Elora's POV

PEEKING over the book I was reading, I pursed my lips while looking at my cellphone just peacefully lying on the bed. It had been two weeks since Jack's birthday party and a week after I told Elrond to never talk to me again.

I couldn't forget how I was humiliated and embarrassed that night; how the real Elrond denied knowing me; and how I realized that I ended up falling for a poser. It happened all at once that it exceeded my emotional threshold. But despite that, I couldn't help but miss him, making me feel worse because I knew I shouldn't. However, nothing felt worse than falling for the wrong person.

For the second time around, I chose the wrong guy.

It made me feel like a fool. I thought I already learned the hard way by being cheated on. But I still gave my trust to someone who doesn't deserve it.

lord_elrond01: Ha? Bakit?

lord_elrond01: May nagawa ba akong mali o hindi mo gusto?

lord_elrond01: Prank ba 'to, Elora?

lord_elrond01: Kung prank 'to, nasabi ko na ba sa 'yong hindi ka magaling mag-joke?

Those were the messages he sent me after I shut him out of my life. When I didn't reply at all, he even tried to call me. Honestly, I was tempted to answer his call, but I stopped myself from falling into another trap. And after how many tries to get through me, he eventually stopped.

He stopped like what I wanted him to do. It was what I asked of him. I should be happy, but it didn't make me feel better at all. His absence left a huge space in my heart. I only longed for him even more which frustrated me.

Habang pinapagod ko ang aking sarili sa kaiisip, nadinig ko ang tunog ng aming doorbell. Napakunot ang aking noo.

I'm not expecting any visitors.

Moving cautiously, I went down to see who visited. Karina was standing outside, so I opened the wicket gate to entertain her.

The moment I faced her, she showed two boxes of pizza she brought with her. "I brought pizza..." she stated the obvious with an awkward smile on her face. "Can I come in?"

After hesitating for a few seconds, I smiled timidly and nodded. Nilakihan ko ang bukas ng gate upang makapasok siya. Her smile became genuine when I decided to let her in.

Simula noong gabing 'yon ay lagi akong umiiwas sa kanya. She tried to approach me a lot of times but I just didn't know how to face her. Nahihiya ako sa nangyari.

Ilalapag na sana ni Karina ang boxes ng pizza sa center table nang pinigilan ko siya. "Doon tayo sa kuwarto ko," sabi ko sa kanya. "Kukuha lang ako ng inumin natin. Ano ang gusto mo juice o tubig?"

"Puwedeng juice?" medyo nahihiya niyang sagot.

"Okay," sagot ko. "Mauna ka na sa taas. Susunod ako."

It wasn't her first time so she already knew her way to my room. Binilisan ko ang pagtimpla ng juice upang hindi siya maghintay sa akin nang matagal. Nagdala na rin ako ng platito pag-akyat sa kuwarto kasama ng aming inumin.

Karina already opened the boxes of pizza once I got inside. Like what we used to do, whenever we had a mini picnic in my bedroom, she sat on the carpet and placed the boxes there. Ang kanyang bag na dala ay nakapatong naman sa maliit na couch.

"I brought your favorite flavor and mine, too!" she excitedly told me when I sat beside her.

Pinasadahan ko ng tingin ang mga pizza. Nandoon ang paborito kong pepperoni pizza na mayroong cheezy stuffed crust sa dulo habang kanya naman ay maraming toppings. When it comes to pizza, I always go for the basic. It's either pepperoni or hawaiian for me.

"Bibili pa sana ako ng chicken wings kaso baka hindi natin 'to maubos," kuwento niya sa akin.

"Just pizza is fine," I assured her with a smile and gave her a glass of strawberry juice. "And thank you for buying the flavor I like."

"Wala 'yon!" sabi niya, ngiting-ngiti.

Nagsimula na kaming dalawa sa pagkain ng pizza, ngunit walang naglakas ng loob na magsalita. I was used to the silence so I didn't feel awkward nor uncomfortable, especially because I was with a close friend. Kaya nga lang ay hindi ko maiwasang mailing sa kanyang paglingon-lingon sa akin.

Karina was making it obvious that she wanted to talk to me. In her eyes, there were a lot of unsaid questions. I could sense that she was looking for the right moment. But even though our silence was already enough for her to speak her mind, she didn't dare do so. She was hesitating a lot.

