Chapter 11: Semestral Break

Lynch's POV

Dear Mr. Hidalgo,

I aam wrriting to tell yyou aa ssecret so impportant thaat you have to find out yoursself. Because tthere are thiingss, bad, vile, and scary tthings thhat peeople likke to choosee to hide, yyou know, in order to start anew. You are good, yet not good for that person. Dangers are llurking for you.

I will leet you in on aa secrret that you have to finnd out yourself. Iitt will be essential. Kkeeeepp iitt close. The ssooner, the better. You haave to protect yourselves. Even iff it is dangeerous.

History and myths, they are quite interrelated.

They are coming.

Hurry.

.--. .- .-.. .-.. .- ...

B .

First of all, who the heck is B?

Arya's past is the key. Learn it. Keep it safe. That was the hidden message.

Pallas? Athena? Tritones? Greek mythology? I didn't get the larger picture, really. I don't know how the story of Athena and Pallas interrelates to her past. Did it happen before? I decided to investigate about Arya but just low.

After that week, may nangyari kay Arya at hindi ko alam kung ano pero bigla siyang nawalan sa kanyang sarili. Minsan, magkasama kami nang bigla siyang pumasok sa banyo ng mga lalake, Hindi ko alam kung ano ang iniisip niya noon, bangag kase siya.

Hindi ko namalayan na pati ako ay nawala sa aking isipan nang bigla akong sinampal ni Arya sa mukha. "Arayyy!"

"Shunga! May tumatawag sa yo." Tiningnan ko yung caller ID at nagulat dahil ito ang nanay ko. "Hey mom?"

"Hey, Lynch! Kamusta ka na, anak? I've been meaning to ask, do you have plans for your semestral break?" Oo nga pala, malapit na ang sembreak.

"Well, uuwi sana ako. Bakit?"

"Kasi...Your father and I are kind of going away to a trip for a few days at uuwi kami kasama ang Meemo mo. Pero uuwi din ang kuya mo kasama ang ilang kaibigan niya. "

I thought for a minute, si Meemo... "Can I bring some friends over?"

"Oh, yeah...sure."

I looked over to Arya's direction, "So...What are your plans for the semester break?"

Arya's POV

Days passed by really fast until it was the last day of examinations. I was both tired and relieved when the school bell finally rang, signifying the end of exams and the beginning of Sem break. Wow. I'm so excited...not.

Mula noong nagpakita si Bellona sa akin, palagi na lamang akong natataranta. Napapansin ko rin na napapansin ni Lynch ang paranoia ko. Natatakot ako na baka maidamay nila si Lynch sa kaguluhan na nangyayari sa buhay ko...I thought I escaped the past, but I realized something. You cannot escape your past, you cannot run or hide away from it. Because you can't. The past will chase you to the present itself.

"Pst! Ari!" Lumingon naman ako sa pinanggalingan ng boses ni Marky. "Hey, what's up man?"

Tumawa naman ako nang konti bago ko sinagot ng 'okay lang'. "Isang tanong, isang sagot... Pupunta ka rin ba sa bahay nina Lynch?"

"Oo. Bakit?" Then, isang tunog ang lumabas sa kanyang bibig, parang tunog ng baboy na hinampasan ng latigo kasama nang natutuwang bata na hindi ko maexplain. He managed to let out a sound that has not been accessed in the human world.

"Pupunta rin ako. This is going to be so much fun." His joy literally radiated from his body. I, however, did not reciprocate his feelings that much because I was too preoccupied in my head at the moment.

I don't know how Marky and Lynch solved their differences but I was happy that they're finally friends again.

The next day was saturday, kaya ngayon kami nagtravel dahil gusto naming magpasyal sa lugar nila. Lynch's parents lived in a mansion in Cagayan sa Sanchez Mira. To be honest, napamahal ako sa scenery nito sa oras na nakapasok kami sa boundary nito. So many farm fields...

Namangha ako sa lugar kahit na hindi naman ito masyado nakamamangha. Pero kapag nanggaling ka kasi sa isang matakng syodad gaya ng Manila, matututunan mo ring kamurian ang matao at mausok na lugar. This place was quiet and almost clean. Walang masyadong tao at medyo malayo-layo ang mga barangay.

Suddenly, pumasok kami sa isang maliblib na lugar. Dagueray ata ang pangalan nito? Hindi ko namataan. The enthusiastic feeling in my heart changed into uneasiness. Paano ba naman eh sa pasukan ng lugar ay sementeryo ang makakasalubong mo sa mga gilid!

Tiningnan ako ni Lynch habang nagmamaneho. Aba! May lakas loob pa siyang ngumisi sa akin.

Finally, he halted his BMW sa harap ng isang malaking Victorian style house na medyo out of place sa lugar. "What?! Ito ang bahay niyo!?" Gulat na gulat ako, I didn't expect him to be that rich!

Si Marky naman na natulog sa oras na nagbiyahe kami ay gising na gising na. He had a goofy grin on his face. Humugot siya ng malalim na hininga bago binuksan ang pinto at sumigaw, "I miss this place! Home sweet-SHIT!" Sakto kasing pagyapak niya sa daan ay may tae ng baka na naisakto mismo sa kanyang pinto.

Being the good friends Lynch and I were, instead of helping him, we laughed and took a picture. Ma swerte siya dahil hindi basa ang tae, otherwise it would be disgusting.

