The Lies That We Tell (COMPLETED)

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

It's 9AM at hindi pa rin ako nakakabangon sa kama. Nakatingin lang ako sa dingding at iniisip kung tama ba iyong desisyon ko. I mean, alam ko sa sarili ko na dapat hindi ako pumayag. That was the logical thing to do. If history would be a basis, things would not end well for us. We tried before, but failed. I mean, we did. Barely. But still.

Pero ano ang magagawa ko?

The heart wants what it wants.

'Busy?'

Napatitig ako sa screen ng phone ko nang makita ko iyong message sa akin ni Nikki. I sighed. I knew that I should talk to her. Mas importante 'to kaysa sa mga iniisip ko about Zion. I felt bad that I thought Nikki would go after Zion. She's my best friend. Dapat alam ko na na hindi niya gagawin sa akin iyon.

Mabilis akong nag-ayos at naglakad papunta sa Starbucks malapit sa condo. She was already there pagdating ko. Mukhang stressed ulit iyong mukha niya. I felt guilty again dahil sabi nga ni Gem sa akin na stressed si Nikki dahil sa akin.

"Hey," I said nang makalapit ako sa kanya. "Umorder ka na?"

"Not yet," she replied.

"The usual?" I asked. "Libre ko na breakfast natin."

"No—"

"Please?" sabi ko sa kanya.

She blinked. Nanibago siguro siya sa demeanor ko dahil parang kahapon lang ay halos takbuhin ko iyong distansya nung elevator at condo ko para lang makalayo sa kanila ni Zion.

"Okay..." she said.

"Okay. Wait lang," I replied as I walked towards the counter to order Nikki's usual. I got her the chia pudding and her iced Americano. I ordered French toast and iced macchiato for myself. I stood there and waited. At least if awkward pagbalik ko sa table, I could just focus my attention to eating.

But I couldn't delay this forever.

Ang hassle naman magkaroon ng issue sa kaibigan mo. Buti pa kapag kapatid mo, walang sorry-sorry. Basta isang araw, maguusap na lang kayo ulit.

"Did you read my messages?" she asked.

"Right..." sabi ko. Nakita ko lang sa preview iyong message niya kanina.

"That's fine," she replied. "There's nothing going on between Zion and me. I just have to make that crystal clear."

Tumingin ako sa kanya. I knew that I should tell her na nagusap na kami ni Zion, but a small part of my brain wanted to know kung alam niya na ba iyon. Kasi kung alam niya, ibig sabihin ay naguusap pa rin sila ni Zion. And parang tanga naman kung magseselos ako sa ganon. Kaibigan ko si Nikki, pero hindi ko rin kontrolado iyong nararamdaman ko.

Ang hirap kapag sobrang ganda ng best friend mo—na tipong kahit wala naman siyang ginagawa talaga, para bang alam mo na kayang-kaya niyang agawin kahit sino sa 'yo.

Ano ba ang cure sa insecurity?

"I wanted to tell that to you for so long, but I just got in my head, you know? That if I explained, maybe you'll think that I'm being defensive? I should've clarified immediately, I know. But... I don't know. Can we please go back to normal again? It's so boring without you," sabi niya habang nakatingin sa akin.

"Okay," I said.

"Okay what?"

"Okay naman tayo."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Thank god," she uttered under her breath. "Plus Zion wouldn't shut up about you."

"Really? O baka sinasabi mo lang 'yan?"