Chapter 9

MELISA QUIZON

"Victory!" Nadine shouted, and then she gave us each a high-five. "Hello, everyone! We are CriMeNaL, and we’ve set this stage on fire! Good night!"

We were backstage now because we had just finished our gig. I put my drumsticks in my bag and then put it over my shoulder. The band's name, CriMeNaL, was derived from our five names.

‘Cri’ stood for Crissa, our band leader and vocalist.

'Me' stood for Melissa. Obviously, that's me. I was the drummer.

‘Na’ stood for Nadine, the lead guitarist.

'L' stood for Ellyza, the bass guitarist. She was the youngest in our group at twenty-one. The rest of us were twenty-six years old.

How did we end up forming this band? They were my colleagues at the school I worked at. When they found out I could play the drums, we thought of forming a group. Crissa and Ellyza both had boyfriends, while Nadine didn't seem to have any plans to fall in love because she didn't want to be tied down.

They also knew about my situation. Well, they knew about Reid but not about his father. I didn't want to let them know. It was okay that only Eugene knew. It was not that I didn't trust them—it was just that it was better to be careful.

"Oh, and here are your payments." Crissa distributed the small envelopes to us. We got five thousand pesos per gig. It was not much, but it was better than nothing. "Let's party, ladies!"

"I'm going home. Reid still has a piano recital tomorrow."

Ellyza rolled her eyes. "That's why he’s here to picked you up."

I was surprised to see Eugene walking in our direction. I looked at my wristwatch. It was midnight on a Sunday, but he was still awake. He should be resting today—he had work tomorrow.

I noticed how he grabbed the attention of another group of women who would also be performing. I heard a woman say, "Hi," and when Eugene said, "Hello," she blushed profusely.

Her friends also shouted and then jumped. Look at the effects of his charm. So many men were jealous when he was assigned as their wives’ OB.

‘If he didn’t own a lot of hospitals, he would be poor now because no one would want to take him onan as OB.’ I smiled at what I thought.

"Hi, ladies. Beautiful ladies." He smiled when he stopped in front of us.

"Hello, doctor." Nadine hooked her arm around Eugene's. Then, she leaned her head on Eugene's arm. "Are you here to take your princess home?"

Nadine did this every time he came to pick me up. I sighed and shook my head. Eugene chuckled. "Yes. The king gave his command before I tucked him in for bed."

"Bye, girls!" One by one, I gave them a kiss on the cheek and then pulled Eugene out.

We walked hand in hand to his car. We talked about my gig earlier and what happened during it. I asked him how he found out where my gig was. I also asked him why he was he was still not sleeping, even though it was midnight. But he only answered me with a smile.

When we reached my home, I got out of his car, and so did he. I inserted the key into the doorknob, then unlocked the door. "Thanks for taking me home, Eugene," I said as I handed him some coffee. I sat down next to him.

"The pleasure was all mine," he said before sipping coffee.

Such a nice guy. I didn't know if anyone would love me as Eugene did. Even though I was broken, he still accepted me.

Suddenly, the door of Reid's room opened, and he ran out and greeted me with a hug. "Mommy! I'm glad you're home!"

"Why aren't you sleeping yet?" I said curiously as I stroked his hair.

He bit his lower lip, which made me even more worried. "I'm nervous, Mommy. The judge tomorrow is said to be a famous person," he mumbled.

He showed me a message from one of his teachers. The profile picture was of a tomato on a couch. I picked up Reid's phone and read what was written on it. It just said that there would be a celebrity judge, but it didn't say who.

Reid then turned to Eugene. "Hi, doc! Thank you for taking my Mommy home. You can go now."

I looked up at him. My eyes widened, and my hand suddenly covered my mouth. "Did he bother you to pick me up?”

"Yes," Eugene said, laughing.

I slowly turned my head. "Reid Mikhail Cordova-Quizon."

He pulled his hands away from my shoulders and then ran away from me. I sat up straight. I also heard Eugene laugh.

