#WIAE Chapter 28 (Second to the last)

I breathed hard before I dared enter the vicinity. I couldn't explain what I was feeling... it was a fusion of excitement and fear. Of rush and uncertainty. I didn't know what would happen to me... if anyone would suspect me of what I did. Or if they'd know... what I did... 

I walked straight inside as my ID gave away the fact that I attended this school, unfortunately. Diretso akong naglalakad, sa bawat hakbang ay iniisip ko kung alam ba nila ang mga ginawa ko. I didn't want to get caught, no I didn't want that, but a part of me wanted to be recognized for what I did. I was a hypocrite no more. I proved to be more than that.

Hindi ko alam kung paano ko nagawang maglakad nang diretso hanggang sa bahay. I just walked and walked, not minding a single soul. I had been afraid of the darkness since the incident, and for the first time in weeks, I was again able to walk alone. Without fear.

One enemy down.

Hindi ko alam kung ilan pa ang natitira, but I'd hunt them down. I didn't care for what Night thought of me. I didn't care if he thought I was reckless and impulsive. In the kind of life we lead, it's either kill or be killed. And getting killed wasn't an option. Not for me.

When I arrived at the house, Avo was there waiting for me.

"Where were you?" he asked.

I stared at him. He was clueless. He didn't know someone special died. This must be what power felt like.

"Out," I said. I began to play the lie Night orchestrated for the both of us. "I needed to think about us."

And then I smiled. Avo trusted me... not as much as I wanted him to, but enough for him not to think I was responsible for anything as horrible as I did. For him, I was still the same naive girl that I was when I first arrived here.

"And were you able to think?" Avo said, and I nodded. He smiled. 

"I'm hungry," I replied. Avo held me by my waist as we made way to the kitchen.

It was already dawn when I came back. The chef was already out but I was starving. What I did with Night drained my energy and I needed to replenish that. I knew more was about to come... No secret remains a secret. A day would come when everything would be spilled. Including what happened today. And I should be prepared.

"You know how to cook?" I said in awe as Avo reached for the pan.

Avo shook his head.

"No. But how hard can it get?"

He went to the fridge and got chicken. He thawed it, and while we were waiting for the chicken to soften, he sat beside me. He held my hand and played with it while asking me questions.

"When do you want to practice?" he asked.

"Ha?"

"For your finals. Because I don't want Ella to hurt you again."

Bigla kong naagaw sa kanya iyong kamay ko nung binanggit niya iyong pangalan ni Ella. Agad naman na kumunot ang noo niya.

"Why? Did I say something wrong?" he asked, worried.

I shook my head. I tried to act cool. My face shouldn't give away anything that happened tonight. It was my secret. It was our secret.

"Nothing..." I replied. "Maybe I'm just really hungry."

"What did you do outside for you to become that hungry?" he asked.

I pursed my lips and remained unfazed.

"I just cut... things."

Avo let it pass, since he had no idea about what transpired hours ago. I wonder if he'd still look at me like that... like he adored me, like I was the center of his universe, once he learned about the things I did... and the things I was about to do.

How far can love go? Would it let you accept someone for who they really are? Or are those just sweet and empty words?

In the end, Avo accidentally dipped his finger in the oil. It was stupid of him, and at the same time, sweet because he tried to cook though he obviously was lacking in that area. At dahil wala na namang bukas na kahit na ano sa oras na 'to, I just settled on drinking milk. I'd just have to eat tomorrow. That could wait. Mas gusto kong matulog.

Avo slept in my bedroom. He just hugged me as we slept. And I think that helped. I didn't have any nightmares that night.

--

I sat in front of the grand piano in the middle of the receiving area. With Night being gone for three days already, I was starting to feel fidgety. For how long could we keep this charade going? At kailan ba siya uuwi? Pakiramdam ko ay nagdududa na ang mga tao. Tatlong araw na ring wala si Ella. I wasn't doing anything to draw suspicions on me, but I could only do so much.

Stretching my fingers, I put my fingers on top of the piano tiles and began to play Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. It was the piece my mother taught when one summer that she visited me in Japan. It always had a soothing effect on me. Pumikit ako habang tinutugtog ko iyon, wishing that the calmness of the music was enough to put my worries at bay.

Tuwing mapapadaan ako sa kwarto ni Ella, pakiramdam ko ay naririnig ko ang boses niya. Na sumisigaw. At tinatawag ang pangalan ko. And I would just walk away. Far, far away from her room. The voices were inside my head. I felt like exploding. 

And so I played. I played to drown the voices. But even before I could finish my piece, a voice from behind me was heard.

"Estrella."

Agad na napatigil ako sa pagtugtog. Even if I rarely heard that voice, I still knew it. His stares haunted me for nights. His unknown anger lingered.

"Fuji," I said as I stood up and looked at him.

And there he was, looking at me with those dead eyes of his. I had always known he harbored anger towards me, but I didn't know it was because of Ella. If he loved her so much, why didn't he get her for himself? Avo had thrown Ella over and over again. It must have been painful to watch. Especially if the person whom you loved was being treated like shit by someone else.

"Where's Ella?" he said, his jaw clenched hard.

My face remained stoic. I shouldn't give anything away.

"I don't know," I replied.

"Liar," he gritted through his teeth. He took a step forward. He had always looked mad at me, but tonight, his anger was at a different level. His chest was heaving in anger. It was very visible.

I wanted to take a step back. I wanted to get away from him, but I couldn't. And I shouldn't. He shouldn't know that I was hiding something.

"Why are you asking me?" I asked.

And then I saw him pressing his fist. He's mad, and he's showing it.

"You're the last one with her."

I pressed my lips. My face remained impassive.

"We're not exactly friends in case you didn't notice, Fuji."

