Before The Last Sunset [Before Trilogy #1]

21

In a matter of minutes, she was here. 

Summer ran inside the house, panting. I immediately stood up from the couch when I saw her. There were bags under her eyes, her hair in a messy bun and she wore a big shirt, shorts and slippers. She looked like she was actually in a hurry to get here. I instantly felt guilty making her come over this late. 

She walked up to me, staring at my face. Her eyes softened when it met with my bloodshot ones. "Come here," she whispered, standing on her toes to encircle her arms around me. 

I buried my face in the crook of her neck. "Thank you," I mumbled. 

"Anytime, love," she assured, rubbing my back comfortingly. "No need to thank me." 

We went up to the balcony to talk. We both sat beside each other in silence. The cold wind of the night blew as we stared at the moon. Her hands caressed mine, silently telling me that she was here for me. She said nothing as she just waited for me to speak. I tried to collect my thoughts so I could explain to her. 

"Everything's a mess," I started with a bitter chuckle. "Ang daming nangyari...hindi ko alam kung saan ako magsisimula."

"Take your time. I'm listening," she gave me a small smile. 

A few minutes passed before I got the courage to speak. "Yesterday, we found out Chelsea was sick. She developed asthma and had a severe attack last night. Her nightmares were the trigger. Now that I thought about it, her bad dreams started when I found mom going out of the guest room. I'm assuming that's when things started to go down with her in Dad. She wasn't dreaming, she heard them fighting in her sleep. Then after the first time Dad left, it became the subject of her dreams. I wish pieced everything together earlier. I wish I payed more attention," I had to stop to prevent myself from breaking down.

"We had to bring her to the hospital. Dad wasn't too happy when he found his daughter in the ER. I mean, who would? I had to tell him about Mom's absence as well, which just made him angrier. Then annulment papers were delivered to him which pushed him to his limit. Mom was the one who filed for it. It was the reason why she was so busy the past week."

Her lips parted in shock, but quickly turned into a thin line. She looked at me in pity. I tried to force a smile, but I felt my eyes start to water again. 

"He confronted her again. It led to yet another argument. Ang dami nilang pinagtalunan...a mistress, the lack of trust, lack of time," I went on. "Hindi ko nga alam kung sino dapat kong paniwalaan, e. Ni hindi ko nga alam na ganyan na pala kalalim 'yung pinag-aawayan nila. Akala ko maayos lang lahat...I was so blind." 

I continued to tell her about the damage. I told her about the confrontations, the way I had to choose between my Mom and Dad, how they left, how I had to let Mom go. All the darkest thoughts of my brain, I told Summer. It was like I was bearing my soul to her. I have never been the person to confront my feelings and let myself be vulnerable. All of this was new to me and it was overwhelming. But I choose to confide in Summer. I felt comfort whenever I talked to her. I felt like someone was actually listening, that someone actually cared. 

"My parents are good pretenders," I chuckled bitterly, shaking my head. "Now I understand why you hate liars. It's so fucked up...they're so fucked up." 

Summer looked down and played with our fingers. She let out a heavy sigh before speaking. "I'm sure they had their reasons. They only did what they thought was best for you,." 

"And look where it got us, in shambles. In chaos."

"What could've you done to prevent this, Chase? It wasn't your battle to fight."