Badboy's Addiction (Badboy Series 2)

Chapter Fourteen

I feel like my skull is getting banged by a hammer, but even so I still managed to pull my butt off the bed to do my morning rituals. It's day three of my fever now, but I feel a little better now unlike the last two days which I felt like I'm dying. At least now, my head is the only one aching.

I cooked myself breakfast, and while I'm eating I texted Ryder to greet him good morning like I usually do and called Emmanuel after. It's not long before he answered my call.

"Good morning, Nuel!" I greeted him cheerfully. "Kamusta ka na? Pakiramdam ko ang tagal nating hindi nagkita!"

"Good that you know, and good thing that you finally decided to call me." As expected, he was pissed. Who wouldn't? I wasn't answering his calls and weren't replying to any of his messages.

"I was stuck in my bed for the last two days, I just called to ask for your help if that's okay."

"Is there something wrong, Ashley?" he asked worriedly.

"Pasukan na kasi sa school next week, I'll buy few stuffs and I think na-enroll na ko ng tatay ko sa eskwelahan. Oh, at saka, uhm..." Tinusok-tusok ko ang isang piraso ng bacon sa lamesa ko, "pwedeng makihiram din ng konting pera?"

He was quiet for a second, I closed my eyes tightly and crossed my finger, hoping to get a yes from him.

"Ash, what happened to your savings?"

"Oh, my savings! Uh, you know, it's complicated." Bumagsak ang balikat ko at tinulak ang plato ko palayo at inuntog ang noo ko sa lamesa.

Naintintindihan niya siguro ang ibig-sabihin ko kaya hindi na siya nagtanong at pinahaba pa ang usapan na pinagpasalamat ko naman.

"Sure, I can buy you stuff that you'll need. You don't need to pay me back though."

"Hayan ka na naman, ang sabi ko manghihiram ako at babayaran kita kapag meron na akong pera. Saka may inabot din namang pera si Mama sa akin kahit konti, konting pera lang naman kaylangan ko pandagdag lang sa budget ko."

"Pero, Ash—"

"Period! Anyways, hihintayin kita dito sa bahay, ha? Bye!" I ended the call, I pulled my plate back to me and resumed eating.

I'm relieved that my mother is not home, I'm free to invite Emmanuel, thinking about it already makes me excited. Nanghihinayang pa rin ako sa perang nawala sa akin pero may natutunan ako duon. Simula ngayon ay iti-triple sure ko nang hindi na ako mawawalan pa ulit at may ideya ako kung paano.

Tinapos ko ang pagkain ko, hinugasan ang pinagkainan at nilinis ang hapag. Humilata ako sa couch pagkatapos at matiyagang naghintay kay Emmanuel. Nakatitig ako sa kisame, kinakanta ang 'Ikaw Lang Sapat Na' ni Maris Racal. Ilang minuto ang lumipas at narinig ko na ang pamilyar na tunog ng motor ni Emmanuel sa labas.

Mabilis akong bumangon at agad-agad na lumabas ng kabahayan.

"Hi!" I walked towards him, grinning.

Nang makababa na siya ng motor niya at sinalubong niya ako ng mahigpit na yakap. Medyo nagulat ako sandali kaya hindi ako nakapagreak kaagad, pero dahil na-miss ko rin siya ay ginantihan ko ang mahigpit niyang yakap.

He buried his face on the crook of my neck, I even though he inhaled my scent as he hugs me tighter than before.

"Wow, you missed me this much?" I asked, giggling.

"Yep," was his only response.

"Sorry, I was sick and I was too lazy to even bother with my phone." At ayoko rin na pag-alalahanin siya non.

"Who took care of you?" He caressed the back of my head gently, I feel like melting underneath his touch.

"Uh, myself? Sanay naman akong mag-alaga sa sarili ko tuwing nagkakasakit ako. Hindi na bago sa akin iyon."

"And how are you now?" He put his hands on my shoulders and pulled away. He stared at me intensely, I pouted and looked away.

Dang, I missed him a lot. I miss my other friends, too, but what I feel for Emmanuel felt different than what I feel for them. I don't really know what's the difference.

"Medyo masakit lang ang ulo ko pero konting-konti lang naman," I honestly answered. "Sa tingin mo ba hindi galit sila Addi na hindi ako nakakapag-perform kasama niyo?"

"I'm sure they know you have a reason, kilala ka nila and I'm sure they'll understand. But are you really feeling well though?"

"Okay naman ako, my headache's bearable naman."

"Bakit ngayong araw mo naisipang bumili ng mga gamit mo pang-eskwela?" tanong niya pa.

"Balak kong magpakalunod sa trabaho sa natitira kong araw simula bukas, magre-resign na rin ako sa work ko sa café kapag pasukan na. Study first kasi dapat muna."

"Kakagaling mo lang pero magpapakalunod ka na naman sa trabaho?"

"Iyon nga 'yong punto, ilang araw akong hindi pumasok sa trabaho at bawas 'yon sa sweldo ko. I'm working overtime nang mabawi ko 'yong mababawas sa sweldo ko. This school year be my last year in highschool, kaylangan kong makapag-ipon ng pang-college ko."

"I can pay—"

I pressed my finger on his lips and glared at him. "No, ayokong gawin mo iyon, Nuel. Problema ko ito at ako ang magpapasan at ako ang maghahanap ng solusyon. But of course, I won't mind accepting little help, I'm not that stubborn."

He grabbed my hand and pulled it down, looking at me curiously. "Anong klaseng tulong 'yong kaylangan mo?"

"Uh... Can I maybe ask if I can trust my savings to you?"

"What?" He asked, looking confused now.

