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For a really smart girl, sometimes Liv was really oblivious. When I first met her when his brother introduced us, I immediately branded her to be the intellectual type, preferring to hide behind books or whatever. I wasn’t too surprised that she was going to study Literature then. But I hadn’t heard exactly met a rich, nerd girl ever and Liv would be the first. I was, however, surprised that though how many times Viggo seemed to say that Liv was extremely shy, she showed the opposite whenever we would meet.
She really was petite for her age, not even having the excuse of average Filipina height to compensate for it. It was just in the genes I figured, since Viggo himself was as tall as me. It seemed Liv took after her mum.
She was smaller than most girls, as I said, but she had this lustrous, thick black hair that made up for her lack of height. It wasn’t anything like the hair of models in shampoo commercials, but Liv’s hair seemed like a life-force on its own. When she was feeling particularly kikay, she would fix it up, curl it or whatever, but in most days they just fell dramatically in waves around and past her shoulders, giving her the windswept look. I thought she loved this about her hair, that’s why I was more than surprised when I spotted her, a few months after we became friends, hair cropped short and styled dramatically like Kris Aquino’s latest hairstyle. I was surprised, but it suited her, the way the now tamed locks framed her high cheekbones neatly, emphasizing her heart-shaped face, making her look more pixie-like than ever. Not that I was looking at her too much.
For some weird reason, Liv had always been more vocal, more open towards me than with any of the other guys in the boarding house save Viggo. Even with Santi, one of her best friends, I never heard her talk or tease him the way she would do so to me or Viggo. The way she talked to me was like how she talked to her girl friends, with complete abandon. I have seen evidence of this enough when the whole gang was gathered.
I asked Viggo about this, and though he was more of a laid-back guy as opposed to my frankness, (one of the many reasons he’s my friend), he was very protective of his baby sister. He merely quirked an eyebrow behind his glasses before saying in a tone I still can’t recognize up to today: “She thinks you’re gay.”
I can’t say I haven’t heard that one before; I had heard and had been asked about it when I showed an apparent dislike to girls who approached me intending to head in that general direction of relationships. And because it was more fun pretending than trying to convince people I was not; I went along with the ride. Only Viggo and a few of those I called close friends knew.
I had thought Liv was sharp enough to detect my lies, but I guess she was either blind to it or ignoring it. I heard the stories Viggo told me, about the boyfriends who left her because she seemed too good to be true, (I couldn’t understand the logic behind that reason), friends who took advantage of her because she was too gullible; I had Viggo ask me to pretend a little more to get close to Liv, at least to have someone to watch her back whenever he couldn’t. It had been a strange request, but I had conceded; Viggo had pulled me through many rough scrapes in the past to deny him of this request, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t fun to mess with her.
Liv had been so fun to taunt, not because she didn’t behave like a normal person who was being irked, but because she did behave exactly how an irked person behaved, and it was fun to watch. I had my fun and she could vent out her frustrations.
She was unlike any person I have ever come across, and I was best friends with Viggo, and he is quite an eccentric character. Though very much a lover of fun and laughter, I didn’t see at that time of Viggo’s request was a display of weakness on his part.
Despite being my best friend, Viggo had always been the withdrawn type, didn’t want to get into confrontations, so he either avoided it or ignored it. Though it made him look approachable and peace-loving, (and this trait had been handy when I got into a few rough spots) Viggo had a tendency to run away from the consequences of his mistakes, a feat that I did not admire. Nobody likes a deserter and Viggo avoided responsibility too, and before Liv came to Kultura, there wasn’t anybody who took care of the dealings inside the boarding house of which, Viggo and Liv’s dad had given to the both of them to rent out and to stay in during our college years. I didn’t see how irresponsible and lackadaisical Viggo was until I saw that Liv was the more responsible Lopez sibling.
I had watched her take care of every person in the boarding house, sort of like a mom of sorts, for those who missed their mothers, now that we were away for college. I watched her do the groceries without anyone demanding her too, fix the beds whenever she had the time, care for the boarders who got sick, and listen patiently to them, and just being there.
Unlike Viggo however who looked carefree and fun but was more of a coward inside, Liv looked serious, too shy and meek but had the strength to withstand anything despite her very caring personality.
She had such a gentle and compassionate nature and I was sure that was going to get her into trouble one day.
