Where Do Broken Hearts Go I

Where do broken hearts go
Can they find their way home
Back to the open arms
Of a love that's waiting there
And if somebody loves you
Won't they always love you
I look in your eyes
And I know that you still care, for me

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Their third movie together – finally. After several years of waiting and wondering if this movie would ever push through Sarah finally agreed to star alongside John Lloyd in a movie again. She had never closed her doors on the possibility of working with him again but she long delayed their reunion, waiting for the right time. He was very vocal that he anticipated working with her again because working with her was one of the best experiences he ever had and finally the waiting had paid off.

For weeks their had been rumours circulating the business that they were going to reunite but he refused to believe it till he heard it straight from his bosses. It had been a long time since they last spoke to each other. Occasionally they would share a casual conversation when they’d bump into each other during ASAP but they hadn’t had a chance to speak for months now, not even a hi or hello. She had just returned from her 2 month long concert tour when she finally made her decision to work with him again. The people behind their two blockbuster movies were surprised to learn that the movie was finally a go because everybody thought the movie was never gonna push through. He was on vacation with his girlfriend when he got the call from Star Cinema informing him that the cameras would start rolling upon his return.

But what made now the right time? No one really knew what had been keeping her from doing a movie with him again. Whenever people asked her about the possibility of working with him again she would just smile sweetly and answer ambigiously. What really went on between the two of them remained a mystery.

After a long while of mending her broken heart she had finally opened her heart again to love and was exclusively dating someone. She was proud to tell the public of her relationship but still played it safe by keeping much of it as private as possible. So, did that make this the right time? Did the fact that they were both in serious relationships seal the deal for her? She may not have known it at the time but truth is that really was what made now the right time. She believed that there was no chance of rekindling any feelings she had for him in the past now that there was someone special in her life and in his. She long avoided working with him because she was afraid of history repeating itself, she was afraid of falling for him again and being burned in the end.

He was running a tad late for their story conference and when he arrived everyone was already in the conference room. The room was filled with familiar faces – with people who for years anxiously awaited this movie. But despite all of the people his eyes drew to her almost automatically. She was sitting near the window, her head bowed down looking at her phone and with her hair neatly tied back the light from the sun framed her face perfectly. She had this endearing smile on her face and a sparkle in her eyes that instantly brought back good memories. For a moment he was just lost staring at her till he heard their director call out his name, which caught everybody else’s attention as well. She looked up in his direction and caught his gaze. She stared back at him for a brief moment before her phone beeped and she looked back down at it. As she looked away he searched the room for an empty seat only to find that the one beside her was the only one available. He apologized to everyone for his tardiness as he made his way over to his seat. Once he sat down she quickly shut off her phone and looked up at her director giving her full attention. The meeting went on for a long while, prepping everybody for the workload that awaited them in the months to come. There was so much going on that they didn’t even get a chance to speak to each other. They were on a tight schedule thus immediately following the story conference the two had acting workshops to attend to.

It was a new story, something very different from their past two movies. She had always said she wanted to do something different and that she wanted to leave Miggy and Laida as is. Those two movies held a very special place in her heart and she didn’t want to tarnish the wonderful memories she had of Miggy and Laida. This was something completely out of her comfort zone, for the first time in her acting career she was stepping outside of the box and doing something she has long wanted to do. She wanted to venture out into drama, to prove herself as a dramatic actress and as if that was not enough of a challenge she wanted to give this a shot with one of the greatest dramatic actors of their generation because she had already built rapport with him and she trusted she was in good hands. No one could tell but inside she was terrified. She could have taken the easy way out, she could have chosen to star alongside him in a romantic comedy, which was her forte, but she felt it was time for her to grow as an actress.

She had seen the script prior to this meeting, in fact she choose which script would be most fitting for the two of them. He, on the other hand, was learning about the movie for the first time here today. The movie called for a lot of things that he didn’t realize she was ready to tackle. When he first received the news of a forthcoming movie with her he was expecting something light and fun but to his surprise the movie was more mature and dramatic. As he listened to their director addressing everybody in the room he flips through the script for the first time. He pauses for a moment and looks up at Sarah, who has her back turned to him listening to their director speak. He bites his lower lip then looks back down at his script – a kissing scene. Was she ready for this or were they going to cheat it somehow? After contemplating in his mind for a moment the possibility he shakes his head and just continues to read. Another kissing scene. A second one? She surely had to know that cheating more than one kissing scene in a movie kind of ruins the point of having them in the first place. Maybe there were still revisions to be done. But then again how could there be, the kiss was a pivotal moment in the film, you really can’t establish the characters emotions without it. He scratches his head unsure of what to think. Their director notices the confused look on his face.

“Oh Lloydie may problema ba?”

She turns around to face him, as does everybody else, curious to know if he had any issues to address. He looks at her with his lips parted as he slowly brings his hand down from his head.

“Ah wala, may iniisip lang ako, go ahead continue...”

Their director continues but Sarah is still looking at him. She raises her eyebrows as if asking him if he was sure nothing was wrong and he just nodded his head. She shrugs her shoulders and turns her back on him again.

