Hi! Yes, I changed my username again. 4rtserenery na ngayon at sana last na 'to.

Enjoy Reading!

FAYE

I slowly opened my eyes, and Chase's worried face greeted me as he gently patted my cheek. Dahan dahan akong bumangon mula sa pagkakahiga at inilibot ang paningin sa kwartong pinaglalagyan naming dalawa.

Nangunot ang noo ko at tumingin kay Chase na nakatingin sa akin. Tumagal ang tingin ko sa kaniya dahil ang dami niyang pasa at galos sa katawan. Ang gwapong mukha niya naman na makinis noon, ngayon ay may mga pasa na.

"Are you... alright?" Nag-aalalang tanong niya at hinagod pa ako nang tingin. "May masakit ba sayo?"

"A-Ayos lang naman ako," malumay na sagot ko. "Ikaw? Ayos ka lang ba? Bakit ang dami mong sugat? Sinaktan ka ba nila? Anong ginawa nila sayo?"

Hindi ko mapigilan na paulanan siya ng sunod-sunod na tanong.

"I'm fine," ngumiti siya sa akin. "Hindi ko nga akalain na gagamutin nila ang sugat ko na sila mismo ang may gawa."

Napatango ako at nakahinga ng maluwag dahil ayos lang siya at mabuti rin na ginamot nila si Chase.

Naawa ba sila o wala silang choice?

"Wala man lang bang nakapansin sa atin kahapon?" tanong ko.

"Kahapon?" Nagtatakang tanong niya. "Three days have passed since they took us and brought us here. You slept for three days."

My eyes widened because of what he said. I slept for three days! Three days!

Bakit ang bilis naman?

"W-What?" I asked in disbelief.

Tumango naman siya sa akin at tipid na ngumiti. Nakita ko kung paano siya nahihirapang kumilos at dahil siguro iyon sa sugat na nakuha niya. At nakikita ko rin sa mukha niya na masakit ang sugat niya.

Muli kong inilibot ang paningin ko sa kwartong kinalalagyan namin ngayon. It is also an abandoned building and seems to be the same as before.

It's like deja vu. I feel like I've seen this scenario before.

But now it's different.

Because Hiro is no longer with me, but Chase is.

Napayuko ako at napatulala sa sahig. Bakit kailangan kasama pa si Chase kung ako naman ang pakay nila?

Sana... sana iniwan nalang nila si Chase roon o kaya ay sa hospital nalang nila diniretso at hindi rito, hindi rito na kung saan kasama ako at kasama akong maghihirap.

Just thinking that they might do what they did to Hiro to Chase makes me lose myself.

I can't handle it if I lose Chase too. I will die if that happens. Kahit ako nalang, huwag lang ang kaibigan ko.

Huwag lang si Chase.

This is one of my fears. Yung may madamay sa gulo ng nakaraan ko. I told myself I could deal with my past, but as I see now, I really can't.

Hindi lang iyon ang kinatatakutan ko. This is also what I fear: that what happened before will happen again.

How can I defeat my past and win the battle of my past if, right now, I feel like I can't?

Napaangat ang tingin ko nang may nag-punas ng pisngi ko. Mas lalo akong naiyak nang makita ang mukha ni Chase na nakangiti.

"Magiging maayos din ang lahat," nakangiting sabi niya.

Tumango lang ako at tipid na ngumiti. Pinunasan ko ang mukha ko na parang bata kaya mahina siyang natawa siya.

Tumayo ako at inakay siya sa gilid ng kwarto. Doon kami sa pader sumandal pareho. Mahabang katahimikan ang bumalot saming dalawa hanggang sa basagin niya ang katahimikan na iyon.

"Your eye color suits you," he suddenly said, turning to me. "Did you wear contact lenses when you were young? You go out, and I'm sure people will notice you because the color of your eyes grabs attention. They'll suspect you have Allister blood, which is true. And the fact that ocean blue eyes are the trademark of the Allisters."

"I didn't wear contact lenses before; I just wore contact lenses when I left and disguised myself as an ordinary person." Napakamot ako sa ulo ko at bahagyang natawa. "And yes, when I was a child, many people doubted me, but I just kept denying them, and I always told them it was just a coincidence. Buti nga naniniwala sila dahil hindi naman raw marunong mag-sinungaling ang bata."

Mahina siyang natawa. "Hindi ko alam kung paano mo nagawang mabuhay ng mag isa."

"It's just me, Chase."

Nakangising napailing nalang siya. Napakagat labi pa siya at natawa. Tipid lang akong napangiti dahil sa kaniya. Muli kaming binalot ng katahimikan hanggang siya ulit ang bumasag non.

"Is it okay if I ask how you and Dianne met?" tanong niya at sandali akong binalingan ng tingin.

Ilang minuto akong natahimik bago magsalita. "Hiro and I saw her crying in the park, so we approached her and asked why she was crying. She said that she got low marks in her school card, which is why her father was mad and disappointed with her."

"And since that day, the three of us have become friends. We always play, and Hiro stands as the big brother of the two of us; he always protects us and always gives us what we want. Hiro spoiled us as much as he could," ngumiti ako sa kaniya habang nagk-kwento. "Sobrang bait niya at para ko na rin siyang Ate kahit na magkaedad lang naman kaming dalawa. Also, we were Dianne's only friends back then. She didn't have any friends aside from the two of us."

