Frozen Fire

Chapter 27

New book cover! Is this better?

Chapter 27

Akala

Mabuti na rin at hindi ako nakatulog nang ihatid ako ni Phoenix pabalik sa bahay noong isang araw. I carefully retraced our path with of course, the help of a mobile app.

It was almost 6PM nang marating ko ang isang pamilyar na residential area.

I'm definitely near.

Lumiko ako sa isang pamilyar na eskinita at nakita na ang beachfront. Straight ahead is Phoenix's house.

May nakabukas na ilaw sa isa sa mga kwarto nito. I parked on the cemented side of the house and went out with the groceries and my duffle bag.

Nang marating ko ang pintuan ay doon ko lang napagtanto ang ginagawa ko.

Am I freaking insane?!

I drove for about three hours for the guy I hate the most!

I stood there contemplating whether I should just go back to Manila and forget that I even drove three hours to get here.

I sighed.

It took a long time to get here, ngayon pa ba ako aatras?

Inayos ko ang pagkakahawak sa mga groceries sa isang kamay. I knocked on the door using my free hand.

Three knocks.

Walang sumagot.

"Phoenix?" I shouted nang sa ganun ay marinig niya.

Ngunit wala pa rin.

I knocked again.

Wala pa rin.

Napatingin ako sa bintana na may sumisilip na liwanag. He must be here. He should be.

Where else would he be?

Isang katok pa ay wala pa ring nagbukas.

I reached for the knob and twisted it.

It's open.

I slowly widened the opening of the door. Sinilip ko ang loob at nakitang madilim ang sala. I opened the door and let myself in. I closed the door once I was inside.

I know that I may be invading somebody's privacy but, I still let myself inside.

I reached for the light switch para naman ay makita ko ang dinadaanan ko. I called for Phoenix again but there was no answer.

Inilapag ko ang mga dala kong plastic at ang duffle bag ko sa sofa.

Umakyat ako ng hagdan at tumungo sa kwarto ni Phoenix.

I knocked on his door and a grunt was all I got.

I called for Phoenix once more ngunit walang sagot. I decided to open the door instead dahil baka kung ano na ang nangyari kay Phoenix.

And there he was. Nakasalampak sa sahig at nakasandal sa kanyang kama while holding a bottle of liquor. He looked drunk and out of his mind. Empty bottles of beer were scattered on the floor. Mukhang marami-rami na rin siyang nainom.

"Phoenix! What the hell happened to you?" I asked, still looking around in his messy room.

He opened his eyes ever so slightly. Napakunot ang noo niya.

"Who the hell are you?! And what are you doing inside my house?!" he shouted, his words were slurring and are barely recognizable.

"You left your door open, dumbass. Anyone can sneak in here without you knowing," sabi ko. I went near him ngunit napatigil ako ng bigla niyang itinaas ang boteng hawak niya at itinutok sa akin. Dahil sa ginawa niyang iyon ay natapon sa damit niya ang alak.