Play The Game (COMPLETED)

Chapter 36

#PTG36 Chapter 36

Jax said that I did well... but I knew that until the verdict is out, I could not be too relaxed. Alam ko na hindi papayag ang mga Ramirez na lumabas ako ng ganitong kadali... Months of staying inside that jail would never be enough for them. Hanggang hindi ako nabubulok sa kulungan, alam ko na hindi sila titigil para sirain ako.

"Last hearing na bukas..." Cha said. "Closing arguments and we're finally done."

"You think we'll win?" I asked. Jax always told me that we'd win, but I just wanted to hear it from someone else. I knew Cha would never lie to me.

She sighed. "Honestly? It's all up to the judge... Malakas iyong defense, but we cannot ignore na sobrang solid din ng prosecution," she stated. "They're focusing on the fact that there's no one who could've done the crime... Plus, the fingerprints were pretty incriminating."

Agad na natanggal ang ngiti sa mukha ko. Agad ding inabot ni Cha iyong kamay ko.

"Hey, don't lose the spirit. Always remember that we only need doubt... You couldn't have done it. Not with you being badly injured from the fall," she reminded me...

But how could I feel assurance from that when Iñigo brought the instructor from the self-defense class that Anj dragged me to. Alam ni Anj kung ano ang sitwasyon sa bahay... I begged her not to tell our friends, pero kapalit nun ang pagpilit niya sa akin na kumuha ng self-defense class... I lied to her that I finished all the sessions... but I guessed that all went back to bite me. Iñigo used that to claim that I was knowledgeable enough to be able to hurt Kier.

Naguguluhan ako.

Hindi ko na alam kung sino ang mananalo.

"Thank you," I said.

She smiled. "No problem."

Tinignan ko siya. Sobrang daming nangyari... Halos puro masakit... Pero kahit na ganoon, nagpapasalamat ako dahil nakilala ko kung sino iyong mga tao na nandyan pa rin kahit halos wala na akong maibibigay sa kanila...

Tragedy brings out who your true friends are.

And I was glad that all my friends stuck by my side...

And Cha, too. I never thought that the person I hated back then would be the person who would willingly sacrifice herself just to get me out of jail. Alam ko na alam niya kung gaano ka-delikado ang kaso na 'to... But that did not stop her from helping me.

I was glad. I found another friend.

The last hearing came fast.

"Nasaan si Cha?" I asked Jax. She was present in all of the hearings, but she was surprisingly missing now.

"Chasing a lead," sabi ni Jax.

Agad na kumunot ang noo ko. "Pero huling araw na—"

"She wouldn't tell me," he replied. "But she said it's important."

Tumango ako, pero naka-ramdam ako ng kakaibang kaba. Pero kahit na ganoon, pilit kong pinanatag ang sarili ko... Cha would be safe... I personally asked Psalm to make sure of that. And aside from the PSG, I used my own money to get additional security. I just wanted to make sure that she's safe. She's already sacrificing too much for this case...

Nang dumating si Judge Marquez, pansin na pansin ko ang pagka-balisa ni Iñigo. Agad na gumapang na naman ang kaba sa dibdib ko... It just didn't add up... Na wala dito si Cha at ang kabadong mukha ni Iñigo.

But I knew I needed to focus now.

"Today is the last day of trial for People v Ramirez. Closing arguments from the counsel," Judge Marquez announced. "The prosecution," pagtawag niya kay Iñigo.