"I want the truth now"
Walang umimik. Mommy was still crying.
"I SAID I WANT THE F*CKING TRUTH NOW!"
Napasigaw kami ng Mommy habang umiiyak dahil sa pagsigaw ni Kuya. Dad was just there, standing, looking at us.
"Hannah"
Tumingin sakin si kuya at hinawakan ang mga kamay ko. Nagmamakaawa ang kanyang mga mata. "Please, tell me"
Huminga akong malalim at tumingin kay Dad. He mouthed "Don't" pero hindi ko pinansin yun.
"He deserves to know the truth" I said.
Tumingin ako ulit kay Kuya. Hindi tumitigil ang pagtulo ng kanyang mga luha.
"They were not originally my friends Kuya, they were yours."
Confusion was evident all over Kuya's face. Napaupo na lang si Dad at si Mommy naman, patuloy na umiiyak sa tabi ni Kuya.
I sighed again.
"I met them when I came back to the Philippines to get away from this mess"
"What mess?" Kuya
Tumingin ako sa parents namin. Dad was throwing daggers at me through his looks. Mom's tears won't stop from falling.
"This. Our family...and you being on an accident without us even knowing."
Napakunot ang noo ni kuya.
"You didn't know I got into an accident?"
Umiling ako. "I just found out a month after, when you were still unconscious at a hospital in LA. Mom and Dad hid it from us."
Napalingon si Kuya kila Dad and Mom.
"Why did you hide it from them?" Dad kept silent. "Mom?"
Napataas ang ulo ni Mommy nang marinig nya ang pagsambit sakanya ng kuya pero hindi pa rin sya nakasagot.
"Hannah, continue" seryosong sabi ni Kuya sakin.
"I didn't want to leave you Kuya but I when I found out the reason why they tried to hid it from us, I felt so disgusted and fed up of this family so I ran away."
"That's enough Hannah."
Tumingin lang akong masama kay Dad at pinagpatuloy ang sinasabi ko kay Kuya.
"I went to the Philippines, started a new life there until she saw me..." napatingin ako kay kuya na mas lalong kumunot ang noo
"Who's she?"
"Hannah! I told you that's enough" Daddy
"Your girlfriend. Ate Kisses." Napanganga si Kuya sa sinabi ko. "The night before you got into an accident, you went to see her. You had a cool off before that but that night, you both agreed on fixing things up. The next day was your graduation but you never came. She never stopped looking for you, she kept waiting for you. She waited for days, days turned to months until she found out about me studying there. I told her I needed to heal myself before I help her with you. She was nice enough to agree to that and wait for me til I get healed, she was nice enough to cook me food, nice enough to offer me a bedroom in her condo, nice enough to lend me her ears when I wanted to talk to someone. She was there for me when nobody else was. Kisses and your friends became my family when I'm supposed to be with you guys."
"Hannah, I'm sorry" rinig kong sabi ni Mommy pero nakatingin lang ako kay Kuya. Mas lalong naguluhan si Kuya at patuloy pa rin ang pagtulo ng mga luha sa mga mata nya.
"We came here to fix things up. I wanted to patch up things with Mom and Dad. Kisses wanted to talk you even after knowing your engagement. We didn't know you have amnesia kuya."
"How did you know about the engagement?" Kuya asked.
"I came back here on my sembreak to check up on you but these parents of ours stopped me from seeing you. They threw me out. I went home to find out Kisses knew about it already. Iñigo and Maris happened to be here when your proposed to Maureen."
Napahawak muli si Kuya sa sentido ng ulo nya
"Then who is Maureen? I thought she was my girlfriend before I got my amnesia." Tanong ni kuya.
Hindi ako nakaimik.
Kumapit muli si Mommy sa mga braso ni kuya. "We asked her to pretend that you two have long been together."
"WHAT?! WHY?!" Sigaw ulit ng kuya.
Napatayo si Daddy sa kinauupuan nya. "BECAUSE OUR COMPANY IS FALLING AND WE NEEDED THEM TO SAVE IT."
"Are you that evil??? manipulative?? Asking a girl to fake our relationship just to save our company?!"
"Maureen was more than willing to do it. She's head over heels for you ever since you met years ago. She's the one who talked to her dad to marry you and save our company" pagpapaliwanag ng Mommy.
"And how about Kisses?! Have you ever thought of her? Of how she felt?" He asked.
"She's the reason why you got into an accident in the first place!" Sigaw ulit ng Daddy.
"Alam nating lahat hindi totoo yan Dad!" I blurted out.
"Tumahimik ka Hannah!"
"Kisses has been nothing but a sweetheart to all of us since the beginning! The best girlfriend to Kuya, a sister to me, and like a true child to you but what are you doing? Speaking ill of her, throwing insulting looks a while ago, why? Just so you can push your agenda with kuya to save your f*ckin company?!"
Akmang sasampalin na sana ako ni Daddy nang mapigilan ito ni Kuya. Nagulat ako na kaya akong sampalin ng daddy. Handa ako pero never maging handa ang mararamdaman ko.
"Hannah, let's go"
Kinuha ni kuya ang mga kamay ko at hinila palabas ng kwartong iyon.
"YOU TWO, COME BACK HERE!"
"THE MOMENT YOU STEP FOOT OUT OF THIS HOUSE, FORGET THAT YOU ARE MY SON AND DAUGHTER."
Napatigil sa paglalakad si Kuya at hinarap si Daddy.
"SORRY DAD BUT YOU ALREADY STOPPED BEING A PARENT TO HANNAH THE MOMENT YOU DUMPED HER JUST BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T LIKE YOUR IDEA OF SAVING OUR COMPANY. YOU STOPPED BEING A PARENT TO ME WHEN YOU DECIDED TO TAKE AWAY EVERYTHING FROM ME, INCLUDING MY MEMORIES"
Isinakay ako ni Kuya sa kotse nya. Walang umiimik. Patuloy na umaagos ang mga luha sa mga mata namin. Dumiretso kami sa apartment nya dito sa San Francisco.
"So much for Christmas Eve. Go ahead and rest" kuya said coldly.
I hugged him tight. He hugged me back pero kumalas din agad to sa yakap namin at dumiretso sa kwarto nya.
I'm sorry Kuya.
I'm sorry that this is happening to you.
