I am in misery
There ain't nobody who can comfort me
Why won't you answer me
The silence is slowly killing me
Girl, you really got me bad, you really got me bad
And I'm gonna get you back, gonna get you back

--Misery by Maroon 5

--

Lena wasn't planning on spending Christmas with her family because she thought that Lacey would not want her to be there. But her mom made her promise. She told her that her father already spoke to Lacey. Pupunta rin daw sa pasko ang kapatid niya. Pero sandali lang, dahil may movie premiere pa ito.

Hindi niya alam kung makakadaan man lang si Martin dahil hindi pa nagkakaayos ang dalawa. It turns out that Lacey went to Quinn, her onscreen partner, and spent two weeks with his family. In her sister's defense, close naman talaga ito sa pamilya ni Quinn. And they also needed that to get more exposure for the movie. Gustong-gusto kasi ng mga fans na magkatotoo 'yong relationship ng mga love team sa TV. Mas mabenta ang love team kapag in a relationship ang reel couple.

It became a problem for Martin and Lacey once, kasi seloso si Martin. Ayaw nito kay Quinn dati. But they eventually became friends because Lacey insisted.

Naaawa siya kay Martin. Nalaman niya mula kay Ramona na halos araw-araw itong pumupunta sa condo unit ni Lacey, nagdadala ng pagkain o kaya bulaklak. Tapos reporters lang ang sumasalubong dito. When he learned that Lacey stayed with Quinn's family in QC, he went ballistic.

Halos dalawang linggo na raw itong hindi pumapasok, sabi ni Cyrus.

Nainis siya sa kapatid dahil sa katigasan ng ulo nito. Kaya tinanong niya si Ramona kung anong oras pupunta si Lacey sa bahay ng mga magulang, para maagahan niya ang pagpunta. Ayaw niya itong makita. Martin didn't deserve that. He loves Lacey so much. The least her sister could do is to listen to his explanation.

When she learned that Lacey would come in the afternoon, inaya na niya si Cyrus na pumunta sa bahay umaga pa lang. They went to church with her family. Then they stayed at the entire morning. Ipinamigay na rin niya ang mga regalo sa pamilya niya, kahit tradisyon nila sa bahay na sa gabi pa ang exchange gift.

She gave her dad an illustrated version of his favorite book. Her version. She gave Nikola a box of his favorite chocolate cake (regalo nilang dalawa ni Cyrus). For Logan, she made a sketch of his favorite band. Cyrus framed it. For her mom, she painted the wedding picture of her parents. Cyrus had it framed as well. And for Kenna, gumawa siya ng bookmarks na yari sa manipis na kahoy. They were paper-thin, with carved out designs of girly stuff. Kenna loved it so much, she took out her favorite books and placed the bookmarks on each of them.

May regalo rin siya kay Lacey, pero itinago niya sa ilalim ng mga regalo na nakalagay sa ibaba Christmas tree. She didn't tell anyone about it. Hahayaan na lamang niyang makita iyon ni Lacey mamayang gabi, kapag magbibigayan na ng regalo.

In return, her parents gave her a new phone as gift. Kenna gave her makeup and accessories. Logan gave her a mixed tape. And Nikola gave her a poem that he made for her (he made one for each of them).

"Hindi mo na ba talaga hihintayin ang kapatid mo?" tanong sa kanya ng ina nang paalis na sila ni Cyrus.

She shook her head. "No, Ma. Just greet her for me."

"Will you be here for my birthday?" tanong naman ng daddy niya.

"I'll be here, Dad," she promised. Maybe Lacey will arrive late again. That would be for the best.

--

Ang plano nila ng araw na iyon ay pupunta sila sa bahay nila sa umaga at kina Cyrus naman sa hapon. Kaya nagulat siya nang biglang may detour pala. Pagkagaling sa bahay nila ay dumiretso sila sa isang bahay na hindi pamilyar sa kanya.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"At Joanna's," he answered. "Pangako ko kasi sa kanila na kapag na-in love ako ulit, ipakikilala ko sya sa kanila," paliwanag nito. "I'm sorry if I didn't ask you first."

She shook her head. "No, it's okay. I'd like to meet them too."

And she was glad she got to meet them. They welcomed her like family. Masaya ang mga ito para kay Cyrus, because he found love again. Naiyak pa ang mommy ni Joanna habang nagpapasalamat sa kanya.

"We treat Cyrus as our own son," she told her. "His happiness is our happiness. And we knew that Joanna, wherever she is now, would be glad to know that he's with you, hija. All she wanted was for him to be happy again, because she knew how much he'd suffered because of her."

She looked at Cyrus from across the room. Masaya itong nakikipag-usap sa mga kapatid ni Joanna. She knew that it was hard for him to take care of his dying ex, while hoping that one day she'd get better, but she also knew that Joanna gave him some of the best days of his life and he would be forever grateful for that.

When he saw her looking, his automatically smiled. Hindi niya alam kung namalikmata lamang siya, but she thought she saw Joanna standing behind him, smiling too. Her healthier version, anyway, like the one in the pictures. Nang biglang humangin ay natakpan ang imahe nito ng kurtina tapos ay bigla itong nawala.

--

She didn't tell Cyrus about the apparition she saw back at Joanna's house. Baka kung ano pa ang isipin nito.

