Chapter 24: His Problems

TW: SUICIDE

Angelica's POV

A YEAR LATER

It had been a year since Walter and I graduated senior high. Ngayon we're about to face our 2nd-year in college grabe ang dali nang panahon I still remember the first day Walter and I met he stared at me like an idiot I never knew he liked me back then but now here we are. On the day we graduated high school Alex admitted that he's gay aaminin ko medyo nagulat talaga ako it's really unexpected pero tinanggap pa din namin sya syempre what are friends for his dad accepted him medyo nanghinayang nag lang si Tito dahil Unico Hijo nya daw si Alex pero ngayon may unica hija na daw sya, Walter's lolo also gave us a penthouse dapat nga ay ako, si Walter, Leandro, Alex, at dalawang pinsan ko na sina Mia at Mai who are in 11th-grade ang titira soon kaya lang Alex decided to study in FEU eh kami ni Walter ay UST tapos si Leandro Ateneo kaya kami nalang titira sa penthouse. Walter and I both reviewed and applied for UST when we finished Senior High and with the help of God, we both passed. Now that we're in our 2nd-year college our parents allowed us to move sa penthouse with one condition salaam si Yaya Mila ni Walter at Yaya Niña ko pati na din ang mga pinsan kong, sina Mia at Mai who are in 11th-grade pumayag naman kami para madami din kaming titira sa penthouse. Walter and I are currently here at the living room nakaharap gaming dalawa sa laptop nya since we decided to buy some things para sa penthouse and for our own rooms na din, may furniture na yung buong penthouse but we wanted to add some things na lahat kami makakagamit. We still have 2 months before our classes start kaya ngayon pa lang we decided to buy stuff para the rest of the month may time pa kami para sa isa't isa.

"Angelica, what do you think should we buy?" I looked at Walter his features became more manly nung nag college kami he now has broader shoulders, sharp jawline, he changed his hairstyle he now had a clean-cut, and he's wearing glasses maliit lang yung grade nang mata nya he could still see without them pero he wears it kapag nagbabasa sya or gumagamit sya nang phone.

"Coffee maker, bookshelves, shoe racks, and uhm I don't know madami na din kasi akong gamit all of the things nga sa bahay dinala ko na dito" he chuckled at my response

"Yeah, ako din let's just buy those" so we did we looked for those stuff that I mentioned we didn't have to worry about our budget since Walter earns a lot and I also have allowance from my parents aside from that may ipon din ako. Since wala kaming classes Walter usually works at his Lolo's company he's the vp of his Lolo's company during during weekdays he goes to his office pero kapag Friday half-day lang yung work nya since we would spend time going out in the afternoon ganyan lang yung set-up namin since 1st year college minyan pumupunta ako sa office nya to bring him food minyan naman he calls me and tells me to go to his office kapag wala slang maggawa or miss nya ako and I'm happy that he's working at a young age he even insisted on paying Markus' tuition si Tito kasi he has his own company but he's not always at home minyan nandoon sya sa second family nya.

May tumawag sa cellphone ni Walter it was an unknown number binigay ko aged sa kanya so he answered it

"Hello Goodafternoon" I heard him say he went to the terrace ako naman I stayed at the living room kasi baka may work problem sya after a minute I saw him running towards his room kaya sumunod ako I saw him getting his car keys and wallet

"Love what's the problem? May problem ba sa office" sunod sunod kong tanong

"L-Love si mama na sa hospital she attempted suicide" nagulat naman ako sa sinabi ni Walter. Tita never does this kaya pumunta din ako sa kwarto ko I grabbed my phone and wallet and went down with Walter

"I'll go with you" he nodded kaya sabay na kaming lumabas we rode the elevator papunta nang basement, the moment we reached the basement Walter and I ran toward his car and drove off to the hospital when we reached the hospital I was the one who asked the nurse kung nasal si Tita since Walter was shaking the nurse told me na nako nailipat na daw si tita sa private room she told us the room number so Walter and I ran towards her room pagbukas namin nang room ni tita I saw Markus, their driver, and another manang from their house. Markus ran to us with tears in his eyes I hugged him while Walter went to his mom

"Markus your mom's gonna be okay she's a strong woman okay don't cry na" I caressed his cheek and kissed his forehead Markus grew taller now medyo nag isa na din ang features now he once looked like his brother but now he looks like the boy version of his mom

"I-I saw her hanging a-ate kaya I ran downstairs and called manang" he continued sobbing naawa ako kay Markus he's still so young to see these I hugged him tightly umupo kami sa couch sa loob nang kwarto ni tita I was looking at Walter who was sitting beside his mom's bed while holding her hand, he was biting his lower lip saguaro para hindi sya marinig ni Markus

