UNSINKABLE

Linger

Linger

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Linger

Pronunciation: /liNGɡər/

VERB

To continue to exist as time passes

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It had been six years. Six big years since she left Thomas. He never understood why she did. He gave her all that he had. He loved her with all of his heart. He always felt that she did too. In his mind, they were building a future together. He was so sure that it's gonna be him and her forever. He always felt that they were on the same page. He was wrong.

Ara was never as affectionate as he was. Even when they were together, Ara would still consistently bully him. And even after years of being together, she was still shy when saying "I love you". Despite that, Thomas always felt that Ara loved him- maybe not as much as Thomas loves Ara, but he was sure that she loves him enough to make the relationship last. Thomas felt so secure with Ara's love for him, which is why it hurt so bad when Ara suddenly left him for another man. What hurts even more is the fact that Ara just met the guy whereas they've known each other for almost ten years now. He had to work so hard just to get Ara to love him back, and what did that guy do? He just had to bump into her, and boom! He got Ara.

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"Ars! Over here!" Thom excitedly called Ara as he saw her enter the restaurant. Ara was about twenty minutes late but Thom didn't mind. When Ara got to their table, Thomas stood up and pulled up Ara's chair for her.

"What would you like to eat love?" he asked as he took his seat

"Nothing" Ara coldly responded. Ara is usually jolly so her cold response should have been an indicator that something was wrong. Besides, Ara just refused an offer for food so clearly, something was wrong. But Thomas failed to recognize those warning signs. He was too caught up in his excitement.

That night, he planned to take Ara back to DLSU. La Salle was the place where their love story started so he plans to make it the place where he will open the next chapter of his and Ara's love story. Yes, he was going to propose. They've been together for almost three years now. Some people might say that that's not long enough but for Thomas, it's more than enough. He didn't need more years to validate his love for Ara. Thomas has never been more sure in his life. He knows he loves Ara and he sure as hell knows that Ara is the person he wants to be with for the rest of his life.

"Wow baby, don't be shy na. I know you love food so order up." Thomas joked. Ara was visibly tense but Thomas still failed to see that.

"No, I meant that I won't order anything because I won't be staying here for long." Ara tentatively responded.

With that response, Thomas' excitement started to wear off. He started to see how tense Ara was. He started to feel nervous.

"Why can't you stay? You don't have training naman diba?"

"I can't stay" Ara paused as if contemplating if she should push through with her sentence. "I can't stay, because I'm leaving you."

Ara's words rung in Thomas' ears. He didn't know what to make of her words. He didn't understand. He didn't know how to respond.