End Game

Chapter 16 - Tree House

HELPLESS na naupo si Isabella sa sulok na bahagi ng tree house. Sumandal siya sa dingding at tinakpan ng nanginginig na mga kamay ang kanyang mukha. Hindi niya na alam kung ano ang nangyayari sa kanya. Matapos niyang ma-realize kung ano ang nagawa kay Claude, ang lugar na iyon agad ang naisip niyang puntahan. 

She was desperate to escape. But when she opened her eyes, she was already in front of the tree house. It was like she had been teleported in this place.

Ang tree house na iyon ay matatagpuan sa farm ng pamilya ni Isabella sa Morong, Rizal. It had always been her hideout whenever she would feel too stressed or too exhausted from the outside world. Pero higit pa roon ang nararamdaman niya ngayon. Ang pagkakaiba lang ay hindi siya nakakaramdam ng pagod ngayon. In fact, buhay na buhay ang pakiramdam niya na para bang uminom siya ng napakaraming energy drink. It was like there was this massive energy flowing into her veins that she felt like she could do anything that she put her mind into. 

And yet, she was too scared and too anxious to move.

Isabella’s head was foggy. Pakiramdam niya ay may napakaimportanteng bagay siyang nalimutan. Pero kahit anong isip ang gawin niya, hindi niya matukoy kung ano iyon.

Mayamaya ay iginala niya ang tingin sa kabuuan ng tree house. Walang nagbago doon kahit na kaunti. Ipinagawa iyon ng kanyang Daddy para sa kanya noong… kumunot ang noo niya. When was it again? That was a very precious memory. Paano niya iyon nagawang kalimutan? She usually never forgets anything that was related to the important people in her life, lalo na kung tungkol iyon sa mga magulang niya. 

Nanakit ang ulo ni Isabella nang subukan niyang alalahanin pero sa huli ay wala rin siyang nagawa kundi ang sumuko sa pag-iisip.

It looked like this tree house had been maintained properly. It was clean and it smelled really nice. May mga stock pa ng bottled water at snacks sa storage box na para bang kailan lang mula nang ma-refill ang mga iyon. Naubos na ni Isabella ang lahat ng inumin at nakain niya na rin ang lahat ng pagkain doon pero hindi pa rin siya makuntento.

She wanted more. She needed more.

Deep inside, alam niya kung ano ang kailangan niya. Pero natatakot siyang aminin ang bagay na iyon kahit sa kanyang sarili.

It was crazy. At first, Isabella could not tell whether she was just hallucinating or not for being in this place. But the things she had put in her mouth just proved that this was not a hallucination because she could remember their taste so vividly. Ilang beses niya na ring kinurot ang sarili niya at ilang beses rin siyang nasaktan kaya sa wakas ay nakumbinsi siyang totoo ang lahat ng nangyayari pati na ang kakaibang mga bagay na nararamdaman niya.

Nag-aalab sa init ang lalamunan ni Isabella at mainit ang buong katawan niya mula nang magising siya. It was like every fiber of her body had become ultra-sensitive. Her n*****s were suddenly hard and her underwear was soaked. She was a dripping mess down there. It was so embarrassing. Hindi pa nangyari ang ganito sa kanya noon. She felt like she was an animal in heat and she had no idea what to do.

Isabella shook her head violently to divert her thoughts somewhere else. Ipinikit niya ang mga mata. But Claude’s image popped inside her head. And in an instant, her whole body shivered. Hanggang ngayon ay para bang nararamdaman niya pa rin ang mainit na mga kamay nito na humahaplos sa kanyang mukha, sa kanyang mga balikat, sa kanyang likod, at sa kanyang baywang. His hands felt so sinfully good against her skin. 

Thinking about Claude made her feel more feverish. She wanted him to touch her more. She wanted to feel his body against hers. She… wanted him inside her. She was craving for him so badly.

Pero nang maalala ni Isabella kung paano niya kinagat si Claude, kung paano ito dinugo nang dahil sa kanya, napalunok siya at mabilis ding naidilat ang kanyang mga mata. His blood smelled so good and it tasted divine. She never had something that delicious in her entire life that she wanted to have a taste of it again. Mayamaya ay malakas na tinampal niya ang kanyang mga pisngi. 

God… what was she thinking? What have I become?

How could she think that someone else’s blood was tasty? How could she do that to her very own best friend? How could she bite him so hard that he even bled so much? That must have hurt him a lot. Worse, how could she drink his blood just like that? At bakit ganito katindi ang reaction ng katawan niya tuwing naiisip si Claude? How could she have such lewd thoughts towards Claude of all people? 

Naihilamos ni Isabella ang mga kamay sa kanyang mukha. Kung alam lang ng binata kung ano ang mga iniisip niya patungkol rito, baka hindi na siya nito gustuhin pang makasama uli.

Worse, Claude might be too disgusted that he would never want to see her again. And she didn’t think she could live with that.

Namasa ang mga mata ni Isabella sa naisip. “Why am I being like this? I don’t understand myself anymore.”

“I was right. You are really here.”

