Reckless Abandon

Chapter Five

Eureka's POV

The next morning I drove to Arthur's place with my sleek Audi R8 that was just shipped from LA. Sa wakas at dumating na siya. I missed driving her so bad!

I pulled over and parked my car in their big parking lot. When I came in, Arthur's dad greeted me.

"Eureka, hija," ngumiti siya at bineso ako. "I heard from Lawrence (my dad) na bumalik ka na raw dito. Are you sure you're... okay?"

Pinilit kong ngumiti. "Yes, tito. Okay na ako. Nandito ho ba si Arthur? May gusto po sana akong sabihin sa kanya, tito."

"Yes, nasa kwarto niya pa rin siya. Go ahead, make yourself at home."

"Thanks, tito."

One thing na hindi ko talaga ma gets, eh kung bakit naging ganito si Arthur. His parents are kind and are both smart, malas lang talaga nila at may anak silang may saltik.

And just like me, Arthur lived his whole life in a spacious mansion, with the world on our feet. I opened his room and surprisingly, walang nagbago sa kwarto niya. He is still the same kid from years ago, but with a body of a grown man. I don't want to be like this guy at all.

"Hoy Arthur!!!" Pinitik ko ang noo niya para siya ay gumising. "Arthur, kailangan kitang makausap."

"About what?" singhal niya sa akin habang bumabangon sa kama niya. "God what time is it?"

I rolled my eyes. "Alas dose na ng tanghali, ngayon ka pa magigising? What have you been doing in your life? Tumulong ka naman kay Tita sa negosyo niyo."

He groans as he rubbed his temples. "I'm a useless bastard, Eureka. Wala akong interes sa pagnenegosyo. Teka nga, pumunta ka ba dito para makialam sa buhay ko? What the fuck do you want?"

"Nandito ako para sabihin sayo na tigilan mo na si Buenaventura."

"At bakit ko naman gagawin yon?"

"Because he doesn't deserve any of these."

"He doesn't deserve it?" he retorted. "He was caught hooking up with my girlfriend! Ang dapat sa kanya binabasag ang mukha para maturuan ng leksyon!"

"Hindi naman niya alam na may boyfriend si Miranda. Hindi naman niya sinasadya yun."

"Oh yeah? So you're saying Miranda just accidentally landed on his lap?!"

"Sarili mo na lang ba talaga ang pakikinggan mo, Arthur? Why don't you ask Miranda what really happened!? It's all her fault kasi hindi niya napigilan ang kati niya kaya pumatol siya sa iba kahit na boyfriend ka niya!"

Nakita kong kumuyom ang mga palad niya. "Shut the fuck up! It's not her fault!"

"Bakit mo ba pinagtatanggol ang malanding iyon? She just keeps on cheating on you! But why do you still keep a blind eye on her mistakes?"

"Because I love her." he paused. He actually looked surprised he said those words. "Why don't you ask the same thing to yourself, Eureka? Eh diba pareho naman tayo? Amadeus cheated on you, but you still--"

"DON'T!" I shouted. "Don't... even mention that in front of my face." I gulped. "What do you want, really? Wala namang intensyon si Enrico na kunin sayo si Miranda. What happened was clearly a drunken kiss and it was your girlfriend's fault! Ano bang gagawin ko para tuluyan mo na siyang titigilan?"

"I will never stop until I kill that son of a bitch. And don't even act innocent now. Ikaw ang nagbigay sa akin ng impormasyon kung sino siya."

I closed my eyes shut. "Look, Arthur. That was a mistake. Akala ko kasi masama siyang tao na pwede mong paglaruan ang buhay! Please, maawa ka naman sa tao!"

"Now you're begging for this guy. Alam mo, Eureka, we really have something in common. Do you wanna hear it? Alam mo kasi, pareho tayong tanga. This Buenaventura guy has a reputation yet you're begging for me to stop teaching him a lesson. Miranda might be a cheating whore, but she's mine. And you can't blame me for not letting go of her, no matter how toxic our relationship had been for the past year. Katulad ng nangyari sayo, three years ago, remember?"

Just by that, mabilis na bumalik sa aking isipan ang mga nangyari sa akin. Biglang nag dilim ang paningin ko at kinuha ang kanyang lampshade at binato ito sa sahig.

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO MENTION ANYTHING ABOUT THAT!" I screamed.

"Eureka, we all know what you did."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

I thrashed his room in one sweep of anger. He sat on his bed while he watched me throw away all his things and broke every furniture he had. He watched me, unblinking, unbothered by my rage. When I calmed down, I stood at the foot of his bed.

"I am telling you, Arthur. You need to stop. Just stop."

"You're just like me Eureka. You were fucked over by a person you loved the most kaya ka nagkaganyan. And as for me, I love Miranda, like I really do. She's a bad girlfriend and I'm a bad boyfriend. But we belong to each other. And I would kill anyone who would get in our way."

"He doesn't want anything that has to do with your slutty girlfriend."

"Fine then. If you care about him that much. I'm already bored of him anyway."

Wow, I did not expect him to give it up so easy.

"Are you going to stop scaring him and his family?" I dubiously asked.

"Eureka, just go. As long as he will stay away from me and my girl."

"Swear to your life?"

"Sinabi ko na nga eh diba?" iritang sabi niya at bumalik sa pagkakahiga.

"I'll take your word for it, psychopath."

"You and me both."

I slammed his door shut and left.

When I got to my car, I took a few calming breaths and tried to forget the memories Arthur made me remember. Kahit anong pilit kong kalimutan lahat, kahit gaano kalayo pa ako pumunta para magtago, kahit anong gawin ko, hindi sapat ang tatlong taon para mawaglit ang lahat sa isipan ko.

No matter how much I try, alam kong hindi pa rin tuluyang naghihilom lahat ng sakit at pagsisisi na nararamdaman ko.

All Rights Reserved 2020. Published 04/02/20