Moving Into My Brother's House

Chapter 24

Hi! Yes, I'm still alive. Lol. Sorry ang tagal ko na namang mag-update. May project lang ako na kinailangang tapusin so yeah. Mas priority na isulat 'yon. Huhu. Anyhow, I shall try my best to update more often. Aryt?

Thank ya'll for reading! :)

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When AJ parked the car, I swear to God I think I saw fireworks explode right before my eyes. I didn't know how he managed to know that I really want to go to this place but oh my gosh. I think I'm in heaven right now!

"Tara?" AJ asked and I just give him a nod in response. Hindi ko maipaliwanag yung nararamdaman ko ngayon e. Naghahalo yung saya at excitement ko at feeling ko, hindi talaga ako makakapagsalita ng matino dahil dito.

Pagpasok namin sa loob ng bookstore, gusto ko ng umiyak sa saya. I've always wanted to live in a place like this - puno ng mga libro. The sight and the semall of books are making me grin like a fool but I didn't care. AJ has seen me in my worse scenarios already. I am in my happy place and right now, walang makakapigil sa akin!

"Where should we start?" Tanong ni AJ sa akin and that's when I realized that I didn't have enough money with me. Allowance ko lang for the week ang dala ko and it can only buy, more or less, three books. Three books were not enough for a book haul in a place like this.

"Hey, what's wrong?" AJ asked. He must have noticecd the change in my expression. I was happy one minute then sad the next.

"Nothing." I answered. Ayaw ko namang sabihin na dahil sa kulang yung pera ko kaya ako nalulungkot ng ganito di ba?

"Sinong niloko mo? Alam ko yung mukha mo kapag may problema ka."

"Ano naman 'yon, aber?" I challenged him.

"Ganyan mismo. Nakabusangot." Sagot ni AJ kaya tinignan ko siya nang masama. Bago pa man maipagtanggol yung sarili ko, nagsalita na ulit siya.

"Come on, mag-ikot na tayo. Kailangan nating makapili ng sampung libro bago tayo makakaalis dito."

Wait. Tama ba yung pagkakarinig ko? Sampung libro ba talaga yung sinabi ni AJ? Shemay. Nananaginip yata ako ng gising.

"Tangek! Wala sa budget ko yung sampung libro! Tatlo lang yung kaya ko."

"Mas tangek ka! Sino ba kasi ang may sabi na ikaw ang magbabayad ha?" Tanong ni AJ sa akin and it left me speechless. What did I do to deserve all of these? He's giving me too much and it's more than I could ever wish for. Totoo ba talaga siya? Hindi kaya pinagtitripan lang ako nito? Baka after nito, pabayaran niya naman sa akin yung lahat ng pinagbibigay at pinaglilibre niya sa akin.

Still shocked from what AJ has said, he just held my hand and then we proceeded to the YA section of the bookstore. Pagkakita ko sa mga libro, gusto ko ng sumuka ng rainbow! Ang dami kong gustong bilhin tapos hindi ako makapili kung ano ba yung uunahin ko. Shet. Ang hirap naman nitong gustong mangyari ni AJ e!

"Darn it. Ang hirap naman nito." I told myself, not realizing that I said it a little too loud. Narinig din tuloy ni AJ. Imbis na i-comfort ako, pinagtawanan niya lang ako.

"Stop laughing. This is a very serious matter, okay?" I told him and instead of bickering with me, he just suggested books to me. Wait. When did he become a reader? As much as I know, puro sports lang naman yung iniintindi niya.

"Kailan ka pa natutong magbasa?" I asked. AJ then looked at me and it's as if he was expecting this question all along.

"The moment I knew that I liked you. If wanted to get to your good side, I thought I needed to like the things that you like as well. And then reading, aka book hoarding, was one the things that stood out. So there."

"Tss. Baliw ka na talaga!"

"Oo, baliw sa'yo." He continued and when I faced him, he even had the nerve to wink at me. Oh my god. Ang lakas na talaga ng toyo ng lalaki na 'to!

Hindi na ako sumagot sa sinabi ni AJ. I transferred all of my attention on the rows of books that were surrounding me at that moment. Kapag may nagugustuhan akong libro, chinecheck ko agad yung reviews. If the reviews were positive, inilalagay ko na agad sa basket na bitbit ni AJ and if they were negative, balik sila sa shelves na pinanggalingan nila.

After going around the YA section over and over and over again, AJ and I sat on the floor to check out the books that I got. Magsisimula pa lang sana kami nung biglang kumalam yung sikmura mo.

"Shit. Sorry!" I said. AJ then looked at me and said, "Bilisan na natin 'to ng makakain na tayo. Halos two hours din pala tayo nandito." Pagtingin ko sa orasan ko, nagulat ako. Akala ko ilang minuto pa lang kaming nag-iikot! Paanong naging two hours 'yon?

"Okay. Let me just check the books one last time." I answered him tapos nalungkot ako bigla. I got fifteen books on my basket and I didn't know which books I should let go para sampu lang yung maiuwi ko. I was choosing which books I would keep when my stomach made irritating sounds again. Lalo tuloy akong nahirapang mamili dahil sa gutom.

"Okay, that's it. We're going to buy all of those. I can't bear watching you do that while I know that you could be dying from hunger. Let's go." Sabi ni AJ tapos ipinasok niya ulit lahat ng libro sa basket. Papunta na sana siya sa cashier nung pinigilan ko siya.

"AJ, stop. This is too much. Sampu lang yung napag-usapan natin di ba?"

"Stop overthinking. Mamaya na natin pag-usapan yung sumobrang lima. Kailangan mo ng kumain." Sagot niya sa akin then he paid for everything. He carried all of the fifteen books papunta sa sasakyan niya and I can't help but wonder kung ano bang pumasok sa utak niya at dinala niya pa ako dito. Unang una, napagastos na siya nang sobra. Pangalawa, naging tagabuhat ko pa siya. Luging lugi siya sa lakad namin na 'to. Gustuhin ko mang itanong yun sa kanya, hindi ko naman magawa. Baka kung ano na naman kasi ang isagot niya sa akin.

After mailagay ni AJ yung mga libro sa backseat ng sasakyan, pumunta na agad siya sa driver's seat. He didn't ask kung saan ko gustong kumain. Nagdrive na lang agad siya papuntang The Fort Strip tapos after niyang magpark, dumiretso na kami sa isa sa mga resto doon. Umorder na agad siya ng pagkain para sa aming dalawa without consulting me. If I didn't know him that long, I would have thought that he was so controlling but that's just not the case. We knew each other for a long time at kilala na namin ang isa't isa.

"That's about it. Please serve the soup first then can we already have two glasses of water?" Sabi ni AJ sa waitress. Um-oo naman agad yung waitress tapos after a few minutes, dumating na yung soup at yung tubig namin.

"How did you know that I was craving for pasta and pizza?" I asked him.

"I didn't know. This is the first resto that came into my mind." Sagot naman niya. Oops. Pahiya naman daw ako. Akala ko pa naman nahulaan niya na gusto ko talaga ng pasta at pizza.

"Sabi ko nga. Just forget whatever I said." I told him then he just shrugged. After that, he started eating na. What on earth happened to his sweetness? Bakit parang naglaho bigla?

I was about to ask him another thing about this resto and his choice of food nung biglang may nagtext sa akin.

From: Kuya

Wag ka masyadong maniniwala sa pinagsasabi ni AJ.

Nagtanong 'yan sa akin ng favorite food mo.

Enjoy eating Kat! :)