Deceret Series #1: His Lips On My Neck

Chapter 25

Chapter 25

I have never seen Dad this miserable. Naapektuhan pati ang kaniyang political career dahil sa kaniyang ginagawa. I've seen photos of him in a private bar, sulking, and drowning himself in beer. The media is feasting about him and he is losing some of his supporters.

Sa totoo lang, nag-aalaa na ako para kay Dad. Mommy may have never been the best mother to me, but to have her walk away from our very own house also hurts. Lalo na kay Shantel. She is not her usual self. Wala na siyang pakialam kung makita man siya nang ilang mga kakilala na namamaga ang mga mata at walang gana sa buhay.

"Shantel Iona Roman is never haggard. Anong nangyari dun, Stormie?" usisa ni Nick. Nakatanaw siya ngayon kay Shantel na tulalang naglalakad sa field, yakap-yakap ang mga libro sa kaniyang dibdib.

I watched her too, with an aching heart. A soccer player run into her and all of her books fell on the ground. Napatayo kaagad ako. Shantel weakly collected the books and smiled politely at him before walking away.

"Woah. What the hell was that?" Nick exclaimed. He gave me a gentle push to finally caught my attention. "Stormie? Anong nangyayari sa kakambal mo? Sinapian ng esperito ng kabutihan?"

I bit my lower lips. Umuusbong ang matinding awa na nararamdaman ko para kay Shantel. She refused to talk to me. Hindi ako sanay na ganito. Between the two of us, I am the one who likes to throw a pity party every time. Kaya naman ang makita siyang ganito ay sobrang nakakapanibago. Also, I don't know what I am supposed to do.

The knowledge of Shantel having a different father didn't make a difference of what I feel towards her. Kagaya nga ng sabi ni Abuelita, she will always be my twin sister. My love for her never faded. She's been there for me since we were a little kids. Tama lang na nandito rin ako sa kaniya ngayon.

Even other people have noticed the sudden change in Shantel's behavior. Treena and her friends once sat with us in lunch just to fire me questions of my twin sister.

"Anong nangyari kay Shantel? Ayos lang ba siya?"

"I'm a little worried. Mababa ang kuha niya sa quiz namin sa major subject."

"Family problems, Stormie?"

Hindi ko alam kung papaano sila sasagutin. Bigla akong nanigas sa kinauupuan ko nang mamataang papalapit dito ngayon si Ylona, kasama ang dalawa niyang kaibigan. The look on her face terrified me. It's the same look she wears whenever she's about to do something bad to me.

"Well, well, well. Look who's spreading shit here in the cafeteria. I was wondering why it stinks here... nandito ka pala, Stormie."

Nick cocked an eyebrow. "What do you want, bitch who wears a knockoff Prada?"

Bahagyang nanlaki ang mga mata ni Ylona sa gulat, at namula ang mukha. She ignored Nick and turned to me. Ibinagsak niya ang kaniyang kamay sa lamesa, dahilan na mapatalon ako sa gulat. She glared at me.

"What did you do to Shantel? Huh!"

Umiling ako. "Wala akong ginagawa-"

"Liar! You insecure bitch! Paniguradong may ginawa ka kay Shantel kaya siya nagkakaganyan ngayon!" she curled her manicured fingers into a fist and leaned closer to further intimidate me. "Do you want to go through hell in my hands again, Stormie?"

I sighed. "Ylona, I don't really have time for this."

"Well, you better have. If someone hurts my bestfriend, I am more than willing to destroy that bitch, even if it's her twin sister we're talking about."