Nag-angat siya ng ulo nang marinig ang pamilyar na boses na iyon. Nang makita niya si Claude, ikinuyom niya ang mga kamay para pigilan ang sariling takbuhin ang direksiyon nito. Claude was just like this tree house. He remained unchanging all these years. Mula noon hanggang ngayon, alam nito kung saan siya hahanapin tuwing nawawala siya. He knew her enough to find her, to always find her.

“You must have been very afraid. Come here, Bella.”

Napasigok si Isabella. Sino ang niloloko niya? During the time that she was hiding here, she was secretly hoping for someone to find her. She was hoping for Claude to come and get her. It had been like that for so many years now. He would give her space whenever she wanted it, but with just a call, he would always appear like a Knight in shining armor whenever she needed him. And then they would hang out for hours.

Pagkatapos ay sasabihin niya sa binata ang lahat ng mga alalahanin niya at matiyaga itong makikinig. Minsan nga ay wala na siyang kailangan pang sabihin. Because even in silence, they understood each other. That was how connected they were.

Looking back, it seemed that it was not this place that was Isabella’s hideout. Maybe it was Claude.

Nang ilahad nito ang mga braso, muli ay natukso siyang tumakbo palapit rito. But she tried to control herself when she remembered the horrible thing that she did. Ni hindi niya alam kung bakit naroon pa rin si Claude sa kabila ng ginawa niya rito. She glanced at his neck and was taken aback when she saw that there was no more trace of wound there.

How was that possible? She bit him, didn’t she? He even bled a lot. She saw it with her own eyes.

“Your neck-“

“It is all healed now. That’s why you have nothing to worry about now. You have nothing to feel guilty about, too. That was a normal reaction back there, Isabella.”

Pakiramdam niya ay biglang nanlaki ang ulo niya sa narinig. “What normal reaction are you talking about? I just bit you like a wild animal, Claude! At hindi ‘yon normal! But here you are, already healed. Ano’ng nangyayari? I saw a lot of blood earlier. There were even traces of it on my nightgown!” halos pasigaw nang sagot niya.

Kanina ay may bakas din ng dugo ni Claude sa kanyang mga kamay. But she had licked all of it when she arrived at the tree house. And she did it without even being aware of it. Huli na nang ma-realize niya kung ano ang ginawa. Gusto niyang sumabog sa kahihiyan. She felt disgusted at herself and yet, she wanted to sink her teeth in his skin once again to have more of his blood.

This was scary. She must have been out of her mind.

“Isabella, please try to calm down and listen to me first-“

“How can I calm down? Don’t you get it, Claude? Nothing about what’s happening is normal!” sigaw ni Isabella sa basag na boses. “Me being in this place was far from being normal! What I did, what I’m feeling and thinking right now, none of them was normal!”

“Why? What is it exactly that you are thinking and feeling right now?” masuyong tanong ni Claude bago humakbang palapit sa kanya.

Natigilan siya. Now that was something she could not dare say. How was she supposed to answer that without him being repulsed by the idea that his very best friend just woke up one day and realized that she had been lusting over his blood and body?

“What is it? Hmm?”

Bahagyang naningkit ang mga mata ni Claude nang manatiling tahimik si Isabella. The way he was looking at her intently was enough to make her toes curl. Her twitching core was not making it any easier for her either. Every part of her was screaming how much she wanted him right this instant that it was getting more and more difficult to get a hold of herself.

This was creeping her out. She felt like she was becoming a stranger to her own self.

“Come on. Say it, love.”

“I… I can’t.” Naglihis si Isabella ng tingin nang maramdaman niya ang pag-iinit ng kanyang mga pisngi. Was Claude’s voice always sounded this sexy? At ang endearment na iyon, parati niya iyong naririnig mula sa binata. It always warmed her heart but now, that word felt different. It was like every single thing that Claude says and does now affects her and her body so much.

“Fine. Let’s just do it this way. Do you still remember when we met at the party when you were still eighteen and I was having a hard time? Tinanong mo ako noon kung ano’ng magagawa mo para matulungan ako,” he added in that sexy British accent of his again. Kahit hindi sanay si Claude na mag-Tagalog, pinipilit pa rin nitong gumamit niyon para sa kanya. He said it was his way of reaching out to her and understanding her better which he really didn’t need to do. “Then I will do the same, love. Alam kong ang dami mong gustong malaman. But I will tell you about all of them when your condition has stabilized. For now, tell me what I can do to help you. Gusto kong lumapit sa ‘yo at yakapin ka, but I was worried that you might push me away or you might disappear on me again. That’s why you need to tell me exactly what you want so I would know what to do for you.”

Humarap si Isabella kay Claude. She caught him looking at her as if he was lost, too. His arms were still open wide; he was patiently waiting for her to come around. And it was touching.

“But this time, hindi mo ako maiintindihan kahit pa sabihin ko sa ‘yo ang totoo,” halos pabulong nang sagot niya.

Masuyong ngumiti ang binata. “Try me. Kailan ba naman kita hindi naintindihan, love?”

“I… I want to taste your blood again, Claude. And I… I want to touch you. I want you to touch me, too.”