Infected
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"Okay lang ba na maghalf-day ako ngayon?"

Harrison looked at him amusingly, "Wait, am I hearing you right?"

"Hindi, mali yung narinig natin dahil isa yung himala!" puna naman ni Rios na prenteng nakaupo sa upuan ng Alpha.

"Baka hindi lang nakapag-almusal iyan? Lola Ester! May pagkain pa ba diyan? Pakidala po para kay Callum!" singit naman ni Jarriet.

All Callum could do was roll his eyes on them. Hindi niya ang mga ito masisisi lalo pa't isang imposible ang kaniyang hiningi. Being a beta for six years, ngayon lang siya humingi ng ganoong permiso. He's devoted to his work and role, kaya kahit gaano kahirap pa ang trabahong iyan para sa beta ay pinagtiyatiyagaan niya. He's that good to be a beta.

"Sasamahan ko lang si Alde sa doktor." paglilinaw niya.

Narinig naman niya ang pagsinghap ng dalawa bukod kay Harrison. "Binuntis mo?! Agad agad?!" mabilis ang kamay niya sa pagbatok kay Rios.

"Cut the crap, you stray cat." inis niyang saway sa kaibigan.

"Pero anong gama mo at sasamahan mo siya doon? Napag-usapan niyo ba ang tungkol sa sakit niya kagabi?" tinanguan niya si Jarriet.

Harrison grinned, "Okay, Rios will do your duty for two weeks." agad namang nagreklamo si Rios kaya nginisihan niya nalang.

"Thanks, Har. I owe you this one." at niyakap ang isang braso nito tsaka tinapik ang likod.

"You don't owe me anything, Callum. Kulang pa nga 'yan sa serbisyong binigay mo sa Malcolm." Harrison thought that his best friend deserved it, and he knew it'd be a great help for Callum to experience things he needed to catch up.

Hanggang sa umalis siya ay ang malulutong na mura nalang ni Rios ang huling narinig niya. Upon stepping out of the mansion, he couldn't feel happier and free. Napahagikhik na lang siya at masayang pumasok sa sasakyan upang puntahan ang babaeng kinababaliwan niya.

Pagkarating ay binati naman siya ng matamis na ngiti mula kay Aldeheid. At tila ba ay may sariling buhay ang ngiti niya sa tuwing nakikita ang dalaga.

"Good morning, beautiful." bati niya na ikinapula ng dalaga.

"G-good morning..." kagat labi na tugon ni Aldeheid.

Callum could only chuckle and ushered Aldeheid towards his car. Hindi kagaya noon na pinipigilan niya ang damdamin, walang hiya siyang nakikipag-usap sa dalaga at hanggang sa narating ang hospital ay doon na sila natahimik.

He followed Aldeheid at her back to prevent her from getting awkward. Panay yuko kasi ng mga tao sa kaniya at takot siyang mailang ang dalaga. Callum knows how introverted Aldeheid is, so he needed to adjust.

Pagkarating sa ilang pintuan ay saka naman siya natigilan nang mabasa ang pangalan nakaplastar doon. His heart pounded so hard as his mind started to take a trip in his memory lane.

Aldeheid noticed Callum's fluster. Nagtaka siya hinarap niya muna ito. "Hindi ka okay?"

Bumaling naman agad sa kaniya ang atensyon nito at natawa, "I am. Tara na sa loob?"

She smiled by his answer. Doon niya na ipinihit ang doorknob atsaka dahan-dahan na pumasok sa loob. Her doctor was there, working something in her computer until she sensed them.

Mabilis itong nagbitaw ng mga hinawakan at tumayo para salubungin siya. "Ms. Roswell, you're here. It's not so nice to meet you here again." atsaka natawa sila.

"Good morning, Dr. Beau. I'm sorry I couldn't meet you yesterday." she said as she seated. Inayos niya pa ang bestida niya at kunot-noo na napatingala nang mapansin ang pagtahimik ng paligid.

She saw Callum and Dr. Beau's startled faces. Nagtaka siya bigla doon. Siguro ay hindi nito inasahan ang pagbisita ng beta ng Malcolm. She only shrugged as she listened to their greetings.

"It's nice to meet you too, Beta." tumango lamang si Callum atsaka umupo sa tabi niya.

Napansin niya ang naguguluhang titig ng doktor, palipat-lipat sa kanilang dalawa. And when their eyes met, doon biglang may napagtanto ang doktor.

Nagsimula na itong maghalungkat ng kung ano sa mesa na may ngiti sa labi. As they waited for her, hindi niya mapigilang mapatingin kay Callum na mukhang may malalim na iniisip.

