52: do your best
#DWTDWP

Pi

"Ang kapal din naman talaga ng mukha," I sort of said in a low voice but enough for Flavio to hear me say it. Napatigil siya sa tangkang pagsindi ng kanyang sigarilyo at tumingin sa sa akin. Sinigurado niya munang nakalalayo na si daddy na tulak-tulak ng kanyang nurse sa wheelcahir. It's been three days mula nang makalabas siya sa ospital and this guy has the guts to come here, drink coffee and laugh with my dad?! The audacity!

"Pi," umayos siya ng upo at nag-angat ng tingin sa akin. "I'm always aware of your hatred towards me ngunit ang hindi ko maintindihan ay kung ano ang rason."

"Aside from you have an ugly face that is enough reason to hate you, you're a dickhead who betrays people. Cut out the drama Flavio, alam kong ikaw ang mastermind sa tangkang pagpatay kay daddy." If I didn't wake up nice today, malamang halos mapugto na ang mga ugat ko sa labis na galit ngayon. Wala na nga akong amor na makipagplastikan sa kanya at tawagin siyang Uncle.

He smirked at me and now my day's ruined. Not all people look good with a smirk! "Pi, kung sakaling hindi mo alam, nasa Miami ako at inaasikaso ang negosyo nang mangyari ang sinasabi mo."

"You don't need to drag your ugly ass physically just to kill dad."

Tumawa siya, the one without remorse. "Wala akong alam sa sinasabi mo. And if you will insist on that, ako pa rin ang paniniwalaan ng daddy mo. What a stupid man, he's so gullible. Sooner or later ay magpapaalam ka na sa kanya."

He grinned like a mad man and now I lost it. I lunged towards him at ilang beses siyang kinalmot sa mukha. How could he... How could he do so! Pinagkatiwalaan siya ni Daddy and this is how he will repay him!

I am going to kill him!!!

Biglang nagkagulo sa bahay at napuno iyon ng mga bayolenteng sigaw ko. The guards tried to mediate us at maging si Juan na kagigising lamang ay bumaba na rin upang hilahin ako palayo kay Flavio.

Now he looks uglier with that scratch marks on his face. Mayamaya ay bumaba ulit si Daddy, looking distress as ever.

"Anong nangyari rito?" tanong niya sa amin. "Oh my God Amigo, anong nangyari sa'yo? Pi?"

"He deserved it! Papatayin ko siya--"

"Go to your room Pi."

"Dad, he--"

He looked at me with pleading eyes. Tinapik naman ako ni Juan sa balikat at hinila paakyat sa hagdan. "Come on Sis, inisturbo mo ang tulog ko."

I was still shaking in anger gayunpaman ay hinayaan ko na lamang si Juan na hilahin ako paakyat. Dinala niya ako sa silid niya at kumuha ng bottled water sa kanyang mini-fridge at inabot iyon sa akin.

"Calm dowm sis, it is not good for my nephew or maybe niece. Ano ba kasi ang nangyari?" tanong niya.

I somewhat clamed myself, thanks to the water. "Siya ang nagtangkang magpapatay kay Daddy!"

"We both know that but you shouldn't lose control," pa-cool niyang wika. "Anger would do no good."

Hindi ko maiwasang mainis. "And how do you think should I react to that? Inamin niya iyon sa harap ko, without remorse!"

Binuksan ni John ang kanyang laptop at nagplay ng video ni Taylor Swift. "Sis, Taylor said you need to calm down."

"Shut up John, you're just making me angrier."

He grinned. "Is that because she dated Harry Styles? Move on sis."

I rolled my eyes and tossed the bottled water somewhere. "Of course no, I love Tay, at sayo ako naiinis hindi sa kanya. Seriously, that's how you will react kung sakaling sayo niya inamin ang kahayupan niya?"

"Did your violence nature does any good? Look, nagalit pa si Daddy. Dahil si Flavio ang may pinsala, thanks to your claws, ikaw pa ang magmumukhang may kasalanan. So really sis, you need to calm down."

Okay I'll try.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK AM I SUPPOSE TO DO?!"

See, calming down challenge? Failed.

"Be smart sis, be smart. Why do you think he's betraying us?" tanong ni Juan.

"Obviously for money, duh."

John snapped his fingers. "Exactly, so how do you think we should get back?"

"Pugutan siya ng ulo, tanggalan ng bayag, skin him alive, shoot him 99 times--"

"Sis no."

"Why no?" okay this is annoying, bakit kumokontra ang kapatid ko sa akin?

"Because that's lame way to get even."

My brow raised at him, "then what?"

