10.7pm
1200 Words
Sevy’s POV
His thumb hovered over the keyboard of his phone. For the tenth time in the last five minutes, he erased the message he was about to send.
"Hey, kumain ka na?" — delete.
"Miss you, Ate B." — delete.
"Can we talk?" — stop, stare, delete.
He sighed and leaned back against his chair. The boardroom was noisy with papers shuffling and voices discussing numbers, but for him, the only noise that mattered was inside his head.
Her voice replayed like a broken record.
"Kapatid lang ang turing ko sa’yo."
"You can have Sevy. I don’t care."
Each word felt like a blade, stabbing at places he didn’t even know existed inside him.
He clenched his jaw. She didn’t mean that, right? Hindi naman totoo ‘yon? But then again, Brena always had a way of saying things without realizing how much they cut. And this time, it cut too deep. "Tang-ina lang eh!"
So he told himself he needed distance. Even just for a while. Kasi kung hindi, baka masaktan lang siya ng sobra.
Finally, he typed a short message.
> “Pwede ba tayo mag-usap mamaya? Coffee shop sa tapat ng building, 7PM. Important.”
It was cold, plain, and almost lifeless. Nothing like the way he usually texted her. No jokes. No emojis. No warmth.
His chest tightened as he hit send.
A few seconds later, her reply came.
> “Sige. See you.”
He swallowed hard. He should’ve been relieved, but instead, the emptiness grew bigger. Her reply was just as cold as his.
For a moment, he stared at her message, waiting. Hoping she would add something more—“ingat ka,” or even just an emoji. Anything that sounded like her.
But nothing followed.
Ganito na ba talaga kami? he thought bitterly, rubbing the back of his neck.
He wanted to text again, to take it all back, to call her and say, “Brena, wag na tayo sa coffee shop, just come here, I need you now.”
But he didn’t.
Because if she really meant what she said—that he was just a brother to her—then what right did he have to need her this much?
He shut his eyes and leaned forward, elbows on the table.
“Severino, focus,” kausap niya sa kanyang sarili.
“Yeah,” he muttered, forcing a tight smile. “I’m fine and I need to focus.” Nasa meeting siya kasi ngayon at hindi siya makapagfocus sa kung ano man ang pinagmimeetingan nila ngayon.. Para siyang lutang na hindi niya maintindihan.
Kinurap-kurap niya ang kaniyang mga mata and tried to listen and focus as well.
But he wasn’t. Not even close.
All he knew was tonight, at 7PM, he would finally hear from her lips if she truly meant the words that had been haunting him all day.
And he wasn’t sure if he was ready to survive the answer.
He stared at Brena’s short reply on his screen again. “Sige. See you.”
Plain. Distant. Cold.
And yet, it was enough to shake his entire day.
He placed his phone face down on the table and forced himself to listen to the meeting. Charts were projected on the screen, voices kept presenting, percentages, projections, contracts.
But none of it made sense to him anymore.
All he could hear was the pounding of his own heart and the echo of her words from earlier.
"Kapatid lang ang turing ko sa’yo."
"You can have Sevy. I don’t care."
He gripped his pen tightly, trying to stay present. Focus, Severino. Hindi pwedeng ganito, you’re the CEO, they’re expecting you to lead.
But his mind was already wandering—towards 7PM, towards her, towards whatever conversation they were about to have.
He realized he was just staring blankly at the slides in front of him, not absorbing a single thing.
“Sir, what do you think about the proposed adjustment?” one of the executives asked.
Sevy blinked. “Uh…” he cleared his throat, forcing composure. “I think we’ve covered enough for today. Let’s continue this discussion tomorrow. Email me the full report.”
The team looked a bit surprised—Sevy never cut meetings short, especially not important ones. But no one dared to argue.
“Yes, sir,” they answered in unison, gathering their papers.
The moment the door closed behind them, Sevy slumped back into his chair, tugging at his tie like it was choking him.
I can’t do this right now.
He needed air. He needed space. He needed… her.
But not in the way he used to. Not in jokes, not in memes, not in small talks.
Tonight, he needed answers.
Habang naglalakad palabas ng boardroom, pakiramdam ni Sevy ang bigat ng bawat hakbang niya. Ang hallway na dati’y parang wala lang, ngayon parang ang haba-haba. Ang tanging naririnig niya ay tunog ng sapatos niya at yung malakas na t***k ng dibdib niya na ayaw magpatahimik.
Pagdating sa office, sinara niya agad ang pinto at napahinto sandali. Tinitigan niya lang ang paligid—desk na punong-puno ng files, laptop na may nakasindi pang reminders, calendar na halos puno ng meetings.
Pero lahat ng ‘yon, lumabo sa paningin niya.
What’s the point, really? Ano silbi ng pagiging youngest CEO, ng lahat ng success na ‘to, kung yung taong pinakaimportante sa’yo… ayaw naman sayo?
God knows kung bakit siya nagpursige na maging maayos at maunlad. Dahil yun kay Brena.
Umupo siya sa swivel chair, ibinaon ang mukha sa mga palad. Gusto niyang kunin ang phone at tawagan si Brena. Gusto niyang tanungin nang diretso: “Bakit mo sinabi ‘yon? Totoo ba talaga, o pinapaalis mo lang ako sa buhay mo?”
Pero pinigilan niya ang sarili. Pride. Ego. At takot.
Kung tatawag siya ngayon, baka mas lalo lang siyang magmukhang desperado. Ayaw niyang ipakitang gano’n siya ka-wasak. Hindi pa.
Kaya imbes na gawin yun, kinuha niya na lang kaniyang cellphone at nag-scroll. Mga litrato nila, mga chat nila dati, lahat bumungad. Yung corny niyang memes na lagi niyang pinapadala. Yung mga half-smile ni Brena na lagi niyang hinihintay. Yung pag tawag nito sa kanya ng “baby kumag” kapag naiinis pero halatang malambot pa rin ang tono.
Pinikit niya ang mga mata. You’re not just my Ate, Brena. Hindi lang ako kapatid sa’yo. Pero… nakikita mo ba ‘yon?
Tumayo siya bigla, hindi mapakali. Sa glass window, nasulyapan niya ang repleksyon niya. Pagod. Matamlay. Hindi siya ‘yung Sevy na laging may energy, laging may banat.
At dun siya kinilabutan.
Kasi loving Brena always made him feel alive. Pero ngayon? Para siyang nagluluksa sa isang bagay na baka hindi pa naman tuluyang nawala—pero baka mawala na.
“Damn it,” mahina niyang mura, sabay sampal ng palad sa mesa.
Nag-vibrate ulit ang phone niya—reminder para sa 5PM meeting. Hindi niya pinansin. With one swipe, kinansel niya. For once, wala siyang pakialam kung mapansin ng board na distracted siya.
Kinuha niya ang susi at jacket.
Right now, only one thing mattered.
7PM. Coffee shop. Brena.
At siguro… doon na niya maririnig ang katotohanan na matagal na niyang kinatatakutan.
- Writer
