I was staring at the puzzle on top of the passenger's seat.
Nandiyan pa rin pala.
Petty, I know. Pero ilang buwan kong hindi ginamit ang kotse ko para pawalain muna ang amoy sa loob ng kotse. I can always make it cleaned. But that was just too expensive.
When I last left it, there's still his smell. Both his perfume and his natural scent. I know cause I love sniffing him sometimes. Ang bango kasi lagi.
Stells calling...
I answered the call, “Oh?”
“Bilisan mo. Naiinip na kami!”
Nilayo ko sandali ang phone sa taenga ko dahil sa sigaw niya. “Papunta na!” sigaw ko pabalik at in-off ang tawag.
I looked at the puzzle again. May missing doon.
Baka nasa kaniya?
Shaking my head, I brushed it off. Baka nandiyan lang sa mga sulok, nahulog.
***
Always, always, uninstall your messaging app or lock your phone away when you plan to drink.
I always know that rule. Ako ng gumawa eh. But I got too tired from my work and forgot to do it bago tumungga ng bote. Ganito sa amin kapag super stressed. Walang baso-baso, tig-iisang bote kami.
Wine lang naman.
Okay, wine na alcoholic. But hey, this won't get me into trouble.
Right?
My head started spinning. I looked at my own reflectiom in the bottle. “Gwen, ano 'tong iniinom natin?”
Nilingon ko si Gwen. Nakangiti na ang lola niyo. “Ewan ko ba. Bago raw 'to eh, sabi ni Kuya.”
Gwyneth Steffani Arellano's brother own this bar. Kaya feeling safe kami lagi. Lalo na ang mga wallet namin. 'yung phone...
Shet. No. Don't think about the phone, Miyah.
“Looking for your phone?” Stella Marie Corazon, law graduate pero hindi pa nagba-BAR kesyo super drained pa raw utak niya.
You're not helping Stell. Please don't tell me.
Natatawa ako. I can feel the vibration from my throat. I don't get myself but I understand why this is happening, at the same time.
Tngina Gwen, what is this?
My hands moved on their own, searching for something inside my bag. I jumped a little after ko makuha iyon. I smiled, I saw my wide smile on the phone's screen.
Gagsh, bakit ngayon pa ako nagface recog? I should've locked it. Pota.
Namalayan ko na lang na nagsoscroll na ako sa contacts. I stared at someone's name for a minute.
Hoshi Espinosa.
Okay, cool.
I am seriously not liking what I'm doing. And at the same time I want this. I wanna hear from him. Sabi nga nila, hindi ibig sabihin na lasing ka, hindi mo na alam ang ginagawa mo. And it's so true.
Yung kapag lasing tayo, same lang yun kapag tulog tayo o inaantok. Minsan, gumagalaw tayo o may nagagawa na hindi natin alam, kasi iyon talaga ang gusto nating gawin subconsciously. O secretly.
So at some point we know but there is a side of us that we want it. In short, gusto pa rin nating gawin.
For sure I am gonna regret this.
