Chapter 19: Call

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#HHFM Chapter 19:

Call

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"Cali, sino'ng kausap mo?"

I raised my eyebrow and stifled a chuckle. Cali's face quickly turned red, burning up to her ears.

I peeked at Ryo who was sitting beside me. Napatunganga siya sa laptop screen ko na parang may nakitang katakot-takot na kung ano.

Cali threw something to her left; it was probably a pillow. Her eyes were wide with warning. It was too late, though. The camera caught Nate beside her, hair damp and only with a towel wrapped around his waist. Umalog nang bahagya ang camera niya, iniiwas siguro sa direksiyon ni Nate.

I couldn't help but chuckle. She was trying her best to hide their relationship from us, but I'm her best friend, so she was bound to fail. I tapped Ryo's knee. Para kasing nagyelo na siya sa puwesto niya. He looked at the screen with horror. Hindi ko alam kung dahil ba sa ngayon niya lang na-witness sina Cali at Nate habang alam na niyang may something doon sa dalawa, o dahil ba nakita niya si Nate na nakatapis lang.

"Who was that?" I asked when Cali finally settled back on her seat. She looked like she was going to cry any minute because of embarrassment. Alam ko namang si Nate iyon, nakita ko at narinig pa ang boses. Gusto ko lang na marinig kay Cali at mapaamin ko.

"Ewan," she answered, averting her gaze. Her frown was replaced with a scowl when Ryo suddenly burst out laughing.

My hand on his knee stayed. Bahagya ko iyong pinisil para senyasan siyang huwag masyadong asarin si Cali dahil baka mag-away sila. He didn't seem to notice my signals though. Para siyang mauubusan ng hangin katatawa.

"Ano'ng nakatatawa?" Cali asked. Ryo kept on laughing. Ipinatong niya muna ang baso ng juice sa mesa.

We were outside, resting. Raiko was with Tita. She insisted for some alone time with her grandson and we let her. Ryo and I could use a few hours of rest.

"Ikaw. Pinatulan mo si Nathaniel? Akala ko ba ayaw mo ro'n?"

Cali shook her head repeatedly. I smiled.

Come to think of it, I don't think she had a serious relationship when we were in college. May mga crush siya, may nakakasamang mga lalaki, pero iyong ipinakilala niya sa aking boyfriend talaga, parang wala. Or maybe she was just hiding things from me. From the outside, she seemed to be the less uptight, the outgoing, and the friendly one between the two of us. Ni hindi ko man lang napansin na marunong din siyang maging mahiyain sa mga bagay-bagay.

"Anong pinatulan?!" Lumikot ulit nang bahagya ang camera niya. She settled on the corner of a bed—of someone else's bed. "At sino'ng sinasabi mo?"

Talagang itinatanggi pa niya kahit huling-huli na namin. Maybe she was planning to tell me, pero lately, lagi ko na ring kadikit si Ryo kaya hindi siya makahanap ng tiyempo. Natatakot sigurong maasar ni Ryo nang sobra.

"Where are you staying?" I butted in. Cali's mouth hung open, but no words came out. Lalo akong napangiti roon. I've been to her aunt's house, so I know what it looked like. I'm most certain that the room she was staying at belongs to someone else. Even the shirt she was wearing was new to my eyes. It looked too big on her.

"Sa bahay lang," sagot niya. I shook my head.

"That's not your bed," I added. Nanulis ang nguso niya. I chuckled.

"Sa bahay nga lang, nagpalit kaming kobre-kama," pagpupumilit niya. I nodded, though I wanted to argue that the bed frame was different, too. Bumili rin ba sila ng bagong frame?

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