(FHS#1) Braylee wants to make her friends happy, Denver wants to get some sleep. She's hell-bent on making the world a better place while he's desperate for some rest.
When their paths crossed on a midnight bus ride, he finally found the remedy in h...
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"Wear this." Soaking wet from being left out in the middle of the rain, Denver lent me his jacket the moment we got into his car. I was a complete mess. I was shivering cold and my mind was adrift. Denver had to put on my seat-belt for me.
"Are you okay?" Denver cupped my face and all I could do was shake my head as I looked into his worried eyes. I'm used to nodding my head and faking a smile whenever someone tries to ask me if I'm okay but when it comes to Denver, I suddenly become honest with how I really feel.
The rain was pouring down so bad that the windshield has became very blurry despite of the wipers' efforts. Instead of driving to Filimon Heights, Denver turns the car around and next thing I know we were already in his Dad's townhouse again.
"Are you okay? Did my son hurt you?" Doc blurted out the moment Denver guided me out of his car. Doc looked so relieved but still worried the moment as his eyes ran through my face and arms as if he was checking it. His words instantly snapped me back to my senses.
"Warren will never hurt me. " I shook my head. I was still shivering cold but I was truthful and sure with my words. Warren will never hurt me... intentionally.
"Dumito lang muna kayo, napakasama ng panahon sa labas. Hintayin niyo munang tumila ang ulan. Ako na ang tatawag sa mga magulang mo, hija" sambit ni Doc.
"M-my parent's aren't around. I'll just call my friends. S-si Warren po, baka kung mapano siya," hindi parin nababawasan ang pag-aalala ko, mas tumitindi pa ito.
"Tinawagan ko na ang chief of police ng Filimon Heights. Mat-track down nila ang sasakyan ni Warren dahil sa GPS nito. Magpahinga muna kayo," dagdag pa ni Doc habang mahigpit ang hawak sa kanyang cellphone. He looked so calm and collected facing us but his hands show otherwise. Dumako ang tingin niya sa akin, "How long has my son been acting up?"
"A-acting up?" nakunot ang noo ko at naiwang nakaawang ang labi ko.
"Has he been violent and mad without being provoked? Has he been angry for no good reason?" tanong ng ama niya kaya wala sa sarili akong napasagot.
"H-he always got pissed and angry whenever he saw Denver... W-warren punched our Riley on my birthday," wala sa sarili akong napasagot. Ayokong magsalita ng masama tungkol kay Warren pero doktor ang ama niya, kung may mali man talaga, ito ang dapat na makaalam.
"Has he been having a difficult time at school? Having trouble with his words? His movements? You have to tell me everything you noticed, Braylee. Every little unusual thing that my son had done," Doc said, still with his calm and collected look, but I could tell by the look of his eyes that he's desperate for answers.
Tumango ako, mas lalo akong kinabahan sa di malamang dahilan. "He kept forgetting things, getting his clothes on backwards, forgetting to wear his shoes, even flooding their room after forgetting to turn off the bathroom faucet. H-his grades went down which has never happened before because he used to be really good at multitasking. H-he's also been clumsy lately, kept falling while playing basketball, even dropped me when he was giving me a piggy back ride. H-his teammates are complaining about him losing focus too. A-and there's this one time Warren complained about not being able to hear anything... And the tremors, he's been having tremors in his hands."
"Dad, what's wrong with him? Does he have it too?" tanong ni Denver kaya agad akong napalingon sa kanya. Denver had his deadpan look again.
Binalik ko ang tingin kay Doc at mas lalo pa akong kinabahan nang tumango siya. Nanlulumo siyang naupo at napatulala.
"W-what does he have?" sa sobrang kaba naiwang nakaawang ang labi ko.
"Huntington's Disease," Doc answered with a distraught expression. He takes of his glasses and wipes his face, in that moment I noticed his face turning red and tears streaming from his eyes. "It's an incurable brain disorder that affects his emotions and movements. Aggression is part of the symptoms so whatever he does, remember him as the kind and gentle Warren. If he says or does something that upsets you, remember that it's the disease that's doing and saying it, and not Warren."
Nanghina dahil sa narinig. Naiwang nakaawang ang labi ko at kasabay nito ang pagpatak ng mga luha ko.
****
Lumabas ako mula sa banyo ni Denver suot ang oversized niyang t-shirt at jersey shorts. Basang-basa ng ulan ang dress ko kaya pinahiram niya muna ako ng damit. Napakabigat ng pakiramdam ko at parang tinakasan ako ng lahat ng enerhiya ko dahil sa mga nalaman. Napakabigat ng pakiramdam ko sa mga mata ko matapos akong umiyak nang umiyak habang nasa loob ng banyo. Akala ko naiyak ko na ang lahat ng sakit pero habang nakatayo ako sa harapan ni Denver, muling pumatak ang luha mula sa mga mata ko.
Denver walked up to me and wiped my tears using his own hands. His eyes were red but he seemed composed unlike me whose breakdown is unstoppable.
"Magpahinga ka muna." Pinahiga ako ni Denver sa kama niya samantalang siya naman ay nanatiling nakaupo sa paanan ng kama.
"My Brother is suffering from ALS. My parents are in pain seeing my brother suffer. Piper is still suffering from the death of her sister, Riley is still suffering from his abusive Dad, Lucho has a problem that he keeps to himself... and now Warren has huntington's. I don't know what i'm going to do," I broke down in tears again as I was lying in bed.
Nahiga si Denver sa tabi ko, kapwa kami nakatagilid at nakaharap sa isa't-isa. Our faces were inches away as we gazed into each other's eyes.
"But whatever you do, whatever happens, you will never be alone," Denver says, caressing my cheek, wiping off my tears gently. "Braylee, i'm not going to tell you everything's going to be okay, but I promise you that you will never feel alone because I will never leave you alone. As long as i'm around, you won't face this problem alone." And with that, Denver pulled me closer to him. He made my head lay on his shoulders as he hugged me tight.
