No One Will Know (PUBLISHED)

V. How Fast We Forget

V. How Fast We Forget

And the charade continued.

"Hi," Nathan said, sitting on the seat across me. "Sorry, got caught in traffic."

"No problem," I replied. Binaba ko iyong binabasa ko. I was currently reading James Patterson's Along Came A Spider. Nathan suggested that I mix up my reading list para naman daw may variety. He even bought the books, and gave them to me as a gift.

"I already ordered for you. Thought baka gutom ka na pagdating mo," I said. The past few days, I tried to be more affectionate towards him. Studying Nathan, the more I showed affection, the more he clung on to me.

"Thanks," he replied as he put his brief case on the adjacent chair.

A month passed.

A fucking month with no development whatsoever. David was already begging me to come back to New York because he was sure like all the other cases, Molly's death would soon be forgotten, too.

Kasi ganoon naman daw talaga. We all like to pretend that we care... but as soon as another event tickles our attention, we quickly lose interest.

Unlike like all else, justice remains a fantasy.

"How's the first day?" tanong ko sa kanya. Walang pagbabago sa kaso ni Molly. Everyone seems to believe that Nathan was innocent—but the more I spent time with him, the more I believed that he was nowhere near innocent.

All those times he spent with his friends? I knew something was fucking off.

Nathan was nowhere secretive—that I learned. He let me roam around his unit like I owned it. Kapag nagtatanong ako tungkol sa pamilya niya, sinasagot niya. I checked all his answers, and they all checked out.

But there's one thing he never wanted to discuss with me.

His friends.

"Fine," he replied. "How about you? Find anything interesting?" tanong niya sa akin.

Since I figured that I'd be staying, I made a quick backstory about my life. Of course, tinulungan ako ni Pamela. We made a life about Ary Fuentes, the NatGeo photographer. I didn't know how she did it, but the articles on the Internet all seemed legit.

"Nothing definitive yet," I said. "But I may accept some magazine gig," sabi ko sa kanya. "So... nothing interesting sa work mo?"

Nathan just shrugged, which frustrated me a bit. Of course, I wanted to know more about his work! Hanggang ngayon kasi, wala pa rin akong makuha na kahit ano sa mga kaibigan niya. Sa ilang beses na pagpunta ko sa unit niya, ni minsan, hindi ko na ulit naabutan kahit sino. It felt like he purposely told them to avoid going to his condo.

Which just made me more curious than ever.

What was it with them na ayaw niyang makita ko? It just didn't add up. Base sa mga litrato sa kwarto niya, he valued his friends—probably more than his family. But for some weird reasons, ayaw niya na magtagpo kami.

Yeah. He's definitely hiding something.

"Just the usual people looking... nothing worth mentioning," he said. I wanted to shake my head. He really just... forgot about Molly. He just... went on with his life.

And that's the reason why even though I see good things about him, one bad trumps them all out.

When the food arrived, Nathan excused himself to go to the washroom. Usually, he brings his phone with him wherever he goes kaya hindi ko pa nagagawa iyong matagal ng pinapagawa sa akin ni Pamela.