CHAPTER FIVE:

"Lara sigurado ka ba sa ginagawa mo? baka may makahuli sa'tin lalo na si Tiyang sigurado ako may tag iisang kurot tayo sa singit, masakit iyon!"

“It’s okay, I can handle Aling Belinda’s pinch, but this pain?” She pointed to her heart. “I can’t handle this! It hurts so much, I want to drink all the alcohol in the kitchen!”

Bumuntong hininga ako. "Sabi ko kasi sa'yo dapat ipa-check up na lang natin iyan puso mo kung masakit. Dati ang tito ko nung sumakit ang puso niya dinala agad namin sa center," sabi ko.

Mahina niyang hinampas ang balikat ko.

"Alam mo ikaw, tumahimik ka na lang hindi mo naman kasi ma-gets ang ibig kong sabihin!"

Nakarating kami sa kitchen nagulat ako ng pumunta kami sa Liquor cabinet.

"Omg! Ang daming ibat-ibang alak!" namamangha kong sabi.

“What do you expect? Our boss owns a liquor company.” She took a bottle of alcohol. “This is good alcohol, I’ve tasted it before.” she said smiling.

“Mom said it’s wrong to steal,” i said hesitantly.

She pulled me, I saw her roll her eyes.

“We’re not stealing,”

“If you don’t ask the owner before taking their belongings, it’s called stealing. That’s what nanay said.” She shook her head at what I said.

"Bawas bawasan mo nga ang pagiging good girl mo, kunti na lang tutubuan ka na ng pakpak." Natatawang sabi niya.

Pumasok na kami sa kwarto, saka umupo. Maraming nagkalat na chips, nagbukas ako ng isa.

"Ang lakas mo manermon mas nauna ka pa ngang manguha sa'kin. Tignan mo nga iyan mga chitchirya ang dami para kang nasa piknik,"

Napabungisngis ako.

"Isa lang talaga dapat. Kaso lahat sila mukhang masarap at hindi ko pa natitikman kaya kinuha ko na," natatawang sagot ko.

"Kaya magkasundo tayo eh,"

"Kasi pareho tayong magnanakaw?" Tumawa siya ng malakas, akala ko pa nga ipopokpok pa niya sa'kin ang bote dahil sa saya niya.

“Crazy, uh, try this.” She handed me a glass with alcohol.

“I’m not going to die if I drink this, right?” i asked for reassurance.

“I don’t think so, because if Sir’s alcohol was deadly, he would have died first,” she said.

I drank the alcohol and almost threw up from the taste. It was sweet at first, but when you swallow it, the bitterness lingers in your throat.

"Pwe! Ang pangit naman pala ng lasa ng alak, bakit iyon mga napapanuod ko sa Tv kung uminom sila ng alak parang tubig lang." Kumuha ako ng chips saka kinain.

“It’s just at first, but once you get used to it, the taste will become normal.” Lara laughed and took a drink. “But to be fair to you, compared to when you first started working here, you’re improving,”

Nagtaka ako sa sinabi niya.

"Anong ibig mong sabihin?"

“I mean, before, I only heard ‘Omg’ from you in English. Now, I can actually talk to you in English!” I took the glass she handed me and drank

"Pa'no ba naman kasi english-tera ka magsalita, sinong hindi mahahawa," sagot ko saka tumawa binigay ko sa kaniya ang baso..

“Sorry, I’m just getting used to it.” She said laughing and took a drink.

“If I hadn’t met you here, I would have thought you were a rich kid. Look at you, you’re fluent in English, you have smooth skin, you’re fair and beautiful. You’re pampered like a rich kid,” she choked on the alcohol, so I quickly handed her a tissue. “Are you okay? Take it slow, I’m not going to outdrink you,”

She hit me.

“You’re crazy, what you’re saying is shocking. Why, you’re from the province, but you’re also beautiful, smooth-skinned,” i blushed and couldn’t speak.

