Hoax (VBoys Series #1)

003

EUNICE

"Ah, my head hurts." kaagad na sabi ko nang magmulat.

Damn. Naparami yata ako ng inom kagabi. Hangovers. Ugh, I hate this.

Napabuntong-hininga na lamang ako. Last night went well, I think. Wala naman akong naaalalang may nagawa akong kahihiyan or something. I just got drunk... I hope. Pasalamat ko na lang sa Diyos na walang pasok ngayon, and that I didn't have an irregular schedule. That would've been a nightmare to wake up to.

I got up from my bed and headed straight to the bathroom. Naghilamos ako at nag-toothbrush para tuluyang magising ang diwa ko. As I was drying my face with a towel, biglang tumunog ang phone ko.

I wiped my wet hands on the towel as well before I reached to grab my phone. Nang makita kong may nag-chat sa'kin ay agad ko 'yong binuksan.

Sky: hello, Eunice! thank you for last night! i had fun! <3

I smiled. I almost forgot that I've made new friends last night. Nakalimutan ko na rin kung paanong nahanap ni Sky ang account ko. We must've exchanged social media accounts last night.

I replied to her message with a "thank you" before putting my phone down again. Naligo na rin ako pagkatapos kong maghilamos. I had nothing planned today so I only wore a tee and shorts. Inipit ko lang din sa ponytail ang buhok ko nang matuyo.

"Good morning, Ma!" bati ko kay Mama nang makita ko siya sa kusina. I kissed her cheek before standing next to her.

"Good morning, 'nak." pilit na bati niya sa'kin at ngumiti ng matamlay.

My forehead immediately creased as I stared at my mother. Hindi man niya sabihin, ngunit bakas na bakas ang lungkot sa mukha niya. She looked tired and gloomy. Agad naman akong nag-alala.

"Are you okay, Ma? Parang ang tamlay mo," I asked and held her shoulder. "May sakit ka ba?"

Pilit ulit siyang ngumiti sa'kin. "Wala. Ayos lang ako. Napuyat lang."

"Bakit ka naman napuyat?" I asked as I raised a brow.

"Hindi lang ako nakatulog kaagad. This is nothing." paliwanag niya.

"Dapat kasi hindi ka umiinom ng kape sa gabi. Tignan mo, nahihirapan ka tuloy makatulog," parang nanay na sermon ko, when in fact she was the mother between the two of us.

Nginitian niya lang ako para mapalampas ko ang ginawa niya, but her smile kept bothering me. It looked so... sad. I've never seen my mom like this before.

"Ma, okay ka lang ba talaga? Magsabi ka sa'kin. Nag-aalala ako sa'yo." pamimilit ko as I held both of her shoulders to face her towards me.

She gave me another smile, holding one of my hands that was on her shoulder. "I'm fine, Eunice. Don't worry about me."

I wasn't convinced. I knew there was something wrong, pero ayaw kong kulitin si Mama. She looked really tired. Maybe she needed rest.

"Si Kuya, kailan uuwi?" tanong ko kay Mama.

"I don't know. Wala pa siyang nababanggit." she shrugged.

"How about Papa? Hindi pa ba siya babalik?" sunod na pangunguwestiyon ko.

My mother seemed to have froze with the mention of my father. Para siyang video game character na nag-lag sa harapan ko. I was about to call her, but then she recovered and turned to me.