"What the hell is going on?" Agad kong sambit nang sagutin ko ang tawag ni Rina. Bihira siyang tumawag sa akin at sa tuwing tumatawag ito'y for emergency purposes lang.
"Ang OA lang, Van? Wala man lang 'hi' o 'hello', gano'n?" Pagmamaktol niya sa kabilang linya.
"Hello, Czarina. What the hell is going on?" I sarcastically responded. "Better? Happy?"
"Nye nye." Parang bata niyang sagot. "Actually may chismis talaga ako. Baka mashookt ka mamsh."
"What is it?" I uninterestingly responded.
"Eto na nga bes. May kumakalat sa school na kaya umalis si ex president is because you had an affair with her while you're in a relationship with Hera." She paused. "Don't get mad at me, okay? Hindi sa'kin galing yon. Naririnig ko lang na bulung-bulungan ng mga tao."
I hissed. "You know that's not what happened. Kung may nag-cheat man dito, hindi ako 'yon. But I won't speak up about it because I don't owe them an explanation. Kaya hayaan mo na 'yang issue na 'yan. Mamamatay din 'yan. Stop obsessing about it."
"I know the truth. Your friends know the truth. But the problem is, si Sahara ang naiipit, Van. You have to speak up or else, her name will forever be tainted."
Napaisip ako.
She's right. Si Sahara ang makakatanggap ng lahat ng hates kapag nagkataon. Pero kapag nagsalita ako, that means kailangan kong magspeak up about what really happened between me and Hera. No one knows why we broke up. Of why I chose to break up with her except my friends.
Our relationship was kept private and low key. But we were never a secret. Halos lahat ata sa campus, alam na mag-on kami. They always see us being affectionate with each other, pero hanggang don lang yon. The personal details are kept between the two of us. Kapag kasi maraming nakakaalam, maraming nakikialam.
Kaya nang malaman ng lahat na wala na kami, pinilit nilang maghanap ng sagot. Maraming lumabas na rumors na I cheated that's why we broke up. But the truth doesn't matter. As long as I get to protect her, it's okay.
"Earth to Vandrei." Nawala sa isip ko ang kausap ko sa kabilang linya.
"I'm sorry. Nag-iisip lang ako kung ano'ng gagawin ko." I sighed. "Sahara and Hera are both important to me. Pakiramdam ko kapag nagsalita ako, pipiliin kong protektahan si Sahara. Kapag naman di ako nagspeak up, parang tinotolerate ko yung nangyayari but I get to protect Hera."
"What really happened ba kasi between you and Hera way back?" I can sense the curiosity in her voice.
"You know that will stay between me and Hera. Kung magsasalita ako sa'yo. Might as well speak about it publicly, right?" Napailing ako.
"Hmp. Oo na. Pero try and talk to Sahara. Kahit naman wala na siya sa school, paniguradong nakarating na sa kan'ya yon. Maliit lang tong lugar natin Van. I'm pretty sure nakarating na rin to sa ibang school."
She's goddamn right.
Mas lalo akong naguluhan sa gagawin ko.
How do I protect them both?
"Vandrei?" Nagulat si Sahara nang makita ako. Nandito ako ngayon sa labas ng bahay nila. I was actually waiting for almost two hours now. "What are you doing here? I'm sorry walang tao sa bahay. Kanina ka pa ba?"
"It's okay. Kadarating-dating ko lang din." Mama mo, kadarating. "Anyways, may importante lang ako dapat i-discuss sayo kung okay lang."
"Is it about the rumors? If you think na ako nagpakalat no'n, I'm telling you—"
"Stop. Let's talk about this inside." She nodded and guided me to the living room.
"Gusto mo ba ng coffee? Pagtitimpla kita." Mataman niya akong tinitigan. "You look tensed and worried."
I sighed in frustration. "I'm just tired of all this bullshit, you know. I don't know where did this come from. As much as possible, ayokong i-publicize 'tong drama between the three of us but no matter how I try to keep it low, lumalabas at lumalabas pa rin. I feel like everyone's trying to ruin everything for me."
"Van, you can't control what other people think. You have a stronger mind than I. H'wag mong hayaan na kainin ka ng false accusations nila against you, okay? You know better." Hinaplos niya ng marahan ang pisngi ko. "I love you and I will never judge you and your decisions. Kahit madamay man pangalan ko rito, ayos lang."
She smiled. "The truth is I'm scared. Pero wala naman akong magagawa sa takbo ng isip nila e. Kaysa mapagod ako kakaisip kung paano lilinisin 'yong pangalan ko, hahayaan ko na lang sila hanggang mapagod sila kakaisip. Hindi naman ako 'yong maba-bother every night."
I hugged her. "I missed you. I missed my bestfriend. Ang dami kong gustong isumbong sa'yo pero pakiramdam ko magiging unfair ako kapag ipinilit kong bumalik tayo sa dati kahit hindi naman na talaga pwede. I'm sorry for hurting you, Sahara. I'm sorry for leaving you hanging."
"You love her. You love me but on a different level. Kahit kailan hinding-hindi ko mapapantayan si Hera sa puso mo. Masaya na ako na kahit papa'no, naranasan ko kung pa'no ka magpahalaga." She cupped my face. "Stop worrying, okay? Everything will fall into place sooner or later. You just have to wait."
Ngumiti ako ng malungkot. "Thank you for being my calmer."
"Why are you still upset? May iba pa bang gumugulo sa isip mo other than this issue?"
"Hera. . ." Bahagyang nabasag ang boses ko. "Hera cheated on me with Aldred."
"What??" I can sense the shock in her tone. "But I thought everything was going smooth between you and her? What happened? Hera's madly in love with you. Are you really sure?"
Tumawa ako ng sarkastiko. Mababanaag ang pait sa mga mata ko. "I saw them making out with Hera half naked."
The shock's now visible in her face.
"What the actual fuck?" She covered her mouth in shock. "Oh my god I still can't process all this infos. Give me a minute to digest it. Are you serious?"
Mataman niya akong tinitigan.
"Oh my god, you really are serious."
"Why would I lie about her cheating on me?" I raised my eyebrows in disbelief.
"I'm sorry." she smiled apologetically. "Hindi ko lang maimagine si Hera na niloloko ka."
"She actually did it a lot of times." I lazily sat on the couch.
"What the fuck? Bakit hindi ko alam 'to?"
"I just wanted to protect her. She's also your bestfriend kaya ayaw kong magbago yung tingin mo sa kan'ya." I scoffed. "I think I protected the wrong person.
Nakabibinging katahimikan ang pumagitan sa amin.
"Vandrei." She sat beside me and looked intently at me.
"Hm?"
"Give me a chance and I won't hurt you the way she did."
She paused for a minute.
"This time, I'll fight for what I've been wanting for so long." Without a blink of an eye, she genlty kissed my lips.