I had watched her arrange her personality to fit everybody else’s. Watched her lower herself in order to cheer people up, offering her own self-esteem as a target so that their own could be assuaged. I watched her adjust herself to the image everybody seemed to have of her: weak, mild, passive. I watched her control her temper when Melai’s own obnoxiousness got ahead of her, watched how patient Liv was when Kala had demanded to know exactly what Liv thought of her new masterpiece; I watched as how she watched over Viggo more than anybody else, encouraged him to pursue what he was doing and demanding him not to give up his dreams; I watched how Liv seemed desperate for a bit of appreciation but could not get it. I had tried to show it by cheering her up as much as I could, but even I had not been prepared for what had happened between her and Jan.
I watched her when she developed that little friendship with Jan the bastard. Noticed her falling for the guy, (who then seemed sincere enough) before she noticed it herself. Watched her fall apart when Jan took advantage of her gentle heart, but dismissed it as if it were insignificant. I had watched her when Jan insinuated she was insignificant than him, and that whore of a woman whom Jan had placed so stupidly on a pedestal was no where beyond Liv’s reach.
I did what I could without alerting anybody of my true intentions. Viggo, being the avoid-confrontations kind of guy had possessed too much of his sister’s gentle demeanour to actually threaten the guy, but I had. In my own ways, I made Jan tread carefully before stomping out Liv’s spirit. I should have known that bastard wouldn’t listen to me.
Viggo was the one who heard her crying that night. But instead of going to her room, Viggo knocked on my door, asked me to intercede on his behalf. I saw the fright in his eyes then and I knew he was too afraid to offer comfort for his little sister. He had never heard nor seen that side of Liv, and he hadn’t wanted to. When their mother died, it had been Viggo who had cried and Liv who did the comforting. I should have let Viggo do the comforting, but I was worried for her and I could do nothing else but say yes.
I was there when Liv sat alone crying in the dark. I did not want to see her face then; I was too afraid too see the pain in her eyes. So I left the lights closed, partly for her, and partly for myself. I had offered what I could then, which was my presence and she took it, desperate I think for someone to hold her, like the many times she did so f others. I had let her cry in my brand new shirt then, let her cry out as much of her pain as she could, because I knew what heartbreak felt like. I knew how painful and agonizing it really is and no adjective, no novel could do it justice. I knew and I felt pain for her that she had to feel it.
I had felt pain whenever she whispered how much her own pain hurt. She kept saying it over and over again and I was somewhat wishing Viggo would see this. Maybe Viggo, despite whatever gentle spirit he had, would not hesitate banging the door open to Jan’s room and pound him senseless. It would have been funny to watch, if I was sure Liv wouldn’t mind that Viggo would do so, but she would mind. I would beat the crap out of Jan myself were I not pretending to be gay for Liv’s sake. Not for the first time did I wonder if that was the only reason why Liv allowed me to hold her this close.
She had cried endlessly, and I had murmured soothing words in her ears as much as I could. She not once loosened her grip on me, not when she had fallen asleep from crying too much, and not when I picked her up from the floor, (she really was that light) to place her on the bed. I couldn’t leave the room and I hadn’t wanted to and before I knew it I had fallen asleep with Liv on her bed.
One of the good things that came out from her incident with Jan was that she had allowed me to become closer to her, and not just someone to throw insults to whenever she felt like it. (Not that she stopped when we became real friends.) Liv was stubborn like her friends, and she never wanted anybody to see she faltered and that she needed help. So it was a big thing when she accepted me closer to herself, more than that of the others, including Melai and Santi. I was allowed to be in closer proximity to her, and she had help, though she may not be aware of it.
I discovered she loved mango ice cream more than anything else and was surprised that Melai thought it was strawberry. I knew she loved the color purple, though hated it in most of her clothes. I discovered she loved cooking but hated doing laundry. (Laundry was the only chore she refused to do in the house) I discovered she had been a closet Grey’s Anatomy fan for ages.
I discovered her first real crush was Trunks of Dragonball Z and that she had to have a crush in all the anime she ever watched. (She was currently into Archer of Fate Stay Night, Kakashi of Naruto, Yunoki of La Corda D’oro and of course, her all time favourite, Hotohori of Fushigi Yugi)
The same went with the cartoons she watched. She was a Disney Princess kid so she had watched all those Disney movies when she was kid and loved all the stories. Mulan was her favourite, followed by the Little Mermaid, then Aladdin, then Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and then Snow White.
