Meet Me at the Crossroad

Chapter 19

Igiboy

7:47 PM

You:

Hey

How's Sheila?

Anong nangyari?

9:23 PM

You:

Nakauwi na ba kayo?

Is she confined?

Okay na ba siya?

10:36 PM

You:

U still there?

I'm starting to worry na

Lying on my bed, I sighed and buried my face on my pillow when I didn't receive any replies from him throughout the rest of the day. My messages aren't getting delivered. Hindi pa siguro siya nagbubukas ng phone.

Ni hindi na nga siya nakapagpaalam kay Mommy kanina dahil nagmamadali siyang umalis. I bit my nails, feeling anxious. Nakatulog na lang ako kakahintay sa reply niya.

I started to overthink when almost two weeks had passed, but I still didn't get an update from Iggy. As much as I wanted to visit them, I can't leave the house dahil bantay-sarado ako ni Daddy. I already asked Patricia pero wala rin siyang alam sa nangyayari. Ganoon din si Sean na hanggang ngayon ay naka-confine pa rin sa ospital.

Every now and then, I would check our conversation to see if there are any replies from him but I'm not getting any. Wala siyang paramdam. Hindi niya rin nase-seen ang mga chat ko. Halos hindi na ako makatulog gabi-gabi kakaisip kung napaano na ba sila. I don't even have an idea whether Sheila had a previous diagnosis or an accident happened to her so she was rushed to the hospital. Hindi ko na alam kung kanino ako magtatanong.

I was lounging on the couch, nanonood ng IG stories ng mutuals ko upang libangin ang sarili. Then I stumbled upon the IG story of Iggy's friend, uploaded just now. My eyebrows furrowed when I saw Iggy on the video, umiinom kasama ang mga kaibigan niya. He seems okay. He seems happy and nonchalant. They're really having a good time -- everyone's dancing along with the blaring music while holding red cups.

Shaky ang video ngunit nahagip ng camera na may kasama siyang babae. Nakayakap ang braso nito sa baywang niya at may binubulong na kung ano habang tumatawa. I have no idea who she is. I felt a sting in my chest, unable to react or move.

The video ended there. I turned my phone down and scoffed in disbelief. Something snapped inside of me. I cannot stand it. I cannot fathom why he was out there, partying with his friends, habang 'yung kapatid niya ay nasa ospital daw, tapos heto ako... alalang-alala sa pangyayaring walang kasiguraduhan kung totoo nga ba.

I know I shouldn't be mad. Maybe he just wanted to loosen up. Maybe he just wanted to take a break because he was having too much on his plate. Kaya lang... bakit ganoon? Matapos niyang iparamdam sa akin na importante ako, babalewalain niya ako sa isang iglap... na para bang hindi na ako dapat maging parte ng mga kaganapan niya sa buhay.