#DS3Unscripted #BelayaxPierce #LKCouple #DaggerSeries

CHAPTER 13: FLASHBACK

BELAYA'S POV

I'm in love!

Iyon ang una kong naisip nang bumaba ako sa sasakyan ni Pierce. What greeted me is a huge log house that looks like as if it came straight out of a fairy-tale. Siguradong mas magandang tignan ang lugar na ito kapag tuluyan ng lumubog ang araw.

It has a rustic look on it, a gable roof, and it appears to be two-storey. It has a huge wooden platform in front and there's a couch set on it that looks comfortable. Nasa ilalim iyon nang mataas na bubong na nakataklob sa buong bahay. Sa harapan no'n ay ang malawak niya na pool na may jacuzzi pa. It's like a mountain style cabin except it's as big as my own house.

"Is this a safe house? Is it for sale?"

"It's your safe house but no it's not for sale," sagot ni Pierce.

"Ay bakit?"

"Kasi bahay ko 'to."

Sunod-sunod na napakurap ako sa sinabi niya. They just told me that they're transferring me to a safe house. Hindi naman daw namin kailangan lumayo ng Tagaytay. I told them that my own home is a pretty safe place as long as I don't forget to lock it but they don't think it's a good idea for me to visit the place for now.

"Binabahay mo na ako?"

Muntik matapilok si Pierce sa sinabi ko at tinapunan niya ako ng masamang tingin. "Dinadala lang kita sa bahay ko. Dinadala."

Pinagdiinan niya pa iyong word na "dinadala" na parang gusto niyang masiguro na naiintindihan ko ang sinasabi niya. Sungit naman. Nagtatanong lang naman ako.

"This is a beautiful home," I told him when we walked towards the stairs in front of the house. "But isn't it a bit scary since it's made of wood?"

"You mean because of fire?"

"Yeah?"

"Not really. Log houses are more fire resistant than most houses. It can still catch fire like the others but it has lower risk than the usual stud and drywall houses."

Namamangha na napatango-tango ako. Kapag inisip mo kasi na gawa sa kahoy aakalain mo na mas fire hazard siya. Come to think of it. Sa mga lugar na kadalasang malalamig ay uso ang log houses kahit pa na nakadepende sila sa paggamit ng fireplace.

"Malapit lang dito ang bahay ko," sabi ko sa kaniya.

"I know."

He opened the door and my jaw dropped open. Maganda na ang labas ng bahay niya pero ang ganda rin sa loob. Ewan ko ba pero dahil single dad siya parang inaasahan ko na parang sinabugan ng bomba ang bahay niya sa gulo. But the place is neat and homey.

I expected the color of the wood to darken the place but they strategically used a mix of light and dark woods to accentuate the beauty of the interior but at the same time not make it an in your face situation. Light beige din ang kulay ng sofa set niya kaya hindi nagmukhang madilim ang bahay. The walls of the living room have tall glass walls that reached the roof of the whole floor kaya mas naging bukas ang itsura ng bahay. There's also a fireplace.

Sa isang bahagi ng bahay ay isang mahabang lamesa bagay na hindi ko na ipinagtataka dahil malaki ang pamilya nila.

"Can we go to my house so I could bring some of my things here before you give me a tour?"

"Your manager will get it for you."

Pinaikot ko ang mga mata ko. "Hindi naman alam no'n kung anong damit ko ang dapat dalin. A blind person will have better sense of fashion than him."

"I don't think its a good idea."

"Please? You're with me and Dagger accessed the cameras at my home right? Kaya sigurong kung may mangyayari man ay makikita nila agad."

Bumuntong-hininga siya at pinagmasdan ako. Nang mapagtanto niya na hindi ko siya titigilan ay napailing na lang siya. "Fine. But I need to call my son first then we'll go. Make yourself comfortable."

I gave him a smile before I plopped myself into one of his comfortable couch. Nasundo na kasi ni Charlotte sa Dagger si Arctic. Hindi ko naman nakita ang babae dahil sa baba lang siya ng HQ kinita ni Pierce at dahil wala pa akong energy makipagtagisan sa kaniya ay nanatili na lang muna ako sa kuwarto na ginamit ko nang nagdaan na gabi.

Kanina pa iyon at base na rin sa mga oras na lumipas ay baka palipad na sila papuntang US ng nanay niya. It's kind of sweet that even though Pierce can't be with him on the flight, he still want to make sure that he'll get to say bye.

After a few minutes, Pierce re-emerged and I stood up. Pinauna niya na akong lumabas ng bahay at sandali lang ay lulan na ulit kami ng sasakyan niya. I wasn't kidding when I said my house is close to his. Fifteen minutes lang ata ang lumipas at nandoon na kami.