"Markus tara muna sa cafè sa baba let's leave your Kuya and mama for a moment muna ha so that you can eat lunch na"

Markus nodded pinauna ko na sya sa labas I went near Walter and caressed his back while telling him everything will be fine

"Pupunta muna kami sa baba ni Markus ha he needs to eat he hasn't eaten pa I'll bring you water pagbalik ko okay" he nodded and hugged me I hugged him to that moment I saw Walter's very fragile side naawa ako sa kanila ni Markus I went out and saw Markus I held his hand at sabay na kaming bumaba papunta sa cafe sa baba

"Markus what do you want to eat?" umiling lang si Markus I know he's still shocked but he needs to eat yumuko ako para level kami ni Markus I held his chin up and made him look at me

"Markus listen to ate ha I know na you're worried and sad but you need to eat kapag hindi ka kakain your mama will be sad, do you want your mama to be sad"

"No ate" sabay iling

"Now will you eat na" tumango tango naman sya

I smiled I ordered some chicken and rice for him tapos I got myself and Walter bottled water.

Pinakain ko muna si Markus bago kami bumalik sa kwarto nang mama nila.

When we went back their I saw Walter and his dad fighting kaya tinawag ko ang yaya ni Markus para kunin sya. I went back to the room kasi baka

ano pang mangyari sa dalawa.

"No! You will not get my brother away from me I will confine my mother here for the mean time while I take care of my brother!"

"He is my son I will get him he can be with his brothers and sisters kapag sasama sya sa akin!"

"Dyan ka pa dyan ka magaling! Kaya nga nagkaganito si mama nang dahil sa'yo alam kong Tatay kita pero unti unti nang nawawala ang respeto ko para sa'yo I know you and mama are just arranged kaya hindi mo talaga sya minahal since you're in love with her best friend! Ngayon pa diba may sarili na kayong pamilya masaya ka na ba?! My mother became so depressed because of the both of you to the point that she hung herself! Masaya ka na ba pa?! When my brother was born nasaan ka diba na sa bang pamilya mo I was there with my brother all throughout his life even if I had a lot of problems with my academics while growing up I managed to take care of my brother kahit pagod na pagod ako mula sa school I still accepted Lolo's offer to help him run the company I worked all night, I tutored my brother, and I was also studying pa kahit pagod ako ni isang reklamo galing sa akin may narinig ka ba from me pa?"

Natahimik ang papa ni Walter. Sa totoo lang naawa ako kay Walter alam kong nagaalala sya kay tita and now he's having this conversation with his dad.

His dad sighed and his phone rang I have a feeling alam ko kung sino yung tumatawag

"Belinda" he answered and I was right it was the best friend of Walter's mom at the same time Tito's mistress.

It has been a year since Walter and I knew about his dad's second family ang buong akala ni Walter his dad just had mistresses, not a second family but then one day last year we decided to follow his dad well dapat sya lang yung pupunta but I sneaked in his car early morning since he told me about his plan so when he left the car door open while putting his things inside his car I went in.

FLASHBACK

It was a sunny day I went to Walter's house nag commute lang ako para hindi nya ako makita he planned on following his dad today kasi may tumawag daw sa papa nya at si Markus yung sumagot may bata daw na tumawag sa papa nya saying "papa where are you? I miss you papa!" so he told me last night na baka daw may ibang pamilya yung papa nya kaya susundan nya daw ang papa nya I told him na sasama ako sa kanya but he told me na wag na daw but since I'm stubborn I'm here at his house well nagtatago ako sa likod nang sasakyan nya he opened his car good thing may nakalimutan sya so I went inside the backseat when he went inside his car nag pakita lang ako sa kanya nung na sa highway na kami

"So saan tayo pupunta today love?" I revealed myself and went to the passenger's seat and buckled myself

Shock registered in his face while looking at me he looked at the road and looked at me again

"What the hell are you doing here Angelica and how did you even get inside my car?" tinampal ko ang baba nya

"first of all don't say badwords ilang beses na kitang sinabihan na don't say badwords wag na wag mo akong pagalitan you're stubborn and so am I now face the road and continue driving while I explain"

Under to sa akin kaya he faced the road again so I started to explain

"Since you forgot something kanina I didn't have any problems going inside your car nandito na ako kanina pa I made sure na nandito na tayo sa highway para hindi mo na ako ihatid sa bahay namin so now let's follow your dad give me your tablet and let's start tracking him" naglagay si Walter nang tracking device sa kotse nang papa nya kung saan nya toh nakuha hindi nalang ako magtatanong pero alam ko naman na galing toh kay Leandro so after an hour of driving the tracking device led us to a private subdivision sa QC we parked far from the car of Walter's dad we waited for a couple minutes before going to that house kung saan sya pumasok the house was very simple it looked like a middle class home na may dalawang palapag at terrace

