CHAPTER NINE
483 Words
Tahimik ang buong bahay.
’Yung tipo ng katahimikan na maririnig mo pati tulo ng ulan sa bubong.
Mira stepped out of her room, bitbit ang baso, hoping makainom lang ng tubig para makatulog. Pero pagdaan niya sa may kusina, may liwanag mula sa ilaw sa counter—at nando’n si Lance.
Nakatalikod siya, nakasandal sa counter, phone sa kamay. ’Yung usual niyang composed na posture… pero ngayon, parang may bigat sa balikat niya.
“Gabi na ah,” Mira said softly, trying to sound casual.
He didn’t look up. “Couldn’t sleep.”
“Same,” she replied, forcing a smile. “Coffee?”
“No. You should go back to bed.”
Ang lamig ng tono. Parang may invisible wall biglang bumalik sa pagitan nila.
She frowned, taking a step closer. “Are you… okay?”
“Yeah.”
Short. Flat. The kind of answer that doesn’t invite more questions.
Pero hindi siya nakatiis.
“Lance, kanina pa kita gustong kausapin. Parang bigla kang umiwas. May nasabi ba ako kahapon?”
Finally, he looked up. His jaw was tight, eyes dark under the kitchen light.
“Wala.”
“Then bakit ang lamig mo na naman?” she asked, voice shaking a little. “Akala ko okay na tayo.”
He sighed, rubbing his temples like he was fighting himself. “That’s the problem, Mira.”
She blinked. “Ha?”
“That’s the problem,” he repeated quietly. “We’re too okay.”
Her heart skipped. “Ano’ng ibig mong sabihin?”
He pushed away from the counter, pacing a little. “We can’t keep acting like this.”
The words hit harder than she expected.
“Acting like what?”
He looked at her—finally, directly.
“Like this is normal. Like—” he stopped, his throat tightening, “—like you don’t get to me.”
Silence.
Even the rain outside seemed to pause.
Mira’s chest ached. “Lance…” she whispered, voice trembling, “You think it’s easy pretending I don’t care?”
He froze. His hand clenched into a fist. For a second, she thought he’d say something—something honest, something that could change everything.
But he just exhaled sharply, shaking his head.
“That’s exactly why we can’t,” he muttered. “Kaya kailangan kong umiwas. Kasi kung hindi…”
He didn’t finish. Couldn’t.
He turned away, grabbed his phone, and walked off—quiet footsteps, steady but heavy.
By the time Mira found her voice again, he was already gone.
She stood there, staring at the empty doorway, the echo of his words still hanging in the air.
Her hand was shaking, the glass of water trembling in her grip.
Outside, the rain grew louder.
Inside, she felt everything she’d been denying come crashing down.
And for the first time, she wished he’d stayed—
even just to argue a little longer.
- Writer
