THE HUNTER'S TRAP (frankiana)

Chapter 18

Franki's POV

Isang umaga, dumalaw ako sa isang restaurant namin na pinamahalaan naman ni Mae.

"Nakakairita. Inuuna pa yung landi kaysa trabaho tsk.."

"Ang sabihin mo, nagseselos ka."

"Ako? Magseselos? Bakit naman ako magseselos?."

"Hindi ko alam. Baka nahuhulog na pala ang loob mo kay Diana haha. I know I know, sasabihin mo na naman sakin na Of course not, I don't like girls blah blah blah diba?. Sige, deny pa."

"Wala akong gusto kay Diana."

"Liar."

"No, I'm not."

"You're saying that it's nothing, you're saying that you're not jealous but when I look at your face, I know you're such a terrible liar. You can never hide a mark made by love, Franki. You can never deny the obvious. Char, english yun. Nabasa ko yun dun sa book na sinulat ng Tito mo. Yung Preys at Night."

"What if sabihin ko sayong hindi sya ang sumulat nun?."

"What do you mean?."

"I wrote that piece of art Mae. I was there when all of it happened."

"Wait, sinasabi mo bang true story yun?."

"Oo. There are 3 survivors in that story. Although I changed the characters, but it was actually me and my parents. The reason why it's a cliff hanger is because he changed the ending. He refused to tell the story's true culprit because he knew how it would make our lives miserable. He published it under his name because he wanted to protect me and my family. I realized that recently."

"So sino? Sino talaga ang may gawa nun? Sino ang pumapatay?."

"The mansion has the initials MMM in its front door. One of us said it stands for Master Mackey's Mansion. And you know what's even crazier? Yung pinsan ng biktimang si Emma Marcelo, si Veah. She called Diana, Mackey."

"You think si Diana yun?."

"What? Of course not, silly. I was eight when that happened. Pero pakiramdam ko she's related to that guy."

"Tinawag lang ng Mackey related na? Franki, maraming Frances ang pangalan sa mundo pero ikaw yung pinagdududahan nila, not because of your name but because of your relation to the victims. See, it can't be the other way around. At saka, these aren't making any sense at all. Alam mo, stressed ka lang. Mabuti pa, umuwi ka at itulog mo yan." At yun nga ang ginawa ko.

Hapon na nang magising ako. Nanood lang ako ng movie sa room ko at kumain ng pop corn.

Medyo nakalimutan ko na ang mga bumabagabag sa isip ko nang biglang pumasok si Diana sa kwarto ko at diretsong bumagsak sa tabi ko. Anong nangyari dito?

Amoy alak.

"Wuy Diana, lasing ka ba?."

"Wala kang pakialam." Lasing nga to.

"Ang tanga tanga ko, tanga tanga mo talaga Diana. Of course, his dad killed daddy!." Sabi pa niya. Teka, dahil sa kalasingan niya, nasasabi nya ang mga gantong bagay.

Pinatighaya ko sya, nakapikit lang siya. She's crying. Pinabangon ko siya at niyakap.

"It's okay. Everything's going to be fine. Shshshs. Tahan na Diana, tahan na."

Kumawala na kami. We found ourselves staring at each other intently for a moment when her eyes dropped on my lips and suddenly pressed it to hers. Gosh, her lips are so soft. At first, I freaked out. I didn't know what the fck to do. She just caught me off guard. But the following seconds, I got myself reciprocating to that kiss. I found our lips moving hungrily.

Fck this feels really good until I realized what's really happening, Diana's drunk and I'm taking advantage of her.

FLASHBACK

"Wala akong gusto kay Diana."

EOFB

Talaga lang Franki ah.

"Diana, you're drunk. We can't do this." I said cupping her face.

"Who cares?." She said kissing me back, taking every cloth covering my body. And the rest is history.

..

Diana's POV

KINABUKASAN

Sobrang sakit ng ulo ko. Ang naaalala ko lang is JM invited me to his bar. Nauna syang malasing at doon niya nasabi sakin lahat. Pati ang pagpatay ng daddy niya sa daddy ko.

Lasing na lasing narin ako nang sunduin ako ni Sir Gino at inuwi sa bahay. After nun wala na akong maalala.

Teka, bakit ang lamig? Anong oras na ba? Papasok pa ako sa boutique.

Bumangon na ako. Wait, bakit ako andito sa kwarto ni Franki?
Bakit nakakalat ang mga damit ko sa sahig. Sht, is that my underwear? Which means--

Napasigaw nalang ako once makita kong wala akong suot.

"Fck. What have I done? Dianaaaa. Ang tanga mo talaga, ano na namang ginawa mo this time?. Sabi kasing wag iinom." Dali dali akong nagbihis. Where's Franki?

Tiningnan ko lang ang sarili ko sa salamin. Diring diri ako sa sarili ko. Pinagsamantalahan niya ako.

Ang mas nakakainis pa, may nangyari na pero wala akong nakuha mula sa kaniya. Yung tattoo, hindi ko nakita. Ibig sabihin, ew! No! Yuck! Diana, don't you dare think of doing that thing again with her. That's so gross.

Pero kailangan. Kailangan mong makita ang tattoo. Napapaiyak nalang ako. Ano ba talagang nangyari? May nangyari ba talaga?

FF

Nasa office nako dito sa boutique ko, sketching for new designs. I can't focus. Pinipilit ko paring inaalala lahat ng mga nangyari kagabi.

Nagulat ako ng biglang may kumalabit sakin,

"Ay Franki!." Napasigaw ako.

"Ma'am Diana, hindi po ako si Ma'am Franki. Ako po si Ara." Sabi ng isa naming empleyado.

"Wag ka kasing nanggugulat."

"Sasabihin ko lang naman po sana sa inyo na may bisita po kayo sa baba."

"Huh? Sino daw?."

"John Medina daw po eh."

Anong ginagawa ng lalaking yun dito?

Sumunod nako kay Ara.

"Busy ka pa ba? Pasensya na kagabi ah? Masyado kasi akong nalasing, hindi ko na alam kung anong pinag gagawa at pinagsasabi ko. Wala naman siguro akong nasabing masama--"

"Ah Wala. Nung nalasing ka, umalis na din naman ako agad syempre trabaho." Syempre, I won't tell him that he accidentally spilled the truth to me last night. Besides, wala naman siyang kinalaman sa pagpatay ng daddy niya sa daddy ko. And I'm sure pinaghahanap narin ng mga police ang daddy niya. Sana matagpuan na siya para mabayaran nya na lahat ng mga kasalanan niya.

"So, uhm malapit na lunch break mo."

"Yeah 5 minutes nalang. Pero I have a lot to do pa kasi JM eh. Next time nalang."

"How about dinner?."

"I'll think about it. Sorry talaga ah?."

"No problem. It's completely fine Diana. Importante yan eh. Sige, I think I have to go na. Bye." He said kissing me on my cheeks. I was a bit shocked by the gesture pero hayaan mo na nga lang Diana.