Nang makarating kami sa bahay ay inihinto niya ang sasakyan sa tapat. Bumaba kami at binuksan ko ang gate pero bago pa ako makapasok doon ay inunahan na ako ni Pierce. I didn't mind. Not because I didn't want to but because I couldn't. Dahil pagkapasok namin sa loob ay nakita ko kaagad ang sasakyan ko.

They told me that they managed to retrieved it but it took some damage. It was found on a ditch and they pulled it out with a tow truck. Sebastian said they will ask someone to fix it but I told them to leave it because I'm still not sure what to do with it. Pero ngayon ay desidido na ako. There's no way I'm going inside that car again.

Tahimik na sumunod ako kay Pierce na mukhang hindi napansin ang pagkatigilan ko. "What do you need first?"

"Can you..." tumikhim ako at binigyan ko siya ng maliit na ngiti. "I need my desktop, keyboard, cpu, headphone, and mouse. It's on the last room on the left."

Pierce blinked at me in confusion. "Don't you have a laptop? Nasa manager mo na iyon pati na ang cellphone mo."

"I have one but my desktop is for gaming."

Sandaling nakatingin lang siya sa akin na para bang lalo siyang nahihiwagaan sa pagkatao ko pero pagkaraan ay tahimik na naglakad siya papunta sa direksyon na tinuro ko. When he was gone, the smile on my face disappeared.

Kuyom ang mga kamay na umakyat ako sa taas at naglakad papunta sa kuwarto ko. I can feel my heart thudding and my forehead beginning to sweat. I can't act like this in my own home.

Binuksan ko ang pintuan ng kuwarto at pakiramdam ko ay binalot ako ng lamig. Nakaayos na ang kuwarto pero para bang nakikita ko pa rin kung paano ko iyon iniwan ng gabing iyon. I rolled my shoulder and I went on the bathroom instead. I grabbed my vanity bag and I put all the things I could grab. Binitbit ko rin ang make-up kit ko. Nang lumabas ako ng banyo ay nilapitan ko ang vanity mirror at kinuha ko pa ang ilang mga gamit ko roon.

I drop them on the bed before I turned to look at the closet.

Except in my eyes, the closet doors is once again opened and there's a man standing there with a mask on. Bumasag sa katahimikan ng lugar ang sigaw ko at napaupo ako sa sahig dahil sa panlalambot ng mga tuhod ko.

"Belaya!"

It took me just a second to climb up Pierce who knelt beside me. Halos ibaon ko ang mukha ko sa dibdib niya na para bang magagawang burahin no'n ang nakita ko.

"What happened?"

"H-He's here."

He didn't speak for a moment but I felt his hand on my back. Marahan niyang hinaplos iyon na para bang kinakalma ako. "There's no one here, Kitty."

"I... I saw him." Natatakot man ay nag-angat ako ng tingin sa direksyon ng closet ko pero nakasarado na iyon. "I know I did."

"It's okay."

Nangilid ang luha sa mga mata ko. I never felt as helpless as I am now. "I must be going crazy. I thought I saw him."

"This is why I don't want you to come back here yet. You're a victim, Belaya. A home should be a safe place but he injected terror in here. No one would blame you for feeling this way. You had a victim's flashback."

"I don't want to be scared of my own home."

"You need to give yourself a break. It will take time but who's going to say shit to you if you did?"

I wiped my tears away and I gave him a shaky smile. "Bakit? Babarilin mo rin?"

"Oo."

Despite the tears, I chuckled at what he said. Tinulungan niya akong makatayo at pagkatapos ay lumapit siya sa walk in closet ko. I wanted to grab him and run away but I stood my ground. Binuksan niya iyon pero hindi niya ako tinawag para lumapit sa kaniya. Sa halip ay nilagay niya sa pintuan ang maleta ko bago humarap sa akin.

"Just tell me what to put in the bag."

Uhh. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why?"

"Because I need undies too."

He stared at me for a moment but after awhile he gave me a look. "Just tell me."

Tinuro ko sa kaniya ang mga kailangan ko. Pambahay, pantulog, casual look, a bit of a dressy outfits, and a lot more. Inaasahan kong itatapon niya lang iyon sa maleta pero sa pagkagulat ko ay tinupi niya pa ang mga iyon. When he got to the undies, I felt the heat reached my cheeks. Marunong din naman akong mahiya.

"They're... umm... in pairs."

"I can see that," he said, his voice sounded strange.

Naglagay siya ng marami no'n sa bag at nakita ko na maingat niya iyong hinawakan. Respectful and always the gentleman. Kahit hindi ko rin sinabi ay kumuha siya ng ilang mga swimsuit ko at inilagay iyon sa maleta.

"You need another luggage bag," I told him. "May maliit ako na maleta sa right side. The pink one."

"Bakit kailangan mo ng isa pa?"

