IT'S OVER.

But it's not over yet.

I was found not guilty when the footage came out revealing that the real murderer in this case was Hayden. I was immediately sent out of jail, and I was surprised when my friends were waiting for me back as I told them that if they wanted to see me back, they could see me back at home.

I wasn't expecting to see them there as I thought they were distancing themselves from and ignoring me because of what I have associated myself with. 

They were brutally honest with me that they almost wanted to cut me out of their lives, and I deserved it—only if the murder accusation was true. But then they believed that I didn't do anything—other than hooking up with Zeke and Hayden.

"Iyon talaga ang pinaniwalaan niyo, a?" tanong ko pa.

"Nagtaka ka pa ba?" Tawa pa ni Patty. "All of people, hindi mo naman maitatago sa amin 'yon. Tanggi ka pa nang tanggi no'n, pero halata ka naman. Kapag tinatanong ka namin tapos tumatanggi ka, girl, halatang-halata ka."

"Saka if I didn't know their background na gay pala si Hayden, I think would hook up with him."

"Ay, nagsalita 'yong walang ka-hook up," komento ni Patty kay Bailey. "Hindi mo nga matuloyt-tuloy 'yong pakikipag hookup kuno mo sa lalaking na-meet mo sa club no'n! I think nakahanap na 'yon ng pamalit sa 'yo. Ang bagal mo kasi."

"Hoy, hindi, a! Hindi siya gano'n. Nag-uusap at nagkikita pa rin naman kaming dalawa at magugulat ka na ako lang ang ine-entertain niya."

"E 'di, good for you?" ani Bailey. "Well, good for you naman talaga kung nag-stay as loyal 'yang lalaking na-meet. I hope siya na, girl. Kating-kati na kami for you, sana ito na."

"Sana rin!" ani Bailey at nag-cross fingers pa ito. "Ikaw ba, Mitch? May balak ka ba?"

"Na ano makipag-hook up?" tanong ko pa at saka siya tumango para kompirmahin iyon sa akin. Napakibit balikat naman ako. "Hindi ko alam, actually. . . Wala pa siya sa isip ko ngayon. I've been through so much stress lately at mukhang hindi ko pa kayang pumasok sa mga ganyan. But if there was an opportunity, bakit ko papalagpasin?"

Natawa naman silang dalawa sa akin.

"Ayun, nahuli rin. Bibigay at bibigay ka rin pala," sabi pa ni Patty. "Pero alam mo, awang-awa ako kay Renee. I've only got to talk to her once and I thought she was so nice and she was so sweet. She doesn't deserve that. It was such a tragic thing to happen. . Nakakaawa. . ." anito at napabitaw nang malalim ba buntonghininga.

"Pero mabuti na lang at hindi ikaw ang pinatay," sabi naman ni Bailey. "Good thing sex lang din ang habol sa 'yo at hindi ka pinatay. If they had done it to you, hindi namin alam kung anong mararamdaman namin. . ."

Inabot ko naman ang mga kamay nila. Pinigilan ko namang tumulo ang mga luha ko, pero kusa na lang din silang tumulo nang mapuno ng emosyon ang dibdib ko.

"T-thank you, guys. . . I don't know what I would do kung wala kayo riyan para sa akin. I was inside the cell thinking that I would spend my life there forever for things I didn't even do, and you were out there defending me that I didn't do anything. Kaya thank you talaga. . ."

"O, libre mo na kami ng tag-iisang bote ng Red Wine, ha?" ani Patty.

"Ay, grabe siya! But sure, just tell me when. . . Hindi pa lang ako ready ngayon pumarty."

"No worries, take your time. . . Pagpahingarin mo 'yang pwet mo, it need some rest, too." Tawa pa ni Patty. "But seriously, take the time all you need to recover yourself, basta 'wag mo lang kalilimutan na nandito lang kaming dalawa ni Bailey for you. Okay? 'Wag ka muna mamamatay agad. Marami ka pang titing titikman, okay?'

That made me giggle. Tumango na laman ako at napahugot nang malalim na hiininga.

For the next few days, I tried going out alone just to see if I could bring it back, pero kapag may gusto akong maka-hook up at malalaman nilang nadawit ako kay Hayden na isang murderer ay hindi na nila ako ine-entertain. Dahil doon ay nagpakumbinsi iyon sa akin na hindi na ako pupunta ng mga club for how long I don't know.

My parents also had a chance to visit me. They stayed at my house for a few days and then they saw the house next door that had yellow tape all around. They suggested that if I wanted to, I could come back home and stay with them until I found a new place for me to stay. Hindi pa ako ready na iwan ang buhay ko sa Ordale, pero kung ito ang daan para tuluyan akong maka-move on at alisin sa katawan ko ang pagiging konektado kina Hayden at Renee, I think it would be a good thing for me.

Kinausap ko naman sina Bailey at Patty sa plano at suportado naman nila ako. They said it shouldn't take them an hour para mabisita ako sa bahay ng parents ko. I told them na hindi naman ako magtatagal sa pag-stay ko sa kanila at lilipat din kaaagad ako kapag nakahanapako ng bagong bahay.

It was a decision I thought would be the best thing for me to do. I started packing my stuff and put the house on sale, but it was a little hard for me to sell the house when they knew that the house next door had a history, later on, someone called me and was interested in moving in soon enough.

Mayamaya lamang ay may kumatok sa pinto habang nag-aayos ako ng mga gamit ko. Inaabangan ko sina Patty at Bailey na tutulungan ako ngayong araw na mag-ayos pero mag-iisang oras na at hindi pa rin sila dumarating. Tumungo ako sa pinto at sila ang inaasahan kong bubungad sa akin pagkabukas ng pinto, pero si Nay Kla at Gio ang nakita ko.