"I regret nothing! Nothing!" He closed the door of his room when he entered it, but then he immediately opened it again and poked his head out. "Good night, Mommy. I love you. Peace."

After he said that, he closed the door again. I took a deep breath before turning to Eugene. "I’m sorry. He’s been too naughty these past few days." Eugene had spoiled my son, so even if he were tired or had a day off, whenever Reid asked for something, he would definitely give it to him. He really loved my son. "I'm sorry, Eugene. We still bothered you even though it’s your day off, and it's midnight."

"It's alright." He lowered the empty cup onto the table. He combed my hair, which was covering my face, and then ran a thumb over my cheek. His eyes dropped to my lips. But he immediately averted his eyes and took a deep breath. "All right, I'm going home. I still have work tomorrow."

The two of us got up and went to the door. I know what Eugene wanted to do. He was a man, and he loved me. I knew how much he was hurting himself. But what could I do? I could no longer give myself to others because I hated who I was.

"Bye. Be careful, okay?"

"You already said that." I grabbed his arm, which surprised him. He faced me again. I leaned close to him and then gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. I straightened up and stared at him. When he met my eyes, his face lit up. "Thank you for everything, Doctor Eugene Fuertes," I said, smiling.

"Good night." He stroked my cheek before turning to go to his car. I waited for his car to disappear before going inside.

Why couldn’t I love Eugene as more than a friend? He was kind, so I felt more guilty. I felt guilty because no matter what I did, I couldn’t give him my whole being. I was ruined. Wright had already destroyed me. What else could I give Eugene? Nothing.

He deserved someone better.

...

"Mommy, I... I'm scared."

Reid gripped my hands tightly. Here we were inside the Theater Room. For the first time, Reid would participate in a contest. Different schools would compete, so he was even more nervous. I always told him to think that we were the only two in the Theater Room.

"No. Don't be." I knelt so our line of sight would be the same. I caressed his cheek. "Just think that Mommy is the only one watching you."

"But...What if they don't like me?"

I messed up his hair. "They'll like you. I'm just here, baby. If you're nervous, just look at me. Mommy will cheer you up."

He hugged me and kissed me on the cheek. "Thank you, Mommy."

"Good luck, baby," I whispered.

We settled down, and I started to fix his suit, as well as his hair. We watched the emcee speak on a large television attached to the backstage wall.

"Let us acknowledge the presence of our beloved judge, Mister Wright Agoncillo, the leader of the popular band Kiss N 'Tell!"

It was as if all my hair stood up when the emcee mentioned that name. I looked at the television. It was as if I wanted to kill it when it showed Wright's face as he climbed the stairs. There were a lot of nervous people in the crowd. "Yes! We are so lucky to have you here, Mr. Agoncillo."

"Shit," I mumbled.

I turned to Reid, who was now also staring at the screen. I also saw some parents stop just to watch the star arrive on television. Wright took the mic from the emcee. I also saw how Wright winked at the emcee, and the woman blushed. The only thing I was nervous about was that he might see Reid. He couldn't see my son!

But what right did he have to take Reid from me?! He had no idea what hell I went through while giving birth to Reid and raising him on my own. Reid gave light to my world, and I wouldn't let Wright take him away from me.

"Thank you, beautiful! And good morning, everyone!" People lost it when Wright spoke. "This is my first time to be a judge in this event, so, to our contestants, good luck and give your best shot!"

"What a co-fucking-incidence," I whispered.

"Mommy, what are you mumbling?"

I squeezed his hand. "Nothing, baby."

The contest had already begun. Reid got even more nervous when he watched the other kids. He was the last contestant performing; however, I always encouraged him to give his best.

"The next and last contestant is Reid Mikhail Quizon," the emcee introduced Reid. She had mentioned my last name. I felt even more fear. "Instrument: piano."

I was left at the backstage door as I watched my son walk to the grand piano. I hid in the dark so Wright could not see me.