The One for Ramona

Chapter 10

TAHIMIK sa loob ng sasakyan ni Blaster. Panay lang ang hinga niya nang malalim samantalang si Blaster ay tiim-bagang nakahawak lang sa manibela. Sumandal ito. "Start talking," He was looking at her straight in the eyes.

Huminga siya nang malalim. "Few weeks after the supposed w-wedding, I got a call from Pancho." Napapalatak si Blaster ngunit hindi niya ito pinansin. Alam niyang noon pa lang ay selos na selos na si Blaster kay Pancho. Nagpatuloy siya.

"Nabalitaan niya ang nangyari. He offered a job sa London. If I really wanted to get over you, I needed to do this for myself. So I accepted his offer. Several weeks after, I found out I was pregnant."

Tumingin ito sa kanya, nakakunot ang noo nito. "And you didn't bother to tell me? Ramona, that's my kid you're talking about." May hinanakit sa mga mata nito.

"Naisip ko, bakit ko sasabihin sa'yo? Back then, I thought, you don't deserve to know. You hurt me. You don't deserve to know about the baby. So I kept it from everyone except Tita Siony and Pancho." Blaster shook his head, hindi makapaniwala.

Ramona wiped the tears from her face. "Minsan naiisip ko, am I being selfish for keeping Maddie from you? Believe me, there are times were I so badly wanted to tell you about her. She's an amazing girl, you know." She gently smiled when she remembered the time she gave birth to Maddie. "Pero paano ko sasabihin sa'yo kung lagi akong nauunahan ng galit at sakit na nararamadaman ko? Ayokong pati siya ay masaktan rin, Blaster." Naitakip niya ang kamay sa mukha at saka napahagulgol. The memories of what happened years ago started to come back to her again.

Ilang oras bago ang kasal ay nakatanggap siya ng text mula sa isang anonymous number. Ang sabi raw ay nasa condo raw ni Blaster si Tiffany. Sa una ay hindi niya pinansin ang text at inisip na hinding-hindi magagawa ni Blaster na lokohin siya. Ang sumunod na text ay may kasamang litrato kung saan nakitang pumapasok si Tiffany sa isang condo unit. Nanlaki ang mata niya nang mapansin ang disenyo ng hallway ng condo kung saan nakatira si Blaster. Kung puwede lang niya paliparin ang sasakyan niya ay ginawa na niya. She can't wait to prove whoever sent the text wrong, for Blaster will never hurt her.

But he did. Nang gamitin niya ang sariling susi sa condo nito ay hindi siya makapaniwala sa nakita niya. Both were still dressed, however, Ramona saw Tiffany on top of Blaster, nakalihis na nang bahagya ang dress na suot. Ang huli ay nakahawak sa baywang ng babae. She ran away. Hindi niya alam kung paano siya nakauwi nang hindi naaksidente. She was drowning in tears.

Nagulat ang lahat nang sabihin niyang hindi na matutuloy ang kasal. Nagkulong sa kuwarto si Ramona for god knows how long. She shut herself from the world. Ilang beses nagmakaawa si Blaster para lumabas siya ng kuwarto ngunit patuloy lang siyang nakahiga, nakatingin sa kawalan. She felt as if she was only living day by day without actually existing. How could the only man she ever loved hurt her like this?

"R-ramona..." Dahan-dahan nitong inalis ang pagkakatakip ng mga kamay sa mukha niya. There was pain in his eyes. "You know I will never hurt you,"

"But you did!" Naghihinakit na angil niya rito. "May mali ba sa akin, Blaster? Pangit ba ako? Masama ba ugali ko? Is there something wrong with me? Anong meron si Tiffany na hindi ko naibigay sa'yo noon?" Napahagulgol siya. "Sa araw-araw na ginawa ng Diyos tinatanong ko sarili ko kung anong nangyari, paanong nangyari ang lahat. I was so sure of your love for me. How can you ever cheat on me?"

"I didn't!" Blaster said in full conviction. He looked frustrated. "Look, nothing happened between Tiffany and me. Nang makita ko siya sa labas ng pintuan ay nagulat ako. I don't have the tiniest idea as to what she was doing outside my door. She said she just wanted to say hello and congratulate me with the wedding and all. I thought, may pinagsamahan naman kami so I let her in. When we sat on the sofa, she tried to seduce me.