The Last Quarantine

Season 2: Episode 12

Oh my God . . .

Holy shi-- ang sama ko ba kung madidisappoint ako kasi buhay pa siya?

Venice! Wake up, ano ba? That was your ex-boyfriend na mahal na mahal mo pa. You even plead for him to come back before this pandemic happened. You begged for his come back. Now that the situation fell upon your hands, make the best out of it.

"God, babe." Loie pulled me for a hug. I never seen him this worried for me. I can really feel the genuine trembling on his body and voice. "I am fucking glad that you're safe. You don't know how much shit I've swallowed just to convince myself that you are going to be fine amidst this bullshit circumstances."

From what I heard from him, I smile as I started to caress my hand on his back. I sigh for a moment. "Me too, sobrang nag-alala rin ako for you." My voice is low. Conviction is still a mystery on my tone.

Loie let go of my body. Then he cupped my cheeks. I was not ready when he crashed his lips on mine. And I found myself responding to his lips. I found myself kissing him infront of Santhy . . .

"I really miss your lips, baby." Loie is still resting his head on my forehead. I can clearly feel his hot breath on my lips as he eye me as if I am going to be his one and only happy ending.

I look away only to see Santhy looking away from our view. He is holding Orion on his arms and the cat seems not happy from what he saw.

I wince.

I hate this feeling.

Nagi-guilty ako . . .

Hinila na ako ni Loie papunta sa parte ng mga upuan. Iyong parte kung saan may malaking black leather sofa. Lahat ng mga kasama namin dito ay nandoon sa conference room kaya't nagkaroon kami ngayon ni Loie ng pribadong sitwasyon.

Loie made me lean my head on his broad chest. I really miss this muscular body of him. Hindi katulad ni Santhy, mas malaki ang katawan ni Loie. Suki kasi ng gym araw-araw.

"Babe, I am really sorry from what I told you before. Hindi ko naman talaga gustong makipaghiwalay sa 'yo. Seryoso." Loie is running his hand on my hair. He is combing it slowly and gently. "Katunayan niyan, hinabol pa nga kita pero huli na ang lahat. Kumalat na iyong virus sa Indang."

I am blinking as I turn my gaze on him. "Really?"

He is smiling as he nod. "Yes, hanggang sa i-sama ako ng isang pamilya na may van. Dinala nila ako sa Last Quarantine kaso huli na ang lahat, nag-upgrade na ang virus so we really had to take a detour and it brought me here. Hindi ko na alam kung saan na sila napadpad."

I nod as I rest my head on his chest again. "Same, iyong kasama ko kanina, they saved me. I am really grateful na sa kanila ako napasama. Hindi kasi talaga nila hinayaang masaktan ako."

Loie put his lips on my temple. His gave me a couple of peck there. "Don't worry, babe. You have me now. I will protect you. I will never let danger to get into you."

That moment, it felt really weird.

Hindi ako kinilig.

Wala akong maramdaman kung hindi ang maalala si Santhy. Him telling me words like that are much easier for me to appreciate. Bakit ibang-iba iyon kay Loie?

The moment Santhy striked through my mind, I was really shocked when I saw him reveal himself from the door. Noong magtama ang mga mata namin, napalayo ako ako kay Loie. It felt like I was cheating on him and I hate it.

Santhy is looking away when he told us, "May meeting daw tayo. They need the both of you to be there." His voice is low and fragile. A thing that is rare from him since the minute he told me that he will protect me.

Tumango kami ni Loie. When we stood up, he intertwined his fingers on mine. Santhy sighed when his eyes landed on our hands. Nakita kong napabagsak ang kanyang mga balikat bago siya tumalikod. I am wincing as we followed him to enter the conference room.

Sa loob, may ilang nakaupo sa upuan. Pero ang karamihan ay nakatayo. I chose to sit next to the girl na hindi ko pa rin kilala. I made a mental note of having a chitchat with her later.

Kuya Seiya was the one to start the meeting, "We need to leave." He is roaming his eyes on our direction. "Hindi tayo ligtas dito sa loob ng building na 'to. Mamatay tayo dito, believe it or not."

Then it was followed by Ate Bianca, "He's right. To be enclosed on a limited space is not an ideal way of choosing survival. We need to leave. We need to go outside in order for us to gain a ton of chances to survive."

Kuya Finn came in with a harsh tone. "I beg to disagree. I believe that everything has its ending. The nature will always find a way to end it's disease. We should just wait here while ensuring our safety."

Ate Bianca backfired, "But we can't just play God, Finn. Paano kung magutom kayo dito? Anong kakainin niyo? Saan kayo makakakuha ng pagkain?" She seemed disappointed.

"Our body is weak when we are hungry. Do you think you will be able to subtract the chances of you getting the virus to get on your system just by staying here? I am afraid, baka kayo na lang ang makainan dito kapag nagkagipitan na." Ate Bianca let out a harsh sigh. She seems not backtracking to her own decision.

It was Ate Alexis chance to be harsh, "I agree with Finn. This is a matter of staying safe and I won't waste any chances of my life going outside while being blindfolded by my approaching death. Ayoko nang mag-take risk. I will stay here."

Most of the people here are agreeing with Ate Alexis and Kuya Finn. Loie is a part of those people. At ako? I am not really sure which side to take with at all.

Kuya Nero stood and motioned his hand as if silencing the noise of those people who are against Ate Bianca and Kuya Seiya. "Okay, ganito na lang. Hindi namin kayo pipiliting sumama sa amin but we are going to take those who are siding with our opinion."

Then he raised his hand, "sa mga gustong sumama sa amin, just raise your hand and we will leave right away."

The three unknown girls beside me raised their hand. Patin na rin sina Ate Cheska at Ate Athena. At si Santhy. The moment I saw his hand to raise, I found myself raising mine. Pero pinigilan iyon ni Loie.

"Dito na lang tayo, babe." He whispered at me while gripping my wrist.

That moment, I am blinking as I found myself being conflicted by my brain and heart.