Bumuntong hininga ako at inayos ang pagkakasandal sa pader. Tumingin ako kay Chase at nakitang nakatingin siya sa akin. Para siyang batang nakikinig sa kwento ng nanay niya.

Ngumiti ako bago magpatuloy. "One time, she asked me about my eyes. If I am an Allister, or do I just have a race and it's just a coincidence that the Allisters have the same eye color?" Muli akong napabuntong hininga. "I told her that I was an Allister. I didn't deny to her that I was an allister like I denied to others, and then Hiro and I introduced her to our family."

"At alam mo bang kilala pala siya ng magulang namin nung araw na pinakilala ko siya? Nagulat nga ako, e." I laughed. "I even asked Mommy kung paano niya nakilala si Dianne at iyon nga, she said they were friends with Dianne's parents back then."

"The three of us became closer. Did you know that Dianne admitted to me that she likes Hiro? Even though Hiro was my first love, I supported her." I remember those times. Ako pa ang gumagawa ng paraan para lalo silang mapalapit na dalawa because that's what Dianne wanted me to do at isa pa, mas malapit daw kaming dalawa ni Hiro so I did it.

Lumalayo ako para sa kanilang dalawa. May panahon din na kapag may gala kami ay hindi ako sumasama at hinahayaan silang dalawa so in the end, I was always at home and alone.

Pero minsan, sa akin sumasama si Hiro at alam kong napapansin na niya ang ginagawa ko para sa kanilang dalawa ni Dianne.

Napangiti ako nang maalala ko ang nakabusangot niyang mukha dahil huwag ko raw siyang ipagtulakan kay Dianne dahil hanggang kaibigan lang ang tingin niya rito at bukod doon ay may nagugustuhan na raw siya.

"The time also came when Dianne introduced us to her father, and that's when we met Tito Dylan. But Tito Dylan doesn't like us; he doesn't want us to be friends with Dianne. If before I was wondering why he didn't like us even though he knew our parents dahil alam kong namukhaan niya kami ni Hiro, now I know the reason. I know the reason why he doesn't like us and where his anger comes from."

I smiled bitterly dahil naalala ko kung paano kami ipagtulakan ng mga tauhan ni Tito Dylan noon dahil lang sa ayaw niya sa amin. Bahagya pa ngang namula ang braso ko dahil sa higpit nang pagkakahawak nung lalaking malaki ang katawan kaya galit na galit si Hiro non.

"And did you know that Dianne changed after that? Sinubukan namin ni Hiro na lapitan at kamustahin siya pero lagi niya kaming pinagtatabuyan palayo. Lagi rin na masama ang tingin niya sa amin lalo na sakin at may nahanap na rin siyang mga bagong kaibigan habang kaming dalawa ni Hiro, parang wala na sa kaniya na akala mo wala kaming pinagsamahan. You know what's worst and hurts the most?" Tumingin ako kay Chase na nanatiling nakatitig sa akin.

"Ano?"

"Her new friends started bullying me," natawa ako at umiwas nang tingin. "Kapag wala si Hiro at ako lang mag-isa, lagi nila akong pinagkakaisahan. Even though Hiro was there, they still continued to bully me, so Hiro did nothing but protect me from them."

"Lagi niyang sinusubukan na lumapit kay Hiro pero pinagtabuyan lang siya ni Hiro dahil sa mga ginagawa niya sa akin. Paulit-ulit niyang sinasabi sakin na inagaw ko si Hiro sa kaniya at iyon ang nagiging dahilan niya para mas lalo nila akong pagkaisahan. Hindi man siya kasama sa mga kaibigan niyang nangb-bully sa akin pero kabilang pa rin siya sa pagkakaibigan nila at sobrang sakit pa rin." Tumingin ako kay Chase habang nangigilid ang mga luha. "I endured everything, Chase. I endured all the hurtful and offensive words they threw at me. I remained silent about everything they were doing to me, even though I knew it was about my feelings and confidence."

Tuluyan na akong napaluha dahil sa mga ala-ala at sakit na paulit-ulit na bumabalik sa akin. Napatingin ako kay Chase nang abutin niya mukha ko at pinunasan ang luha ko.

Mas lumapit siya sakin habang hawak ang sugat niya. Niyakap niya ako at marahan na sinandal sa dibdin niya.

"I know everything you've been through has been hard for you. I don't know how you can handle all the pain and suffering you went through, but I'm thankful because you've been able to handle all the pain you've felt since then until now," he said while lightly stroking my hair. "You are struggling silently, and if you are tired, rest. How can you win your own battle if you are like that? There's nothing wrong with taking a rest. If you are tired of fighting, let us fight for you."

"You've already fought enough," bulong niya sa akin habang nakayakap ako sa kaniya. "Thank you."

Kumalas ako mula sa pagkakayakap at naguguluhan ko siyang tiningnan. Thank you? Para saan?

"H-Huh?"

May ginawa ba akong dapat niyang ipagpasalamat sa akin?

"Thank you for choosing to continue. Thank you for not giving up. Thank you for being strong, Faye," he said with a smile on his lips, as if he were proud of me. "We were so proud of you. I'm sure Hiro is proud of you too."

I was stunned by what he said and stared at him. I'm starting to tear up while looking at him, while he still has a proud smile on his lips.

He smiled at me as if he didn't care about the pain from his wound. I know it still hurts.

"I am so proud of you, my brave girl."

Tumulo ang luha ko.