CHAPTER 8: Player Two
705 Words
I didn't go home immediately. Nag-drive lang ako paikot-ikot, checking my rearview mirror every five seconds. I needed to make sure na walang sumusunod sa akin, and more importantly, na hindi na nakatutok ang mga mata ng Unknown kay Rylan.
But the moment I got to my room, I didn't rest. I opened my laptop and started the "deep dive."
I dug through my old high school cloud files, mga folders na akala ko hindi ko na bubuksan habambuhay. I looked for anything. A name, a face, a scandal. Sino sa batch namin ang may galit sa akin? O mas malala, sino ang may galit kay Dad?
"Bakit si Rylan?" I whispered to myself, scrolling through old class pictures.
Rylan was always there, sa background, tumatawa, photobomber sa bawat seryosong moment. He was never part of the elite circles. He was just... there. Neutral ground. And that’s when it hit me. The Unknown isn't just targeting my past; he’s targeting my conscience. He knows that if he touches someone as "innocent" as Rylan, it would hurt more than any blackmail against my reputation.
Biglang nag-vibrate ang phone ko. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest. Pero hindi Unknown ang nakita ko.
1 New Message: Rylan
Rylan: Hoy, 'yung sundae mo tinunaw na ng lungkot. Parang ikaw lang.
Rylan: Seryoso, Yllana. Alam kong may gulo. 'Wag ka nang mag-deny, hindi ka magaling mag-sinungaling pagdating sa akin.
I stared at the screen. My first instinct was to ignore him. Protect him by pushing him away. Pero bago pa ako makapag-type, tumawag na siya. "Ano ba, Rylan? Sabi ko naman sa'yo diba."
"Na lumayo ako? Na delikado? Na baka madamay ako sa 'mysterious' life mo?" putol niya sa akin. His voice was still jolly, pero may halong seryosong undertone ngayon. "Yllana, pasang-awa lang ako sa Math, pero hindi ako fail sa pagiging tao. Nakita ko yung mukha mo kanina. You looked like you were carrying the whole world, and honestly? Ang bigat tignan."
"Hindi mo 'to naiintindihan," I said, leaning my head against the cool glass of my laptop. "This person... they're dangerous. They know things, Rylan."
"Eh 'di alamin din natin ang tungkol sa kanya," he countered easily, like he was just suggesting a game of ML. "Team-up tayo. You have the brain, the tech, and the 'scary socialite' vibe. Ako? Ako yung muscle, and by muscle, I mean yung taga-patawa sa'yo para hindi ka mag-collapse sa stress." I let out a dry, shaky laugh. "You're insane."
"Consistent, diba?" I could almost hear his smirk over the phone. "Listen, may naalala ako nung binanggit mo yung high school. Remember yung 'Issue' nung Grade 10? Yung tungkol sa files na nawala sa office ni Principal? Everyone blamed the scholarship students, pero alam nating dalawa na hindi sila 'yun."
Napatitig ako sa screen ng laptop ko. The Principal’s office scandal. My Dad’s company had donated the new server system that year. "Rylan, that was years ago," I whispered.
"Years ago para sa atin, pero baka para sa iba, kahapon lang 'yun," he said, his voice dropping. "I'll help you look, Yllana. Hindi kita pababayaan mag-isa rito. Besides, wala na rin namang magagawa, 'di ba? Sabi mo nga, mentioned na ako. Might as well make it worth it."
I looked at the old photos again. The jolly guy in the background was now right beside me in the line of fire. I wanted to be mad, I wanted to tell him to run, pero for the first time in days, the suffocating silence in my room didn't feel so heavy.
"Fine," I said, my voice finally steady. "But you follow my lead. No heroics, Rylan."
"Yes, Boss! Basta may free sundae pagkatapos nito ah?"
I hung up and looked back at my archives. Hindi ko alam kung tama 'tong ginagawa ko. I was letting him in. I was breaking my own rule of staying detached. Pero habang tinitignan ko yung metadata ng mga lumang files, narealize ko na baka kailangan ko talaga ng "pasang-awa" na tulad niya, someone who isn't afraid of the shadows because he's too busy looking at the light.
The Unknown wanted to isolate me. Too bad for him, I just found my player two.
- Writer
