I tried my best not to mind his stares by just looking straight at my plate.
"So Veign, Vinny and Geniece goes to the same school?" Dad asked.
Tito Phil nodded, "Yes. So I guess the the both of you are familiar with Geniece, especially that she's in section A," Tito said looking at the three of us.
Vinny's a year younger than I am, two years younger than Veign and five years younger than their eldest sibling, Void.
"I see her quite a lot in the campus," Vinny shyly answered. Not looking at us. And everybody then looked at Veign, waiting for his answer. Para naman syang natulala.
"Never seen her before," he said, staring at me intently.
His words hammered through my ears. I dropped my utensils and looked the other way. There was this secret tension between Me and Veign, and it's slowly killing me.
"Oh, how about you, anak?" Mom looked at me.
I pinched my right leg secretly to push my tears back, I inhaled slowly, giving them a small smile, "I've seen Vinny in the campus quite often, too," I politely answered, forcing a smile once again.
A tear was trying to escape from my eye. It made Mom stare at me, she knew I was uncomfortable, but I nodded at her telling that I was alright. I faced Veign's parents again, they were waiting for something else. So I looked down, and exhaled sharply, "Veign.... I somehow had my best memories with him," I answered, making all of them look at me surprisingly. Even Veign was caught off guard.
"Oh, so you've been with him before?" Dad asked. I dreaded the question, it was complicated, I didn't know what to answer. But all of them were staring at me, anticipation were visible in each of their eyes. Even Veign's brother, Void that was emotionless the whole dinner became curious.
"Y-yes," I stammered.
"Oh that's cool!" Tita Lorina exclaimed, "So you're close friends?" She asked the both of us.
"No"
"Yes"
There, my heart broke. I stood up and realized that our answers gave tension to the dining area, "Excuse me. Nature calls," I bowed as I tried to run. But I suddenly forgot about my ankle. I stumbled, I heard them gasp, I heard my parents calling my name, but all I gave attention to was Veign's face infront of me. He looked worried. I was now unable to stop my tears to fall. He was about to touch me but I gathered all my strength to stand up and walk as fast as I could to the lawn.
I wiped my tears and sat on the Bermuda Grass. I was staring blankly. Mental cusses escaped my head, we made a scene.
And he denied me. He rejected me. He fucking hurt me entirely, "Can you forgive him?"
A husky voice spoke beside me. Chills ran down my spine as I saw him, Void. Veign's brother. He looks like Veign but a more mature version of him. His body is well-built and his eyes were more dull and sophisticated than Veign's.
"I d-don't know," I said with all honesty.
"He told me about you," he said, his voice still dead and emotionless, "He told me how wonderful you are," then, he faced me, chills then came to me when we stared at each other, "He told me that you're beautiful. And... he's not wrong."
Void was mysterious and somewhat intimidating. But there was something about him that made me feel comfortable around him, "Thank you?" I said, confused, I then laid on the grass, looking at the moon and the stars. It was a beautiful sight. I've always loved the night sky.
In my peripherals I saw Void doing the same thing that I did. He stared into the sky with his hands on his stomach, "Sometimes we need darkness to see more beautiful things in life," he mumbled.
