Married to an Asshole ☑️

Chapter 13: His World and Mine

Summer | His World and Mine

"Mer, no way, you look so good. You pakasal na lang me, make hiwalay Kaiser na, he's walang kwenta naman," sabi ni Mads habang patuloy sa pagpili ng damit sa department store at hagis nito sa loob ng fitting room. May limit naman talaga sa maipapasok mo pero inaway niya 'yong saleslady kaya ayon, nasindak naman ang kawawang ate.

"Mads, seriously, parang wala naman akong maitatago dito. People can literally see my ass crack, ass crack, Mads! Maitim at flakey, malala pa sa budhi nila," sabi ko mula sa loob. The clothes she was picking out were cute and all but they revealed too much and I neither have the confidence nor the assets to make them work.

"Really? I want to see!" Aba ang gaga, parang excited pa. Sometimes, hindi ko alam anong tumatakbo sa pag-iisip ng babaeng 'to pero most times, hindi ko gusto malaman kasi parang nakakatakot at baka ma-trauma ako ng 'di oras.

"Gaga, ayoko nga," narinig ko naman ang pagtawa nito. Maniacal laughter if I had to be specific.

I heard her sigh, "Fine, fine. You make subok the top, it's very chic." I took one look at it and I knew this wouldn't be good for me. If the plunging neckline didn't give it away, the gaping hole at the back surely would.

"Ma—ds," hindi ko mapigilan ang mapasigaw, "my bosoms are sticking out, sure ka bang top 'to? Top ha at hindi bra."

"Bra? That's a crop top, a cropped top, it makes sense."

"Oh yeah it, makes sense," sarkastiko kong sabi, "ang hindi ko lang naman maintindihan ay kung bakit mukha akong tinaling manok na handa nang ihawin?" Sigaw ko pabalik at hintak pabukas ang pintuan ng cubicle. "Plano mo ba akong lutuin, aminin mo nga. Ano lechon manok ba, ilagay sa sabaw, prito, ano? Bibilhan na lang kita sa grocery, 'wag namang ako 'yong lutuin mo."

Hindi siya makapagpigil ng tawa niya, sa sinabi ko o sa appearance ko, hindi ko alam. "Okay, fine, why don't we look for things you found cute but never got to wear before?"

I squinted, sounds like a trap, "Talaga? Walang bawian, walang catch, walang kondisyon?"

"Wala, promise." Nagsimula kaming lumakad sa direksyon kung saan ang stores na noon ay palagi kong tinatanaw, 'yong akala kong hanggang tanaw lang. "For the record, you'll make a great tinolang manok."

"Mads, pucha naman oh," reklamo ko at humalakhak lang siya hanggang nakapasok kami sa unang boutique.

Gabi na nang makarating ako sa bahay, muntikan pa kaming masiraduhan ng mall kasi sinasabi kong nilubos-lubos namin ang oras namin doon. Umuwi ako na iilang bag ang dala galing sa iba't ibang stores sa mall. Papa, sorry pero parang malulugi yata tayo sa shopping spree ko ngayong araw, courtesy of Madeline's convincing skills.

Hirap na hirap kong dinala lahat ng binili papasok ng bahay. No'ng kinukuha sa trunk ng sasakyan ni Mads ay natulungan niya pa ako pero hindi na sa pagpasok kasi na-realize niya na curfew pala niya 9 at mag-aalas onse na. Ang kaibigan kong 'yon, 'di halatang may pagkatanga no?

Sa pagbukas ko ng pinto ay nagulat ako nang nakita ko si Kaiser nakaupo sa sofa. Bakit gising pa 'to? Sa bagay, siguro hindi natutulog sa gabi ang mga halimaw, nocturnal gano'n.

Tumayo siya sa inuupuan, "Alam mo ba anong oras na? Bakit ngayon ka lang? Saan ka ba galing?" Pake naman niya kung kailan ako uuwi, as far as I know, we aren't on good terms and we've established we abhor each other too much to care what the other is doing.

"Lumabas ako kasama ang kaibigan ko pero ano naman 'yon sa'yo? Hindi tayo magkasundo kaya you aren't fit to ask me anything," may pagkataray kong sagot. Why did I even bother answering him? But it was the truth, imposible namang bigla siyang tinubuan ng concern para sakin ng gano'n gano'n lang matapos ang lahat ng ginawa niya. "Pagod ako, aakyat na ako para makapagpahinga," sabi ko at diretsong lumakad sa hagdan. This isn't some fiction novel where the male character just suddenly falls in love with the ugly betty, napaka bilis naman ata no'n. This is real life, that is impossible. Tapos ano, malalaman ng female lead na bet lang pala at pinagtitripan lang siya, naku. Okay, fine, maybe I've been reading too much but you get the gist.

I stopped in my tracks when he grabbed my arm and took the bags I was carrying, but didn't move from where he appeared in front of me, "Look, I'm sorry. Naging gago ako, hindi ko inasam na masaktan ka ng gano'n. I took it too far and I— I just want to be friends with you at least." The sincerity in his eyes almost made me tumble backwards. Buti na lang ay may kaunting ilaw na dahilan kung paano ko nakita ang mga mata niya, kung hindi ay tiyak na hindi ko mapapaniwalaan ang sabi niya. But he looked and even sounded genuine and it took me off guard. Ito ba ang dahilan kung bakit panay katok niya sa kwarto ko nitong nakaraang buwan?

"Kaiser, pagod ako ngayon. Pwedeng mag-usap tayo bago umalis for school tomorrow?" Tanong ko sa kaniya. This isn't because I was stalling o kasi gusto kong pahabain pa para ma-guilty siya ng husto. I just think that this will be a long conversation and it's late, we may be too tired to say the things we want to say. "Gabi na at siguradong pagod na tayong dalawa, usap tayo first thing in the morning," and hopefully things can go back to the way they used to be. Where he stays in his world and I stay in mine, without doing anything to disrupt each other.