Nang maubos ko ang pangalawang slice ng pizza at uminom ng juice, marahan kong pinagpag ang aking kamay bago siya nilingon. Nahuli ko siyang nakatingin sa akin na dahilan kung bakit muntik siyang mabulunan.

"Here..." Ibinigay ko agad sa kanya ang kanyang inumin.

Mabilis niya 'yong tinanggap. Naubos niya ang laman ng baso kaya nang inilapag niya iyon ay pinagsalin ko siya ulit.

Napabuntonghininga ako habang pinanonood siyang kinakalma ang sarili mula sa nangyari. Nang mapatingin siya ulit sa akin ay agad din siyang nag-iwas ng tingin.

With a heavy sigh, I tilted my head. "If you have something to say or ask, just spill it out."

Her eyes widened a bit. "You mean it?"

I casually nodded and rested my back on the couch.

Ngumuso siya, mukhang nag-iisip kung saan magsisimula sa dami niyang tanong na naiisip at mga nais sabihin. Samantalang ako ay tahimik lamang na naghihintay sa kanyang sasabihin.

"About what happened that night, during Jack's party, I'm sorry..." Karina apologized before anything. "Naisip kong naging insensitive ako. I know you were in a difficult position at that time, but instead of helping you sort out everything, I let you deal with that alone..."

Hindi ko inaasahan na hihingi siya ng tawad. Napaawang ang aking mga labi nang dahil doon.

"That's why I wanted to say sorry..." sabi niya. "Actually, matagal ko nang gustong gawin 'to. Kaya nga lang ay alam kong umiiwas ka sa akin. I gave you time because I knew you needed that to process everything."

A smile touched my lips after she explained herself. "You don't have to say sorry..." I told her. "If there's someone who needs to apologize, that should be me."

Bahagya siyang nagulat sa aking sinabi. "Bakit naman?"

"I must have freaked out your boyfriend's cousin... He must be thinking I'm obsessed with him or something," I told her with a bitter smile plastered on my lips. "It's also the reason why I was avoiding you. Nahihiya ako..."

She shook her head to deny that right away. "Ano ka ba! Wala ngang naaalala si Eli sa nangyari," sabi niya sa akin. "Sinubukan daw tanungin ni Jack si Eli pagkagising pero dahil lasing na lasing kagabi ay nakalimutan din iyong tungkol sa 'yo. You don't have to worry about that."

Natigilan ako sa sinabi ni Karina. Lasing na lasing si Elrond?

I recalled Elrond's messages to me the next day after that night. He also told me that he was suffering from a headache because of a hangover. I couldn't decide if it was really him, or if it was just a pure coincidence, or if he's just that good at pretending to be someone he's not.

But what if?

Just when I was about to get swayed again, I shook my head.

Stop that, Elora! Hindi ka pa ba talaga natututo?

"I'm more worried about you, Elora." Karina reached out from my hand and interrupted my train of thoughts. "Sa Alter mo nakilala si Eli, 'di ba?"

"Yes..."

"Nasabi mo rin na nagvi-video call kayo at nagpadala siya ng mga litrato sa 'yo, tama ba?"

Muli akong tumango. "Iyon ang dahilan kung bakit sigurado akong siya si Elrond pero tama ka..." mahina kong sabi. "Kung hindi niya ako kilala, siguro nga ay poser siya."

Napakunot ang noo ni Karina. "Puwede bang patingin ng messages ninyo?" interesado niyang tanong. "If that's only okay with you, of course. Kung ayaw mo, ayos lang din."

"No, it's fine," I told her and opened my phone.

For the first time in a while, I finally opened my Alter app again. I went to our chat box and handed my phone over to Karina. Agad niya iyong tinanggap. Kaysa basahin naman ang mga mensahe, pumunta siya sa gallery kung saan nakikita ang mga pinadala naming pictures sa isa't isa.

Karina took her time scrolling and viewing each photo Elrond sent to me. The creases on her forehead got deeper over time. Sinamahan ko siyang tingnan ang mga pictures. I could still remember every conversation we had through each photo showing on the screen.

"It's really Eli..." she said in disbelief.

Eli...

I didn't know why I felt slightly envious of Karina for calling him using his nickname. Nang dahil doon ay mas lalo ko lamang naramdaman ang agwat sa aming dalawa. I didn't even know that he had that nickname. He didn't tell me about that.

Pero paano niya nga sasabihin sa 'yo, Elora, kung poser ang kausap mo?