She cocked her head to face him, "Have you eaten?"

"Huh?" napakurap ang binata.

She giggled at his flushed face, "Namumutla ka."

"No, I'm not." he denied and Aldeheid couldn't help but chuckle.

Napatango-tango nalang siya at sinubukang makumbinsi sa sinabi nito. Callum pouted and later on smiled as he tousled her hair. "Nag-umagahan ako, huwag kang mag-alala."

Bumalik na sila sa pagseryoso nang kunin ang atensyon nila sa doktor. Dr. Beau was smiling as she informed Aldeheid about her condition. Since, Aldeheid has been monitoring her hospital records, agad niyang napansin ang malaking pagbabago nito. Even the doctor that has only been checking her for months got confused.

Napahinto sandali ang diskasyon nila bago siya nito tinanong, "Have you had blood transfusion recently, Ms. Roswell?"

Her brows met, "No, I never had one because I couldn't."

Dr. Beau gaped and tilted her head, "It's because I've seen a contaminated blood running in your body. You've told me last time that it happened after you woke up, and aside from that, I heard from the alpha that someone broke into your house that night. Perhaps it was how you got the infection." she stopped for seconds to flip the papers she's holding, "But since the thief never got to touch you, maybe it's an airborne disease..." aniya na may gulo sa mukha kaya napaayos siya ng salamin.

Nabasa agad ni Aldeheid sa mukha ng doktora kung bakit ito naguluhan. The thing is, her doctor saw a contaminated blood in her veins but she never remembered having blood transfusion or even consumed blood, kaya kahit siya ay labis na nalilito sa nangyayare.

"But it still doesn't make any sense how it get you out from congestive heart failure. I mean, everyone knows that heart failure doesn't easily heal in a day and most importantly, it doesn't heal from an infection." aniya na may malalim na gatla sa noo.

Nag-alalang napatingin siya kay Callum na nakatingin sa kaniya. He tried to smile at her to make her feel better kahit pa man pati siya ay naguguluhan rin sa nangyayare.

"Pero kung ang impeksyon lamang ang pag-uusapan natin, imposible kung nakuha mo ito noon at ngayon lang umepekto. It usually takes within six hours for the infection to react. At isa pa, may natagpuan akong ibang dugo na kumakalatay sa katawan mo, so I doubt this is airborne." nasaksihan nilang dalawa ang paghilot ng sentido nito at kunot noong pinakatitigan at binasa paulit-ulit ang resulta.

Napakagat labi si Aldeheid doon. Even the doctor couldn't answer her questions.

Narinig niya ang malakas na pagbuntonghininga sa doktora at nahihiyang nginitian sila. "There hadn't been any cases like this before but since it's happening, I'm certain that this is possible." tumayo siya mula sa pagkakaupo at kinuha ang mga papel sa mesa niya, "I'll run you another blood test to determine whether or not the infection has spread. For now, I need you to keep track of your health first, kasi hindi tayo pwedeng maging kampante kahit pa nawala ang sakit mo. I'll call you when I can finally have the exact results of your condition."

Papanhik na sana ito palabas pero natigilan ito at may hinabol na impormasyon, "Once you feel something weird or pain in your body, don't hesitate to contact me, okay?" at nagpaalam nang lumabas.

Sumunod na rin silang dalawa ni Callum. When they reached the parking lot Callum turned to face her. Nag-angat siya ng mga kilay at malungkot na ngumiti.

"You'll get answers soon, for now, let's make most of the time." tumango lamang siya atsaka pumasok sa sasakyan.

They drove back towards her house and when they reached her street, naramdaman niyang bumagal bigla ang takbo nito. She unknowingly looked at Callum who has a little smile on his face.

Pumihit ito paharap sa kaniya at labas ngipin na ngumiti, "Alde...do you want to try something fun?"

Her eyelids fluttered, "What kind of fun?" and she started to get excited.

Naramdaman agad iyon ni Callum at natawa nalang ng mahina. In a snap, nakita nalang ni Aldeheid na papaalis sila sa daang papunta sa bahay niya. She should feel scared right now but instead, she felt a familiar anticipation in her body.

Hinayaan nalang niya itong lumusong sa kalooban niya. Because this feeling is something she couldn't get to feel everyday, kaya gusto niyang magpatangay nalang.

Her eyes snapped towards the man beside her and with glitters in her eyes as she witnessed how a person she should be avoiding was making an effort to make her smile.

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nyariina