KABANATA 3

Only hours later, Ezaiyah managed to fly away from their house with the use of one of the spare cars found in the mansion's garage.

And just like her previous escapades, she chose not to tell anybody about where she would go or whom would she be with.

Besides, wala naman talagang may pakialam sa kanya. Sa kung saan siya pupunta, kung ano'ng gagawin niya. No one cares about her genuinely.

Well, aside from her mom who got her back as always. But that was before. Noong nabubuhay pa ito.

Pero magmula nang iwan sila ng mommy niya, at nagpakasal ang daddy niya sa pangalawang pagkakataon na kay Haydie nga, pakiramdam niya ay nasira na ang buong buhay niya. Lalo pa noong namatay ang ama niya nang hindi man lang niya nalalaman ang dahil sa likod niyon.

And since then, all that she feel is loneliness.

Her stepmom, Haydie, is living with her, yes. But she's not been close to her even once. And if you wanna know why? Simple lang. It is just because instead of taking care of her, Haydie prioritizes things that could make her happy. Wala itong pakialam sa kanya o sa kahit anong bagay na konektado sa kanya. Maliban siguro sa kayamanan ng daddy niya. At kapag may lumapit naman sa kanyang ibang tao, when she finally thought of being happy having her new-found friends, her crazy stepmom would suddenly jump in the act as if she is an overprotective mom who's afraid to get her hurt.

And oh, there's Zayne. Her stepmom's so-called 'nephew' who's living, too, under her roof. The guy is also extra-caring when it comes to her— with or without anyone aside from them. Which is better than Haydie, she must say. Only if he's not doing things that are beyond the limits. In short, he's making all things even more complicated for her. At first, he'll act like he's some sort of a cool boyfriend. 'Tapos, kapag nahulog na siya rito at sinubukan niya nang umamin ng tungkol sa nararamdaman niya? Bigla na lang itong lalayo sa kanya nang hindi sinasabi kung ano ang eksaktong dahilan. And that action of his made her feel even angrier at him. It is as if her mind is dictating her whole self not to give a damn trust him anymore.

Going back to her escapade— hindi rin nagtagal ang pananatili niya ng mag-isa sa isang malaking table sa bar na kinaroroonan niya. Because only few minutes passed and she found herself already with a bunch of her friends going crazy around her.

"Isn't it too early to lose ourselves again? We've been here just last night.” Trina, one of her closest friends said.

She just smiled at her as she shrug her shoulders.

"There's no early for me especially when all I want to do is to escape from that hell I live in. And to the demons I am with there, of course.” Ezaiyah said in a plain voice.

Wala nang nagtangka pang magsalita ulit matapos niyang sabihin iyon."Let's just get something to drink and let's just drown this unpleasant day away!” she prompted after some time of silence.

Sumang-ayon naman ang mga kaibigan niya at sabay-sabay pa itong kumaway para tawagin ang bawat waiter na dumaraan sa pwesto nila.

"One margarita, please,” nauna nang saad ni Trina bago pa man makapagsalita si Ezaiyah. 

"A bottle of tequila for me. And bring some salt and lemon as well.”

Nanlaki ang mga mata ng mga kaibigan niya. Maging ang waiter ay halata ring na-shock sa mga sinabi niya.

"Sigurado na po ba kayo riyan, Ma'am? Masyado pong hard na inumin ang Tequila. Kung ako po ang tatanungin, hindi ko irerekomenda na inumin niyo iyon ng ganito kaaga at—"

"Well, sorry to say but I won't be needing your recommendation. You're being paid in here to do and give what your customers ask you to. I'm not— no, we're not paying for some dumb recommendations.” agad na putol ng dalaga sa kung ano pa mang 'walang kwenta' na sasabihin ng pakialamerong lalaki na iyon. Para kong nakilala si Zayne sa parallel universe. Tss.

The waiter on his early twenties seemed to be disappointed by her behavior that he just fell silent and leave no word until he left to get their orders.

"Oh, gosh, Ezaiyah. Bakit mo naman siya sinungitan? Poor waiter.” pagkumpronta sa kanya ni Trina na pinili niyang huwag na lang pansinin. 

"We are not aware if this place is guarded with some cameras and such. You shouldn't have done that. We all have the possibility that that scene might leak and may cause your name to be ruined and you may suffer the consequences.” her gay friend said.

Tinitigan niya ito ng matalim.

"I don't care about that anymore, Chanel. All I want for this day is to escape this super exhausting life of mine. If they would be rich by spreading my negative side, then let them be. Good for them.”

