*Lisa's POV*

"Andito lang ako." bulong ko kay Jennie. I faced her and we're both hugging each other at the moment. Alam kong ayaw niyang tumingin sa akin directly dahil alam kong it's taking everything for her to act this way with me. Hindi din naman kasi expressive si Jennie sa feelings niya. Pero ngayong alam ko na yung rason kung bakit siya ganito these past few days, I understood.

Contrary to what everybody knows, Jennie is not an only child. Lia is Jennie's half-sister. She's just a year and a half younger than Jennie and I. 

Kaunti lang ang alam ko sa topic na ito. Hindi din naman kasi nabbring up and it's not mine or my family's business. As far as I know, Jennie's dad had an affair before marrying Jennie's mom. Saka lang nalaman nung mommy ni Jennie yung nangyari noong 14 years old na kami. Hindi din pala kasi alam nung Daddy ni Jennie na he had another child born out of that affair years ago. 

It almost broke Jennie's family. Narinig ko dati si Mommy na kausap yung mom ni Jennie as she was trying to console the other. It got to the point na muntikan na silang mag-separate. Ang alam ko din nasa ibang bansa si Lia, kaya nagulat ako nung sinabi ni Jennie na she's back. Akala ko kasi nagkasundo na yung both parties na magkaroon ng sari-sariling buhay, pero isusupport pa din ni tito si Lia financially.
 

In fact, I only met Lia once. She looks a lot like Jennie.

"Naguguluhan ako, Lisa.. I hate her. She's the reason why my family almost broke apart, tapos ngayon andito na siya." sabi niya as she cried against my shirt.

"You don't mean that, Jennie.. Hindi naman kasalanan ni Lia." I tried to reason with her. Alam ko na cloudy yung judgment niya ngayon dahil madami siyang feelings na nararamdaman.

"Nandito lang ako para makinig, Jennie." sabi ko sakanya while I tightened the hug. 

"You want to go to bed?" tanong ko sakanya. "Tapos na din ako maghugas. I'll be right there." dagdag ko. 

Nauna si Jennie maglakad papuntang kwarto and I followed her. Magkatabi kami ngayon na nakaupo sa kama. 

"Her mom's sick. Kaya siya nandito." Jennie trailed off. "I'm not a bad person, Lisa. You know that.." she tried to explain at tumango lang ako.

"It's just.. I can't imagine myself with a sister, you know? I kinda blamed her for everything before. Alam ko naman na hindi niya kasalanan pero you know what happened, Lisa. Our family was in shambles because of that affair. I thought I was gonna lose my parents." 

"I don't like change.. Tapos malalaman ko pa na lilipat daw siya sa University. It's too much." Jennie whispered. 

"You can try to be civil.. As far as I remember, Lia's a sweet girl. Siguro kung hahayaan mo sarili mong mag-open up sakanya, you'd get along." reply ko naman sa kanya and she nodded.

"I'm not sure about that.. pero I can try. Na-stress lang talaga ko kaya nag-overreact ako. Nadamay ko pa yung mga members ng Studnent Council dahil sa galit ko." sabi niya as she forced out a laugh.

"Tao ka lang din, Jen. You didn't do anything wrong. Sila yung out of line for talking behind your back instead of telling you face to face na may problema sila." pagtatanggol ko sakanya.

“I’m afraid that people might be right about me.” Jennie whispers. Napansin kong she’s close to crying again at tinitiis niya lang yung pagtulo ng luha niya. 

“What do you mean?” Tanong ko. 

“That I’m a rich and stuck up snobbish .” She spat.

“They’re right about the rich part, though. Pero I don’t think the other descriptions are right.” 

“You shouldn’t think about them too much. Don’t let them have a hold of you, Jennie.” 

“Only the people who love and care about you knows that what they’re saying is not true.” I added.

“You’re just trying to make me feel better, pero thanks.” sagot ni Jennie.

“Don’t sell yourself short, Jennie. Just because we don’t normally get along doesn’t mean what I’m saying ain’t true. Mabuti kang tao, Jen. No doubt.” I told her honestly.