L I B E R T Y   K I N G S

Darkness invades the sky letting the huge luscious moon shine brighter than anything else. The enigmatic stars look like glitters splattered in the abyss of the night and my eyes are drowned at the sightful scenery above me. The whistling of the wind made my heart calm. 

"Para kang nasa isang music video d'yan, Libs." Natatawang sabi sa 'kin ni Olvia bago umupo sa tabi ko. 

Nandito kami ngayon sa terrace ng mansion nila. Napagdesisyunan kong ikwento sa kaniya ang nakita ko kanina. I realized that I can't keep everything by myself. It's too much for me. Sometimes when things are getting heavier and too much for us, we need to let it out, and sharing it with someone you trust is one way of letting it out. 

Inabutan ako nito ng yogart drink na strawberry flavor habang ang kaniya naman ay mango flavor. Hindi na raw n'ya trip ang uminom ng alcoholic beverages, nasasanay na raw masyado ang kaniyang katawan sa alak. 

"How's work?" Tanong ko kay Olivia nang tuluyan na itong makaupo sa tabi ko.

"Same-same, wala namang bago." Bumuntong hininga ito bago muling nagsalita, "this is the reason why I hate the corporate world. I find it too boring for me."

"Iba-iba talaga tayo ng hilig," nakangiti kong saad.

"Anyway, ano ba 'yong ikwe-kwento mo?" Humarap siya sa 'kin at makikita mo sa kaniyang mga mata ang pagkakuryoso sa aking sasabihin.

Wala akong balak ikwento ang engagement namin ni Froy pero sooner or later malamang ay sasabihin din naman ito ni Froy sa kanila. 

"I think Felix is gay." seryoso kong sabi kay Olivia.

I saw how the fucking mango yogurt drink went out of her nostrils and I can say that it is disgusting.  Olivia cough multiple times and she blink trying to clear her watery eyes. Then she dramatically turns her head in my direction with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. the sight is very lit. 

Seeing her reaction made me laugh loudly! God, just look at how Olivia Valez made me laugh in just a second. sumimangot naman si Olivia nang makita ang pagtawa ko sa itsura n'ya.

"Libs! Don't joke around, kita mo tuloy ang nangyari." ang haba ng nguso nito dahil sa pagkakasimangot n'ya. May droplets pa ng yogurt sa pagitan ng ilong at labi n'ya. 

"Buti walang lumabas na kulangot?" natatawang biro ko pa sa kaniya.

Nilapag naman n'ya ang hawak na yogurt drink at agad na pinunasan ang kalat sa mukha n'ya gamit ang likod ng kamay. Nakakunot ang noo n'ya at masama ang tingin sa'kin. Sa facial expression n'ya ngayon ay mas nagiging kamukha n'ya ang kaniyang tatay. Bigla tuloy pumasok sa utak ko ang mukha ni Oliver na nilalabasan ng yogurt sa ilong! Kaya ay mas lalo akong natawa. Hinampas n'ya ko sa braso na siyang sinalag ko habang patuloy sa pagtawa. 

"Mautot ka sana kakatawa mo d'yan," bulong ni Olivia na siyang rinig ko naman.

Napahawak ako sa aking tiyan habang sinusubukang tumigil sa pagtawa. Huminga ako ng malalim para makalma ang sarili pero nang lingunin ko muli si Olivia ay pumasok ulit sa 'king utak ang itsura n'ya. Muli akong natawa na siyang lalo n'yang ikinasimangot.

"Stop it, Liberty." Her mouth curved into a smile after saying that. Our eyes met and both of us laugh loudly not minding if someone will hear us or if the whole world does.

"O-okay, I can't laugh anymore," I said panting from laughing hard.

"That's why I told you to stop joking!" nakangiting sabi ni Olivia sa 'kin.

"I'm not kidding! I am dead serious about what I said." Binago ko pa ang facial expression ko into a serious one para makita n'ya hindi talaga ako nagbibiro.

"What?!" Pasigaw n'yang sabi sa 'kin.