An evil smirk crossed across his face. "Hack his bank accounts to take back that money bago siya pugutan ng ulo, tanggalan ng bayag then we'll skin him alive, and shoot him 99 times."

I smiled in triumph. My brother is so brilliant.

"Oh my god John!" I jumped towards him to give him a kiss on the cheek and a high five. "You are truly a Bellomo! Damn smart boy! Let's do that!"

He made a face and wiped away his cheek were I kissed him. "There's a problem sis."

My smile fell. "Ano?"

"I'm just a kid, with a penchant for hacking, kaya hindi ko iyon kaya. I tried reaching out to known hackers but damn they're so good in hiding in shadows."

I tapped his back. "Leave it to me bro, leave it to me."

***

RYU

"Are you even thinking before doing anything?" tanong ko kay Titless na ngayon ay nakayuko habang nakaupo sa kama.

"Sorry Rocket, hindi na mauulit," she said, crossing her fingers. Gabi na at kung hindi dahil kay John ay hindi ko malalaman ang nangyari kaninang umaga.

But hey woman's saying sorry?

Something is definitely not going right here. In most cases, she would talk back and insist that she's right. Or she will reason out with lot of nonsense matter and twist whatever just to prove it that she's right.

And saying sorry is definitely out of the picture dahil hindi niya iyon gagawin.

But right now, she's doing that.

Okay, what's the catch?

"Did I hear you say sorry?" tanong ko.

She sweetly smiled at mas nilambingan ang boses. "I'm so sorry Rocket."

See? She's up to something.

"Spill it titless, what do you want?" tanong ko sa kanya.

Nawala ang matamis niyang ngiti at napalitan iyon ng ngisi. Lumapit siya sa akin at minasamasahe ang likod ko. "I don't want to ask this but you're the best person who can help."

I don't feel good about this.

"No," mabilis kong sagot. Napalabi siya at tiningnan ako nang masama.

"No agad? Hindi mo pa nga alam eh!"

"I'm not interested to know and whatever it is, my answer is still no," I said in a final tone.

Mababakas ang labis na inis sa kanyang mukha. She's starting to feel annoyed. "Will you at least hear me say it first?"

"Fine, say it but my answer is still no."

She mumbled a cuss and rolled on the side of the bed, pulling out a gun hidden from between the pillows. "Or I could shoot you--" Napatigil siya nang mapagtantong wala iyong bala. She threw it on the floor and moved to the side, pulling another from her bedside drawer ngunit gaya ng nauna ay wala rin iyong bala. "What the hell?" Tumayo siya at kinuha ang isa pa na nasa lalagyan niya ng mga underwear. "What the fuck, you mess up with all of my guns?" Inis na inihagis niya iyon sa kama at ibinato ang ilang unan sa kung saan-saan.

I tugged a smirk at the corner of my lips. "Well, just being careful in case you decide to shoot me in the face while sleeping. Better safe than sorry."

She sulked for a while before making a face as if she realized something. "Oh my god, you perv! You went through my underwear!"

"Looking for a gun, oh I mean guns." Just to remind myself, she's a psycho who keeps at least 29 guns in her room! "So, No. That's final."

She knew getting angry and aggressive leads to nothing so she's back to that little puppy face again.

Damn it.

"Pero ikaw lang ang makakatulong sa akin!"

"I told you, No is my final answer." Hindi ko pa man alam kung ano iyon, I know that she's up to no good.

"Hear me out." She blinked innocently. "Please?"

Fine.

"Okay, let me hear it but still my answer is no."

She hissed at me but still tried her luck. "Here's the thing. Ninanakaw ni Flavio ang pera ni Daddy, so my plan is to take it back."

"How so?" tanong ko.

"Hacking his bank accounts! I don't know how you hackers do it but I know you can do it. Besides, you're Apollo the Hacker, you're the best."

This woman is so insistent and convinced I am Apollo the Hacker no matter how much I deny. Although there were few who knew about my identity, I cannot trust her with this.

She's the type who will use anyone for her advantage. She'll try to manipulate people as much as she wants and I'm not allowing that. Also, I think she's the kind who will surely boast it with anyone. 'yong tipong ipagsisigawan sa mundo, "hey this guy is Apollo the Hacker."

So no matter what, I'll keep denying it.

"I am not Apollo the Hacker."

"Oh come on Rocket, you know you're bad at lying," wika niya.

"And even if I am Apollo the Hacker, my answer is still no. NO."

She stared at me with hopes at nang makitang wala talaga akong balak ay laglag ang balikat na sumuko na lamang siya.

