Chapter Thirty

NAIILING na pinanood ni Vodka ang dalawang lalaki na parehong nakaupo sa sahig malapit sa may salaming dingding at seryosong naglalaro ng chess. Kaninang matapos ang tanghalian ay nandoon na ang mga ito at ngayon ay maghahapunan na nga, madilim na sa labas.

Lumapit siya sa dalawa at umupo sa sofa habang nanatiling nakatutok ang mga mata sa mga ito. Parehong nakacast ang mga balikat at pareho ring may natamong injury sa mga binti. Kahapon nang makauwi sila mula sa tatlong araw na pananatili sa loob ng ospital ay siya na ang umasikaso sa dalawang lalaki. Kung hindi lang ipinilit ni Eugene ay hindi pa ito papalabasin ng mga kapatid.

"Dinner is ready," untag ni Vodka sa mga ito na tila may sariling mundo. Sa nakikita niya ay mamaya pa matatapos ang mga ito, walang gustong magpatalo alinman sa dalawa. "Fine! Bahala kayo riyan."

Vodka, who was a little bit pissed, went to the kitchen all by herself. She was about to eat alone when the men appeared from behind the door. Both are limping and trying to hide the grimace on their faces.

"What's up for dinner?" Eugene asked, kissed her crown, and sat next to her. While Felix occupied the chair across her.

"Nothing special," Vodka answered coldly. Truth was, she made the dinner extra special and cooked with all her best. It felt wonderful everytime they were having a meal together, the three of them, she felt like they were a family.

"Are you good?"

"Great!" She felt disappointed when Eugene did not even hinted the indifference in her voice. He and Felix were talking about their game earlier.

"I won three times!"

"I also did," Eugene answered blandly after swallowing his food.

"I'm better than you."

"Better my ass."

Vodka remained silent during their dinner. She cleaned the table after and washed the dishes since the two men were injured, she had to do the chores. She was not complaining about doing the chores, it's just that, the two were having great time together despite everything, totally forgotten her presence.

She was halfway done with cleaning when she felt Eugene embraced her from behind. Iginalaw niya ang katawan upang makawala mula rito ngunit nanatiling nakayakap ang isang braso nito sa kanya at nakapatong ang baba sa kanyang balikat.

"I miss you," he whispered in her ear before kissing her cheek.

Vodka snorted. "I can hardly believe."

"I do. You don't believe me?"

Vodka felt his hand caressing her stomach and pinned his body to her. His lips went to her neck and worked its wonder. "Ano ba, Gin!" kunwang inis niya kahit naaapektuhan siya sa ginagawa nito. "I'm cleaning here and you're wounds are still not healed. Now, let go of me and be a good boy, clean your wounds with Felix."

"You're not pissed anymore?" malambing na tanong nito na hindi man lang naapektuhan sa tonong ginamit ni Vodka.

"I'm not if you'll behave."

"Okay," Eugene conceded. He kissed her neck one last time and walked towards the living room where Felix was.

Vodka filled her lungs with air and cleaned the sink before going out of the kitchen. Wala na ang dalawang lalaki sa sala ngunit naririnig niya ang tinig ng mga ito sa loob ng banyo na katabi ng silid ni Eugene. Iiling-iling na pumasok siya sa loob ng kuwarto at pumasok sa banyong nandoon upang maglinis ng katawan.

Pagkatapos magbihis ay muli siyang lumabas at pumunta sa sala. Hindi pa rin tapos ang kapatid at si Eugene sa paglilinis ng mga sugat base sa naririnig niyang bangayan mula sa loob ng banyo. Umupo siya sa mahabang sofa sa bandang kinaroroonan ng malaking flat screen TV. Binuksan niya iyon at napagdesisyunang manood, maaga pa naman para matulog at hindi pa siya inaantok.

Paglipas ng ilang minuto ay narinig niya ang mga yabag na papalapit sa kanyang direksiyon. Hindi niya pinansin ang mga ito hanggang sa umupo sila sa magkabilang gilid niya, pinagitnaan siya sa mahabang sofa. Both men placed their head on her shoulders making her roll her eyes and smile at the same time. She felt better now, she can't stay irritated to them any longer.

