Come On, Make Me (COMPLETED)

Chapter 44

#COMM

Chapter 44

I couldn't hide from my family, most especially when my parents knew that I came home. I just needed to get my story straight. Wala sa mga kapatid ko or cousins ko ang may alam kay JJ... I didn't want to see them because I hated lying straight to their faces. I owed them so much. They saved my ass countless of times before...

But I wanted to fix everything with Jasper first bago ko sabihin sa kanila. I figured din kasi na mas magagalit sa akin si Jasper if alam ng buong family ko, tapos siya lang iyong walang clue... Kaya ilang taon kong tiniis na ako lang at si Addie ang may alam... It's just better that way...

The less people know, the better.

JJ's safety is the risk that I'd never take.

"Pasalubong?" Psalm asked upon seeing me.

"Close tayo?" I replied, prompting my other brothers to laugh.

"Many things may change, but your kasungitan will remain the same," Psalm said, grinning at me. They all hugged me and told me that they missed me. Kulit talaga nila.

My brothers hounded me about my life abroad. I was starting to worry because they had so many questions! It almost felt like they were just waiting for me to slip! Did Dad tell them? But he promised me that he wouldn't tell anyone!

"What made you go home?" Psalm asked.

I shrugged. "Dad made me."

"Really?"

I nodded. "Yeah... Cindy's engagement or something," I said. Truth be told, I could get away with not coming home for that. It's not as if I was close with Cindy... maybe it's just my psyche telling me that it's time to go home. Addie was right; I ran for far too long. I needed to come home. Hindi naman pwede na lagi akong nagtatago... And JJ's growing up... I knew that one day, he'd get tired of asking me about Jasper and he'd want to see him himself.

And I wanted to be the one to tell Jasper. Ayoko na dagdagan iyong galit niya sa akin kung sa ibang tao pa niya malaman iyong tungkol kay JJ...

"I still think this is bull," Psalm said.

"Just let them be," Saint said.

"But they're making a mistake."

"Exactly. It's their mistake. Let them learn their own lesson. This is not our problem."

"Baliw ka ba? Cindy's our sis. Of course I care."

Saint shrugged. "Yeah, I know, but she decided to accept Parker's proposal. She's not a kid, you know? She knows what she's doing."

My forehead creased. I knew some stuff, but I couldn't really understand what was going on. I mean, sure, napapag-usapan naman sometimes, but I wasn't all that interested in Cindy's love life, no offense. I had a lot of shit going on. When I was pregnant with JJ, I had a lot of guy asking me out—which was freaking weird! I was pregnant! I thought they had some weird fantasy about pregnant women or something! It was creepy! And after JJ was born, I was busy with JJ... I had no time to keep up with people's lives.

They shut up when Maven and Gen arrived. I smiled. Gen's nice. I mean, 'di ko naman siya as in sobrang nakaka-usap, but when I do, nagkaka-sundo naman kami. She's fine. A bit small, but pretty. And from what I heard, pretty stubborn, too. Maybe that's what Maven liked about her. I'd always known that Maven would end up with someone who'd challenge every word he'd say. Because otherwise would be boring for him.

Gen went outside habang kausap ni Maven si Auntie Beatrice. Ugh. I should've known na makikita ko siya dito sa bahay nila Abuela.

I wanted to drink because the tension was so fucking palpable, but I didn't think being drunk around these people was the best idea. Mamaya kung ano pa ang masabi ko! Auntie Beatrice's like a hound dog! It's like she could feel if there's a problem that she could use for her sick entertainment!