"I think I really have no luck in this. Dad is mad at me, no one wants to help me and the world has turn its back on me," she sighed at naglakad sa kanyang closet, pulling out a pair of pajamas. "I'm taking a shower, lock the door rocket when you leave."

Pumasok siya sa banyo at isinara ang pinto.

Wait, lock the door... Is that her way of saying I'm not staying over the night?

Now I'm getting pissed. These past days I always sleep here because there were times she's having a nightmare pagkatapos ng nangyari sa kanyang daddy. Also, she wants me to stay over dahil gusto niya akong makita bago matulog at pagkagising.

And now she's dismissing me? Is she that pissed for my saying no to her?

Hinintay ko siyang lumabas ng banyo and it's nearly an hour but her ass didn't waltz out the bathroom yet. I was deciding whether I'll destroy the door when it opened at lumabas siya roon na nakapajama na at naka-blow dry na ng buhok.

"Nandito ka pa rin?" she asked nonchalantly, not even bothering to glance at me as she sat in front of her mirror and combed. her hair.

"I'm staying over."

"Ah," sagot niya.

Wait what? That's it? No happy yelp? No jumping towards me for joy and no compliment about my pretty face?

This is annoying.

I cool myself down by taking a quick bath too at paglabas ko ng banyo ay nakahiga na siya sa kama. Usually, if I come out of the bathroom, I always found her smiling at me and tapping the space beside her so that she could snuggle with me and stare at me till she falls asleep.

But now...

Ngayon ay nakatalikod siya sa akin. Patay na ang ilaw sa kwarto at ang lampshade na lamang sa gilid ang nagsisilbing tanglaw.

Nagpalit ako ng damit bago humiga sa tabi niya, aware of the huge distance between us.

This is seriously annoying.

"Titless..."

No reply.

"Pi..."

Silence.

Tinanaw ko siya dahil baka sakaling tulog na siya ngunit hindi, mulat pa siya at nakatitig sa pader.

"Hey..." I pulled her to my side, rolling her so she could face me.

"Yes?" she said, with pupply-like expression.

"Galit ka ba?" tanong ko.

She shook her head then forced a smile before attempting to roll back upang talikuran ako ngunit mabilis ko siyang napigilan.

"Don't be like this Titless..."

"Like what?" malumanay niyang wika. See? She's definitely not like this. Hindi siya malumanay magsalita.

"This. Mad or I don't know."

"Hindi ako galit," she said calmly.

Which is odd. Titless is never this calm. I mean, yes she's calm pero hindi sa ganitong paraan. She would blurt out nonsense and point out stupidity but never silent when calm.

She smiled like an innocent kid. "It's fine Rocket, I cannot force you to do things you dont want." She turned that puppy eyes at me, peering through her lashes.

Shit.

Damn it.

Her bare face is adorable.

Her pouts are kinda cute.

Her eyes were a bit sad but it looks sparkling through the night lamp.

"I realized we cannot force people if they're not willing to do something. It's pathetic to beg or what so it's okay if you don't want. Maybe I will just figure out a way to get back to Flavio. Or I don't know, maybe wait for a miracle." She projected a cute yet sad expression. "Sabi naman nila, hindi magwawagi ang masama ang mukha, so maybe in the end he will eventually fall."

I made a face.

Hindi magwawagi ang kasamaan.

Hindi ang masama ang mukha.

"And I'm used to rejection Rocket," dagdag niya. "All my life is full rejection so I'm used to it. We can't get all things, that's for certain."

Damn, and here I am being an asshole. I can help yet I rejected her?

I'm so mean, I know.

"Sorry," wika ko sa kanya at niyakap siya.

"No need to say sorry Rocket. And sorry is useless if someone doesn't mean it."

"But I mean it," sabi ko.

"You do?" she had that sad expression again.

I kissed her forehead. "I do, I really do. And I will consider it, anyway it wasn't that hard."

"Consider what?" she asked.

"Your request."

"You would?" she asked, blinking innocently.

"Yeah. You said it, I'm the best."

Suddenly, gone was her innocent expression. Now it's the Titless that I knew. She had that victorious yet mischievous grin on her face. "Opsie, looks like I got you there." She tapped my cheek gently, "Okay then, I'm expecting positive results to this. Sabik na akong makita ang reaksyon ni Flavio kapag nakita niyang naisahan ko siya. Thanks Rocket."

What?

Did she just manipulate me to give in to her request? Yes she definitely did and I am so stupid to fall to her charms.

My jaw ticked.

This manipulative woman!

She smirked in victory. "Okay Apollo the hacker, do your best."

The hell?

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