The Fan

CHAPTER 13

Discharged na si Rhian sa ospital. Habang inaasikaso ni Mildred ang kailangang bayaran for her boyfriend's niece, nagaantay naman ang dalaga sa kwarto ni Solen. Since last night, hindi pa ito muling nagigising. The doctor came in a few hours ago to check on the patient. Sabi nito, stable na ang pasyente at ang sugat nito sa balikat ay walang problema although matatagalan bago ito tuluyang magheal.

Tahimik si Glaiza sa isang dulo ng sofa. Nakatingin sa kawalan. Parang tulala. Paggising nila, tila nagulat pa ito. They woke up sleeping together sa mahabang sofa na kinauupuan nito. They both don't know how it happened, or do they? Basta't kapwa silang nagising na si Rhian ay nakaunan sa dibdid ni Glaiza, and the latter's arms are wrapped around the first. Glaiza moved, napahigpit sa pagkakayakap kay Rhian kaya siya nagising. She was so comfortable sa pwesto niya but Glaiza was surprised. Napabalikwas ito ng bangon at nahulog sa sahig. The first and last words the martial art expert said was sorry.

Mildred came with her discharged form. Kailangan na raw nilang umuwi dahil may mga importante pa itong gagawin sa opisina. Rhian doesn't want to go. She wants to stay at bantayan ang developments ni Solen, at the same time, she doesn't want to part with Glaiza. Pakiramdam niya hindi siya ligtas kapag hindi niya kasama ang bodyguard o ang kaibigan nito. But Mildred was pursuasive. Hindi sila close ni Rhian but she has to follow Mildred, or else, tiyuhin niya ang susundo sa kanya. She doesn't want that.

Bago lumisan, nagbilin si Mildred kay Glaiza ba may mga pulis na darating upang magbantay kay Solen. Nirequest ito ni Tito Ronnie dahil nalaman nito ang tungkol sa pagatake sa kaibigan. Glaiza was thankful na may magbabantay sa kanyang kaibigan habang gumagawa siya ng sarili niyang imbestigasyon ukol sa nangyari.

"Aalis na kami, Glaiza. Here's my card. Please call me when Sol wakes up. Pupunta agad ako kapag nagising siya,"

"Yes, ofcourse," pormal nitong sagot habang inaabot ang card. Sa kapirasong papel siya nakatingin at hindi kay Rhian.

Wala ng salitang namagitan sa kanila hanggang sa makalabas ang dalawang babae sa kwarto. The truth is nakaramdam ng hiya si Glaiza dahil sa nangyari kaninang umaga. How did it happened na magkasama silang natulog sa sofa? Naguusap lang naman sila last night kung may mga tao o kakilala bang galit kay Rhain. That was the last thing Glaiza remembered. Getting to sleep was blank. But on the other hand, masarap pa lang magising kung ang katabi mo ay mas maganda pa sa umaga. Yung bango ni Rhian still clings on her shirt na parang kasama pa rin niya ang dalaga. Everytime she remembers that morning smile in Rhian's face, it seems that the sun decent. Why her heart flutters when she think of the woman who just left?

"Looks like you had a good morning," nagising ang diwa ni Glaiza when Solen spoke.

"Hey, goodmorning. How are you feeling?" she asked, ignoring Solen's observation.

"Better than yesterday, though nararamdaman ko na yung sakit ng shoulder ko. Is my shoulder dislocated?"

"It was. May napunit na laman sa balikat mo but the doctors already fixed you up. They replaced your left arms with a robotic one,"

"What?! Are you serious?!"

"Ofcourse.... No... I'm just joking," tumawa ito.

"Just like I said, maganda nga ang umaga mo. Where's Rhian? Parang she was here yesterday,"

"She just left. Discharged na siya,"

"Hm, sayang. Malulungkot ka na niyan,"

"Alam mo Frankenstein, tigilan mo na yan. Baka gusto mong tuluyan ko yang balikat mo para magkaron ka ng robotic arm,"

"You are so pikon,"

"Can we talk about the guy who stabbed you?" binago ni Glaiza ang topic.

"Gusto rin pagusapan yan,"