May dala-dalang pagkain si Nay Kla sa akin at inabot ito.

"I know na hindi ka pa kumakain dahil busy ka mag-ayos ng mga gamit mo, pero ito, dinalhan ka namin ng pagkain. . ." Kinuha ko naman ito sa kanya at saka niya ako hinawakan sa braso at hinaplos iyon. "Masaya akong nakilala kita, Mitch. . . Kung saan ka man pupunta ngayon, sana maging maayos ka at huwag mong pababayaan ang sarili mo."

Tumango naman ako at ngumiti. "I will, Nay. . . Thank you. . ."

Tumalikod na ito para umalis, pero nanatili naman si Gio sa tapat ng pinto.

"I would like to talk with you. . . Alone. . ." aniya. Pinapasok ko naman siya sa loob ng bahay at in-offer-an ng maiinom pero tumanggi na ito. Umupo kami sa salas at inilapag ko muna sa center table ang dalang pagkain na dala ni Nay Kla sa akin. "I just want to let you know that we were sorry that this happened to you. . . You didn't deserve this."

"Thank you, it was a lesson for me. . ."

"Yeah. . . Well, I came here because I need to tell you something, and I hope you won't say a bad thing about it, but it was my Mother who spoke to the authorities that Hayden did something to you and his wife. She told them that the night both of you arrived, you were unconscious. He brought you inside your house and he went to his house, it took him some time to get back to you. From where she was, she saw what happened. . . She didn't say a word to anyone, but to the police only because she was so scared that something might happen to her. I'm sorry if we weren't able to let you know about it sooner, but I was also protecting my Mother."

Natulala na lamang ako. "I-I understand. . ."

"And she also told a lot of things about Hayden that later on, the report from the cops had come out true as well. You didn't it, but she has been keeping her eyes on you since she came back and found out new people have occupied the house next to yours."

"I didn't know that. . ."

"I didn't know why as well. Maybe she was just trying to keep you safe. My Mom has always been like that. . . I'm sorry if that made you feel uncomfortable. . ."

"No, no. . . It's alright. I was just learning all of this now so it was shocking. . ."

"I hope what I will say next won't shock you, so please, stay calm because I don't want you to get mad. . ."

"Oh, alright. . . What about it?"

"I wanted to tell you this before. I already had the chance to talk to you about this matter, but something kept going on our way. I just found out about this when I've taken my recent HIV test. . ."

Unti-unting napauwang bibig ko sa sinabi niya."What do you mean?"

"I am HIV positive, Mitch. I have no idea who I got it from. . ."

"And you already have it when we had sex?" He nodded to confirm my question. Napatakip na lamang ang kamay sa bibig ko dahil hindi ako makapaniwala sa sinabi niya. "You must be joking. . ."

"I hope I am. . . I've been trying to tell you about it, but I don't know how. I just want to let you know about it before you leave the town. . . Have you had sex with anyone after us?"

Nang alalahanin ko ang mga taong nakasama ko ay dahan-dahan akong tumango sa kanya. "Yes. . . I met a few guys after you. . . One of them was a bartender back in some club, and Zeke. . ."

"Zeke? Hayden's boyfriend?" he asked, and I nodded. "I think you should tell him about it even though you weren't on good terms anymore."

Hindi ako nakasagot sa kanya dahil hindi ko alam kung anong sasabihin ko. Hindi rin naman nagtagal ay nagpaalam na si Gio at naiwan na lamang akong tulala sa bahay at napahagulgol na lamang ako sa pag-iyak. This was my karma. I thought I was ready to begin a new life, but then this news came, and it broke me into pieces.

Dahil hindi ako mapakali buong araw ay nagtungo ako sa malapit na center para magpa-test for HIV. I was dreading for a few minutes waiting for the result and the person who assisted me delivered the news that made me feel so devastated. When I thought I should see Zeke about my condition as he could get it as well, he should be aware of it.

I came to see him in the jail. They didn't let him go as he was Hayden's accomplice to the murder so they would end up together in prison together, and what else they could do there. . . A lot of things.

A soon as I met Zeke, he was very aggressive to me at hindi ko makausap ng maayos. Naghahanap ako ng tiyempo na sabihin sa kanya na HIV positive ako at maaaring nakuha niya rin iyon sa akin since we had sex after I had sex with Gio. I was sure he got it, too, pero hindi ako tinigilan ni Zeke at pinagsalitaan pa ako ng mga masasakit na bagay. In the end, I didn't tell him about it. I left the station and went back to my place to continue packing up my stuff.

The next day, all my stuff was packed and I was ready to go. My friends were there for me. I was scared to tell them about my condition so I kept it a secret. I wasn't ready for the world to know that I was sick. I rented a car that I could use to bring all of my stuff to my parents' house.

Tulala lamang ako habang nagmamaneho at para bang lumulutang isipan ko at hindi ko alam kung ano pang gagawin ko. When the stop light dropped to red light, it was too late for me to stop when I hit the gas, and the car accelerated so fast, and the next thing I knew, I was hit by a truck, and the car was rolling away, and I was thrown off.

BREAKING NEWS.

Mitchel Burrow has been found dead on the spot in a car crash accident. Many witnesses said that the car didn't stop at the intersection and went through a red light for it to be hit by a truck.

On the other news, Hayden and Zeke were transferred to the city jail, and one was beaten to a coma. Zeke pleaded not to go through the same thing his lover was, all while discovering from a recent medical test he was HIV positive.

THE END