Chapter One

Angela

***

March 27, 2015

I raised my glass of cognac as I looked at the people inside the bar, and it looks like they are having fun. I wish I could do that too.

I took a sip from my drink as I glanced at the guy who sat beside me. 

"Two shots of cognac please."

The bartender immediately prepared two servings of the cognac that he ordered.

I saw him glancing at me while waiting for his drink, at dahil hindi na ako nakatiis sa mga sulyap niya ay hinarap ko na siya. He's handsome and if I'm in the mood, I will surely flirt with him. But I'm not really in the mood because of what happened earlier.

"Yes? Is there any problem?" mataray kong tanong.

"Would you mind having a drink with me?"

I laughed sarcastically before looking at him. “No, thank you.”

                   

Inubos ko na ang natitirang cognac ko. Nakaramdam na ako ng tama sa ininom ko at naramdaman ko na ang pag-init ng pisngi ko. Pero bakit hindi pa rin naalis sa isip ko yung mga sinabi nila kanina?

"Fuck.".

Tumayo na ako pero bigla rin ako napa-upo dahil sa hilo. Agad naman akong inalalayan ng lalaki na kuausap sa akin kanina. I can see that his cheeks were already red. Don’t tell me this guy has a low alcohol tolerance yet he still dared to drink a shot of cognac? 

"Hey, are you okay? Let me help you."

"I don't need your help."

Bumuntong hininga ako bago tawagin muli ang bartender.

"Give me another two shots of cognac."

“You’re already drunk but you still having another two shots of cognac?"

Ibinigay na ng bartender ang order ko. Inubos ko agad ang isang shot nito at akmang iinumin ko na ang pangalawa ay may humawak sa kamay ko.

"What is it this time?" iritado kong tanong.

"Stop it."

"Look, Mr. Whoever-you-are, wala kang paki sa kung ano man ang gagawain ko. I'm already eighteen- old enough to know what I'm doing."

Besides, we are raised to be independent enough to handle our own lives. 

"Oh, really? Eighteen? That makes you a student. You should be studying at this hour."

I slammed my hands on the counter and glared at him. “Why don’t you just mind your own business?!"

He backed away and now I feel guilty. Great.

I sighed as I said sorry for raising my voice at him.

"It's alright. I think I've made a mistake. Now, can you tell me what happened? It's better to open up to a stranger, you know."

Tumingin ako sa kaniya at nakita ko na mataman siyang nakatingin sa akin. It's like he's ready to listen to my rants.

Well, I'm already here to waste my time and forget about what happened earlier, I might just give it a try.

I told him how my parents forced me to take a college program I didn’t want, how they forced me to be a perfect student and how they compare me to my sister.

"Hmm, why don't you change your identity and run away?"

Napatingin ako sa kaniya.

"Just kidding. You can talk to them first. Convince them."

"You know what, what you said earlier makes sense."

"Are you serious?"

"Fucking serious."

Ininom ko na ang natitirang cognac sa baso ko bago tumayo. I pulled his arms and led him to the dance floor.

We danced in the middle of the dance floor. I can feel his breath in my neck which only means he's right behind me.

"You're drunk. You should go home.”

I laughed bitterly and faced him. I almost lost my balance but he quickly supported my back. I wrapped my arms around his neck "Home? Is there any place that I can call home?"

He just looked at me.

"You know what, now that I'm this close to you, I can see how handsome you are." 

He let out a chuckle before he drew his face close to my face. "Are you flirting with me right now?"

"And what if I am?"

Sasagot pa sana siya kaya lang ay mayroong bumangga sa kaniya. at dahil malapit ang mukha niya sa akin ay aksidenteng naglapat ang mga labi namin. Parehong nanlaki ang mga mata namin at agad naman siyang lumayo. 

"You look flustered."

I immediately covered my lips with my handkerchief. "That is my first kiss. Anyways, I'm leaving."

I was about to leave but he pulled my arms that I’m using to hold my handkerchief.

"That's not a kiss. This is how you kiss someone." 

My eyes went wide when he pulled me into a kiss. His kiss went deeper and maybe because of the spirit of the alcohol, I wrapped my arms around his neck again and answered his kisses.

***

Nagising ako dahil naramdaman ko ang pamamanhid ng buong katawan ko. Nakaramdam din ako ng matinding sakit ng ulo kaya naman napahawak ako sa ulo ko. Saka ko napansin na wala akong damit kaya naman mabilis kong hinablot ang kumot para takpan ang dibdib ko.

I immediately picked my clothes on the ground, grabbed my purse and left immediately.

Damn. I hope that man doesn't know me. I don't want to cause any trouble when he finds out who I am. And I don't want to meet him again.

***

"Fuck?" bulaslas ko nang makita na locked na ang bank account ko. 

Asar akong umalis sa harap ng ATM bago lumabas ng mall at dumeretso sa isang cafe. Mabuti na lang kahit papaano ay may natira pa akong pera pambili man lang ng kape. But I don't have any money left to buy clothes. 

"One tall latte and blueberry cheesecake please."

Pagkatapos ko bayaran ang order ko ay umupo na ako. I tried to look for my handkerchief but I couldn't find it in my pouch. Damn. Did I lose it in the bar last night? I have no other choice but to use the tissue on the table to wipe the sweat in my forehead. 

I was about to call my brother but his caller I.D. popped-up.

"Angela Jade Belcher, where the heck are you? Mom called me last night asking if you're staying at my condo. Just to cover you up, I answered yes. And this morning, they called me again asking me to bring you home."

"Calm down, Kuya. I'm at the Themis Cafe."

