Chess Pieces Aftermath: Lucius D'Angelo

Chapter 3

My phone rang and I just ignored it. The sound echoed throughout the entire mausoleum, disturbing the silence that had been enveloping me since earlier. The silence was comfortable yet painful. The silence I wished would only be disturbed by one thing I longed to hear.

Her voice.

Pero hindi ang boses ng babaeng pinakamamahal ko ang umistorbo sa katahimikang iyon. It was the annoying ringtone of my phone. Hinayaan ko lang iyong mag-ring, annoyed that my peace got disturbed when I clearly told anyone not to bother me on this day.

I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. Ganoon naman ako palagi. Especially on the day of her death anniversary.

The ringing stopped but it wasn't long before my phone rang again. I exhaled harshly. Naiinis na kinuha ko iyon sa bulsa ng pantalong ko. I checked who the caller was and frowned when I saw it was Loki.

Pinag-isipan ko pa saglit kung sasagutin ang tawag o hindi. Of all people, Loki was the one who knew exactly what I would be doing for today. Because that's what I have been doing for years. And it was only this time that he disturbed me on this day.

In the end, I chose to answer his call. It might be something important.

"Hey."

"Lucius."

On the background, I heard someone yelled, "Sabi sa 'yo sasagutin n'yan 'pag ikaw tumawag!"

Bumalik ang pagkakakunot ng noo ko. I immediately regretted answering the call.

"Creed's with you?" I asked, slightly annoyed which Loki quickly noticed.

"I know, I know..." Loki said with a sigh. "But I'm afraid he isn't the only one here with me."

"EL Ordre?"

There was a pause. I was about to check if the call was still connected when Loki spoke again.

"And your... fuckers squad."

Natigilan ako. I put away the phone and stared at it instead. I got confused. I became unsure if it was Loki whom I was talking to or not. Marami pang tanong ang pumasok sa isip ko.

Why would they be together? EL Ordre and fuckers squad? Ibig sabihin, kasama rin nila sina Helios at Luther ngayon?

Helios? As in Helios Gallagher with the EL Ordre?

I couldn't even imagine.

"Bakit kayo magkakasama?" tanong kong litong-lito. I still have more questions to ask but I had to ask this one first as this was what confused me the most.

"Nasabi mo na?" rinig kong tanong ulit ni Creed sa kabilang linya. "Hindi pa? Ang tagal naman!"

"Why don't you talk to him instead?" Kalmado ang boses ni Loki pero alam kong naiinis na 'tong isang 'to. And it seemed like Creed noticed it too as he laughed.

"Hindi, sige, ikaw na. Baka hindi pa pumunta si Lucius 'pag nainis sa 'kin."

"Buti alam mo pa lang naiinis ang mga tao sa 'yo," Hunter's voice was faint in the background.

I looked at Angela's tombstone as I listened to the men bickering in the background. Despite the hollow feeling in my chest, a small smile crept on my lips. Especially when I heard Loki sigh as if he didn't want to be there but didn't really have a choice.

"So? Why are you guys together?" I asked.

"We're just thinking that if you'd like to do something different today, we could all hang out. We're all ready to hang out with you," he said. "But no pressure, man... If you prefer to be alone, then we'll respect that. It's just that... we want you to know that we're just here."