My Little Moon - 𝗂𝗋𝖾𝗇𝖾 𝗆𝖺𝗋𝖼𝗈𝗌

26. pathetically perfect

The ride back home consisted of Imee driving while Irene and Catrina occupied the backseats. The young girl was discharged as promised, still as weary as she was taken in. But her cold demeanor slowly started to fade.

It was still raining. The sky poured without remorse as thunder and bolts of lightning decorated the ashen clouds, scaring birds and making them flee for nearby shelter.

The car became their temporary refuge, keeping them warm from the polar-like wind that seemed to grow stronger outside the vehicle.

Irene had her arms wrapped around the young girl, checking in from time to time if she's starting to wake up. Her arms lulled the quivering child to sleep until her head gently fell on Irene's own shoulder.

From the rear-view, Imee sent a faint, ghost-like smile at the two, before fixing her eyes on the road once more. No words were said and not a single doubt crossed their minds. 

As for Harper, the two women insisted that she was to go with them and they could drop her off. But the young lady refused and reasoned that she was to be picked up by her own companions. Though, the two women hesitated and even opted to wait with her. But Harper had her mind locked and convinced the two that it was fine for them to go ahead.

They were heading home, not expecting anything at all. For sure, Imelda was keen on being worried about Catrina while the six nephews were awaiting their arrival. But as of that, they expected nothing out of the ordinary.

The car came to a halt as Irene tried to reach for the umbrella that was lodged behind the trunk, careful as to not startle the girl awake.

"I'll go and get the boys to help," Imee shut the car off before glancing back at her sister.

"Wait, use this Manang." Irene handed out the umbrella to her sister as she gladly took it before getting out of the vehicle and rushing inside the mansion.

Irene and Catrina were now alone. The woman doesn't want to deprive the young girl from her sleep but she has to, seeing as the rain outside began to grow stronger.

"Cat. . ." she began, patting the sides of the young girl's face with her palm. Catrina was still comfortably leaning on Irene's shoulder and snuggled even further in the crook of the woman's neck.

Irene could feel her soft, even breaths on her neck while she struggled to wake the girl. "Hey darling, gising na. We're here."

Catrina stirred but it wasn't enough to completely wake her. The young girl softly whined, brows suddenly furrowed before calm overtook her features once more.

". . .I know, I know." Irene slightly adjusted her shoulder, making it easy for her to face Catrina. "I don't want to wake you up but we need to go inside, anak." Irene whispered, oblivious to what she just said.

Irene glanced outside the car window and saw that Mike and Borgy were now approaching the car, umbrellas in both their hands.

That's when Catrina finally woke up, the perfect timing to do so. She rubbed her eyes before looking outside and seeing her kuyas knock on the window.

Irene opened the door, instantly getting hit with how loud the rain was. Some of it got into her shirt but she didn't mind and proceeded to look behind Catrina who was still in the verge of processing.

"Halika dito Kit-Cat," Mike slightly raised his voice to be heard, and Catrina followed him. "Tita, you go with Borgy. Ako na dito ang bahala kay Catrina."

The woman nodded before the four of them quickly sought shelter from the umbrellas as they rushed towards the entrance of their home.

Naka abang si Imee sa pintuan, mukha ay parang nakakita ng multo at katawan ay hindi mapakali. She waited until Irene and Catrina both arrived on the front porch, slightly drenched but at least dry enough to not shiver.