We went to their front door I looked at Walter who was nervous I held his hand and nodded he knocked at the door three times a woman opened the door she was smiling until she saw Walter she looked pale when she saw him may sumunod naman na lalaking teenager sa kanya who was 13 I think and a 6 year old girl and when I looked at the woman s-she's pregnant. I saw Walter's dad at the back after a moment I held Walter's hand tightly I knew it he needs me dahan dahan napaluhod si Walter at nagsimulang umiyak, I heard his dad tell his mistress to take the kids upstairs.

"A-Angelica iha pasok muna kayo" his dad said

I held Walter's body who was still crying and guided him inside the house alam kong hindi sya papasok kung na sa tamang pag-iisip pa sya I know na sa kakaiyak nya wala pa sya sa tamang pag-iisip we sat at the living room after a minute he calmed down but he was having a hard time breathing that was when I realized he was having an asthma attack mabuti nalang at maya dala akong inhaler nya palagi when we we were having our vacation sa beach last year he had an asthma attack so palagi na akong may dalang inhaler sa bag ko I went to their kitchen and grabbed some glass and pitcher I made him drink water and ako na mismo ang nagbigay sa kanya nang inhaler I caressed his back and told him to breathe in and out. I saw his dad and his dad's mistress sa harap namin

"A-Angelica what's happening to him" his dad asked

"He's having an asthma attack he can't cry like this again or he'll have an attack again hindi din sya pwedeng ma stress nang grabe"

Mabuti nalang at mabilis umepekto ang inhaler Walter was now calm I rubbed his back in circles.

"Walter son I-I don't know how to explain this but I-I love your tita Belinda"

Walter chuckled napahawak sya sa buhok nya out of frustration

"You're the bestriend of my mom tita how could you do this to her?!" sigaw ni Walter

"Walter nagmamahalan kami nang papa mo we now have a family your mom just gotta sign the divorce papers and accept it"

That triggered me.

"excuse me lang po alam kong dapat hindi ako sumabat kasi usapang pamilya po ito but ma'am excuse me lang po I know that you love my boyfriend's dad pero do you ever think about the lives that you ruined at night? My boyfriend here spent half of his life taking care of his brother since his mother wasn't mentally stable when she gave birth to her second son due to the pain that you and HER husband caused may alam ka ba po kung anong klaseng paghihirap ang naranasan nang isa sa pinaka importanteng lalake sa buhay ko? He wakes up every single day hearing his mom cry asking herself kung saan sya nag kulang. Wala pa man ako nung mga panahon kung saan sya yung nag aalaga sa kapatid nya but his stories and our friends stories are enough for me to know the pain he felt and he has been feeling for the last 15 years of his life pasensya na if you think I'm rude salamat po sa pagpapatuloy sa amin we'll go ahead"

I pulled Walter up nakaakbay ang braso nya sa akin while my other hand was on his waist and the other was holding his hands I guided him palabas nang bahay nang papa nya his dad tried to help me

"No sir I can handle your son"

I got Walter's car keys pinasok ko sya sa passenger's seat and buckled him up tulala pa din sya I caressed his hair before driving.

End of flashback

I could see the pain in his eyes kaya lumapit na ako sa kanya we sat at the couch yumakap sya sa bewang ko at nagsimula na namang umiyak. Nagulat ako nang may pumasok I saw Markus at Leandro, Markus was crying while running towards me and his brother

"Kuya wag mo akong ibigay please I'll just go with you and ate and kuya Leandro, I promise na I won't be hard headed, ate I will eat on time na" Walter hugged his brother tightly

"hindi ka ibibigay ni kuya okay"

"I need to go Walter and Markus...your tita Belinda needs me I'll be back"

"kahit wag ka nang bumalik kaya kong buhayin ang nanay at kapatid ko" the coldness of Walter's voice gave me chills

His dad sighed at lumabas na sa kwarto nang mama ni Walter.

"bro I'm here for you okay" Leandro tapped his shoulders

I hugged him and Markus

"Love I'll always be here for you okay, and ate will be here for you Markus I'll take care of you and your Kuya while you mom is still sick okay" I kissed their forehead and hugged them tightly.

I'll always be here for the both of you

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This chapter is not edited so expect a lot of errors

Hope you enjoyed this chapter Midnights!