Emerald Eyes

Chapter 14: Exposure

I woke up when I felt a hand caressing my cheek. I slowly opened my eyes and saw a faint figure of a person sitting beside me. Ngunit napapikit ako ulit dahil sa ilaw na nanggagaling sa lamparang nasa bedside table.

"Ven?" I heard Vyl's voice. I opened my eyes again and saw his worried expression. "How are you feeling?"

Instead of answering him, ipinalibot ko ang aking paningin sa paligid. Nandito na ako ulit sa kuwarto. My gaze fell on the wall clock and saw that it's already midnight.

"W-What happened?" The question came out more like a whisper. My memory is a bit hazy so I'm not sure what happened but I do remember falling from the roller coaster with Vyl. Then the floating thing and after that, it's all a bit unclear.

"After you passed out, I brought you back home." He's now currently caressing my head gently. "Get back to sleep. You need to rest."

"W-What happened to the people? I mean, the ones who saw us. And what about Drake?"

"I casted a spell to alter their memories of what happened. I replaced their memory so no one will remember it. Rest assured. And Drake is fine. I brought him in his unit."

Nakahinga naman ako ng maluwag. I stared at him again and noticed something. Besides the relief expression, maybe because I'm alright, there's something else. He looks somewhat exhausted. A bit pale even. I touched his right cheek and caressed it

"Are you okay?" I asked him worriedly. Instead of answering, hinawakan niya ang kamay kong nakalapat sa pisnge niya at pinisil ito. "Just a bit tired. There were so many people who saw us. I altered all of their memories."

Pumikit siya at huminga ng malalim. "Being here in your world is a disadvantage for my powers. I'm weaker than my normal strength."

Unti-unti niyang ibinuka ang kaniyang mga mata at doon naging klaro ang pagod na nakatago rito. There were thousands of people in that amusement park. Thousand pairs of eyes saw what happened. At mag-isa niyang binura o pinalitan ang kanilang memorya para hindi ito maalala. I suddenly felt worried for him.

"You should rest too. We're both tired," sabi ko ngunit nanatili lamang siyang nakatingin sa akin habang may marahang ngiti sa mga labi.

"I'm anxious, Ven."

Napakunot bigla ang noo ko dahil sa sinabi niya. "Of what? Anxious of what?"

"Don't you realize? Someone's after your life. And I'm one hundred percent sure that it's because of me."

Doon ko lang narealize ang lahat ng nangyari sa akin kanina. The knife thrown at my direction with exact precision. The roller coaster. Come to think of it, sa dinami-daming taong kasama naming nakasakay sa roller coaster, ako lang ang aksidenteng nahulog. Aksidente nga ba? Mga bakal lang sa parte ng inuupuan ko ang nakalas. It's obvious that it's targeting only me. I suddenly shivered at the thought.

Someone is actually trying to kill me.

"For the moon's sake Heavenly, they're after you and not me! And I know this is the Lunarians' doing." Pinisil niya ulit ang kamay kong hawak niya pa rin habang nanginginig ng kaunti. "I don't want to see you getting hurt. I don't want to put your life in danger."

This is the first time I saw Vyl like this. He's both scared and anxious. All because of me. I hate seeing that kind of expression. I feel like I'm bothering him, and I'm the kind of person who doesn't usually open up because I am afraid of bothering people. And now, this. Nahihirapan siya dahil sa akin.

I didn't say anything. Yes, I am scared but for some reason, having Vyl beside me makes my entire system at peace. I know he'll protect me no matter what.