SURRENDER

ONE: KRION

[present year: 2012]

Nagising si Krion dahil sa sinag ng araw na dumako sa kanyang mukha. He mentally cursed, blaming himself for not closing the curtains before he slept last night.

Akmang babangon na siya nang maramdaman ang isang hubad na katawan sa tabi niya. Dahil sa kanyang paggalaw ay lalong hinigpitan ng kung sinumang iyon ang pagkakapulupot nito sa kanya.

"Krion ..." Umungol pa ito. "Honey, do you want another round?"

It was a girl.

Muli ay minura niya ang sarili. How far gone was he last night that he forgot one of the very few rules he followed in his life? Na hindi dapat mag-uwi ng babae sa bahay niya. Usually, when he slept with a woman, he always made sure it was at her place or someplace else. Never at his condo.

Damn.

Mariin siyang napapikit at pinagdasal na bigyan siya ng kaunting pasensiya. "Please get the fuck off me, woman," mahinahong wika ni Krion. He rolled farther off the side of the bed to get away from the woman and hopefully get his senses back and running. "And get out."

The woman apparently wasn't having any of it dahil matinis ang tinig na bumulyaw pa ito ng: "Krion!"

Tila tinusok naman niyon ang ulo niya dahil naramdaman niya ang matinding kirot sa kanyang sentido. Hangovers and girls really didn't mix well with each other, and he should have known better.

Fuck.

Ilang bote ba ng alak ang nainom niya kagabi at ganoon nalang ang estado niya nang umagang iyon? Krion could usually hold his alcohol. Malamang ay lumampas nga siya sa alcohol limit niya. He didn't always lose control, but when nights like last night came, and the nightmares were so vivid it was like reliving the exact same tragedy seven years ago, he knew he had to forget and lose himself any way he could.

"Seriously, whoever you are, I'm trying to be nice here," aniya sa tonong ginagamit kapag bata ang kausap. Hindi niya parin ito tinitingnan dahil ipinatong niya ang braso sa noo sa pagbabakasakaling maibsan man lang niyon ang sakit ng kanyang ulo.

"What the hell?!" The woman hissed. "You just fucked the life out of me and now you don't even remember me?! Are you for real?"

Napabuntong-hininga siya. Kung alam niya lang ang sakit ng ulong idudulot nito sa kanya ay hindi na siya nag-abala pang ikama ito. He looked at his bedside clock. 10 in the morning and too early for girl drama. 

Then he looked at the woman – naked and angry. Normally it would have aroused him, but in that moment, everything was just pissing him off. "Last time I checked," sagot niya lang.

Lalong nag-usok ang mga butas sa ilong nito."How dare you!"

He really was in no mood for bullshit. Ibinalik niya ang braso sa noo at pumikit, a clear sign of dismissal. "Shut up. I'm tired and hungover, gusto kong matulog. Get dressed, and help yourself out."

"What?!"

Her shrieks were really piercing through his head and he was about done with whoever this woman was. Bahagya siyang bumangon at hinarap ito. "Are you deaf or are you just not right in the head? I. Said. Get. The. Fuck. Out."

"You jerk! Don't you know who the fuck I am?!"

"Who are you?" Honestly, Krion really didn't know. With her looks, she could very easily be an actress or a socialite. But frankly, he didn't care either.

"Fuck you!"

"I just did, remember?"

Tila dahil don ay mas lalo pa itong naburyo sa kanya. "I am Criszelda Montemayor, Krion Luifranco," matigas na wika pa nito habang nagdadamit.