"Uhm, is Eli his nickname?" I hesitantly asked the obvious.

Tumango si Karina habang patuloy pa rin sa pagtingin ng mga pictures. "Sabi sa akin ni Jack ay Eli ang tawag sa kanya," paliwanag niya. "He doesn't seem to like his name."

"Why Eli, then?"

"Lord Elrond. LE. Eli."

Napanguso ako nang nasagot na ang aking tanong sa nickname ni Elrond. Sakto rin namang natapos na sa pagtitingin si Karina sa aking cellphone nang ibinaba niya 'yon sa kanyang hita.

"Anyway, those pictures really seemed legit," she said. "I stalked him on his social media accounts, and I couldn't remember seeing the photos he sent. Kung talagang poser itong kausap mo, saan niya nakuha 'to? At saka paano siya nakipag-videocall sa 'yo?"

Knowing that I couldn't explain that as well, I just kept silent and pondered over the questions she threw at me when another question popped inside my head.

"And you already stopped communicating with him," Karina pointed out when she saw our last exchange of messages.

"I had to..." sabi ko na lang.

She sighed heavily and returned my phone. "You didn't confront him about what happened?"

Biting my lower lip hard, I shook my head.

I didn't know how to confront someone. I didn't have the courage to do that. Iyon din ang dahilan kung bakit kahit nakahalata na ako noon na nanlalamig na sa akin si Arthur ay hindi ko siya kinumpronta patungkol doon. If I knew someone did me wrong, I would just let it be and keep quiet. In my case with Elrond, I just cut our communication without telling him my reasons.

Alam kong hindi maganda 'yon. Parang hinayaan ko na ang sarili kong lokohin ng ibang tao. I let them hurt me easily. It was like giving them a free pass to take advantage of me. And to be honest, it was something I'd like work on with. But with my personality, it was hard for me.

Karina exhaled deeply. "Just a friendly advice, Elora..." she trailed for a second and continued. "I think you should talk to him."

I looked straight at her. Halatang malalim na ang narating ng kanyang pag-iisip patungkol sa situwasyon namin Elrond.

"I don't want to give you false hopes but..." Umiling-iling siya bago tumingin nang diretso sa akin. "Kahit ako ay naguguluhan. He seems... real."

I creased my forehead. "You mean..."

"Sa tingin ko ay hindi siya poser," walang paligoy-ligoy niyang sabi.

Mas lalong napakunot ang noo ko. "You were there that night, Karina," paalala ko sa kanya. "Hindi ba't sinabi niyang hindi niya ako kilala? Ilang beses niyang tinanggi 'yon."

"I know..." Muli siyang napahinga nang malalim. "Nababaliw na rin ako kaiisip dahil alam kong imposible. But those pictures and the video calls you had with him speak a lot. He's real. He can't be a poser."

I had to admit that Karina's speaking sense. She made some notable points. I also thought of that. However, both of us couldn't solve the puzzle. There was a missing piece―and that happened to be the most important piece.

"Hindi ko alam kung bakit itinanggi ni Eli na kilala ka niya..." she voiced out her thoughts. "What if he's just playing a prank on you? Baka nagkukunwari lang siyang hindi ka kilala. Or what if he's just drunk to recognize you? I don't know anymore! Ang gulo talaga!"

Inabot ni Karina ang juice. She drank that all in one shot, like she was drinking a tequila, before shooting me a serious gaze.

"If I were you, I'd confront him about that night," she said. "It's also for your own piece of mind, Elora. I know that even if you're acting like you're over him and whatever's between the two of you, I'm sure you're still bothered about what happened. So, Elora, give yourself a favor and please talk it out with him."

With a tight grip on my phone, I racked my head to come up with a decision. Karina's words echoed inside my head like it was a song on loop. It seemed like it was pleading with me to be heard.

Persuaded by her words and reasons, I was leaning more towards confronting Elrond. I needed answers to the questions I had for him.

If I'd be honest to myself, I had to admit that I was holding on to that small possibility that he wasn't a poser. Deep inside me, I still believed he's real. I knew I would never be satisfied until I finally heard the truth from him―if he would actually be true to me.

Wanting to get the closure and answers I needed, I took a deep breath and conditioned myself before unlocking my phone. I pressed the Alter app and quickly typed my message for Elrond.

eloramariz: Can we talk?