They Don't Know About Us

Chapter 2

Kai was exhausted. This has been her life since the pandemic started. With her and Omar spending more time together, it should have brought them closer together. Instead, it has caused her to unravel an ugly side to her partner that she never knew existed. He was impatient, angry, and aggressive, but the thing she hated most was the fact that he gets violent when things don't go his way. "Try me. Try taking that ring off and I'll break all your fingers!" Omar yelled as a warning. He looked around as if he was trying to make sure no one could hear them. Kai breathed fast. She knew she had to get out of this relationship soon or she'll probably end up dead. "I'll get the food," she said while she bent down. "'Wag na. Ang dami mo pang satsat when you could have done that earlier. Tingnan mo. Look at the chaos that had to happen—," he said when Kai looked up at him. "Really? Kelangan ba talaga mangyari toh? Why can't you deal with things without losing your temper and breaking things in this house?" She asked. He scoffed in response. "You piss me off kasi when you didn't have to. You could've avoided it in the first place. Kita mo, bibili ka din naman pala ng pagkain. Why haven't you thought of that before you went home? I could have waited for you kesa yung pagod na nga ako galing sa trabaho, wala pang pagkain. You're so selfish. You only think about yourself," Omar accused her. Kai shook her head in disbelief. "Well sorry kasi nakaupo lang ako sa trabaho ko all day. I'll clean this up, would you mind waiting for the food?" She asked. "'Wag na nga, diba? I told you nawalan nako ng gana," he said before he stormed off the kitchen and left the house. "Un-fucking-believable," Kai finally let out. "Damn it!" She exclaimed when she cut herself on a piece of broken glass. She hurried and cleaned every single piece she could find. Then she swept the floor, making sure every shattered piece was nowhere to be found. Not long after, she went upstairs and hurried to the bathroom to take a shower.

The next morning, Kai woke up and stared straight ahead. Omar never made it home, and she was glad to have spent the night without dealing with a douchebag. However, she still had a terrible night. Her headache never went away, and her head pounded like it never did before. She barely had enough sleep and now she has to get ready for another sixteen-hour shift at the hospital. Coffee. That's exactly what she knew she needed. Nothing coffee can't fix. She pulled the drawer on her nightstand, grabbed the Ibuprofen bottle she had, and popped a couple of pills in her mouth. Then she drank some water and headed for the bathroom.

The line at the drive-thru for Starbucks was expectedly long. Good thing Kai thought to give herself a few minutes to spare before heading for work. While waiting for her turn, she gasped when she heard the honking of the horn from the car behind her. She totally fell asleep while waiting. She knew she desperately needed the coffee or she wouldn't survive her work shift. She quickly pulled over to the drive-thru window. The woman inside handed her usual order. Then Kai handed her some cash. "You're good," the woman said to her after refusing to take her payment. Kai frowned. "What do you mean?" She asked. "The person in front of you paid for your drink," the woman informed her. "Oh," Kai uttered surprised. "Thank you," she replied. Though her day didn't start off right, the stranger's gesture definitely put a smile on Kai's face. That was just what she needed: coffee and a simple act of kindness from a complete stranger. "Grabe ka talaga, Lord," she said with a smile. "Kape lang naman pinunta ko dun  pero you gave me so much more. Salamat po. At salamat po sa taong ginamit nyo to brighten up my day. I know it didn't start out right. Sorry po for complaining. Kayo na pong bahala to return the blessing sa taong nagbayad ng kape ko or maybe You can give me an opportunity to be a blessing to them someday, too."

A few minutes earlier

Sasha wasn't supposed to be up so early in the morning, but she couldn't get any sleep so she decided to get her usual drink at her local Starbucks. She sighed upon arriving. Starbucks always had a long drive-thru line, but she never got used to it and she hated the wait. When it was her turn at the window, the woman gave her her order. Sasha glanced over to her car's side view mirror to see who was driving the car behind her. To her surprise, the woman seemed as though she fell asleep while waiting for her turn at the drive-thru window. Sasha immediately felt sorry for her. She must have had a rough night, Sasha thought. Then she handed her ATM card to the woman at the window. "Could you also please pay for the car behind me?" She let the woman know. "Oh, sure," the woman immediately smiled. After the woman handed her card back to her, she gave her one last smile. "Just so you know, your gesture made my day. I'm sure it will make their day too," the woman said to her. Sasha couldn't help but smile. "I hope so. She looks like she badly needs the drink," she replied before she finally took off.