She never admitted it out loud, but though she loved the Disney Princesses, she loved it better when they weren’t damsels-in-distress, hence Mulan being on the top list and Snow White at the bottom. She didn’t realize that her preferences in her choice of anime guys gave away about her character too. All those guys were silent type kind of guys, who had more or less had a trouble expressing their emotions or at least kept them hidden. I could imagine Liv liked them because they did look like the brooding, somewhat reluctant hero, but does it anyway to save the girl. It was so typically Liv that I wasn’t sure why the others hadn’t realized this already about her.
She hid maturity well behind her childish aspects. She had a wide array of stuffed toys in her room beside all those books she read, she gets upset when her favourite pairing in any series of anime, cartoon or book didn’t get together. (She ranted about the evilness of Nickelodeon for a week when the network settled for the tutti-frutti pairing of Katara and Aang in the end of the series Avatar: the Last Airbender instead of her fave Zuko and Katara pairing) She squeals over her favourite movie stars and gushes about them endlessly. (Melai couldn’t handle all the Orlando Bloom and Robert Pattinson gushing she did at one point). She gets disappointed when her expectations of a book were not met (as evidence of when she read the Twilight series; she couldn’t stop ranting over the fact that Bella Swan only fell in love with Edward Cullen because of his looks) and hates it when movie versions of her favourite books are butchered. (I still haven’t heard the end of her Eragon the movie bashing)
In fact she acted this way so well that people forget that she is mature and that she thought more deeply than people give her credit for. Though she was extremely shy around strangers, it did not mean she didn’t think. I noticed how people branded her as snobbish because she wouldn’t acknowledge them. I found myself defending her again and again.
I wanted her to be happy. Not just pretend happy like what she did when she was with us. I wanted her to be happy of who she was. Wanted her to stop pretending to be my girlfriend when it was convenient and it because it was easy to pretend when she was with me, thinking I am gay. I wanted her to stop deluding herself that she was only worthy of pretend protection, like what we did whenever we were together. I wanted her to stop thinking she would always be the one taking care of people and that nobody would ever notice she needed to be taken cared of too. (Her father was too busy trying to maintain their family fortune; her brother to afraid to show that kind of affection) I wanted her to forget all the bullshit Jan did to her and not blame herself for a friendship she had no fault in destroying. I wanted her friends to know that she just wasn’t plain old Liv who stood by others and said yes to everyone. I wanted her to be known to be brilliant and irreplaceable. And most of all, I wanted to be the stronger one for her, to be the older brother Viggo could never show himself to be, the friend that Melai and Santi could never understand her to be, and the guy that Jan had destroyed her hopes she would meet.
But I was content in waiting. I knew I wasn’t ready myself to tell her about my wishes, nor I was ready to tell her about my past. We never talk about our pasts, a strange thing when we share everything with each other. I wasn’t sure that I was ready and I was in no hurry to rush her when I know I myself was not ready.
So when the yearly Kultura performance of the Drama Club, of which I am a member of, happened, I was not prepared for the drama that had unfolded after the show.
I had watched her out of the corner of my eye in the audience while I was performing, more than a bit proud at the look of pure pride on her face seeing me there and knowing that she knew me. I had not the time to greet the guys of the boarding house when they came along with Liv to watch the show, but I was going to make it up to them by treating to dinner after the play.
I was backstage after the show, trying to quickly to change out of my costume so I could hurry out to the guys that waited for me, when the door to the dressing room banged open, revealing a very flustered person behind it.
Kala, the Korean-Filipino first year studying Fashion and staying at the house with us, noticed me and quickly ran up to me, completely oblivious to my various state of undress.
“Kuya Bench, you have to come quickly!” Kala said rather breathlessly, annoyingly shoving away those stylish bangs that fell across her face away from her eyes. “Ate Liv and...Kuya Viggo...” she was panting so heavily, I couldn’t figure out the words.
“May nangyari ba?” (Did something happen?) I ask rather incredulously shoving down my shirt over my head and trying to look for the jacket Liv traded with me. I had her large Disneyland navy blue jacket while she had my Drama club jacket with my name on the front.
“Ate Liv...” Kala continued to ramble incoherently until a name jerked me upwards. “Kuya Jan...”
“What?” I asked sharply, straightening up. “What’s with Jan?”
Kala continued to babble endlessly until I managed to thread the pieces. “ Jan cornered Liv after the show? Where are they? Is she hurt?”
Kala, apparently couldn’t say anything more except to urge me to go with her, which I proceeded to do, just grabbing Liv’s jacket and throwing it on quickly.
