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He was busy surfing the net last night, looking for schools near hers. She was going to attend this high-end university. He can't afford going in it even with his any-university-50%-less tuition-fee scholarship. The nearest he found was almost a hundred miles away from hers.
He was about to force his sister to help him when he learned about her farewell party. He wasn't informed. He wasn't invited. He wasn't wanted. He wasn't needed. But he went anyway.
The party was in full swing when he arrived. Some people who can't fit inside were staying by their front yard. Coldplay could be heard as far as two blocks down. Lights were flickering and the house reeked of alcohol and sweat combined.
He shoved his way by the bar where he found her brother hitting on one of their friends.
"Nico."
"Richard? Bro!" He was a bit tipsy. "Come here, inom ka muna. Busy pa si Menggay kakaentertain ng mga bisita nya."
So he did. He drowned himself with all the alcohol he found in the cooler. He wasn't a heavy drinker nor a lightweight. He drank straight from the bottle or can after the other, but kept check of himself.
Maine noticed the moment he entered their front door but ignored him. She didn't want to see him. It hurts too much. She ignored him the whole time, busying herself with her other friends.
But time came that people didn't need her anymore. Some are passed out by the couches, some went home already. The party was slowly coming to an end.
She was about to go upstairs to her room and call it a night already when she found him rummaging through the cabinets in the kitchen.
"Richard?"
"Oh andyan ka pala," he grinned, drunk. "Hi, Mahal. Miss na kita. Pwedeng—" hiccup "—makitulog?"
//
Richard shook. He was crying really hard, tears streaming down his face. He let himself fall sat on the edge of her bed, hunched over, sobbing.
"Meng," he hiccuped. "Meng, please?" His arms automatically snaked around her waist, burying his face in her blanket clad body. His body trembles because of his crying.
Maine hesitated but held him close to her anyway. She hated seeing him like this. She hated hurting him like this. "Chard.."
But things aren't going well. They were going to be a hundred miles apart, and she wanted him to focus on his life first. He's the rarest of all gems in this world full of junk ores. He shouldn't be throwing everything away for her.
People say that if you really love someone, set him free. And so, she was setting him free to be someone else aside from being just the boyfriend of the Governor's daughter. Maybe one day, they'll cross paths again. Maybe someday, he'll come back.