But my answer just made him angrier. Lorenzo was right. Anyone's capable of murder, if triggered and given the right reasons. And by killing Ella, I just provided Fuji the ammunition. 

Agad akong napahawak sa pendant ko. I'd always thought that my enemy wouldn't harm me out in the open, but looking at Fuji's eyes, I knew he's ready to take my life. Right here, right now.

"I checked the CCTV. You followed her from here... and then's she's gone!" he growled.

Biglang lumakas ang tibok ng puso ko. Shit! Iyong CCTV! That cursed CCTV! Bakit ito gumagana kapag laban sa akin, pero kapag ako ang nangangailangan, palagi itong sira?! Was this some kind of sick joke?!

"Kaya pinagbibintangan mo ako?!"

I had just to get mad. I had to get offended. I couldn't let him beat me at my own game.

Agad siyang lumapit at saka hinawakan ang braso ko. I grimaced at the pain. He was holding me too tight. I could already feel the bruise forming in my arm.

"What did you do to her?" he said, his voice laced with threat. Night was right. I shouldn't admit to anything. Most especially to Fuji. He'd go crazy if he learned about what we did to the person he loved the most. The look in his eyes was enough to prove that he's willing to do anything... to me. Kapag nalaman niya na ako ang may kagagawan kung bakit nawawala si Ella.

"Nothing," I replied.

Mas lalo niyang hinigpitan ang hawak sa braso ko.

"I'll kill you if anything happened to her. Not even Avo can stop me. Not even your family."

My breathing started to quicken, but I had to keep it together. I was already in the middle of my game. I couldn't lose now. I couldn't stop now.

"I had nothing to do with her," I said, slowly peeling his hold on me. I stared at him. I shouldn't look scared. He shouldn't know what I was even feeling.

His eyes blazing, his jaw clenched, and his hands pressed into fists, he looked like he was ready to go for the kill and snap my neck.

"Pray, Belinda Estrella. Pray hard. Because if you did something to her, I'd stop at nothing to get back at you."

Then he walked away. And I noticed that I was holding my breath the entire time.

—

"Where are you, you asshole?"

I had been waiting for Night's return. Tuwing nakikita ko si Fuji, nakakaramdam ako ng kakaiba sa dibdib ko. I knew I had to act tough, but I couldn't do it the whole time. He's suspicious of me, and it would only take a few more days before he discovered what really happened.

"Boe."

Napahinto ako dahil sa pagtawag sa pangalan ko. I smiled when I saw Avo. Nilapitan niya ako at saka hinawakan ako sa magkabila kong braso.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

I nodded, and said, "Just nervous about the exam." Lie. That was the least of my worries. As time passed by, the list of the things I needed to worry about just kept on piling up.

"I don't think you should worry about that anymore," he said. "Ella's missing. She won't be able to participate."

I froze.

"Do... you know where she is?" I asked.

He shook his head, and I continued to hold on to my breath.

"Maybe she went home. She always does things like this. Go missing for days." Maybe he should tell this to Fuji. He had been breathing on my neck for days. Kahit ano ang gawin niya, hindi niya na mahahanap pa si Ella. She's gone. She's probably floating in the sea. There's no way in hell he could find her. There's no way in hell he could find evidence he could use against me.

Only Night knew about it... and his hands were as bloody as mine.

"Good to know," I replied with a smile.

Avo and I sat on the couch. I hadn't seen him yesterday. He was doing business outside, and yet I couldn't get inside his room. It was locked. I tried everything. I was close to breaking his door down. My mind was still itching to know more about that Alistair Yoseff Ostenhaimer.

"What were you doing outside?" I asked as he was busy caressing my arms with his fingers.

"Business."

"What business?"

One good thing that came with sleeping with Avo was that he wouldn't question it if I was interested in his affairs. It was one of the good things... one of the many.

"Family."

"Your sister okay?" I asked. I remembered she got kidnapped before.

He stilled. For a moment. But that moment clearly meant something. I knew the list just got longer.

"Yeah..." he trailed. "She's fine."

"What's her name?"

"Arabella."

"She's your only sibling?"

I could feel him freezing. I waited until he was ready to answer... but even before he could say anything, Fuji was marching towards us. And he looked pissed.

"What did you do to her?!" he shouted. His eyes looked crazy.

Avo wrapped his arms around my shoulder and held me close to him.

"What are you talking about?" Avo asked Fuji.

"Ella's missing!"

"Maybe she went home," Avo offered as an explanation.

"I checked with her family. She hasn't been home since the beginning of the sem," Fuji said and then turned his fiery gaze at me. "You were the last one with her."

I evened my breathing. This wasn't the time to panic.

"I wasn't with her," I said, enunciating every word clearly. "I didn't even talk to her. We hate each other. We're not friends."

"Oh, don't fuck with me, Estrella! You were following her towards the secret passage and then hours later, you came back and you passed through the main gate! Do I look stupid to you?!"

Biglang lumakas ang kabog ng dibdib ko. Why was he only questioning me?! If he had seen the CCTV, he must have seen Night as well! He followed us! He was even the one crazy enough to chop up the bodies! Why was I the only one at the receiving end?!

"So?" I said, trying my damnest to prevent my lips from quivering.

Magsasalita pa sana si Fuji nung maunahan siya ni Avo.

"That doesn't prove anything, Fuji," Avo calmly said.

Fuji shut his jaw.

"She's been gone, Avo. She's not here. She's outside, and her family doesn't know where she is. You fucking know what this means."

Avo's hold on me loosened. But he didn't say a word.

"This is another Avo in the making," Fuji spewed. My forehead creased. Napaawang iyong labi ko. Napatingin sa akin si Fuji. "Oh, your little girlfriend doesn't know what a fraud you are? And a traitor?"