Akala niya ay pupunta na sila sa bahay ng parents nito pagkagaling kina Joanna, but there's another detour. She found herself facing Joanna's grave a while later. Cyrus placed the bouquet on top of the niche; the bouquet that she thought was for her.

"One last stop," he told her. Inakbayan siya nito. When he spoke, he was already addressing Joanna. He introduced her to his ex, as if she were standing right there. He spoke with so much love and happiness in his voice. She was especially touched when she looked up and saw him already teary-eyed. He misses Joanna, that's for sure. She knew she could never fill that void. Sabi nga nito sa kanya, walang makakapalit sa puso nito kay Joanna. It's bittersweet to think about it. She doesn't hold it against him, though. May mga bagay kasi talaga hindi mo mapapakawalan kahit anong pilit mo.

--

After that emotional detour, they finally headed to his parents' house. Maraming tao sa bahay ng mga ito nang dumating sila dahil nandoon ang buong pamilya ni Julie, pati ang lolo't lola nina Cyrus sa father side. Everyone was in a good mood. Masarap kasi ang mga handa at overflowing pa ang wine.

And the best part was Cyrus's gift. Naiyak siya sa sobrang tuwa nang ipakita nito sa kanya ang Akita Inu na tuta. Hindi niya iyon binitawan buong gabi. She always wanted one. Shiba Inu o Akita Inu. Paborito kasi niya ang movie ni Hachiko. Tuwang-tuwa rin siya sa memes ng mga nasabing breed ng aso sa Facebook.

It must have cost a fortune, though. Alam niyang mahal ang ganoong klase ng aso.

Mukhang nabasa ni Cyrus ang nasa isip niya dahil agad itong nagpaliwanag. "Remember Sandy from dad's restaurant? He owns an Akita dog. He sold this one to me for half the original price. I would have adopted one, pero hindi ganitong breed kung sakali."

She suddenly felt guilty for her gift. It was the old chandelier that he wanted before. Since hindi na siya nakagawa ng isa pa, 'yong dati na lang ang ibinigay niya rito, which was really dusty already.

She made a vow to herself that she will make him a better gift. Wala pa lang siyang maisip kung ano ang magandang iregalo rito. It will need to be cheap too, dahil wala naman siyang pera. She only has enough money to pay the bills and keep her and Bailey from starving.

--

Saying goodbye to good people is hard. Fortunately for Lena, she will see Cyrus's relatives again on New Year. The younger folks will spend New Year's Eve at the Madrigal hotel. Julie and Blake will be the host. Tapos sa mismong New Year, kina Cyrus ulit sila tutuloy sa umaga. Sa gabi, sa bahay naman ng parents niya.

The Akita dog she named Kier (from Cyrus's name) was already asleep when they went back to her parents' house to pick Bailey up. Her dog became alert when he saw the sleeping puppy in her arms.

"Hi, Bai."

Inilapit niya rito si Kier, na inamoy-amoy lang ni Bailey. Her dog let out a grunt, which sounded like disapproval. Kier chose that moment to wake up. He yelped when he saw Bailey glaring at him.

"Hey, don't scare him," saway niya sa aso.

"Ate!"

Kier fell off her hands in surprise. Mabuti na lamang at nakayuko siya kaya hindi ganoon kataas ang ibinagsak nito.

"Kenna!"

"I'm sorry-oh how cute! Is that your dog?!"

Kier cowered behind her.

"You scared him," she told her sister.

Kenna crouched and picked Kier up. Hinalik-halikan nito ang tuta niya. "I'm sorry. What's your name, cutie?"

"His name's Kier."

"Hello, Kier! Can I keep him? Kahit ngayon lang? Bukas mo na lang sya kunin please."

"No!" tanggi niya. "Kabibigay lang sa 'kin tapos sa 'yo agad?"

"Bigay?" Bumaling ito kay Cyrus. "Bigay mo, Kuya?"

"Yes, bigay nya. Kaya akin na. I'll bring him over on dad's birthday, I promise."

Kenna was hesitant to let Kier go, pero wala itong nagawa dahil sa kanya naman ang tuta.

"Oo nga pala, Ate, have you heard about what happened during the movie premiere?"

Umiling siya. "No. Why. What happened?"

Hindi kasi siya nakanuod ng balita. The TV was off back at Joanna's place. Kina Cy naman, ginamit pang-videoke ang TV.

Kenna took out her phone and began tapping. "Here."

Her sister gave her the phone. Video iyon na nakapost sa isang gossip site. She saw her sister in the video, all glammed up, holding Quinn's arm as they walk down the red carpet. Nang malapit na sila sa entrada ng sinehan, someone stepped out from the crowd. Martin.

The phone focused on Martin, who was looking dapper in his suit, holding a huge bouquet in his hands. Lacey froze. She couldn't continue walking. Nakatingin lang ito kay Martin, who was looking really sad.

Her sister's into big gestures. Lacey loves public confessions and proposals, so she knew something was up. Martin would not just stand there.

And something did happen. There was an explosion of flower petals. Fans screamed. Kilig na kilig ang mga ito. Quinn stepped aside as Martin when Martin started walking towards Lacey. It was such a magical scene. Nasa gitna ng red carpet ang dalawa habang pinagpipyestahan ng mga fans na pasyahan sa pagkuha ng video, habang umuulan ng mga talulot ng bulaklak.

Martin said something inaudible. It looked like he was apologizing again.

Lacey started crying. But instead of taking the bouquet, she ran the other way, leaving Martin alone.