Kabanata 5 Beaten

Lumalim na ang gabi. Selene is quite tipsy at hindi ko na siya makausap nang maayos. Ngayon nga ay nagpaalam ito na magbabanyo kasama si Ino, the owner of this bar na kaclose din namin.

Habang naghihintay ay tumunog ang cellphone ko. It’s an unknown number. Matagal kong tinitigan iyon bago sinagot.

“Hello?”

“Go downstairs. At the back patio.”

The voice is not familiar, but it’s a woman’s voice. Hindi agad pumasok sa isip ko na baka si Amara iyon dahil kilala ko ang maarte niyang boses. May kutob akong hindi maganda. Ininom ko ang last shot ng whiskey saka nagdesisyong bumaba na.

Pagdating ko sa back patio ay wala akong nadatnan. Walang gaanong tao roon dahil lahat ay nasa loob at nagpapakalunod sa alak. Pabalik na sana ako sa loob ng bar ngunit bumagsak na ako sa lupa nang may malakas na bagay na lumanding sa likod ng ulo ko.

“Found you, you bitter whore.” It was Amara.

Hindi ko pa nga nababawi ang sarili ko mula sa pagkahilo ay muli niya akong hinampas sa tiyan.

“Hold her tight! Make sure that psycho bitch doesn’t get away!” She ordered whoever was there.

Nang imulat ko ang mga mata ko ay tumambad sa akin ang mukha niyang may pasa pa dahil sa ginawa ko sa kanya noong nakaraan sa harap ng tower ni Jaxon. Hawak ako ng dalawang lalaki sa magkabilang kamay. Ramdam ko pa rin ang pagkahilo ko at ang mabigat na sakit na iyon sa tiyan ko.

“Now beg, bitch. How will you fight back when you’re this weak? Your own family is slowly stripping away your Consunji identity. How does that feel, huh?” She asked arrogantly. I sarcastically laughed.

“Ipaabot mo na lang ang pasasalamat ko sa kanila kapag nagtagumpay kang patayin ako rito ngayon… dahil kung hindi…” I halted and smirked at her.

Kumislap ang  takot at kaba sa mga mata niya. Sinulyapan ko ang baseball bat na hawak niya. I can see her hands were trembling. Hindi niya kayang pumatay hanggang sa hindi ito nagmumukhang aksidente gaya ng ginawa niya sa akin noon.

“I will fucking blow your brain using that bat you’re holding. Yun ay kung may utak ka,” pagpapatuloy ko.

Amara laughed nervously. “You still know how to brag even when you’ve got no one left to fight. Let’s see if you can still say that after I do what I’m going to do to you.”

Pagkatapos niyang sabihin iyon ay buong lakas niyang pinalo muli ang tiyan ko. Hindi pa nga ako nakakarecover sa sakit ay sinunod niya ang mga braso ko, pagkatapos ay ang mga binti ko. Kung hindi lang ako hawak ng dalawang lalaking ito ay tuluyan na akong hahandusay sa lupa.

Hindi pa nakuntento si Amara at malakas namang pinalo ang mga paa ko nang paulit-ulit na para bang nais niyang durugin iyon.

“I should’ve done this a long time ago, but Jaxon kept stopping me because he still felt sorry for you. But after what you did to us, you don’t deserve anyone’s pity anymore, Celeste. I’m not even worried about going to jail after this, because I know Mom and Dad will do everything to keep me out,” she went on, striking me over and over across different parts of my body.

“And you? You have no one. No one loves you. No one’s going to save you. No one will ever accept you—so what’s the point of you even living? Just die already. Disappear from our lives!” she screamed in rage.

Nang bitawan ako ng dalawang lalaki ay bumagsak na ako sa lupa nang wala nang maintindihan. My last straw was the heavy blow on my stomach before I coughed blood.

Amara grabbed my chin firmly. "Now let me hear you apologizing. Apologize to me if you want me to spare your useless life."

Nanghihina man ay inangat ko ang tingin ko sa kanya. Bakas na bakas ang kasamaan sa mga mata niya. That she wanted more of this. At hindi siya titigil kahit pa makuha niya ang nais niya.

"Apologize, Celeste," she ordered firmly.

"I-I'm sorry..." Nahihirapan kong sambit.

Satisfaction clouded her face. She was about to say something, but immediately stopped when I smirked at her.

"S-sorry if you’re so insecure about me that you need to hear me apologize just to convince yourself you’ve won—that you’ve beaten me. Sorry that you’re pathetic. Sorry that you’re begging for attention and love from people who were mine to begin with. Sorry that everything you have now, you had to steal from me—because the truth is, you’re nothing without me, Amara. Sorry if--"

Hindi ko na natuloy ang sasabihin ko dahil malakas niya akong sinampal saka tinadyakan sa tiyan.

"Fucking bitch...!" She yelled at paulit-ulit akong tinadyakan.

“I hope you learn your lesson here, Celeste—never, ever go against me again. You’re already nothing, but I’ll make sure to destroy what’s left of you until there’s nothing remaining but your empty shell. No heart. No soul.”

And after that, they left me there under the moonlight—barely breathing, barely able to move. And for the first time in so long, the tears I’d kept buried flowed endlessly, like a faucet left open.

Bago pa ako mawalan ng malay, may nakita akong anino ng lalaki na papalapit sa akin.