"I need to find Savannah, as soon as possible," I firmly said as I let out a deep breath.
This was frustrating! We didn't have much lead and we were getting helpless. I couldn't just lose her like that.
"What if mahanap nga natin si Savannah, paano naman si Sahara?" Lucas asked me.
I was confused! I looked away from his worried gaze. If I were to choose between them, it would be still Savannah.
"Let's deal with that later," I said, ignoring the topic.
Sahara's frustrating me, too. I knew, it was my fault, but she should understand. Savannah's the only one that I would spend my life with. Not her, but Savannah.
"Then, bakit mo hinayaang may mangyari sa inyo? Man, you're hurting her." I face palmed and creased my brows. Then, I stared at him squarely.
"It was a mistake, okay? I was drunk. I was hopeless and she was there. Hindi ko naman kontrolado ang bugso ng damdamin ko," for the nth time, I explained myself.
It was so tiring. Si Savannah ang focus ko at dahil sa nangyari sa amin ni Sahara, unti-unti akong nauubusan ng pasensyang mahanap siya.
"You know that Sahara loves you, right?" I froze at what Lucas said.
Yeah, I knew about that. Sahara's trying her best to catch my attention, but my heart really longed for Savannah. Nawawala lang siya pero hindi ibig sabihin no'n ay papalitan ko na siya.
"Stop talking about Sahara and me, Luke. I love Savannah, and I really do," I said with finality, but he just gave me a disappointed look.
The door opened and Sahara frantically came near us. She seemed in a hurry because she was panting, too.
"I-I have... a lead on where to find Savannah," she said with a hint of joy, though stammering. My eyes widened and I immediately grabbed the envelope she was holding.
I opened it and saw CCTV footages of cars where Savannah was riding on. One photo, though a blurred one, caught my attention. I took a close look at it. She was facing her side, but she looked fine. The videos that we received from unregistered and unknown senders showed how Savannah was totally bruised and maltreated.
I was confused!
"Savannah wasn't kidnapped," I heard Laura say with confirmation.
We were all shocked at what she announced to us. But, I was still convincing myself that she was taken away.
"H-How did you know?" Sahara asked. Laura stared at her for a moment then shifted her eyes to me.
"I reexamined our evidences, as well as the surveillance at Roosevelt and asked the spies to check the vicinity during the gathering. Then finally, kanina may tumawag sa kanilang nakita nila si Savannah no'ng gabing matapos ang event," she expounded.
The last time we checked on Savannah, she was at Roosevelt. Tatlong buwan na rin ang nakalilipas simula nang mawala siya. Hindi ko siya pinayagang pumunta ro'n pero nagpumilit siya.
"Hindi mo sinabing inutusan mo ang mga spy mo," Sahara accusingly asked Laura.
Ito pa ang nakakabaliw, hindi na namin kilala kung sino ang dapat pagkatiwalaan.
"I don't think na kailangan mo pang malaman," sumbat ni Laura at saka pa ngumisi. Napamura lang si Sahara, nawalan nang pasensya.
"My point is, bakit hindi mo sinabi sa'min kaagad?!" Sahara yelled.
She's confused and hurt. Ako rin pero mas naiintindihan ko si Laura. Hindi ko lang talaga maiwasang mag-ingat sa mga nakakasama ko.
Nakakapraning ang pagkawala ni Savannah.
"Shawn knew it," Laura answered. Hindi makapaniwalang tiningnan ako ni Sahara.
I only knew that Laura commanded her spies, that's all.
"You still can't believe me at nagawa n'yo pang maglihim sa akin?" she scoffed. "Ano bang kailangan kong patunayan sa inyo na hindi ko kayang gawin ang binibintang n'yo?"
"Sahara, nakita ka nilang kinausap mo ang isa sa mga lalaking dumukot kay Savannah. Don't blame us for being like this!" Laura lost her temper. Yeah. Her spies informed us about that.
"Girls, stop it. Laura, kilala natin si Sahara, baka naman mali lang 'yong binigay na impormasyon sa atin ng spy mo," Lucas tried to calm down the two ladies. He still denied it.
Ang pagkakaalam ko kasi ay may gusto siya kay Sahara kaya ganoon na lang ang pagpipigil niya sa amin sa mga akusasyon namin sa kanya. Matagal ko nang ramdam pero ayaw aminin ni Lucas dahil na rin siguro kay Henessy.
"Kilala? Simula nang mawala si Savannah, parang hindi ko na alam ang salitang tiwala. Baka nga siya pa ang nagpadukot sa sarili niyang kapatid," Laura said which made Sahara kick the table in front of us.
Silence wrapped the atmosphere. No one dared to speak until we heard a sniff coming from Sahara.
"You can kill me... right now. Ilang ulit ko ba sasabihing... hindi ako 'yon," she emphasized the last three words, but her voice broke. She was already wiping her tears. "She's my sister, for fuck's sake!" Humagulgol na siya sa kanyang palad.
"Everyone's a suspect, Sahara. We're being careful, please understand," I said sincerely to her.
We're losing our hopes plus Sahara's been secretive. She was having her secret plans which made us to suspect her more.
"No! You're all accusing me," sigaw niya. Walang tumugon sa sinabi niya. Napabuntung-hininga siya saka tumitig sa akin. "Okay, I'm out," she gave up, then walked out, slamming the door hard.
"Sahara..." Lucas called her but it was too late. "Laura, check your resources well," he turned to Laura.
"We all saw the pictures, what's there to deny?" Laura asserted her belief.
"We can't just let Sahara out of this group. She's our toughest fighter. Shawn, alam kong nalilito ka, pero please, pagkatiwalaan mo naman si Sahara. And where's Ridge? Isang oras na, ah," Lucas seemed to lose his patience, too. Ridge went out to buy us food.
Suddenly, Lucas' phone vibrated on top of the table.
"Hello? What?! Who are you?! Huwag n'yo siyang sasaktan! Hey, saan n'yo siya dinala?! Hey!" Kunot-noo kong pinanood ang paghihisteryo ni Lucas sa kausap.
"What happened?" I asked when he put down his phone, but he just punched the table hard.
"Si Ridge... Dinukot nila si Ridge..." Then, he started sobbing. Ridge was our best friend, kaya ganoon na lang ang reaksyon niya.
The hell! Now, it's Ridge. Sila Savannah, Meaghan at Ridge ang mga kaibigan naming dinukot. Unti-unti kaming inuubos!
"I'll warn Sahara, Novah and the others about this," Laura said in a hurry tone.
"This is driving me crazy," I said irritably.
Napasabunot ako sa buhok ko dahil sa mga nasasagap na balita. Isama pa ang mga nangyayari sa pagkakaibigan naming ipinundar namin sa mahabang panahon.
I bowed with my hands fisted and didn't mind my tears from falling.
Where are you really, Savannah?