Suddenly, the wooden doors opened, revealing a guy who looked just like Lynch except he was taller and more mature looking. He had a smile etched on his face, "Baby brother!" His sight was only focused on Lynch then he caught up to me, "And....Baby brother's girlfriend?" Nakakahiya naman ito... Then his eyes turned to Marky, "And Baby brother's boyfriend on shit?" He was genuinely confused while his younger bother was genuinely pissed.

"Nero...These are my friends, Arya and Marky." I did a little wave while Marky was too busy looking for a hose to clean the dung. "Welcome to our humble abode!"

My initial reaction noong pumasok kami sa bahay ay Wooow. I swooned over the interior design. But that wasn't all that I noticed. Sa harap namin ay may isang grupo ng mga taong ka-age ni Kuya Nero.

"Ito nga pala ang mga kaibigan ko, sina Sam at Cass, Lucy, Deanna, at Czar, at ito naman si Gregory," he motioned to the guy sitting near us. They all gave waves of acknowledgement to the three of us, well, except for one of the guys since he was too busy glaring, to whom? I don't know.

"Ito naman ang kapatid kong si Lynch, his girlfriend, Arya, and the chaperone, Marky." I really wanted to deny his assumption but he talked and change topic way too fast for me to butt in.

"Oh, I remember you, Marky!" Bigla naman siyang tumawa, may luha pa na namumuo sa gilid ng kanyang mata. "You were that kid Lynch used to bring in our old house. Yung scrub ang buhok at bungi sa harap? Man, that was hilarious! When puberty hits you hard talaga!" The way he teased Marky didn't help him all day. He was moody and cranky, parang oras niya sa buwan!

After that small encounter, they left, saying something about swimming. Inihatid naman kami ni Lynch sa mga guest rooms nila, nauna si Marky, na hanggang ngayon ay nakasimangot, at nahuli naman ako. The room was right across his, "So, you'll be staying here for less than two weeks? Are you sure?"

"Positive." I smiled at him genuinely. "Are you sure that your parents are fine with the both of us staying here?"

"Oh, definitely. Noong sinabi kong mag-uuwi ako ng babae, akala niya ikakasal na ako." Nagkunwari naman akong tumalikod para lamang hindi miya makita ang pulang-pula na na mga pisngi ko.

Days dragged by, we visited the other cities in Region 2. It was really fun, I mean, have you seen the places there, the Rio Grande was astonishing. And before sem break comes to an end, Lynch's parents informed him and his brother that we will all go to Hannah's beach resort to spend time together. Medyo awkward lang para sa akin dahil parang nakikisiyoso na ako sa buhay nila. It was fine with Marky, though. Since childhood friends sila ni Lynch.

Pumasok ako sa kusina, not expecting what I saw. The girls, Cass at Sam, were kissing on the counter top. Hindi nila ako napansin or pinansin kaya umalis na lamang ako. Paglabas ko naman ay may isang matangkad na lalake na nabangga ko, Sisar? or Caesar? or Czar ata ang pangalan? Papasok din siya sa kusina but I decided to them privacy, "Uhm...Kuya Czar, mas mabuti siguro kapag hindi muna kayo pumasok sa kusina dahil..." Shit! How do I tell him? "Dahil may-"

"Is it Cass and Sam?" He looked irked, hindi ko alam bakit but it was weird. After that awkward encounter, I went back to my room and slept.

Pagkagising ko ay gabi na at umuulan ng malakas. Pumunta ako sa switch nang ilaw pero walang kuryente kaya kinuha ko ang cellphone ko at lumabas. Nakasalubong ko naman si Lynch sa labas ng kanyang kuarto, and he smiled at me with his bed hair, which looked kinda hot. What the? Anong nagyayari sa akin? Kailan pa ako nagsabi ng ganitong mga bagay?

I was snapped out of my thoughts nang biglang kumidlat, which surprised me kaya napatalon ako konti. And that's when we heard it.

Lynch's POV

Nang marinig namin ang malakas na sigaw mula sa baba, agad agad kaming tumakbo ni Arya sa pinanggalingan nito. It was Sam, she's been murdered. And Cass was hovering over her body, crying helplessly.

Everybody caught up with what was happening. My brother, who was also a detective, whispered in my ear, "This is your chance, baby bro. I will give this as your chance." I was currently not on good terms with him. And the way he said this made my blood boil.

Hindi ko pinansin ang sinabi niya at dumako sa kinaroroonan ni Arya. "Murdered, stabbed in the right side of the chest, creating internal bleeding in the heart, immediately killing her, has been dead for at least two hours. Weapon, kitchen knife."

Tiningnan ko silang lahat, "Who was the last person Sam was with?"

"I was. But that was after lunch! I told her that I wanted to rest so I went up to my room." Okay then. Bigla naman siya napatigil, "Look! Something's written on there!"

Lumapit kami sa katawan niya and saw it. "Czar Montez?" All caps. There  was an acronym of CM. We all turned to him, even he was wide eyed and confused. "I swear to God, I did not kill her!"

A/N: Soooo, that's a wrap! Await the next chapter though, because we are gonna have fun.

I smell something fishy in this chapter🤔🤔🤔 Is it Nero and Lynch that I smell something fishy with? or is it with Nero's friends?

Sana nagustuhan niyo itong kabanata na ito. Hindi ko patatagalin pa ang susunod na update dahil maraming deductions at conflicts na mangyayari doon.

QOTD: I'm way too good at goodbyes...

-Candy🍭🍭🍭