Malediction

Breakdown

Tim rushed me to the live hosting set of Sun Bulletin, giving me an ice bag for my swelling bruise. The live hosting was a special we do for our social media with a broad spectrum of topics depending on present trends and today, Andrea was the one hosting the special that day. It should've been a day off but the interviewee wanted the schedule to be moved early on. I specifically remember her being excited about this and she would never pass this for a failure. What could go wrong with a perfectly planned interview?

"You need to help us calm her down. She's not stopping till Bennie's torn apart." Tim said anxiously. My eyebrows joined in bafflement. "What do you mean calm her down? She's always composed."

" You'll see." Tim replied. He entered the production room first. I could already hear Andrea's voice in a tone she had never used before. "Why would you do this to me? Why would you put me in that situation?!" Her voice was loud with rage but breaking from emotional pain and distraught. Tim was right, she needs me. Andrea was vulnerable for everyone to see and nobody, in their right mind, would want that to happen.

Upon entering the studio, all I could see was chaos. Production staff tried their best to put an end to the commotion but Andrea was unstoppable. She was still onstage but she was just breaking down like a switch had been turned. I had never, not even once, seen Andrea become so down and mad before. She was so red from anger that her composure ceased to exist.

"I can't deal with you anymore. You're doing this on purpose, Bennie!" She screamed at the top of her lungs and came towards the petite quiet Bennie who was shriveling from the corner, by my side near the door. Bennie closed her eyes in anticipation of being attacked. I ran to Andrea as fast as I could, and stopped her from doing more harm to her coworker. She tried to squirm away from my grasp but to no avail. I grasped her back and hushed her softly. "It's okay, it's okay… We'll get through this. Just calm down." I whispered to her ears. Andrea's once steady heavy breathing seemed to slow down in a notch but her eyes were locked to Bennie, who was disheveled and in tears just waiting for her to calm down as well.

With a glance from the back, I motioned Bennie to leave the scene. Without a minute longer, she was gone and Tim went near us with water for Andrea. We both helped her stand as she struggled with weak knees. She was still shaking from her sudden rage earlier. When Andrea was too dazed and weak to walk, I lifted her in my arms. She looked nothing like her usual self that day. Andrea displayed an exhausted and lifeless expression and hadn't spoken a word to me even as I walked outside with her in my arms. She just looked far, to nowhere.

After long years of hard work and company promotion, the director and producers looked at Andrea with either disdain or contempt from the vulnerability she just showed earlier. I wanted to punch them with my own fists, but I was already occupied with taking care of my damsel in distress, and when I said distress, it was literally her at that moment. This was just one time this happened, even with me but it was unfair to know that this would affect Andrea's standing in the company. I sighed in disappointment at their thinking. Wasn't it humane to consider vulnerability as part of being a person living in this sh*tty world?

Aren't they humans themselves?

_________________

Several days passed and Andrea hadn't said a word about the incident. That may be the case, but I was content to see her holding it together in the morning while we took our coffee and started our day. She treated that day as if it had never happened despite the letter of a week suspension and a lawsuit addressed to her hanging by the fridge.

She almost lost her job.

"I think you should take those things into consideration. I mean, they look serious." I said as a reminder over breakfast. She looked at me with soul-piercing eyes then continued with her champorado, a chocolate hot soup I made earlier. I hadn't said a word after that on the table. I thought she would leave the question unanswered yet Andrea said spontaneously, "I believe they're little love notes meant to destroy the career I worked so hard for." It was her last bite. She looked at it long and hard. Andrea continued to contemplate on what could've been done that day. "I don't know what has gotten into me at that time. I was just triggered emotionally." She begged an answer with her eyes saying,"What if it happens again?"

"You're still the Andrea Sison I know that everybody loves. And with your unwavering composure, I know it wouldn't happen again. That would only be the last time because I'll be here for you." I said with all sincerity. "The production staff can't make a rash decision nor the company will let you go," I gazed at her. "You're an asset." I smiled. Andrea was still unhinged about the whole thing and all I could do was to reassure her. And it was worth it every time because it worked like a charm. Andrea was already smiling. Her bright smiles in the morning were the only things that made me feel content and in peace.

I can only answer so vaguely since Andrea hasn't opened up to me about the true reason for her breakdown. She wasn't ready to face it head on. With what I've seen from her, it would've been a strong triggering statement to bring such a steadfast woman in pieces. What did Andrea do to Bennie to make her miserable like this, even filing an assault on my girl who barely managed to scratch her. I can't have that done to her again. My peace shouldn't suffer like this.

Tim should know the answers by now. He's been with them longer than I did. I have to see him again as things shouldn't continue as it's been for the few days that have passed. I had to get to the bottom of this.

_______________

I came to the office early that day and was planning to stay until I could meet both of them, even at different times. Tim and Bennie were the ones who knew Andrea best in this part of life that we had. Even if Bennie was the alleged cause of Andrea's breakdown, I had to tread carefully and around a two-faced, trauma-inducing b*tch for answers. It was fair enough to do so. I may seem biased, but I still practice knowing two sides of the story. It was better to decide knowing they were heard. In truth, I just wanted to emotionally break Bennie as well, but I know that wasn't a wise decision to make.

I wasn't even sure who Bennie really is in Andrea's life.

I took my first cup of coffee to my lips. Despite not seeing anything unusual after being hit in the head by the apprentice, I was still sleepless. Chris was still detained out there and I had no idea where he was or if he was even alive. I tried to trace his phone but it only ended at the restaurant they left me with. Cops didn't have a solution either. Curses, as proven, were deadly.

I saw Bennie carrying a stack of papers, happily humming to a song. It made me annoyed seeing her happy while my Andrea was slowly recovering from her antics. I approached her.

She was surprised by my sudden appearance at dawn despite my head on approach to her. Was she always that absorbed in herself? "A new early bird, I see." She said instead of a usual greeting. Only the two of us were present in the office. She didn't have to be that polite.

"Drop the facade. You don't have to be nice with me." I said. Bennie may look innocent and skilled but in my scattered memories of the past I remembered she wasn't nice. Seniors don't have to be nice to their subordinates, and she took advantage of that.

She smiled, her lips on one side. "You're quick to judge. I thought you were slow." She said as she gazed in my eyes in amusement. "Did she tell you stories of the past?" "She doesn't have too. You reek of disdain with every other success that you see." I already heard people noticing her strange acceptance to others' milestones. She wasn't a healthy sport.

"How can I not be? It should've been me who was hosting the show if she hadn't sabotaged me before."

"Andrea was chosen by a committee of editors. It was unanimous. She wouldn't sabotage you for a hosting gig."

She took it to heart and snapped back at me. "If she can take away my top selling articles as hers, she will do whatever she can to be on top and that's the truth." Andrea stealing ideas? That was surreal.

"That could never happen." I said firmly. She laughed. "Do you really know who your girlfriend really is, James? Or were you seeing her with rose-tinted glasses?" I gulped. Bennie was right. I loved Andrea and forgot to see her flaws, but was it really that bad? A journalist is true to his ideas, and everything a journalist names after himself is his real work. Not all may follow, but most do. And I know, all of us here were job-loving journalists. None could stay here if it wasn't for passion and pride in our hard work.

But why do I doubt myself? Do I really know the people around me? Was I sure Bennie was the real antagonist of this situation?