The Devil's Trap

Chapter 22: Wrong Decision

Chapter 22: Wrong Decision

I'm back at the coffee shop once again like nothing happened. Like last night didn't shake me to the core. The fear I felt when I thought I lost my mother was incomparable. If I could, I would take any pain, any bullet, any kind of sadness from her.

Niligpit ko ang kalat ng mga kaaalis na customers sa table. Nakapagtataka dahil wala si Miss Van ngayong araw sa coffee shop. Madalang siyang hindi pumasok. This place is a sanctuary for her.

I was tired and sleep deprived. Ilang beses akong nagkamali sa pagsisilbi sa customers. Bandang hapon gusto ko ng magpahinga. Even a ten minute nap would do. But my whole senses was waken up when I saw a familiar guy approa ched the coffee shop. Pumasok ito sa loob. He's wearing casual outdoor clothes. Gray long sleeve shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers. He's smiling with his dimples showing. River could radiate the look of guy next door. If I didn't only knew what's behind those enticing smiles.

Nagpatuloy ako sa paglilinis. Maureen was obviously smitten by his looks. Every girl at the coffee shop was smitten by his looks. The Monaghan's are the personafied version of the quote: looks can be deceiving.

River ordered iced macchiato. Saka siya lumabas ng shop. Akala ko aalis na siya at dederecho sa sasakyan niyang nakaparada sa harap ng shop, pero umupo siya sa isa sa mga tables sa labas. He sat in a table with trash. It's my duty to clean up the mess for him. I groaned. Maureen from the counter motioned her hands excitedly.

"Go!" She mouthed.

I rolled my eyes. If Maureen know what River is capable of, baka hilain niya ako palayo dito.

Lumabas ako sa coffee shop. I walked towards the table and cleaned up the mess. River stared at me. At first confused, then amused, and almost chuckling.

"Whoa, human girl you work here?"

Tama ang hinala ko, hindi niya alam.

"Obviously," bulong ko habang nililigpit ang kalat.

Napahawak ito sa baba na tila nag iisip. I catched a glimpse of Maureen silently gigling inside the shop. She mouthed to me. "Gwapo!"

"It makes sense to me, with Van taking you in," he muttered more to himself than to me.

Magkakilala din sila ng personal ni Miss Van?

"This is better than what I expected."

I frowned at his statement.

"Kung si Miss Van ang hanap mo wala siya dito ngayon."

Niligpit ko ang panglinis ko. Akmang babalik na ako sa loob nang marinig ko ang kanyang sinabi.

"She's with Landon."

I blinked.

"It's a special day today."

Special day? Lumingon ako kay River. My eyes were confused. Gusto kong magtanong. Pero wala akong karapatan. So I said my default answer.

"Ganoon ba."

"You don't sound too interested. I expected you to be jealous."

If there's one thing Yllona and River have in common, it's the fatal games they play. But somehow River sounded serious with his statement.

"It will be a hard day for Landon. He might need you today."

Ngumiti siya sa akin, exposing his boyish grin. Kinuha niya ang inumin bago nagpaalam.

"See you around, human girl."

Mabuti nalang at karamihan sa customers ng coffee shop ay nasa loob. Huminga ako ng malalim at inilapat ang palad sa mesa upang ibalik ang focus ko.