"Jeez, don't overreact," saway ko kay Olivia.

"How come?" Hangang ngayon ay hindi pa rin ito makapaniwala sa sinabi ko.

"I was in a hotel for lunch then I saw Felix holding a man hands and pinching his butt." Uminom ako muli ng strawberry yogurt na hawak ko pagkatapos sabihin 'yon.

"What?! — what are you doing in a hotel?" Malisyosang sabi naman nito sa 'kin.

"For lunch?" Nag-aalangang kong sagot sa kaniya na kinataas ng kilay n'ya.

"Anyway, bakit sa 'kin napunta ang usapan? We are talking about Felix!" defensive kong sabi agad para maialis ang usapan sa 'kin. 

She gave a half shrug and gesture her hands saying 'continue', napahinga naman ako nang maluwag ng palampasin ni Olivia ang topic kung bakit ako nasa hotel. 

"I don't know what to do." 

Napatingin muli ako sa langit, sinusubukang pagaanin ang loob ko. I don't know what is with the sky but it always brings serenity within me. What a beautiful creation indeed.

"Well, being gay is not an issue." Olivia turned her face upward. Both of us now are looking at the beautiful dark sky shining with the stars and moon.

"The real issue here is how my father will accept him." Napatingin naman ako sa hawak kong yogurt nang maubos ko ito.

"I still can't believe it. I can still remember when Felix is in high school..." pahina nang pahina ang boses ni Olivia habang sinasabi 'yon.

My forehead knotted and I turned my head to her, now my eyes are fixed on her. "What's with Felix in high school?" 

I saw her gulped twice before smiling nervously at me. "He—uh, Felix kissed me that time."Olivia laughs nervously after saying that.

"What?! You never told me that!" Now it's my time to feel shocked. I looked at Oli with big eyes and a gaped mouth.

"It was a one-time thing!" defensive na sagot n'y sa 'kin. Olivia went white while waving her hands across in front of me like saying 'no'.

I was looking at her with my curious glance and a smirk. "O, God..." I heard her murmur while looking at me.

"Looks like the both of you are having fun." My heart immediately does a lift when I heard that sexy baritone voice.  

I excitedly turned my head towards Oliver's direction. As soon as I turned my head our eyes immediately met and I know that my eyes are probably twinkled like how his does. He was leaning on the wall while his strong arms are crossed in his chest. 

Our gaze was torn apart when we heard Olivia's fake cough. I nibbled my lower lip and avoided Olivia's hawk-like eyes. 

"I'll go to my room now." I awkwardly said before standing up.

I slipped a quick glance at Oliver when I walk past him. I can feel Olivia's hot gaze at the back of my head but I didn't put too much thought into that. Before totally leaving I face them again and give both of them a sweet smile while saying 'good night'. Oliver just nodded his head but I can see it on his eye that he's saying the same while Olivia hugged me and did the same. 

"Won't you hug her too Dad?" Parehas kaming nagulat ni Oliver sa sinabi ni Olivia. 

The color drained from my face as I heard what Olivia said. Fear twisted my guts. Does she know? But that's impossible, right? We have been careful not to get caught, right? I can feel my heart thumping hard and fast from nervousness. My hands start trembling slightly. I look at Olivia and she had this unreadable expression on her face.

"Why would I?" Oliver said nonchalantly, he even shrugged his shoulder.

God! I wish I could also act like that. Oliver seems good at hiding things while I on the other hand is panicking as fuck. 

"She's like a daughter to you right?" Nilingon ako ni Olivia at nginitian nang pagkatamis-tamis na aking ikinagulat.

I force a smile and laugh fakely, "that's unnecessary, Oli." 

I kissed her on the cheeks and bid my goodbye. I can still feel my heart beating loudly and my hands are still cold as ice while walking to my room. 

