SAKI
"I’m going to kill him," I heard Soren whisper as she applied cream to my bruises. "I swear, I’m going to kill him, Saki." She looked up at me and gave a sad smile. "I’m sorry he did this to you. I’m so sorry—"
"It’s not your fault," I interrupted. "Don’t apologize, Soren."
Her face became even sadder. She bit her bottom lip and didn’t look at me anymore. "We didn’t know he’d do this. I’m sorry."
I stared at her beautiful fingers gently touching my skin. "So, you know it’s all a lie?" I asked.
She nodded. "Kuya Caleb and I are the only ones who are against this, but what can we do?"
She exhaled deeply. "He’s our brother. We don’t want him to send us off to Payatas. He can do that, he can really send us there. He’s close with Papa, it’s crazy."
She smiled at me again. "All done. I’ll take you back to your place. Rest up so we can file the case first thing tomorrow."
I nodded, tears welling up in my eyes again. I wiped them with the back of my hand.
It wasn’t just my body that hurt; my heart hurt too. It hurt so much.
"Kuya Caleb blames himself for what Kuya Grie did," Soren said as she stood behind me. I felt her fingers fixing my disheveled hair. "That guy’s always troubled about our mess. He thought that Kuya Grie would never do anything bad. But, damn, he did."
I didn’t respond. I just stared at the floor while Soren continued fixing my hair.
"He told me that he’s still in love with me," I whispered a moment later. "From what I remember, he never really loved me. And if he did, why would he do this to me?"
Just as Soren finished, she sat beside me. I was in her room here at the mansion. I didn’t know what was happening downstairs.
"Did you know that the same thing happened to me?" she asked, giving a bitter laugh. "But I wasn’t taken advantage of—well, as far as I remember... Sometimes there are things that push us to do bad things." She exhaled again. "Especially when you’re desperate."
"But what you said is true... it’s not right," she added. "Even if he still loves you, it’s not right."
I just nodded, tears silently flowing down my face.
Before long, she helped me out of her room. I kept my head down as we descended, and we made our way out of the mansion without looking at the people, hearing their arguments in the background.
It was already night, and the wind was cold.
When I got into Soren’s car, she immediately followed. The pleasant scent of her car hit me. It was fresh, well-kept, even though it wasn’t like the cars of her siblings. She was too simple, even though it didn’t show because she was so beautiful.
She fastened my seatbelt. "Haaaay, men are really something," she muttered as she distanced herself from me.
She started the engine, then played music.
I couldn’t help but smile when "Break My Broken Heart" by Winona Oak echoed through the entire car. Not only was Soren beautiful, but she also had great taste in music.
She drove in silence. I just leaned against the window, staring outside. Soon, the rain started pouring down.
I closed my eyes, and the memories came rushing back.
FLASHBACK
"Next year, there’s Senior High, right?"
I turned to look at ate Saica.
She was skillfully slicing onions without even looking at it. Her knife moved quickly, and her cuts were perfect.
I nodded and scratched my head. "Yeah, ate. It’s really annoying because instead of going straight to college, we still have to spend two more years in Senior High."
She chuckled lightly. "The government really is ridiculous."
I just smiled and turned my attention back to the TV.
I'm turning 17 next month. I'm in my fourth year of high school, and I’m really annoyed about Senior High. People who didn’t experience it are so lucky.
"Let’s eat."
"Ah, frog!" I screamed when ate Saica suddenly appeared beside me. She grinned as she placed the food on the table across from me.
I patted my chest.
This is really the reason why I'm going to have a heart attack someday. My sister always scares me.
"I don’t have class today. I’ll go with you to your new school."
I smiled. "I’m okay, ate. I need to learn to commute by myself. Just rest here or go out with your friends."
I grabbed a fork and poked a piece of meat. When I took a bite, I moaned. "This is so good, ate."
She ruffled my hair and kissed my temple.
"Oh? I’m even better," she teased with a laugh.
The hours passed quickly, and I took a shower and immediately put on my new uniform. I was late studying earlier because of some problems. But it’s okay, I’m in my fourth year now, and once I finish, I’ll be the one to support ate.
It was noisy, ate. Things were chaotic here, and the students kept speaking in English. It was nerve-wracking. I texted ate Saica saying I need more self-confidence.
That’s when I entered through the big gate of St. Luis. It’s an exclusive school, and most of the people here are rich.
I only took the exam here because they have a Psychology course. They offer everything from grade school to college. And their school is huge.
Once the orientation ended, students scattered, heading to different buildings. As for me? I had no idea where I was going. I didn’t hear much of the explanation earlier because of the noise from the English-speaking students.
Should I have scolded them? I wasn’t rich, and I would have just looked like an idiot trying to be noticed.
"Shit," I muttered, walking quickly down the hallway. I was on the fourth floor, and I still couldn’t find my room!
I only had 3 minutes left, I was going to be late! Why couldn’t I find it?
I’m so stupid. I’m really stupid! I hope I’m just dreaming, and I haven’t actually started yet—
"Ah, sorry!" I immediately apologized when I bumped into someone. "I didn’t mean to. Sorry again."
I quickly walked away from the person I bumped into without even looking at them.
"You're a freshman, aren't you?" I heard the person I bumped into say, which made me stop walking.
I suddenly got nervous. Not because his voice was deep and scary, but because he spoke in English. Damn it, what should I say? Yes, I passed the exam, but my English is weak!
I nodded, still facing away. I glanced at the person behind me, and I frowned when I saw that he was handsome and tall. His perfectly clean uniform seemed a bit dirty. Yikes.
"Lost?" he asked again.
There, he spoke in Tagalog!
I nodded again.
He walked towards me. And that’s when I realized he wasn’t wearing contact lenses because his eyes were naturally blue. It was that light-colored blue.
I wish everyone had blue eyes. Hehe.
"What’s your section?"
I scratched my head again. "Ah, 10-Newton. It wasn’t indicated which building—"
"10?" he interrupted. "You’re only in grade 10?"
Oh, so that’s why he looked surprised.
I nodded. I couldn’t miss the subtle grimace on his face. He avoided my gaze and started walking ahead.
"Follow me. The building connected to this one..." He glanced back at me. "...is the one for high school."
He said "high school" like he was disgusted by the word.
"Thank you, kuya."
"Jesus Christ, don’t call me kuya. I’m not that old," he said, annoyed.
Ah. Okay.
But he was older than me. So, I guess I should still call him "kuya," right?
"Hey, boss Grie. New girl?" Suddenly, someone spoke from the side. I swallowed hard when I saw many guys sitting on the floor beside a classroom, all playing on their phones.
"No," the guy in front of me answered, shaking his head slightly.
We passed the guys and headed to a classroom, just in time for the bell to ring.
"There’s your room. Don’t forget."
I nodded and smiled slightly. "Thank you."
I wasn’t sure if I said something wrong because his smooth forehead furrowed. "Drop the ‘po’ and ‘opo,’ can you?"
I winced.
He really was a bit crazy. I say "po" and "opo" and call him "kuya" because that’s a sign of respect since he’s older than me— which is obvious, given his college uniform with the number 1 patch. He’s a first-year college student, after all.
I just smiled at him. "Thanks again."
I slung my bag over my shoulder. I was ready to go in, as the teacher hadn’t arrived yet.
I wondered what would happen to me at this school. Would I get discriminated against here?
"Hey, uhm..."
I turned to face the guy. "Hm?"
He smiled a little. "I’m 19 years old. I’m still young."
I furrowed my brow. "Ah, okay. Thanks again. I’ll head in now."
So what if he’s only 19? I didn’t ask.