Epicenter Tape #2: Point in Time

#PIT29

#PIT29

The click of his tongue resounded on the line as if he's hesitating for a second.

May sasabihin siya... sana iyon. I feel frustrated about the thought of he would never tell me or he would. Gusto ko sanang iyong huli ang gawin niya pero sino ba ako para mag-expect doon.

Naiinis ako dahil nasasaktan na agad sa una kahit ayaw ko aminin sa sarili. Kung hindi siya magsasalita tungkol sa presensya ng ex girlfriend niya ay baka mabigat ang loob ko sa mga susunod na araw.

"And Yuli's here, too."

My chest heaved. Finally, I can breathe now. I swallowed quietly to save my drying throat, even with my trembling heart—I still feel that I could trust him, nangiti ako ng tipid.

That really matters to me, huh.

"Ah, okay..." I bit my tongue and let go after a second of thinking what to say. "Uhm, binisita ka?"

"Mhm..." he hummed softly. "Jax is here, Hesperus will be here, too."

I pursed my lips, blinking.

"Please, don't think of something impossible. We're not alone here, I just can't throw her out."

I chuckled. "You're over thinking, I'm not holding anything against her. I'm fine, you're fine."

Thank you for not giving me a heavy heart.

I heard him sigh. "I won't do anything, sana hindi ka mag-iisip ng masama. And I also want to be clear, gusto ko sanang magsabi ka rin sa akin kapag ayaw mo o kung hindi ayos sayo kahit pa wala kang nakikitang mali. Iba naman iyong pakiramdam mo. It's important to me to hear para hindi rin bigla kang hindi mamamansin o mabigat ang loob."

I licked my lips that eventually stretched into a smile.

I just realized that it was something I'd want to hear from him, always the truth even knowing that I didn't want to talk about Yuli that much—he didn't cover up and that's very relieving for me. In return, I must do the same thing because I don't want to accept truths in disguise.

"Okay..." I replied.

"Thank you." He chuckled. "How do you feel now?"

"What do you mean?" may gulat sa tanong kong iyon, alam niya ba na iyon ang gusto kong marinig? Obvious ba ako? Hindi naman siguro niya ako nakita kanina.

"I mean, right now? Kasi kung ayaw mo, puwede naman akong magpaalam at magpapahinga na lang sa apartment. This is unexpected, too. Ajax just informed me that she was waiting outside," malamyos niyang paliwanag.

Napakurap-kurap ako. Damn it, I didn't expect it was fluttering to hear kahit hindi naman kami mag girlfriend-boyfriend. I was more relieved that he's explaining and it's clearer now.

Kasi alam ko ngang nakablock na iyong numero sa kanya kaya nakakataka.

"No, it's okay. Hindi mo iyan kailangan gawin." I sucked a deep breath. "Just..."

"Just?" he asked attentively that my face heated that I may sound weird. "Just what, hmm? Come on, Haukea..."

My heart thumped, I gasped and lifted my head up.