, is Richard, pulling his luggage along. She smiles seeing him .  In the background she hears one of their friends say "Check out na, check out na." teasingly. Richard smacks his friend lightly in the head but starts laughing. She quickly closes the app.

Maine feels hot tears in her eyes. All she knows at that exact moment is her need to cry.

///

A/N:

Fly Before You Fall is a song from Beyond The Lights. Ang ganda ng movie na yun. When I heard that song sa movie, emote na emote ako. arti arti. 😅

Back to the story...Is this a case of overthinking? Or me legitimate reason naman yung pag emote ni Maine? A lot of times, overthinking kills. However, some like to do it to process their own feelings. It can be good and bad in a way. And when you do it yourself ? Medyo mahirap. Ok din kasi minsan me discussion with friends. Some will agree with you, and sometimes, me iba na sabihan ka "hoy OA ka umayos ka". I like having friends like that, yung di natatakot magpakatotoo. 😁

Next chapter will be up soon. Trying to tweak lang din. Lubusin ko na habang me juice pang naiiwan. Mahirap na mawalan. 🙂