He continued to read the script only to find that there were several other intimate scenes in the movie. This really was different from their past movies together and unknowingly he smirks somewhat pleased with the turn of events. What prompted her to take this huge leap of faith he hadn’t the slightest clue but as early as now he had a good feeling about this movie.

The meeting finally comes to a close and they have an hour to have lunch before their first workshop together began. They are two of the last people in the room and she stands up before him. She begins to gather her things and as she searches through her purse for something he finally looks up at her.

As he starts to pack up his things as well he asks her “Nabasa mo na ba yung script?” curious as to her take on the storyline.

She nods her head and with a smile she answers “Ang ganda noh?” She looks over at him, her eyes full of excitement “Sana I can do it justice...”

Feeling her excitement he suddenly feels giddy and can’t help but smile himself. As she continues to search through her purse he takes her hand and she looks back at him.

“Don’t worry hindi kita pababayaan, aalalayan kita the whole way through” he tells her reassuringly.

She smiles at him as she puts her other hand onto his and moves it away. As she zips her bag up and picks all of her things up, without looking at him, she says “Alam ko naman yun eh, kaya nga ako pumayag na gawin tong pelikulang to, I know I’m in good hands.” She then looks back at him and flashes him one more smile before saying her goodbyes and leaving the room.

As she disappears into the hallway he can hear her cheerfully conversing on the phone with someone, most likely her special someone, discussing where to have lunch.

A pang of jealousy. What was the root of this jealousy – he wasn’t sure. He didn’t know it was possible to feel this way with regards to her, he can’t possibly feel jealous because of her, it just wasn’t right. He shook his head forcibly denying his jealousy and texts his girlfriend: “I miss you.”

His girlfriend is out of town and he had no one else to have lunch with so opts to eat alone at a nearby restaurant. To his surprise she was having lunch at the same restaurant. Unfortunately for him, however, she wasn’t alone. Just as he had assumed she was having lunch with him...

So this is the special someone in her life, he thought to himself, as he secretly gazed at them together. He nods his head and thinks to himself “Not bad, gwapo naman, I guess if that’s her type...” He couldn’t take his eyes off of them and when his thoughts started to get too far he shook his head and whispered to himself “Ano ba Lloydie, may girlfriend ka.” He does his best not to look in their direction again and he manages to place his order and wait alone for a good 10 minutes just looking out the window.

Laughter – he hears her laugh out loud and like a magnet his gaze immediately gravitates towards her. His heart melts as he listens to her burst of laughter and watches as she covers her mouth and looks around the restaurant embarrassed of the attention they were drawing. He watches as she playfully slaps his shoulder and he laughs along with her. She was glowing and cleary she was very happy. Again his jealousy made its presence felt and he forcibly turns away trying to find ways to bury whatever it was he was feeling at the moment. She continues to burst out laughing every now and then and he couldn’t take it any longer. He couldn’t resist his urge to get up and make his presence felt to her. So, he calls for the waiter and asks for his food to be packed up so that he could eat elsewhere. As he is leaving the restaurant he feels guilty about the things he was feeling so he takes his phone and dials his girlfriend’s number. No answer. He tried again but still no answer. She must be busy at the moment he thought to himself. He made his way back to ABS-CBN and he heads over to the room where their workshop was going to be held and had lunch there.

He was sitting on the floor with his legs crossed at the back of the room reading his script when she entered the room.

“Kanina ka pa?” he hears her ask from the door.

He looks up and sees her walking towards him, her script in hand, and answers “Medyo, dito na ako kumain eh ikaw?”

“Ha? Kakarating ko lang...” she answers not realizing that wasn’t what he had meant.

He chuckles at her response before rephrasing his question “Saan ka kumain?”

She covers her face with her script embarrassed, now realizing how foolish it was to think he was asking about how long she had been there. With a soft giggle she answers “Oo nga naman noh? Obviously kakarating ko lang...” she looks over at him and loses her train of thought as she looks back at him intently gazing at her. He's smiling at her waiting for her to respond to his question. Getting a hold of herself she closes her eyes tightly for a moment and then answers "Uhm, saan ako kumain? Jan lang sa tabi tabi..." She turns away again blushing, embarrassed of what had just happened.

He’s just about to aske her who she had lunch with but decides not to because he honestly didn’t care to hear her tell him plus he already knew who she was with so why open up the topic. He also secretly feared that it may cause the conversation to focus on this special someone of hers and he really didn’t care to hear her gush about him.

There is an awkward silence between them for a brief moment. She’s biting down on her lip and fiddling with her fingers while he has his head bowed down as he flips through his script. She clasps her hand together, unable to bare the silence any longer, and sighs out loud. He looks over at her curiously and she coyly smiles at him. He smiles back at her briefly then looks back down at his script. She purses her lips as she looks back down at her watch praying that time would move faster.

10 more minutes – 10 more minutes before their workshop was schedule to start. He continues to read his script and she leans her head back on the wall trying to think of ways to pass time. It was only ten more minutes but it felt like a lifetime. The silence just got too unbearable for her so she blurts out the first thing that comes to mind.

“So, anong bago...” she begins.

But then she was interrupted when their director walked through the door and said out loud “Oh. Nandito na pala kayong dalawa, shall we begin?”

Sigh of relief. Time to get to work.

TBC