We Broke Up

20 - Francesca's Confession

"Ate Ches, I can never hate you." I smiled at her and held one hand that was on my cheek. "Kung ano man yan, just tell me. I will love you still. I promise. Okay?"

She nodded her head and wiped her tears as she let go of my face and held both of my hands between her palms. She took a few slow deep breaths until she was calm enough to talk.

"Yesterday... When I told you that we couldn't make it to that meeting with Martin because we had an appointment with the caterer, I lied." She said.

"What? I... Why?" I slowly shook my head as I tried to grasp what she just told me.

"Francis convinced me to do so. Alam mo naman di ba? Ang gusto ko talaga samahan ka, bantayan, hindi kita maipagkakatiwala sa kahit sino pa yan pero kasi Francis vouched for his cousin. At sa pagkakakilala ko naman sa kanya, mukhang mabait. Yun pala..." She explained then started sobbing again.

"Manyakis." Denise rolled her eyes while I gently stroked Francesca's back and Sophie hugged her closer.

"Siguro nga talagang you can't really know when you know a person kasi..." She held my hand tighter and looked into my eyes. "Francis knew about Martin's plans that night. He didn't just know, he encouraged his cousin." With that she broke down again, angry tears streamed down her face.

"Ay gago..." Denise mumbled behind gritted teeth but we all heard her.

"I'm sorry, Naevey. I'm so sorry." Francesca sobbed. "I... I didn't know. Na-nabasa ko lang yung texts sa phone niya." She struggled to explain between her sobs and sniffles.

I sighed and pulled her into a tight hug as she cried her heart out. I knew that more than the guilt that she felt, what hurt her more was her boyfriend's betrayal.

"Alam niya eh... Alam niya how protective I am of you tapos... tapos..." She said before breaking into a fit of sobs again. "I'm sorry, Naeve."

"Ate Ches, it's not your fault. Hindi mo naman alam na ganun pala ang nasa isip ng mag-pinsan and it's natural that you trust Francis completely kaya mo nga siya pakakasalan eh." I told her.

Her sobs stopped and she was quiet for a few seconds before pulling away from my hug to look at me then the girls.

She looked down and stared at her hands. "I don't know about that anymore." She whispered. "After what I saw, Naeve, and how he reasoned that it was normal for guys to talk about girls like that, I... I was disgusted. It's like I don't know him anymore. So? Ganoon din niya ako pag-usapan with his friends?" She continued, that time her expression was mixed with anger. "I don't think I want to be with that kind of guy for the rest of my life. I mean should I still be with a man who thinks of women as playthings?"

Francesca sighed heavily and shook her head as her shoulders hung low, seemingly exhausted, defeated.

All three of us looked at each other to decide who should answer her question.

"We can't answer that for you, Ate Ches." I said softly. "We all have our opinions, but only you can answer that question. What your heart and mind says is for you to listen to."

"Oo nga, Ate Ches. Reflect on things. Pray. Tamang-tama itong R&R weekend natin to clear your mind." Sophie added.

"Mukhang maraming kang kailangan pag-isipan, Cheska, and you should get to that. But tonight, we drink!" Denise declared as she raised her glass. We all clinked our glasses to a toast and emptied our glasses from the wine.

Denise then snapped her fingers for the bartender to come closer.

"Yes, Ma'am?" The bartender asked.

"Give us a glass each more of this then send two bottles in our suite, we got some talking to do." She ordered.

After finishing the wine served to us by the pool, we all made our way up to the suite where we drank and talked all night.

Two bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon, hours of endless stories, eight episodes of FRIENDS and three plates of cold cuts later, we were all splayed on our beds, fast asleep.

The next day, I woke up to the sound of the suite's phone ringing. I figured it was the front desk calling us for our spa appointment. I let it ring out for a few more minutes, before finally deciding that no one else was going to pick up the call but me.

Completely groggy, with my entire body protesting what my mind was willing to do, I peeked through heavy eyelids and crawled up to my elbows. I turned my head to where the sound was coming from and was relieved to know that the phone was only at arms length on the side table.

"Hello?" I grumbled.

"Hello, Ma'am. Good morning. There's a guest here looking for Miss Naveah." The pleasant voice of the female receptionist answered.

"I'm Naveah. Who's looking for me?" I asked as I raked through my disheveled hair and rubbed my eyes, my head pounding.

"Mr. Jay Ferguson daw po. Kanina pa nga po siyang 4am dito, Ma'am pero hindi na po kasi kami nagpapaakyat ng bisita unless you told us po na kasama niyo siya. What should I tell him po?"

"What? Si Jay? 4am? Anong oras na ba?" I asked, still slightly disoriented.

"Yes po, Jay Ferguson daw po. It's 8am na po."

He came here at 4am and he has been waiting for 4 hours? What could be so urgent?

"Okay, Miss. Please assist him na lang to our suite. Thank you."

"Okay, Miss Naveah. Thank you." She answered before ending the call.

I sat for a few minutes, eyes closed, half-asleep and hungover, wondering why Jay was in the hotel at that hour.

"Oh s**t! Jay is coming here!" I gasped and jumped out of bed to check myself in the mirror. I looked like a mess, bed hair, runny mascara, wrinkled dress, braless. "s**t!" I mumbled then dashed out of the bedroom and ran to the bathroom as fast as I could knowing that Jay could be at the door any minute and could see me looking like that.

I quickly washed my face and brushed my teeth then pulled my hair up in a messy bun before running out of the bathroom just in time to hear the doorbell ring. I ran to the door before the ringing could wake any of the girls and opened the door.

My heart almost jumped out of my chest as it excitedly pounded at the sight of his handsome face. His eyes held mine unhesitatingly, they held questions but they looked determined.

"Naveah..." He spoke in a low voice that sent shivers down my spine. His face was flushed and his chest heaved like he just ran a marathon.

"J-Jay..." was all I could manage to say as I stood with bated breath when he stepped inside the suite, his eyes never leaving mine.

"Hindi ko na rin kayang itago, hindi ko maintindihan, hindi ko mapigilan kasi..." He paused then took another step and we found ourselves only inches from each other. His breath brushed on my forehead as he towered over me. "Mahal kita."

Before I could completely understand what was happening, I felt a strong arm wrap around my waist and a hand cup my nape then his soft lips kissing mine.