Chapter Five

Angelo's POV

I heard sounds of cry and I couldn't help but wonder if people cried in heaven. It couldn't be hell, there was no fucking way that I was going to hell, not after all I had passed through. It had to be heaven or nothing. I slightly opened my eyes and when I saw Mom at the corner, crying uncontrollably, I knew I wasn't in heaven. Mom loved her life so much that if she were to die, she'd apply for a visa back to Earth. Who the hell was she going to leave her designer shoes and bags for?

“ Call the doctor, he opened his eyes”, I heard my dad say but still couldn't figure out where he was.

A young lady came in, her white coat floating behind her like Superman's cape. She flashed a Torchlight in my eyes, making me feel the urge to push her away and tell her that it stung.

“ His pupils are not dilated and we ran tests to make sure that there was no internal issues, so he'll be fine after a good amount of rest”, the doctor said to mom.

“ Thank you doctor. Bless you”, mom said and the doctor walked out.

I immediately closed my eyes to probably give the illusion that I was sleeping while mom continued sobbing beside me.

“ How could you? Angelo, how could you do this to me?” She asked after I woke up, her tears washing away her foundation and mascara. I've always told her to get good products for her skin and to use brand names, but she never cared less about her cosmetics, just the shoes and the bags.

I kept silent, not knowing what to say and wishing that I had continued faking that I was asleep.

“ Why would you want to kill yourself? Huh? Just because Diego called off the wedding? Is that how carefree you can be about life? To throw it away without even thinking about those who love you?” She continued and I held myself from breaking down. I couldn't bring myself to tell her that I was raped, or worst still to tell her that I had tested positive for HIV, and that it was the reason why Diego called off the wedding. The news will kill her, and so I bore it all alone. It was better to break her heart than to watch her die because of me.

“ Honey it's okay, let's just give him some time”, dad said, cuddling up to her, “ come, let's go get coffee”, he led her out of the room, wiping the tears off her face, together with her ruined makeup. They were lucky. They had each other. I thought I had someone, I thought Diego was that person, but that wasn't the case.

Alberto walked in after they both left. He was still wearing the wedding outfit that he had spoken about but had removed his lashes and that made him look so much like a bald eel, and his eyes were all red and puffy. It was obvious, he had been crying, but the fact that he had removed his lashes made me realize that he was really heartbroken. His lashes were a part of him, and he never, like never took them off, not for anything.

“ Hey, how're you doing?” He asked, sitting on the stool that mom had sat on, his voice hoarse and coarse.

I simply nodded and we both sat there in comfortable silence. This was only possible with Alberto. Staying together and being comfortable with silence, allowing ourselves to wallow in our own thoughts, it was only possible with him.

There was a knock on the door and someone walked in. A middle aged man who seemed way too hot and built for his age.

“ Good day. I'm officer Marcelo Sanchez. I was about to leave when it occurred to me that I hadn't checked in to see how you're doing. So, how do you feel?” He was eloquent and fluent, his voice floating in the air before finding it's way into the ear, sounding so much like a melody that I could listen to all day.

I nodded. I was still unable to speak.

“ Okay, um….. I'm not here to advise you or reprimand you or anything, I just thought that I should let you know that whatever it is you're going through right now, one day, you're gonna look back and you're gonna be proud of the fact that you overcame whatever it is that the problem is, and during that time, you will realize that everything that happened to you was just a way of making you stronger. But trust me, that will not happen if you end your life”, he said, sounding so much like my Senior Advocacy Law lecturer who was humble and authoritative at the same time.

“ So please, do not end your life”, he said as tears welled up in my eyes, “ have a nice day”, he turned and left.

“ He's the officer who saved you”, Alberto whispered and I felt the urge to run after him and ask of his number, but I didn't. I saw him in my dream that night. Dad was walking me down the aisle and he stood at the altar, smiling sheepishly at me, but just as the priest was about to pronounce us married, I jolted up from sleep; it was never going to come true. Being rescued by him and later falling in love? Those kind of things only happened in movies, and life was not a movie. I might even never see him again.

“ Honey, your father and I have discussed about all that is going on and we think that you need therapy”, mom said the next day as they were driving me home from the hospital.

“ What? No”, I said.

“ Look honey, we think it is best for you. You really need to get yourself together so you won't be tempted to commit………”, she couldn't say the word, “ so that you can start living your life again”.

“ I appreciate mom, but no. I'm totally fine, and I don't need therapy”, I said and turned to the window, watching the city pass us by as we drove. Mom didn't say anything again, but I knew that she hadn't given up.

“ Darling, let's stop at the mall and get some fruits”, mom said and dad geared his engine, turning his wheel and making his way into the supermarket.

Even though I wanted to stay inside the car, mom insisted that I joined them, and as I was about to go inside, a child bumped into me.

“ Oh my gosh, are you okay?” I asked, bending to pick the child up.

“ I'm okay”, he said, smiling so wildly with such hazel eyes that I had seen somewhere. “ Daddy, daddy”, he said, turning around to hug a man that was carrying about four bags of groceries.

I stood up to take a look at the man who was lucky enough to have such a beautiful boy, and I was almost crippled with disbelief.

It was officer Marcelo.

I knew that child's hazel eyes seemed familiar, they looked so much like his dad's.

My heart kind of broke upon the realization, and seeing the ring on his finger almost made me suffocate: he was married.

“ Oh, hi officer”, I said, faking a smile and hoping that I looked good.