Take Me Back To The Night We Met

Chapter 8-Suspicious

[Akina Dein Archangel]

"W-What do you mean?" defensive na tanong ko kay Miggy after he asked me if I have a crush on Sir Bryan.

"Wala. Tanong lang." He rolled his eyes before turning to Sir Bryan. "Sir Bryan, I'm Miggy. Bestfriend ni Akina."

Sir Bryan smiled at him. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Sino pong dinalaw n'yo?" Miggy asked the obvious. Parang gusto ko tuloy siya batukan. "Si Tita Akira po o si Akina?"

"He's here to visit my mom…of course," I said, lowkey nudging his waist with my elbow to warn him.

"Gusto ko lang kamustahin si…Akira. Hindi niya yata nakwento sa inyo na naging magkaibigan kami noon," nakangiting sagot ni Sir Bryan.

Miggy nodded his head. "Pero bakit Akira lang ang tawag mo sa mommy ni Akina? Hindi ba mas matanda siya sa 'yo ng 12 years? You should've called her Ate Akira instead."

My brows met while looking at Miggy to see if he was joking but his face says he wasn't. He looked serious.

I looked back at Sir Bryan but he doesn't seem affected by Miggy's interrogation. He laughed instead.

"Ayaw niya kasi na tinatawag ko siyang 'ate' noon kaya inalis na lang namin ang formality."

Miggy was about to throw a question again but I interrupted him.

"I want to buy some coffee. Samahan mo 'ko," aya ko kay Miggy. Hindi siya nakatanggi nang hilain ko siya sa braso hanggang sa makalabas kami ng room.

"Ayaw mo ng coffee, 'di ba?" he asked me innocently.

"Yes but I had to say that para tumigil ka na." I rolled my eyes before walking past him. Sumunod naman kaagad siya.

"Bakit mo ako pinapatigil sa pagtatanong kay Sir Bryan?"

"You were throwing so many questions as if suspicious ka sa pagkatao niya," I reasoned out.

"Hindi nga siya nagrereklamo kaya okay lang 'yon!"

"Let me ask you first." I stopped walking and blocked his way. "Why did you ask me if may crush ako sa kaniya?"

He blinked. "E-Eh kasi makatingin ka kanina wagas, eh!"

"Nakatingin lang ako and it doesn't mean anything!"

"Okay! Pwede padaanin mo na ako?!" He tried to walk past me but I blocked his way again.

"I have another question," I told him.

"Ano?"

"How did you know na si Sir Bryan 'yon? I haven't introduced him to you yet pero nakilala mo na kaagad siya kanina."

He pursed his lips when I asked him about that. He even looked away.

"N-Nahulaan ko lang."

"And the way you ask him those questions…parang suspicious ka sa relationship niya with my mom. What do you know about him?"

Hindi lang ako nagsalita kanina pero halata ko kay Sir Bryan na malaki ang naging koneksyon nila noon ni Mommy. Should I ask her…or maybe my Dad?

"Hindi mo ba nahalata? Nag-effort si Sir Bryan na bumalik dito sa ospital para dalawin si Tita Akira. Hindi rin niya tinawag na 'ate' si Tita kahit mas matanda ito. Ano sa tingin mo ang maiisip ko?"

I bit my fingernails, thinking about it too. Imposible ang iniisip ko pero pwede rin na maging posible. I clearly remembered how my mom's face lit up when she saw Sir Bryan yesterday.

"Have you ever met two people with a huge age gap who fell in love with each other?" I asked him out of the blue.

"Kita mo? Naisip mo rin na may something sa kanila! Pero huwag mong masamain, ah! Hindi ko sinasabi na nag-cheat si Tita Akira kay Tito Juancho pero—"

"N-No." I shook my head, trying to ignore what my mind was saying. "She can't do that."

But it's not impossible. Mom never showed her affection to Dad. There's a big possibility that she cheated on my dad with Sir Bryan.

"No. I shouldn't think of it this way. Wala tayong evidence." I tried to look on the positive side.

"Tama ka. Pero paano kapag totoo—"

"I won't allow anyone to ruin my family, Miggy." My hands formed into fist. "I will make their life miserable."

Lumaki ako nang puno ng pagmamahal mula sa mga magulang ko. Hindi ako papayag na masira kami ng isang tao lang.

Dumiretso kami ni Miggy sa chapel instead of buying some coffee. I prayed that my mom would get through this. I also prayed to protect my family.

Pagbalik namin sa private room ni Mom ay nagpaalam na rin si Miggy at sumabay na sa pag-uwi with Tito Arnaldo and Tito Gil. Sumama si Dad sa kanila para ihatid sila sa labas.

As I thought my mom was alone inside the room, I forgot about the last guy who visited her—Sir Bryan. I saw him sitting beside my mom's bed while she was already sleeping peacefully.

"You are the strongest woman I have ever met, Akira. Hindi ka dapat sumuko nang ganito," he told my mom. I stood in the doorway, trying not to make a peep so that I could hear all he had to say.

"I can still remember the moment we met. Ang sabi mo malungkot ka pero hindi mo sinasabi sa iba kasi may pinoprotektahan ka. I want you to think of that person…na kapag hindi ka lumaban, ano ang mararamdaman niya? Siya lang ang rason mo para patuloy na mabuhay kaya bakit ka susuko?"

Habang nakikinig ako sa mga sinasabi ni Sir Bryan kay Mommy ay unti-unti kong nare-realize ang mga sinabi ni Miggy kanina. There's something the way he look at my mom and nakikita ko 'yon ngayon. Concern was evident in his voice too.

Who are you, Sir Bryan? Sino ka sa buhay ni Mommy?

Sir Bryan turned his head toward me, as if he sensed my presence. He was a little bit shocked when he saw me standing at the doorway.

"Kanina ka pa riyan?" he asked me as he stood up.

"Yes," I replied so fast with no emotion on my face. I crossed my arms and stepped forward until I stopped in front of him. "And narinig ko ang mga sinabi mo."

His lips parted a bit. Parang may gusto siyang sabihin but he chose to shook his head.

He sighed. "So…what do you want to ask me, Akina?"

"How do you see my mom?" I asked seriously. "I heard you were also her friend aside from my dad, but the way you talk to her like you know everything about her life…I don't know, eh. Parang may something."

I want to know his connection with my mom. Siya ba ang dahilan kung bakit hindi magawang mahalin ni Mom si Dad?