When we got outside and towards the parking lot where the guys had agreed we would meet, I was a bit more than surprised to see a fairly large number of people were gathered where the guys of our group had parked their cars. Kala had run forward towards the group eagerly, her eyes shining with excitement to see what she had missed. Rolling my eyes, I walked forward in my own pace, confident that nothing too stupid was happening with the lack of evidence of a fist fight. That was before I heard the shouting.
“Putang ina mo!” (Motherfucker!) “Quit running after me!” I could tell this was a male.
“I’m running after you?! Who was the one who wanted to talk to me alone, you bastard?!” I’ve only heard her shouts a few times but there was no mistaking that this was Liv who was shouting. And she was more than a bit pissed off by the sounds of it.
“Well, if you quit running after me and move on bitch, then maybe I didn’t need to talk to you!!”
The other voice was less recognizable, but I had heard it enough in the past to guess this was Jan. I moved closer now, moving past where the first years of our group were huddled together, exchanging whispers, to the front of the group. To my surprise, Melai and Santi were being restrained by Rodel and Vinci, while Viggo, placid Viggo, was barely held in place by Sisa and Jaja. I glanced at Viggo and his usually calm face was contorted into a look of pure anger, his eyes hard and glinting behind his glasses as he tried pushing against the combined effort of Jaja and Sisa. Melai and Santi also had looks of anger on their faces, Melai practically spitting fire and though Santi was calmer, his fists were clenched and his scowl was dark. All of them were looking at Liv who was standing a few paces ahead, facing Jan who was looking towards us, a bunch of his friends as well Joana a few steps behind him.
“Stay away from my sister.” Viggo spat out in a hiss that although he wasn’t shouting, I was sure it could be heard. Jan looked up from where he was glaring at Liv to sneer derisively at Viggo.
“What, you’ve got balls not to stand up for her now that the whole gang is here?” He taunted towards our group before snorting. “You’re pathetic Lopez, and you hide behind your money. No wonder it was so easy to mess with your sister. You’re too weak to protect anything.”
My fists clenched then. This was my best friend and his sister he was talking about and Jan the bastard had no right to say those words, no matter how true they were. I wasn’t at all surprised to see Viggo clench his fists but look away, glaring at the pavement of his inability to do anything.
I was surprised however about Liv. Her back was turned to us so I couldn’t see how angry she was but I was more than a bit surprised when she bounded forward towards Jan and slapped him, hard across his cheek that made his head snap sideward in the impact. A hush suddenly fell and I felt everybody, including myself freeze in shock.
“Don’t you dare talk about my brother that way Jan.” Liv hissed and I never heard her voice sound so venomous and full of hatred before the whole time I’ve met her. “You lost the right to ridicule or give your opinion about my friends and family that day when you decided to throw away our friendship.” Liv was no longer shouting but we could feel the coldness in her words and in the midst of her shock, I couldn’t help but be proud of her for standing up for her brother as well as the rest of us.
Jan, touching his reddened cheek in shock and waving at Joana to stay away, straightened up. He wasn’t that much taller than Liv so she hadn’t needed to look too far up to meet his eyes. He glared at her again, his lips curving into a sneer and I felt the others beside me as well as myself tense.
“Once upon a time you were begging for my constant attention,” he ran a sleazy glance down at her that I didn’t blame Liv when she backed away. Jan inched closer and I felt Viggo and Santi try to break through their restraints. “Once upon a time you even told me that if you ever were to lose your virginity, it would be to me.” He flashed her teeth at her and from where I was standing I could see Liv tremble, in fright and some other emotion. I took a step closer.
“I never said such a thing.” Liv half-whispered as she was trapped in his eyes, her steps faltering as she moved back. “You asshole, you took advantage of my friendship.”
“But you were so willing to give it to me weren’t you, precious?” Jan’s voice had become more lecherous and I had to stop myself from running over there.
Liv moved again as if to slap Jan but he caught her wrist and squeezed. “You have a girlfriend you bastard!” she hissed at him but Jan ignored her and squeezed her wrist. Her gasp of pain triggered me into action.
Before I knew it, I was walking towards Liv and Jan and had pushed Jan away forcefully as well as simultaneously stepping in front of Liv to block Jan’s any more access towards her. Jan cursed as he fell stumbling and I could feel Liv’s surprise as she looked up at me, one hand tentatively placed on my back.
“Bench?” I heard her whisper, but I could only nod, as my eyes were focused entirely towards Jan.
“Stay out of this Jo,” I heard Jan mutter at Joana who had run to her boyfriend’s side and was helping him up. Jan had pushed Joana away and came back to face us. Behind us, I could feel the rest of the guys relax somewhat now that there was another person standing between Liv and Jan. Liv didn’t share those sentiments.
