CHAPTER THIRTEEN
553 Words
Sa mga sumunod na araw, napansin ng halos lahat ang isang bagay:
Si Mira at Calix?
Laging magkasama.
Sa library.
Sa canteen.
Sa lab.
Sa waiting area.
Even sa exit pag-uwi.
And every time Lance saw them—
kahit sandaling sulyap lang—
parang may humihigpit sa dibdib niya.
Pero hindi niya pinapakita.
Ayaw niya.
Kasi siya mismo ang nagsabi:
“You don’t owe me anything.”
Pero araw-araw, unti-unti siyang nasasakal sa selos.
Sa insecurity.
Sa thought na baka mas mabuti si Calix.
Mas stable.
Mas open.
Mas puwedeng mahalin.
So he watched.
And watched.
And swallowed everything until it turned into something dark.
“UY Mira, goodnight!” Calix said from outside the gate.
Mira laughed softly. “Goodnight.”
Lance heard it from the living room.
Hindi sinasadya.
Pero sumakit agad ang ulo niya.
He stood, grabbed his keys, and walked past her without a word.
“Lance—”
He didn’t look at her.
Door slammed.
Engines roared.
Umalis siya.
LANCE never liked bars.
But tonight, gusto niya ng ingay.
Ilaw.
Amoy alak.
Boses ng iba.
Anything that wasn’t Mira laughing with someone else.
He ordered shot after shot —
barely feeling the burn,
barely caring.
Until a girl approached him.
Long hair.
Red lipstick.
Confident smile.
Parang sanay flirt.
“Hi,” she said, leaning close. “You look like you need company.”
Lance didn’t respond.
She touched his arm.
Slow.
Testing.
“You drinking alone?” she asked.
He could’ve said no.
Could’ve stopped her.
Could’ve walked away.
Pero naalala niya ang tawa ni Mira kay Calix.
The way she looked lighter without him.
The way she stopped chasing.
So he let the girl stay.
He let her laugh at his bitterness.
Let her touch his hand.
Let her lean close enough to smell her perfume.
And when she said,
“Come with me?”
He didn’t think.
He didn’t argue.
He didn’t say no.
He stood up.
He followed her out the bar.
And that was the moment—
the exact moment—
Lance chose to ruin everything.
HE woke up in a room that wasn’t his.
Dim lights.
Strange sheets.
Clothes on the floor.
His head felt like it was splitting open.
The girl was asleep beside him.
Reality hit him so hard he had to sit down.
He didn’t remember details.
Only pieces.
Enough to know he messed up.
Badly.
Lance ran a hand over his face.
“Damn it…”
This wasn’t him.
This wasn’t what he wanted.
This was pain turning into a mistake.
A mistake he couldn’t undo.
PAG-UWI niya, tahimik ang buong bahay.
Hanggang makita siya ni Mira sa hallway.
She froze.
Lance froze.
He smelled like perfume that wasn’t hers.
He looked exhausted.
Disheveled.
Not himself.
And Mira’s stomach dropped.
“Did you… go out last night?” she asked softly.
Lance couldn’t speak.
He didn’t lie.
He didn’t answer.
Which was worse.
Mira felt something inside her crack—
hard, quiet, and irreversible.
“Oh,” she whispered.
That single syllable already breaking.
She nodded slowly.
Walked past him.
Didn’t look back.
And that silence hurt Lance more than anything.
Because for the first time—
he saw in her eyes—
he was the one who created the distance.
Not fate.
Not rules.
Not circumstances.
Him.
- Writer