Hindi naman na nakaangal pa ang mga kaibigan niya. Napabuntung-hininga na lang ang mga ito, nagkatinginan, at hindi makapaniwalang napailing. 

There are just times wherein they can't understand Ezaiyah. Even though they're all eyeing to her as their real, true friend.

For them, Ezaiyah is just… uneasy to understand. She's not so transparent, nor visible. She's just… different.

Samantala, hindi naman mapigilan ni Ezaiyah na maya't-mayang i-check ang cell phone niya. Because even though she hated Zayne as much as she does with Haydie, she can't still defy the fact that she's still into him. She's still hoping that anytime from now, she'll be receiving a text message, or a call from him asking where she is. And when he finally found out that she's in a place like this, he'll immediately go to pick her up as if he is worried about her and is caring genuinely about her safety.

Pero lumipas na ang mga oras at wala pa rin siyang natatanggap na kahit anong tawag. Maski text message galing dito ay wala rin.

That's when she decided to turn her cell phone off and make herself focus on what is happening right now. Gusto niyang magpakasaya na para bang iyon na ang huling pagkakataon niya para gawin iyon. 

And having fun, she realized something within herself— among her friends, it seems like she's the only one faking her happiness. Knowing the fact that among them all, she's the wealthiest and the most famous. But why is life isn't playing fair with her? Isn't she the one who is supposed to be happy? She got everything life could offer— especially those that probably every girl might ask for. But there she is, lonely and sad. She even became a rebel and a prisoner of her own cage.

After another hour, Ezaiyah already felt the alcohol kicking in. Her sight started to get blurry and everything around her seemed to spin. Even her stomach, too, is spinning. Causing her an urge to vomit.

"Hey, Ezaiyah, are you okay?” she heard one of her friends ask. Hindi na niya alam at hindi niya na matukoy kung sino ba sa mga kaibigan niya ang nagtanong niyon sa kanya.

Hindi na siya nag-abalang sumagot pa, sa halip ay inipon na lang niya ang natitira niyang lakas para tumayo. Kahit pa pakiramdam niya ay umuuga ang mundo niya. And when she finally managed to stand up, muntik naman siyang mabuwal na naman sa kinatatayuan niya. Good thing, Chanel was able to catch her up immediately. Si Chanel nga ba iyon?

"Look at you, girl! You're hella drunk! Dapat kasi, sinunod mo na lang 'yung advice ng waiter kanina—”

"S-Shut up…! I can… h-handle this s-situation m-my… m-myself!” she exclaimed as she freed herself from Chanel's arms.

She then started to walk slowly in no straight direction. There were so many times that she nearly had a very bad fall with the possibility of bumping herself on the floor or worst, getting even more severe injuries.

Instead of the comfort room where she first planned to go, she found herself walking out of the bar.

She went straight to cross the road— seemed to forget that she has a car with her.

And when her foot slipped out of the high-heeled stilettos she was wearing, she cuss.

She was still in the middle of the road, but she didn't hesitate to kneel a little bit despite her difficulty in balance. All that important to her is to remove those freaking stilettos off her feet.

But in the middle of removing those, she heard a sudden screeching sound. And when she lift her head to see what was that, her eyes automatically widen as she looked at a huge car out of motion only a few steps away from her. She was nearly caught an accident!

Her adrenaline immediately rushed to his whole body and she was able to stoop up straight as if she wasn't so drunk. And after that, she started running away from that road.

After reaching a nearby coffee shop, the pressure within her started to lessen as she was already able to relax a bit. And as her adrenaline goes down, she gently felt the effect of the alcohol she just drunk early this morning. Her world seemed to spin again, literally. And is being urged again by her mind to vomit.

She tried standing again, trying her luck to find the coffee shop's comfort room. She was planning to go get some cold water and splash them all over her face— hoping that it would somehow reduce the effect of the alcohol on her body.

But as she attempt to walk, she suddenly felt a huge hand gripping her left arm.

"Since when did you learn to drink this early?”

Her heart seemed to skip a beat after hearing that familiar voice.

She can't be mistaken. It is surely Zayne…

She closed her eyes shut while convincing herself that it is only minor hallucinations brought to her by too much alcohol in the beverage she had just drank.

Ignoring the familiar voice of Zayne which she didn't even know where it came from, Ezaiyah again made an attempt to walk straight. Yet, she was still unable to. And it's because 'Zayne' already carried her in a bridal style form.

"H-Hey. W-Who are you? W-Why are you… c-carrying me and—”

"It's me, Zayne. And I don't want to hear any questions from you. I'll be taking you home and I don't want any noisy stuff in my car. So, please, keep quiet and if you can't, I swear I would get something that would make you shut your mouth in the process.”