Scripted Relationship

Chapter 33

"Once a bitch, always a bitch, paps," Raymond said first. "You should have not believed on those stupid guy forums anyway."

"Erik fell for that bitch again," RX said after. "Those stupid guy forums may be persuasive then. I should check it out sometime so that I won't Irene."

"Come to think of it," Gary said. We looked at him because he appeared to be synthesizing properly the story I told them. "If Andrea did not show up in your grandmother's house, would you even entertain her? And even if you did, as you already did, you should not have accommodated her in the first place because you already moved on. You are already in a relationship with Rose, for Christ's sake! Bakit mo pa siya ipagpapalit? Mahal ka na ni Rose tapos iiwan mo lang for that bitch? Now, you talk to us like a drama king again, especially when you learned na ikakasal na siya. You wanted to prove us that you've moved on. Now, you've just proven that you only used Rose to moved on. Sinaktan mo si Rose, Erik."

"That's the reason I have to break up with Rose," I said to him. "Because I was afraid I would hurt her."

"Did you think breaking up with Rose would help you in your situation?" Gary asked me seriously.

"Yes," I answered him. "Because it would spare Rose of the pain of knowing that I flirted with my ex."

"You're wrong, pare," Gary replied while shaking his head. Gary indeed would contradict me at every instrance. "It only made your situation worse. Okay sana kung inamin mo na lang kay Rose na nagkita kayo ni Andrea. You could even ask for a cool off if you want to clear your mind for a while. She could have understood your situation for sure because she knew everything between you and Andrea. Pero hindi. You just hurt her. You hurt the one person who was only guilty of loving you. And with your decision, you just concretized her pain. We know that women are privileged to change their minds. But once they're hurt, it would be hard to change their hearts. They will lock their hearts away to make sure no one would break them again."

I fell silent on my seat. I was praying that I would disappear that very moment because Gary was lecturing me again, and this time, about my poor decision to leave Rose behind.

"You know what, Erik?" Johnny asked me and said: "Napansin ko lang. Ang buhay mo, parang condo unit mo. Hindi mo ba nari-realize na palaging si Rose ang pumupunta sa condo mo habang nagkukulong ka lang doon? Sa nakalipas mo? Siya na ang pumasok sa buhay mo, but you let your past pull your strings. Bakit hindi naman ikaw ang lumabas para sa kanya?"

"Obviously, hindi na niya magagawa iyon kasi nakipag-break na siya," RX interrupted. "Nasa kanya na, pinakawalan pa niya."

I was not able to finish what I was eating because all of their words were enough to fill my stomach with pain and regret.

----- O -----

ERIK

I put my car in halt just a meter away from the gate. I gazed at the house in front of me. It has been months since I last set foot in our family house here in New Manila. I turned off the engine and went out of the car to walk to our gate.

"Master Erik!" The woman shouted as she saw me coming towards the gate.

"Hi, Yaya Lita," I said to the woman. "Is Mom here?"

"Yes po," Yaya Lita gleefully answered. "Pasok po kayo, master. Ang tagal niyo na pong hindi bumalik dito sa mansyon."

I entered the gate and saw that our house never changed. I went inside the house and looked at the receiving area where our family portrait and a cabinet full of family pictures were. The family portrait hanging on the wall was a portrait of Dad, Mom and I when I was still nine years old.