Bad Times at Sunrise (La Fortuna Series #3)

Kabanata 34

Kabanata 34

My Girl

Mabilis ko siyang tinulak palayo sa akin. Somehow, his skin on my skin made my insides swell, and not in a good way. Nang masigurong tuyo na ang mga luha ko ay matapang ko siyang hinarap. He shifted on his weight. Bahagya akong nagsising umiyak ako at naabutan niya pa talaga sa ganoong ayos.

"I didn't mean to be late," he said, his eyes weighing me and my next move.

"Ayos lang." Sinubukan kong ngumiti para huwag nang humaba pa ang usapan.

He did not look satisfied with my expression. "I couldn't reply to your texts because I left my phone in my office. A patient needed urgent care so I didn't really think about it," he continued to explain. "Dumaan ako sa cafeteria upang batiin si Dr. Lim para sa kaarawan niya. My coworkers insisted on me staying even though I already told them I have plans."

"Wala kang dapat ipaliwanag," kumbinsi ko bago umiwas ng tingin. "It's late. Maybe it's better if I go now. Kahit sa ospital mo na lang ako ihatid. Mahirap na kasing makahanap ng sasakyan kapag mas nagpagabi pa ako."

"I can drive you home if you want..."

"There's no need. At pasensya na rin kung kailangan mo akong ipag-drive. It's rare for other vehicles to come here so I can't really hire a cab."

"It's okay. I'll drive you to the hospital."

Tahimik kami habang nasa biyahe. Inisip ko kung itatanong ko ba sa kaniya ang tungkol sa paglagay niya kay Minerva sa priority list. Puwede pa naman kaming mag-usap sa ibang panahon, pero ba't ko pipiliing makita pa siya ulit 'di ba? We're together now. Might as well maximize our time. Hinintay ko munang makapark siya sa parking lot bago nagtanong.

"Why did you meddle with Mineva's situation? Hindi mo na dapat ginawa iyon," malamig kong panimula.

Binalingan ko siya ng tingin at nakitang titig na titig siya sa 'kin, nananantiya at mukhang takot magkamali. I thought he would look away but he braved my gaze.

"It's just a simple act of kindness," he said.

Hindi ko napigilang mapabuga ng matalim na hininga. Pakiramdam ko ay tumaas ulit ang dugo ko sa pinaghalong galit at iritasyon. I really didn't want to be mad at him because it makes my heart hurt, but I also hated how he always uses this reason to justify his suspicious deeds.

"Yeah right," I mocked. "Because that's all people like us really are to you, right? A fucking charity case."

Agad siyang napatuwid ng upo. "That's not-"

"E ano? Kasi ang hirap paniwalaan na ginagawa mo lahat ng 'to dahil trip mo lang. Mabuti kang tao, oo, napatunayan mo na 'yon. Pero hindi naman kami ang nararapat na makatanggap ng tulong mo. In case you forgot, La Fortuna hates us. We committed crimes! People call us disgusting and gold diggers all the time."

He licked his lower lip. Dumaan ang sakit at galit sa mga mata niya na siyang ipinagtaka ko. Para saan ang mga emosyong iyon? Tumambol ang puso ko sa 'di ko malamang dahilan. I could not take it anymore. Umiwas ako ng tingin at tahimik na kinalma ang sarili.

"That doesn't mean you don't need help." His voice was calm and controlled.

"I just don't get why you're so involved in this. Dapat ay kinamumuhian mo kami, lalo na ako." Sumibol ang isang mapait na pakiramdam sa puso ko. Nilingon ko siya at banayad na tinitigan. "I'm sorry, but I think you should stop helping us. It's just so hard to trust you right now."

"But I want to help you and your sister. If it's really too hard to trust me right now, then just think about it as my way of improving the hospital's reputation. Helping your sister would also benefit me as a member of the board."