Arctic Heart [#Wattys2018 Winner]

Chapter 28

Chapter 28
Worthy

"I'm gonna miss you so bad, Za..."

Monique gave me a tight embrace, while Saddie stared at me with her teary eyes.

Inilahad ko naman ang aking kamay sa kanya at tuluyan nang bumagsak ang kanyang luha bago lumapit sa amin ni Monique upang makiyakap.

"I hate you for leaving New York, Za..." Saddie sobbed. "I know you're very happy here, but please, do come back to visit us once in a while..."

I nodded and hugged both of my close friends tighter. "I will... I promise."

I can't believe how fast a week had gone by. It felt like they had just arrived from New York yesterday, but now, they are already on their way back.

Monique and Saddie were both emotional that I was going to be away from them again.

"Guys, we need to board already." I heard Easton announced.

Unti-unti naman akong pinakawalan ng dalawa na hanggang ngayon ay may tumatakas pa ring luha mula sa kanilang mga mata. Lumapit naman si Wendell sa akin upang mabilis akong yakapin habang si Easton naman ay ginulo lang aking buhok.

Nilingon ko si Austin na pirming nakatitig sa akin. Lumapit naman sa kanya si Easton at itinulak papalapit sa akin upang makapagpaalam na rin.

I smiled at him, and he sighed before pulling me for a hug. Mas lalo naman akong napangiti at yumakap pabalik sa kanya. Masaya ako dahil kahit nasaktan ko siya ay ganoon pa rin ang pakikitungo niya sa akin. He was still the caring Austin I've known.

"I'm gonna miss you again..." he whispered. "Don't hesitate to send a message on our group chat if you feel like missing us, okay?"

I nodded, and he quickly kissed me on my forehead before pulling away from our hug.

Kapag bumalik ako ng New York upang bisitahin sila ay isasama ko si Jace. I wanted him to see where I lived when I was still in New York. But I think it would take a while for us to travel because we needed to finish a lot of things first.

My friends were actually kinda sad because Jace wasn't able to come with me in dropping them off at the airport. They weren't able to express their gratitude to him. They had no choice but to let me relay the message to him.

From: Jace
Sorry if I can't come. I'm here at the office. I fell asleep yesterday when I got home, so I wasn't able to work.

I decided to just visit him at his firm in order to cheer him up this day even just for a short time. It was very unfortunate that he still had to work during Saturday. I never knew that he can be this busy because of his job. He must've been bombarded of projects from different high end clients. Idagdag mo pa ang proyekto niya sa aming kompanya.

Pagkapasok ko ng aking sasakyan ay nagdesisyon akong itext muna siya bago ako dumiretso sa kanyang opisina. Baka mamaya ay lumabas siya at wala akong maabutan doon.

To: Jace
Are you still in your office?

I pursed my lips and leaned back on my seat while waiting for his reply that didn't fail me.

From: Jace
Yes. Done sending them off?

Napangiti naman ako at muling nagtipa ng mensahe para sa kanya.

To: Jace
Yup. Sayang nga at hindi ka nakasama sa paghatid. Gusto nilang magthank you sa'yo. Matagal ka pa riyan sa office?

While waiting for his next reply, I inserted the key into the ignition and started the car's engine.