This is a Love Story

The Fragile Boy

"Hi Karl" Ana lifted the corner of the blanket and peeked at the boy nestled inside. Karl grunted  a reply. His hair was disheveled and his eyes were swollen shut.

"Someone left a basket of fruits for you at the lobby. I placed it on your kitchen table so don't forget to check on it later"

Karl sat up in an instant. "Kanino galing?"

"The card said that it came from your foolishly loyal follower, DearKarlAlmasen"

Ana gave the boy an accusing look, "Sino ba sa akalà mo ang nagpadalá?"

Karl plopped back on the bed and pulled the blanket over his head once more.

"Ang press release mo ay may sakít ka kayâ ayán tulóy nag-áalalá ang mga fans mo"

Ana rose from the bed and started picking up the discarded clothes and whatnots lying haphazardly around the room.

Karl lazily got up again, "Akó na lang ang mag-aayos niyán mamayâ"

"That's what you said yesterday Karl"

"You are obviously not in the mood to talk so I'll get going na" She strode off towards the door and gave the boy another once over before pulling the door shut. And Karl was once again left alone.

A few minutes later, he received a message from Ana.

"Bestie, sorry. Stressed out lang akó ngayón. Mahál kitá. Tulóg ka na"

It had only been a week so it's quite reasonable, Karl thought, that he be allowed a longer time to grieve for the demise of a four-year relationship. Afterall, no one could ever gauge the depth of one's heartbreak.

He needed that time to adjust to a life without Russell because, as silly as it may seem, in the four years that they were together it felt like a large part of it was punctuated by his presence.

Sometimes, in his loneliness, regrets would even creep up and Karl would have to think of his mother. Because it was right after his parents separated that his unwavering mother gathered him in her arms and told him that love and growth should always be present in a relationship. Without the other, a relationship could either turn selfish or it could unfold into an obsession.

So, if Karl will be asked to pinpoint the exact moment when he realized that his relationship with Russell has reached it's breaking point, he would single out that day when the latter asked him to take a break from his studies to accompany him on a work-related project abroad.

"Tutál, first-year ka pa lang namán, kaya mo pang humabol sa súsunód na semester" said Russell nonchalantly over breakfast and Karl almost said yes when it hit him.

How many times has this happened before?
How many times has Russell used him as his emotional support without care for his opinions and even less for his well-being?

And how many times has Karl let him?

It was the answer to the last question that made Karl leave.