Chasing the Forbidden (Salazar Series #1)[COMPLETED]

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Eighteenth Birthday

It's been days since all of the weird things started to happen to me. Sa mga araw na iyon ay wala akong ginawa kung hindi mag-isip kung ano ba talagang nangyari sa akin. Bakit ako nagkaganoon? May mali ba sa akin? Bakit hindi sinabi sa akin ni Tita Alicia nang mas maaga kung mayroon pala siyang alam tungkol dito?

Hindi ko pa rin tinatanong si Tita Alicia kung ano ba talaga ako. I don't have the courage to do so. Isa lamang ang sigurado ako. At iyon ay ang kasiguraduhan na may alam si Tita Alicia tungkol sa mga nangyayari sa akin. Kung ibabase ko sa mga narinig 'kong usapan noong isang araw ay malaki ang posibilidad na mayroon pa ring koneksyon si Tita Alicia sa mga totoo 'kong magulang. Kung hindi man magulang, ay sa aking mga kamag-anak.

All of the past days, I just spent my time inside my room. I don't want to see Tito Ferdinand. Kahit si Ate Alexa ay hindi ko rin sinisipot. I don't let anyone get inside my room anymore. Tita Alicia was kind and caring enough to bring me food and leave it outside of my door.

I still can't forget how Tito Ferdinand attempted to rape me. His touch... It still lingers on my skin. I sometimes get nightmares of him touching me, kissing me. I don't know if I will be able to forgive him.

My birthday is already tomorrow. I decided that I won't invite any friends. I don't want to see them yet, especially when I'm not sure what's happening to me. What if I unintentionally hurt them? They will think that I'm some kind of... monster. I also don't want to look into their eyes. I can never accept the fact that I will see how they will die, without me trying to stop it. I also don't want them to see me suffering. I don't want any of them to know what really happened. Kung pupuwede lang ay ilibing ko na sa hukay ang pangyayaring iyon.

Today, I decided to at least do something for Tita Alicia and Ate Alexa. Even though, I'm still not fully prepared to see Tito Ferdinand around, I want to help Tita Alicia for the kindness that she gave me. I also want to start on trying to move on, and not just cage myself and kept on overthinking about the situation.

I want to take this problem of mine, more maturely than my past self would've done. I want to keep on moving forward, while thinking of the solution or answers about my problems. At least, with this kind of plan, I'm like hitting two birds with one stone. Moving on and finding solutions and answers.

I'm still not fully okay, but I'm trying my best to be.

I slowly walked down the stairs. I took a deep breath before looking at the living room. Nobody is there, so I decided to go to the kitchen. I can hear someone doing some chopping in the kitchen.

When I looked inside the kitchen, Ate Alexa was there, seated near the counter while facing a wooden cutting board. She's wearing her usual attire, black oversized T-shirt paired with blue dolphin shorts. Her black short hair was pinned behind her ears.

I walked quietly towards her, but she felt my presence and immediately turned to see my face. "Hey, it's been a while..." she softly said. Binitiwan niya ang kutsilyo at tumayo para lapitan ako. She held both the sides of my arm and looked at my face. I unconsciously flinched by the touch of her hands on my arm. Agad ko ring ibinaba ang aking tingin sa kanyang paa. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said and immediately took her hands off my arm.

"N-No, I'm the one who should be sorry..." I whispered as I continued to look at my feet. I feel like I offended her by flinching on her touch.

"I understand if you're angry with us. Dad did—something to you... It's okay if you'll be mad at u—"

"Ate Alexa, I'm not mad at you and Tita Alicia. In fact, I'm thankful of you two. I'm just uncomfortable of someone touching me, at least for now. And, I'm not looking at you, because of specific reasons that Tita Alicia probably told you about already," I explained, cutting her off.