"For my bags and shoes." He didn't say anything more and he dragged the pink luggage out but when he turned back around to my arrays of designer bags I saw how he hesitated. There's a lot of it so I can't blame him. "The Chanel diamond forever bag." He looked back at me and stared at me blankly. I gave him a tiny smile and pointed, "The small white one. And that Louis Vuitton backpack on the left. I also need the gold taupe Himalayan Birkin, the one on top near the red one. Oh no not that one. I only use that for big events. That's a gift and it cost I think roughly two million."

His beleaguered eyes turned to me. "Pesos?"

"Dollars."

I saw him sighed and he grab the other bag. I pointed another Birkin this one in black and he took it before placing it in the pink luggage. The shoes are easier. I selected a nude Christian Louboutin heels, a black Prada, a studded white Valentino and a sneakers from the same brand, and my red Manolo Blahnik. I asked him to grab me three random eyeglasses and he did with a grumble. I know he's losing patience so I didn't push him.

"Kung may kailangan ka pa, your manager will bring it to the house. Nasa kaniya na rin ang phone mo at wallet," sabi ni Pierce nang magawa niya ng isara ang mga luggage. "Do you need anything else?"

Ikaw. "Wala naman na."

It took him three trips before he managed to get everything inside his car. Mas mabilis sana iyon kung pinatulong niya ako pero pinaghintay na lang niya ako sa sasakyan. After a few minutes, he went back inside the car. He drove faster than we traveled to mine. Pinauna niya akong makapasok sa bahay niya bago niya ibinaba ang mga gamit sa sala nang makarating kami.

"Follow me."

Dala ang dalawa kong bagahe na umakyat siya sa itaas. He opened one of the guest rooms and he put all the bags inside.

"I have four rooms in this house aside from my room and Arc's. You'll take this room since it's close to mine. The other three rooms are downstairs."

The room is beautiful and cozy. Nakakadagdag sa kandahan no'n ang tanawin sa labas ng malawak na salamin na bintana.

"You can change your clothes first. Lia and Gun left food in the fridge for dinner."

Nagbaba ako ng tingin sa suot ko. Lucienne let me borrow her new unicorn leggings and Pierce gave me a black hoodie as a top with a Dagger logo. "Okay na ako sa suot ko."

Nagkibit-balikat siya at nauna ng lumabas ng kuwarto. Sinundan ko siya hanggang sa makababa kami sa sala.

"Ilalagay ko sa office ko ang desktop mo. I have an old desk that you could use. But if you want me to put it in your room just tell me."

"Your office is fine unless it will disturb you."

"I rarely use it so you can stay there."

He opened a door that lead us to the kitchen. I followed him and he inclined his head towards the high stool. Umupo ako roon at pinanood ko siya habang kumikilos sa malawak na kusina.

"Do you know how to cook?" I asked.

"Before, no. Pero nang dumating si Arctic sa buhay ko kinailangan kong matuto." Inilagay niya sa microwave ang isang glass pan. "My cooking is tolerable but sometimes it's a hit or miss too. Lia always give us food kaya hindi na kailangan ikatakot ni Arc kapag minsan naiisipan ko na mag-experiment."

"She cooks a lot."

"She loves doing it. I think it's more of wanting us to eat as a family. Lia's parents are the worst. She never really had a family except for her grandmother."

"Now she got you guys."

I can't remember if I ever saw Pierce smile wide but I was taken aback when he did. If he's handsome with his grumpy attitude, the smile put him into a different level. Kung ngingiti lang din siya parang ayokong gawin niya iyon kapag nasa marami siyang tao. Baka dumami pa ang kaagaw ko.

"How about you? You have a large family right?" he asked.

"Yeah. Lalo na nang magkaanak na ang mga pinsan ko. My cousin Ainsley even gave birth to twins. One boy and a girl. Kaya sa ancestral home ng mga Lawrence dalawa ang mahabang table namin. Para kaming nasa Harry Potter movies."

"Is she an agent too?"

"Nope. There's not a lot of us that didn't became one but it's kind of a big number considering na sa generation lang namin hindi naging agents lahat."

"Why didn't you?"

Nagkibit-balikat ako at nangalumbaba ako habang pinapanood siya. "I wanted to achieve a lot but in my own kind of normal. Acting made that possible for me. I always loved the attention and my job gave me that. My parents were always supportive."

"But?"

"Sometimes I can't help but wonder if I'm a disappointment. Kuya Cross didn't follow that path either but he's a doctor. He's very relevant. I'm just... well, I'm just me."

"You're not a disappointment."

"I know that but-"

"You're an actor. You're showing an adulterated view of life just by portraying them on the screen. You're a storyteller, Belaya, and that's not an easy job. Specially not in this world where everyone is hiding from the truth."

I gave him a smile. "Thank you."

"You're a beautiful, hot, and sexy actress with a big big big heart. Remember?"

And with that, I beamed at him. "You got that right."