“What are you doing?” she hissed at my back trying to get me to look at her but I was following Jan with my eyes, surprisingly yet murderously angry. “You’re going to get hurt because of me.”
“We’re fuck buddies.” I explained under my breath falling easily to our little game though my voice was serious. “And I will help you. Besides,” I risked a glance at her now and saw how her big brown eyes threatened to swallow her face at how wide they were at the moment, and winked at her. “How hard could a midget like him hit?” Our eyes met for a second and I could see she understood what I was trying to say to her. She was not alone in this.
“Stay away from this Benson.” I heard Jan say and I had to look away from Liv to meet the eyes of the guy who broke Liv’s heart without any inch of pity. “No need to act like a man anymore. We all know you’re not her protector.”
I straightened up now and threw caution to the winds. For the first time since I had agreed to pretend for Liv’s sake, I squared my shoulders and let my voice go down its normal pitch. “Maybe I am her protector. What are you going to do about it?”
I heard Liv gasp somewhere behind me and I had to resist looking over my shoulder to see her reaction. Maybe she had finally seen and understood. I kept my eyes at Jan with much effort.
Jan also, the sleazy scumbag that he was, with his wide buggy eyes and his almost too dark for a Filipino skin, looked surprised at my voice. Have I been pretending for that long? I wondered and looked around. Viggo had straightened up now, calm that I was standing in his place. As usual. Santi had also looked like he had calmed down and had taken the place of Vinci in order to calm a very furious Melai.
Jan now looked away from my stern gaze to look over at Liv who had just managed to take a sneak peek around my waist.
“You’re going to let some faggot do your battles, Liv? That’s as worse as letting your brother do your fighting for you.” He sneered again and I had to restrain Liv from running at Jan again and slapping him.
“I’ll deal with this.” I murmured in her ear and though her eyes were shiny with unshed tears she nodded towards me again. Trusting me, trusting my judgement.
“You have a lot of nerve to come picking a fight with a girl, Runas” I straightened up, moving to stand before Liv again, shielding her from view. “I told you to stay away from her.”
Jan folded his arms now, confident I wasn’t going to do much damage since I was apparently of the third sex despite my height. “Like I was going to listen to you faggot. I still have a score to settle with her.”
“With Liv?” I asked, my eyebrows raised. “It should be the other way around I think.” I stated calmly but with the hints of a warning in my voice. How dare this bastard take it out on Liv, whatever it was? Liv was the one who didn’t deserve to be cut up like that. She didn’t deserve to be toyed around like that. All because Jan couldn’t get what he wanted at that time and needed a person to vent and practice his sick, twisted little games. I was more that disgusted.
“Stay away from her. You don’t even deserve to look at her.” My voice had dropped low now, but Jan was not deterred.
“Or what?” he asked me challengingly. “It’s not like you could throw a punch even if your life depended on it Aquino. You hide behind Liv’s skirts, too afraid to become a man. You think you’re helping her; you’re living in a fantasy. I have heard your story. After what happened when you were in high school, no wonder you turned gay. You think pure, good-hearted Liv will still accept you once she learns the truth? You’re as pathetic as Lopez.” He sneered at me in that annoying sick way that I resisted throwing a punch at his smug little face.
Behind me, I could feel Liv press a small but comforting hand on my back again. “What is he talking about Bench?” she whispered, her voice softer and smaller than usual. “What happened during high school?”
I shook my head; this was not the time to deal with this. “He’s making it up.” I lied quickly through my teeth, and although I was sure Liv could tell, she dropped it and made to look at Jan.
“Jan why don’t you just leave us alone?” she spat. “Masaya ka na di ba?” (You’re happy aren’t you?) “So what do you need me to tell you for?”
Jan broke gaze to look at Liv pointedly. I thought that for once, her words had pierced through the guy Jan had once been, for Liv’s sake but I had no such luck. Jan merely folded his arms and glared at her through hate-filled eyes. “I do not appreciate it when people call my girlfriend a whore.”
“Why not?” I couldn’t help retorting. “You look like a pimp if I ever saw one.”
That’s was when several things happened at once and up to now I still feel stupid for not being quicker.
Apparently, my words had an effect on Jan for he had clenched his fist and came towards me, ready to throw the blow. I had been preparing myself to dodge it and shove my knee up where it hurts but Liv was quicker. I don’t know if she thought I couldn’t dodge the blow or if she couldn’t stand being pushed away because she had moved in front of me the instant Jan had bounded for me; fist raised and coiled, and received the punch straight across her face.