Pagkatapos nilang manood ng pelikula ay pumasok silang tatlo sa loob ng silid ni Eugene upang matulog. Naglatag ng mattress ang dalawang lalaki sa sahig upang doon matulog.

"I can sleep on the mat and you can take the bed," she suggested while looking at the two who seemed very uncomfortable sleeping together.

"No," they chorus.

"I see you're getting closer to each other now, huh?" Vodka then grinned teasingly. Dumapa siya sa ibabaw ng kama at ipinatong ang pisngi sa unan habang nakatingin pa rin sa ibaba.

"Diablos no! Nunca me acercare con ese idiota." Bubulong-bulong ni Felix pagkatapos ay tumalikod sa direksiyon ni Eugene.

Eugene, who heard and understand what Felix muttered, snorted. "This is my house, I could throw you out and let you sleep with my dogs."

Hinawakan ni Vodka ang mukha ni Eugene upang patigilin ito, dahil paniguradong magkakainisan na naman ang dalawa. Good thing Felix only let a rough breath and ignored Eugene.

Hinawakan ng binata ang palad ng dalaga na humahaplos sa kanyang pisngi at dinala iyon sa mga labi. Sinalubong niya ang mga mata nito at ngumiti. Ilang sandaling magkahugpong ang kanilang mga mata bago yumuko si Vodka at hinuli ang mga labi ni Eugene.

"I can hear you!" sita ni Felix na naririnig at nararamdaman ang ginagawa ng dalaga.

Pinakawalan ni Eugene ang mga labi ng dalaga at hinaplos ang pisngi nito. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Gin. Hasta mañana, Hermano." Felix only gestured his hand as a response.

Umayos na ng higa si Vodka sa ibabaw ng kama at pumikat. Nakangiting nakatulog si Vodka dahil sa magkahugpong nilang kamay ni Eugene. It was such a great night and she had a good night's sleep.

KINABUKASAN ay dumating sa bahay ni Eugene si Scarlet dala ang cellphone na nasa pangangalaga nito. Noong makuha nila iyon mula sa vault na nasa loob ng opisina ay si Scarlet na ang may hawak niyon, kaya walang nakuha ang mga lalaking tumambang kina Vodka at Eugene.

"You're alive," Felix said flatly when he saw Scarlet in flesh.

"Oh boy, disappointed? Well sorry, they can't kill me without a fight. They're smart enough not to get into my nerves," she uttered nonchalantly and handed the phone to Vodka. "Finders keepers."

"You didn't look what's inside, do you?"

"Mr. Rodríguez, you don't know me a bit. I don't care if you're suspicious about my intention but stop getting into my nerves if you don't want to find your head detached from your body." Scarlet's gaze was unwavering, making Felix smile on the inside, secretly. The mysterious woman was intriguing him. "This is what I get from saving your Spanish ass."

"I'm half Italian and Filipino, not Spanish."

"Whatever."

"Why don't you get that mask off of your face, let's see what you got there."

"Not gonna happen."

Vodka slightly pinched her brother's arm and warned him through her eyes to stop their bickering. "Don't made it too obvious," she murmured in his ear and smiled lopsidedly. Her brother wasn't this accommodating to strangers, he won't heed them any attention if they didn't caught his interests. And Felix wasn't the type of arguing to a woman, he may be cold sometimes, but he's a gentleman. Their mother taught him to respect girls because his mother was a woman and he had a younger sister. A woman deserves to be treated with respect. Alicia, their mother, would always say that to him when she was still alive. So Felix giving attention to the mysterious woman, it must be something.

"I already confirmed that it was Patrick Castillo's phone and the one that the police have is fabricated."

Naputol ang pagtatanggol ni Felix sa sarili sa kapatid dahil sa gusto nitong palabasin nang magsalita si Scarlet.

"Yeah, I found out that thing yesterday. I was about to tell you," Eugene then shrugged. "Can I, Hermosa?"

Agad na ibinigay ni Vodka ang aparatong hawak kay Eugene at umupo sa sofa katabi nito. Ikinonekta nito sa laptop ang aparato at binuksan.

After an hour two, they already had an idea on why all of these happened, making Vodka sick. Everything's inside the phone were inhuman and unjustifiable. The recording shows it all.

She was shocked to the great extent.