Dark Phoenix #2: Echoes Of Lies

CHAPTER 34

Chapter 34

Kabubukas pa lang ng pinto ay iyak agad ng baby ang bumungad sa akin. It was Celeste who opened the door, carrying her crying baby.

"Shh, baby, Aunt Cassie is here. Say hi to her! Hi, Aunt Cassie!" she baby talked.

Napangisi ako at pumasok sa loob. Hindi sumama si Jin hinatid niya lang ako dito dahil makikipagkita daw siya sa mga kaibigan niya. Kaibigan. Of course, I know who his friends are. Wala naman na siyang ibang kaibigan bukod sa dating grupo niya.

"I can't go with you. I'll meet the gang later. I'm sorry." That's what Jin said.

Tipid akong tumango sa pinanood siyang pinasibad ang kotse paalis. Tikom ang bibig ko, habang nagpapaalam siya. It was like holding my words properly so they wouldn't come out. I want to go with him. That's it. I want to see Laurence, even though I know that the feeling is not mutual. She hates me to the point that I think every minute I pop into her mind, she's cursing me to hell. That's truly understandable. I know where she's coming from with that hatred towards me.

"What do you want? Refreshment? Snack?" I shook my head. Hindi naman pagkain ang pinunta ko dito. Pero pwede na din.

"Sa lunch na lang. Dito na ako kakain." nilibot ko ng tingin ang loob ng condo para hanapin si Kuya.

"Si kuya?" Tanong ko.​ She pointed to the room using her red-painted lips.

"He's, uhm, nagdadasal? Is that how you call it?" bahagya akong natawa sa bulol niyang pagbigkas.

Celeste can understand Tagalog. Can speak it as well, but her hard accent was dominating the words, causing them not to come out clearly. Medyo bulol pero naiintindihan ko naman, kasi hindi naman siya nag-aaral. She just watched and observed how me and my brother communicated, and then viola! She got it.

"Oo," tawa ko at nilampasan na siya para ipaalam sa kapatid na nandito na ako.

I knocked on his door and twisted the knob. Sumilip ako at nakita siyang nakaupo sa kama at nakasandal sa headrest at nakapikit ang mata. An idea came into my head like a light bulb. Nagdadasal nga.

"Padre nuestro..." panimula ko.

" ...que estas en los cielos— "

"Shut it."

"Santificado. Sea al tu nombre. Venga anos al tu reino."

"What the fuck?" Humalakhak ako.

Lumingon ito sa akin at umayos ng upo. His pair of eyes reminded me of night—dark and cold. In some parts, I would look like that, but most of the time, I'm not. We share some features, but we do not totally look alike. The more I see myself, the more I notice my similarities with Laurence.

We mirrored our biological mother's round face, chubby cheeks, and gummy smile, which I envy most about her because it's attractive in my eyes. While I have slightly slanted cat eyes that make me look bratish and sarcastic, Laurence has doll eyes. Eyes of a doll that is dead and emotionless. It has an almond shape that is a bit rounded, which makes her look like a Barbie doll and could scare someone when it looks dead.

Hughes has thick brows and always looks like he's scowling the way they meet in the middle whenever he's mad or whatever, plus his deep set of piercing eyes. That's his resting face. Cold, dark, and rough looking. While my brows are a bit thick but quite light compared to my brother's. It gave me an innocent look, paired with my cat-like eyes. He's more like a foreign native; he looks like our dad, while I am a mixture of my dad and my Asian mother; my Asian blood is dominant.

But my face and features are much softer than Laurence's or Hughes'. It's like I am between two cold-looking people.

"How are you?" I sat beside him. He shrugged and leaned his head on my shoulder. Such a baby.