SIXTEEN
“W
hat do you mean...return? Where are you going?”
Audrey was in the middle of watching episodes of Pio’s old teleserye on iFlix when the actor called, his voice overpowered by a heavy, repetitive bass beat. She hit the space bar on her laptop, and the video paused on a close up shot of Pio kissing Liezl Escueta. Wow, what timing.
“Baguio. Ad Summit,” she replied and shut her laptop instead. “Are you at a club?”
“I—well, yeah.”
“Partying without me, I see. Congratu—”
“I’m not partying, Audrey. I was drinking. By myself.”
A pause. “Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“Is...everything okay?”
For a few seconds, Audrey heard nothing else but music and a mishmash of voices. And then, silence. Or a semblance of it. “Pio? Are you still there?”
“I’m here.”
“Are you really alone? Are you okay?”
“Yes
