Inescapable Fate

Twelfth

"Stop looking at me like that, you're weirding me out." Saway ko kay Sev. Hindi siya tumitigil sa pagtitig sakin, mag ta-tatlong minuto na ata katapos kong mag confess sakanya.

"Gusto ako ng crush ko." He chuckled. Ramdam ko sa boses niya ang pagka-kilig.

"So? Gusto lang naman e, it's not like I love you." Nagkibit balikat ako. I had to show him na it doesn't affect me, I wanna see his reaction.

"I love you too." Sabi niya sabay tawa. Uminit kaagad pisngi ko. Ugh! This devil in front of me, I wanna strangle him!

"Thank you Alexis." He said. Dahan-dahan niyang inabot ang aking kanang kamay at hinawakan 'yon. My hand fits perfectly with his, it was like a puzzle made by Cupid himself.

"Thank you for?" I curiously asked him, ba't niya ako pinapasalamatan? Wala naman akong naibigay sakanya ah?

"Thank you for liking a dumbass like me." He chuckled. Kinilig ako sa sinabi niya. He made it sound like I was a blessing to him. Nilapit niya ang kanyang ulo sa noo ko at hinalikan ito.

My heart was erratic that night. Nawala yung alak sa sistema ko, tila ba'y sinampal ito ng hangin papalabas sa aking katawan. It was only 1am, we could hear the laughters of my cousins and friends pero we don't care.

I was with him, and he was with me. We're fine.

Umayos ako ng upo at tumabi ulit sakanya. Tumingala ako para tumingin sa mga bituin. "What's your dream?" I ask Sev without looking at him.

"Hm. I just want to become successful, wala naman akong choice dahil yun ang gusto ni mom at dad for me." He sighed. I noticed the burden in his voice.

"What do they do for a living ba?" I waited for his answer. "I mean, your parents." Pahabol ko.

"They're both doctors." He non-chalantly said.

"Oh." Nag-isip pa ako ng pwedeng itanong. I wanna know more about him. Kung may slam book lang ako dito e pinasagot ko na sakanya. "Mga kapatid mo?"

"My younger brother is in Kinder, tapos kung kuya ko naman ay nagme-med, 2nd year na siya." Hindi parin niya binitawan kamay ko. He intertwined our fingers and I let him, kahit hindi ako sanay. Better late than never, ika nga.

"Okay." Tumahimik na ako, I don't want to bombard him with questions kaya oonti-ontiin ko nalang muna.

Narinig ko ang pagtawa niya kaya napatingin ako sakanya. "What?" I asked.

"Nothing. Hindi ka ba mag kwe-kwento? Ako lang nag kwento dito. I also wanna know more about you Ocampo." Tinapatan niya ang mga titig ko, walang bakas ng pag aalinlangan sa kanyang mukha. He loves staring at me. That's for sure.

Tumikhim ako at sumandal sa railings. San ba ako mag sisimula? Hmmm. "Okay. So as you can see, my dad's not around." Hindi siya sumagot pero ramdam ko ang pagtango niya. "He left us 13 years ago. Sa kadahilanang kelangan daw niya hanapin ang sarili niya. Bullshit right? May anak na siya, ano pa hahanapin niya?" Hinigpitan niya ang hawak sa kamay ko na tila bay kino-comfort ako. "He's the CEO of Tesio Company, have you heard of it?" I asked him.

Tumango siya. "That's the pharmaceutical company na sikat na sikat."

Ah, so alam niya. "Yeah. My dad is a pharmacist actually, tapos nag proceed para mag doctor. Daddylo forced him, tapos pinapag business naman siya after. Akalain mo yun? Ilang taon ka sa medical school tapos paglabas mo itatapal sa mukha mo yung enrollment form para sa kursong business?" Napansin kong nag ra-rant na ako kaya tumigil na ako. "Anyways, he met my mom habang nag me-med siya. Si mama yung top 1 ng class nila kaya nagustuhan siya ni daddy, he loves a challenge sabi pa niya samin dati. Mama was a challenge for him kaya sinuyo niya ito. They studied together, passed exams together, celebrated together. Until nag fourth year sila, he got her pregnant with us." I had to stop para huminga ng malalim. "He was so happy lalo na nung nalaman niyang kambal ang magiging anak niya. Kaya yun, nag propose siya kay mama. Ikinasal sila sa huwes at doon sila tumira sa side nila daddy dahil may school pa siya. Daddylo and mommyla loves us pero hindi nila matanggap yung nangyari kaya ayun, pinilit talaga nilang magtapos si daddy. Si mommy naman, wala, stay at home nalang muna." Tiningnan ko siya. I smiled bitterly at him.