I caught her in my arms, too stunned to yell at Jan and just plain shocked that she stood in the way for me. Around me I heard everybody gasp and Viggo yell her name. I ignored them all.
“Liv?” I asked not looking at everybody else, especially at Jan, but at my friend cradled in my arms. She didn’t answer; she was out cold. I looked up at him then, startled to see him looking shell-shocked at his fist as if it started to sprout fire. I was too angry to care.
“Viggo.” I uttered my best friend’s name clearly to be heard and I felt Viggo come quickly and took Liv from my arms into his. I straightened up just as Viggo ran back carrying his baby sister in his embrace, throwing dagger looks at Jan along the way.
“Seems like you pack quite a punch there.” I said in a deadly voice, my fist clenched in pure anger. How dare he, how dare he hurt her, as if the past months of emotional torture hadn’t been enough pain for Liv, as if he hadn’t had hia fun when he had toyed with her, when all she did was give him a chance, when all she did was offer her friendship?? How dare he hurt her some more?!
“It wasn’t meant for her.” Jan said after a while looking up from his clenched fist towards me. He looked confused, but I refused to give him the benefit of the doubt, not when Liv was laying down a few steps away unconscious.
“And that makes the difference because?” I taunted, moving forward now, my steps deliberate. “You’re a sick bastard Runas.” I spat his name my eyes clearly holding the hatred there. “You used Liv, you fucking asshole. You had no right to mess with her like that. Have you had any idea what her life has been like after what you did to her? She didn’t care that you chose to pine after your little whore; she just wanted you guys to remain friends. She thought you out of all the people in the boarding house understood her most, appreciated her most and she didn’t want to lose that. You, who didn’t deserve any of the kindness she has shown because you couldn’t be man enough to admit that the girl you’re pining for didn’t want you and you grabbed whatever kindness she offered and sucked it dry. You turned your back on her once you got what you wanted without a word of thanks, you betrayed her, you bastard, and I can never forgive you!”
Jan gave a breathless laugh, his eyes twinkling in mirth at the sight of my furious face. “Does it look like I care what you do to me? As if you could do anything to me. You’re a faggot, Aquino. A useless faggot who couldn’t get over what happened in your past. So you cling to whatever semblance of a relationship you have, I’m surprised you haven’t declared yourself to Lopez but chose to go with the facade Liv was creating for you.” He made a sound of disgust. “You think Liv is so perfect, and so angelic, well news flash she isn’t. She’s a whore too. She wanted comfort from any one and from any guy. I won’t deny that I was looking for someone easy. “He smirked at me and my fist rose. I grabbed him by the collar quickly, and seeing as how he was far shorter than me, had to drag him up to meet his puny, pathetic smiles.
“You’re sick,” I spat at his face. “Because of one mistake you go along hurting others so they can feel the pain you’re in. At least I’m man enough to keep it to myself.”
“You think you’re a man?” Jan demanded angrily, struggling against my hold. “You can’t even tell her!”
I have had enough by then. All the pent up emotion I had kept for more than a year was breaking to be set loose. And I didn’t give that much of a resistance. I punched him.
I punched him hard and deep, wanting him to feel the pain he put Liv through and more. I couldn’t tell why I was so satisfied to see him gasping and writhing on the floor when I dropped him.
“Stay away from Liv you useless son of a bitch.” I hissed. “If I see you anywhere near her, if I even see you take one glance at her in the wrong way, I will break your puny little neck. I may be Viggo’s best friend but I’m not one to control my temper once it wants to be set loose.” And I gave him a kick in the gut for good measure.
“Stop it!” I heard Jan’s girlfriend Joana cry out as she ran towards her again but I had already turned away and walked towards my own group of friends. I wasn’t surprised to see Viggo and Liv were nowhere to be seen. I looked at Santi, who among all of them bore that calm expression on his face despite what they had seen.
“Where?” I asked ignoring the looks of mixed emotions on everybody else’s faces and settled my focus on Santi.
“Home.” Santi replied easily his tone and voice deadpan. I merely nodded and proceeded to go the car.
“Wait.” I heard Melai say and I looked over to her, not really intending to do the explaining in the school parking lot. “We’ll come with you.”
And because there wasn’t anything to say and because I needed to have my friends beside me to help me stay calm and collected, I nodded and all of us headed to separate cars and sped off towards the boarding house. Back to where Liv was waiting.