"Stay there. I will pick you up."

"Good. I don't have any more money with me, and I wanted to buy some clothes but I can't. I was about to call you, actually. They locked my account."

"Fine, fine. Stay there and I will pick you up. I will be there in a few minutes."

"You really are the best bro. Take care. Bye."

"Bye."

Nang dumating si Kuya ay umalis na kami sa cafe at dumeretso sa mall para bumili ng mga damit. Nang makapagpalit na ako ng bagong bili niya na damit ay umuwi na rin agad kami.

Pagdating sa bahay ay nasa Living room sila Mommy.

"Aalis na ako. You know the rule. I can't stay here longer than five minutes. Just call me whenever you need me."

"Take care. Love you." I hugged him tight before he left.

I saw how he bowed slightly to show his respect to our parents but they just glared at him.

"Where did you go last night?"

"You saw it yourself. Kuya Angelo brought me home. I stayed at his place last night."

Dad smashed the vase beside him. Some shards cut through my legs but I manage to tolerate the sting from the wound. He pointed me using his finger before raising his voice at me. "How many times do we need to tell you to never go to that bastard's place?"

"What's wrong with that? He's my brother! He is your son!"

"We disowned him. He defied us!" Galit na tumayo si Mommy at kitang-kita ko kung paano manlisik ang mga mata niya. 

"That's because you're suffocating! Lahat ng gusto niyo, pinipilit niyo sa amin! Kung ano ang gusto niyo ay 'yon ang masusunod!"

Hindi ko na napigilian ang sarili at nasigawan na rin sila Daddy at Mommy. .

"Angela! H'wag mong ganyanin sila Mommy!" saway ni Dia sa akin. She even stood up and held Mom’s arms. . 

If there’s another vase near my Dad, he would have probably thrown it at me right now. 

Unti-unti na pumatak ang mga luha sa mata ko. Lahat na ata ng gusto kong sabihin kahapon pa ay ngayon na lumalabas.

“Wala kayong paki sa akin hangga't nagagawa ko ang mga gusto niyo. Ginagawa ko naman lahat pero kulang pa rin ba? Bakit kahit kailan hindi niyo man lang na tanong sa akin kung ayos lang ba ako, kung ano ang gusto kong gawain? Mahirap ba iyon?"

"Because we care for you, that's why!" sambit ni Mommy.

"So, caring for your daughter includes locking her bank account, forcing her to take a college program she didn't want, and forcing her to have perfect grades?"

Sa isang iglap lang ay nasa harap ko na si Mommy at isang sampal ang natanggap ko.

"You're hopeless. Nagiging kagaya ka na ng Kuya mo. Go to your room. You are not allowed to go out for a month."

Hindi na ako nagsalita at dumeretso na sa kwarto. I saw Dia grinning at me before going upstairs.

***

It's been three days since I'm grounded. I've been preparing to leave this house.  Naayos ko na ang mga gamit ko and luckily, they didn't take my gadgets away. 

Bago lumabas ay pinutol ko muna ang kuryente sa mansyon. It will be back in a minute.

Nang makalayo na ako ay nagliwanag na ang bahay, tanda na bumalik na ang kuryente. Paglabas ko ng village ay sumakay na ako sa jeep. Niyakap ko ang sarili ko dahil sa lamig. 

I've escaped that hell. Now, where should I go?

I decided to stop at Themis Café to grab a cup of coffee.

"Welcome to Themis Cafe! What's your order?"

"One Hot Caramel Macchiato and one slice of Custard Cake please."

Nagbayad ako at umupo sa isang sulok. I looked up at the internet for jobs, as well as apartments. 

"Here's your order, Ma'am."

“Thank you."

Napansin ko na tumingin sya sa tablet ko.

"Are you looking for a job?"

"Apparently, yes."

"We are looking for some crews actually. Nagbukas kasi kami ng panibagong branch sa Baguio. Are you interested?"

Umupo siya sa harap ko at tumingin sa akin.

Nag aalangan naman ako na tumingin sa kaniya.

"You see, since it's a newly opened cafe, wala pa masyadong tao. Maski ang barista ay iisa lang. Ang cashiers ay dalawa lang. Ang baker ay isa lang din. We could use an additional helping hand."

“So, I need to go there?”

"Of course. I'll actually go there after preparing a few things. Do you mind going with me?"

I don’t know but my gut tells me that I should trust this lady. If something goes wrong, then I guess that's how my life would end. But if this goes perfectly, then it would be my fresh start. 

Saktong naubos ko na yung order ay naayos na nya ang gamit niya.

"Shall we go?"

Kinuha ko na ang backpack ko at sumunod sa parking lot. Pag dating sa parking lot nag-iisa na lang ang sasakyan.

"Get in." 

I don't know why but the moment I entered her car, I sensed danger. Hindi ko na lang ipinahalata but I can definitely tell that there's something inside the car. 

Am I in trouble?

"I haven't introduced myself properly. I'm Ellisa Marie Fuentebella, 22 years old. I'm the Manager of Themis Cafe in Manila Branch as well as the newly opened branch in Baguio."

"Angela Jade B-" napatigil ako dahil sa sinasabi ko. I almost blurted out my name.

"Belcher, right?" She glanced at me as she started the car engine. 

Napatingin naman ako sa kaniya.

"H-how did you know?"

"I have my own ways. You're escaping from your family. And that's why I offered you a job. Think of this as my way of helping you."

Nagtataka man, hindi na ako umangal at sumandal na lang. Unti-unti nang bumigat ang talukap ng mga mata ko hanggang sa tuluyan na akong nakatulog.