Sweet Serendipity (Sweet Series Book 1)

Chapter 6

Don't.

Chapter 6

I can't believe it. I'm looking at myself in this freaking mirror and I can't believe what I'm seeing right now.

May dalawa akong pimples. Isa sa noo. Gitnang gitna. At isa sa right cheek. Guess what? Parehong malaki.

Nakuha ko 'to sa kakaisip.

Damn it, that's for sure. I should stop overthinking. I should stop staying up at night way too late. I should rest.

Tama. I should tell Allan and Jaycee na magbakasyon kami. Tambobong, maybe?

Tapos naman na iyong renovation ng beach house namin do'n. Maybe we could stay there for a couple of days. Aayain ko sila agad at the end of this month.

I swear. I need a vacay badly.

Five days na mula nung nakachat ko si Vince. I'm quite guilty, though.

Mas okay kaya kung nireplyan ko nalang siya noon? Mas okay kaya kung nakipag kaibigan nalang ako? Pero hindi, eh.

Something's pulling me back.

Wala lang talaga siguro akong panahon para sa mga ganiyan sa ngayon. Ni hindi ko nga mabigyan ng sapat na oras ang sarili ko... Tapos magpapaloko na naman ako sa panibagong lalaki? Huwag na, 'no!

Pagtya-tyagaan ko nalang si Allan at Jaycee. Kung naging tunay na lalaki lang ang mga iyon... Nako! Pinatulan ko na. Biro lang.

....

Nasa office ako ngayon at nag aayos ng mga files dito sa ledger. I should finalize all these paperworks. Para before mag July, pwede na ako magbakasyon.

Pumasok si Allan sa opisina ko.

"Aems," Hindi siya makatingin sakin ang diretso.

Umupo siya sa upuan sa harap ng table ko. He looked stressed. Kung na i-stress ako, parang triple ata iyong hitsura niya.

He has black circles under his eyes. Eyebags to the max. Wow.

Tsaka parang ang tamlay talaga niya. What's going on? He's hiding something. I know this kind of look.

"Yes, beng? What is it?" I stood up para ibalik yung mga ledger sa mga files sa cabinet. He's still not looking directly into my eyes.

Wait... is he crying?

"Oh my God why are you crying? What happened?" Lumuhod ako sa harapan niya.

Hinawakan ko ang mga kamay niya at pinisil nang marahan. Damn it.

'Di ako sanay na ganito siya kalungkot. What seems to be the problem?

Two days ago ang saya saya pa niya no'ng pinakita niya sakin iyong mga bagong damit niya na binili niya sa isang online shop. Tapos ngayon... Ganito ang nakikita ko?

"Si Jaycee e. I asked for a cool-off," Umiiyak parin.

Nagulat ako sa sinabi niya pero hindi ako nag-panic. Baka lalo siyang umiyak.

"Wait. May problema ba kayong dalawa? Why did you ask for a cool-off? Did you guys fight? What happened?"

Sa dami ng tanong ko puro iling lang ang naisagot niya sakin. They didn't fight, what happened then?

Inangat niya iyong tingin niya at pinunasan ang tumutulong luha, pinunasan ko din ang ibang lumalandas na luha sa pisngi niya.

"I got confused. Last month pa, actually. Aemy I need to tell you something. But... Please. Don't you freak out. And please. Don't tell anyone. Okay?"

Namilog ang mga mata ko pero tumango ako pagkatapos. This makes me sad.

I was so busy dealing with my own shits these past few weeks at hindi ko napansin na may pinagdadaanan din pala tong bestfriend ko.

"Of course beng, sino pabang ibang secret keeper mo kundi ako hindi ba?" I flashed him a weak smile.

This time, he's tightly holding my hand.

"Beng, super dilemma lang kasi. Mama called me last month and she said naayos na niya yung papers ko for abroad. Pinapasunod ako ni mama sa London. I've never seen mom for seven long years. Beng you know exactly how I feel about this. I miss my mom so much. I know Jaycee knows about how I long for mom, too. But when I told him about it yesterday, he went nuts. He got mad. I don't know how to handle him that's why I asked for a break. Not the 'break' break. I just needed time to think about this. Three months lang naman ang hinihingi ko sakanya para makasama si mama e. Wala ba siyang tiwala? Of all people, I thought he knew how I wanted to see mom so bad. It's making me real sad that he can't understand my feelings." Sobrang umiiyak na siya. I don't really know what to say now but I tried to calm him down.

"You know what, beng? Why don't you just talk this one out and settle it before... You know. 'Wag nang cool-off. Kasi minsan yang cool-off na 'yan, dumideretso na yan sa break up e. You see, I quite understand Jaycee. It's not that he doesn't want you to see your mom. Maybe he just wanted assurance. That... You will still come back to him after three months. Beng, three months is not a joke. That's a total of 90-93 days at sa loob ng mahabang panahon na iyon maraming pwedeng mangyari. Right? Maybe he's just thinking about that. And when you asked for a cool-off, you just made him feel like there's no assurance between you and him. Kasi ganoon mo kabilis pinagdesisyunan na magcool off kayo. Na nandito ka palang, kaya mo nang humingi ng ganoong bagay. Paano pa kaya pag nasa London ka at naiwan siya dito. Hindi ba?" I hugged him after saying those words. He didn't say anything. Alam ko namang makikinig siya sakin e.

Tumayo na kaming dalawa at nagpunas siya ng luha.

"Pero uhmm... beng can we chill tonight? I need alcohol talaga. Super. I need to sleep soundly tonight, samahan mo ko? My treat. I promise to talk to him tomorrow. Please beng?"

How can I resist you right now, Allan Garcia Teng?

"Alright, pero isa o dalawang buckets lang ng beer ha?"

"Lol. No, beng, who said na magbi-beer tayo? We're having hard liquor tonight. All on me," Tapos umalis na siya ng office ko, hindi na ko nakatanggi.

Hoy, Liver. Ready ka na nyan, okay?

7 PM nang umalis kami sa office ni Allan. Kotse na niya iyong ginamit namin. Nag offer ako pero sabi niya sayang iyong gas ko.

Iniwanan namin iyong kotse ko sa building nila. Kumain muna kami sa Chilly's Diner.

9 PM na nang umalis kami sa Chilly's at nasa daan na kami papuntang— Wait.

Saan nga ba kami magchchill ng baklitang 'to?

"Hey, where are we going to burn our livers?"

"Uhhmmm. Maxine by the Sea? I heard tapos na iyong renovation ng bar nila. Let's check it out. Hayyy. These are the damn moments I miss our Baguio life. Namimiss ko na mga chill places natin doon."

"CAFE WILL!" sabay na sabay naming sinabi. He's right, I miss Baguio, too.

But wait. Saan na nga ba ulit kami pupunta? Maxine? By the sea?

Holy cats in hell makikita ko siya do'n!

Don't Allan. Don't take me there. Please.

I'm a dead meat tonight.