That night, I had a hard time sleeping. Paulit-ulit na pumapasok sa utak ko ang sinabi ni Olivia. Hindi naman n'ya alam 'no? Wala siyang alam. I'm trying to convince myself that Olivia didn't know a thing. Kung may alam naman kasi siya ay malamang mag-iiba na ang trato n'ya sa kin. she would be laughing with me or even talk to me if she knows my real relationship with her father.

Olivia is kind and a loyal friend but when she's angry, she's scary. She can do things you wouldn't expect her to do. But what scares me the most is how will she accepts me as a person when the time comes. Will she accept me despite what I have done? The only thing I did was to love someone, is that bad? Does loving someone is a sin now? I thought love does not have a boundary? But why am I feeling like loving someone is a sin? Why do I feel like it is a hard thing?

All of my life, I was deprived of it. 

It was a busy afternoon for me pero ang tanging ginagawa ko lamang ay ang tumunganga habang kumakain ng spicy peanut na trip na trip ko lately. The light from my laptop dimmed and I just keep on looking at it. Mamaya ay mamatay na ito dahil hinid ko naman ginagalaw. Marami rin akong nakatambak na mga papeles sa 'king lamesa pati mga emails na kailangang reply-an. 

Napahikab ako at napatingin sa orasan. It's just one in the afternoon dapat ay sinisipag akong magtrabaho ngayon pero ni itaas ang aking kamay para sumubo ng mani ay kinakatamaran ko. Siguro ay dahil sa pagpupuyat ko ito kakaisip kagabi. Masama talagang magpuyat pero hindi ko naman maiwasan. Masyado akong nag-alala at natakot kagabi.

Nabitawan ko ang maning hawak ko nang may kumatok sa pintuan ng office ko rito sa restaurant. Nainis pa ako ng kaunti nang makita ang maning nabitawan na ngayon ay nasa sahig na. 

"Come in," pinagpag ko ang aking kamay at pinunasan gamit ang tissue.

Felix's boyish face greeted me. I smiled at him and gestured him to sit. 

"Good afternoon, Ate" nakangiting saad ni Felix sa 'kin pagkaupo n'ya.

"What brings you here?" takang tanong ko sa kaniya.

I didn't ask him to come here. Wala pa akong balak kausapin siya tungkol sa nakita dahil wala pa naman akong alam. I'm planning on investigating first before talking to him. 

"I-I have a problem and ikaw lang ang malalapitan ko." He chewed hisbottom lip while looking at me problematically. 

I gave him a concerned look. Tumayo ako sa kinauupuan ko at tumabi sa kaniya. Hinawakan ko ang balikat ni Felix at tinignan siya nang maigi. 

"You can tell me," 

"I know, you're the only person that will not judge me," Felix said and look at me, eyes swelling.

"Of course, I'm your ate," I told him softly.

"I'm confused." That's the only thing he said and he starts crying like a baby. 

I hugged him and patted his back. I saw him clenched his fist and his jaw as tears keep on pouring. He didn't tell me more. He just keeps on crying and crying while looking at his lap. Hindi n'ya pa ata kaya magkwento and that's okay. 

"Take your time," I told him as I keep on patting his back. 

Felix looked at me with tears in his eyes, fear and sadness are evident in them. 

"Thank you." 'yon lang ang huling sinabi ni Felix bago tumayo at nagpaalam sa 'kin pero bago siya tuluyang lumabas ay nagsalita siya muli. "He's my professor," he smiled weakly at me before leaving my office.

My gosh, my father would be really furious! Damn furious! I need to think about how will I protect Felix. How can I? It would be easy if my father favors me but sadly he does not. Kahit nga tratuhin akong anak ay hindi no'n magawa. Paano ko naman kaya ma-pro-protektahan si Felix? The only thing that I could think of,  is going to my father's good side.  And that only means one thing— marrying Froy Valez.

Fuck. 

~TBC~

As promised, two updates for this week! Dapat talaga ay kagabi pa 'to kaso nag-brown out at ngayon lang bumalik ang aming electricity. 

I don't have time to proofread it so if you guys saw technicalities, I'm sorry.

Feel free to share your thoughts and keep safe everyone!

Love lots :>>