She just laughed and handed me the glass, which I took. We continued chatting until we didn’t realize we had finished the bottle of alcohol. I stood up to go to Lara, who had been vomiting. I couldn’t walk anymore because I was dizzy, but I just fell.

“Lara? Lara? I think I’m going to die, my vision is spinning! No matter how straight I walk, I keep falling!” I said, almost crying.

She came out of the bathroom and lightly hit me, then laughed.

“Gagi, we’re tipsy,”

“I don’t want to drink anymore!” I lay down on the floor. Lara sat next to me.

I just closed my eyes because I was really dizzy when I heard Lara’s sobs. I turned to her, she was really crying.

Did she realize that we could really die from the alcohol?

“Why are you crying? Is what I said earlier true, are we going to die?”

“I thought if I drank, the pain in my heart would go away, but it’s still there!”

“I told you, we should go to the center, you’re so stubborn!”

I lightly patted her hair.

“Lucky, have you ever been in love?”

I shook my head, making me even more dizzy.

“No, I don’t even know what love is,”

“Good for you, I wish I was like you, who doesn’t know what love is,” she was still crying.

"Bakit ka ba--" suminok ako kaya naputol ang sasabihin ko. "kasi nagmahal?" dugtong ko.

“Because my heart just started beating on its own.” She looked at me, even though I was drunk, I could still see the sadness in her eyes.

“Does it really hurt to love?” I asked.

“No. It just happened that I was the only one who loved.”

“How do you know when you’re in love?” I asked curiously.

“When your heart beats faster for no reason, when you close your eyes and see that person, and most importantly, when you feel like the world has stopped,”

I didn’t say anything after what she said, she didn’t say anything either until I heard her deep breaths.

Because I couldn’t sleep, I got up, I’d get some fresh air in the garden. As soon as I stood up, I grabbed something because the dizziness I felt hadn’t gone away.

I walked out of the room, even though I was swaying. When I reached the garden, I sat on the swing, the cool breeze hit me. I closed my eyes in comfort.

So this is what being drunk is like, it’s not fun.

“Why are you here?” My heart pounded at that voice.

Hindi ko pa man siya nakikita ay kilalang kilala ko na ang boses na iyon. Ang boses na iyon na matagal ko rin hindi narinig dahil laging wala ito sa mansyon.

I opened my eyes, he was a little blurry to me, but he was right in front of me.

“You’re here, Sir, when did you arrive?” I asked.

“Just now,” he answered briefly, his cold voice, I didn’t think I would miss it.

“You should be resting,” I don’t know when, but every time we talked, everything seemed to become more casual between us.

“I should be saying that,”

I tried to see his face clearly, I smiled because his eyebrows were furrowed.

“You’ve been drinking,” it wasn’t a question, he was sure.

I nodded.

“Yeah, Lara’s heart hurts, so we stole alcohol from the liquor cabinet--” I covered my mouth when I realized what I was saying.

“Oh no! That was supposed to be a secret between me and Lara, we’re in trouble!” I cried.

I heard him curse, so I cried even louder because I thought he was angry.

“I’m sorry, don’t be mad, I told Lara that stealing is wrong, but she didn’t listen. And I wanted to, too, so we’re both thieves,”

“Fuck! Stop, don’t cry, it’s okay with me that you took some alcohol,” his voice was cold, but I felt a concern in it.

“R-really? I’m making sure,”

“Yes,”

I wiped my tears and stood up, but because I was drunk, I lost my balance, luckily Sir Alex caught me.

We looked at each other, again I felt my heart beat faster whenever I saw him. The warmth of his skin touching my body gave me comfort.

“You’re drunk,” he said in an annoyed tone.

I nodded and leaned my head on his shoulder, I thought he would complain, but he didn’t.

“I’m sleepy,” I said and snuggled closer to him.

“Then sleep,” that was the last thing I heard from him before sleep took over.

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