"I still don't have a bank account 'coz, you know, wala akong ideya kung paano gamitin yon and I don't think I'm legally allowed to have that yet, I don't know, I just need someone that I can trust my savings to. I know that sounds really silly but I..." Huminga ako ng malalim at pinikit ang mga mata.

"Why will you trust your money to me?"

"Simply because I trust you, of course."

"You trust me?" He asked in a bitter tone, I looked up at him and saw how irritated he looked. "You trust me yet you keep lying and hiding things from me."

Nabigla ako sa sinabi niya, hindi ako nakasagot dahil guilty ako sa tinuran niya. Umiwas ako ng tingin, nag-iisip ng pwedeng paraan nang maliko ang usapan namin sa temang iyon.

"You know what? Let's just go." He sighed, deciding to give up on me and I feel relieve about that.

"Don't you want to come inside first? To eat?" I asked nervously.

"Nakakain na ako."

"S-sandali lang, ila-lock ko lang ang bahay." Pumasok ako sa bahay para kuhanin ang susi ng bahay, purse at phone ko. Kinandado ko ang pinto ng bahay at patakbong bumalik kay Emmanuel. Nauna siyang sumakay ng motor at inalalayan ako pagkatapos.

Nanatili siyang tahimik at ganoon din ako.

Well, so much for inviting him over...

"Nuel, I don't mean to make you mad. Ayoko lang na kinakaawaan ako, ayokong kaawaan mo ako."

"That only means you don't really trust me."

"Uy, pinagkakatiwalaan kita no. Ayoko lang na mag-alala ka, kaya huwag ka nang magtampo. Ayokong magalit ka sa akin." Nahihiya akong yumakap sa bewang niya, ang pisnge ko ay nakadikit sa matipuno niyang dibdib. "If it makes you feel better, I promise that I won't lie to you from now on."

He was silent for a couple of seconds until he looked at me over his shoulder, I pulled my face off his back to meet his eyes.

"You mean that?"

I smiled and eagerly nodded as my answer for him.

...

I tugged Emmanuel with me inside the bookstore inside the mall. Pumunta ako sa section ng mga school suplies at pinili ang mga kagamitang pinakamura pero sinigurado ring matibay at hindi mabilis masira. Kumuha ng shopping basket si Emmanuel para paglagyan ko.

"That's all you'll buy?" Emmanuel asked in surprise when I announced that I'm done.

"I'm poor, don't be surprised. At ayokong humiram ng malaking pera sayo at baka hindi ko lang mabayaran."

He smirked. "That was my plan."

"Manahimik ka." Nailing ako sa kaniya at natawa nalang.

Binayaran na namin ang lahat sa cashier, nilagay ang mga ito sa dalawang supot ng plastik na may tatak na logo ng mall at saka kami umalis. Balak ko sanang umuwi nalang agad ngunit hinila ako ni Emmanuel papunta sa isang fast food.

"Kumain muna tayo bago umuwi, it's already lunch time." He guided me inside a simple fast food.

"Libre mo?"

"Oo at ang libre ay hindi binabayaran, Ash. Mayaman ako kaya hindi mauubos agad pera ko." Saad niya na may kasamang kindat.

I just rolled my eyes at him and let him do whatever he wants. I let him pull me towards a table for two, una niya kong pinaupo bago siya. Tinabi niya sa paanan namin ang mga pinamili naming school supplies.

"Pumili ka ng gusto mong kainin sa menu and I'll fall in line." Inabot niya sa akin ang book menu na tinanggap ko.

"Just chicken with rice, hamburger at apple juice nalang." Binalik ko sa kaniya ito pagkatapos.

"Then I'll order the same as your. Should I order pizza, too?"

"Ikaw bahala."

"Do you eat hawaiian pizza?"

"Oo naman!"

He nodded once he settled our orders, stood up and went to fall in line to the counter. It took five minutes for him to come back with our orders already listed at the counter, there's a lot of customers today so I'm not surprised.

I'm surprised that he didn't brought me to a fancy restaurant in this mall, I'm grateful about that or else I won't be comfortable.

"Let's talk about something as we wait for our orders," he suggested.

"Ano namang gusto mong pag-usapan?"

"Why don't we talk about us?"

"Oh..." I looked away, scratching the back of my ear awkwardly. "A-ano namang tungkol sa atin?"

"You know what I mean, right?"

Pinaglaruan ko ang mga daliri ko sa taas ng lamesa, hindi ako makatingin sa mga mata niya at hindi alam kung paano sasagutin ang tanong niya. Gusto ko iyong iwasan o kaya itanggi ngunit nangako ako sa kaniya kanina lang na hindi na ako nagsisinungaling sa kaniya.

"I mean..." I cleared my throat, "I-i kinda have a slight idea about, uh, what you mean."

"Are you sure you know what I mean?"

I feel like my fever went up once again of how warm my cheeks are.

"I-i don't want to assume c-coz I might be wrong. I want to stay comfortable with you like this, I'm not risking that."

I froze when I felt his hand touched my cheek, my breath hitched and my eyes trained on the same spot, unmoving and my heart was pounding intensely inside my chest.

"We'll see what happens from here." He said genuinely and with gentleness in his voice.

I dragged my eyes up to meet his, he was wearing the warmest and most sincere smile ever. I'm scared to believe the honestly in those eyes, I'm scared to move forward but then at the same time, I'm also curious.

At the end, all I did was nod at his remark. Our order arrived and we started eating and returned to conversing normally. I tried my best to be my usual self, talking about what happened to me in bed while I was sick so that he would stop worrying about it.

I was scared to go towards that topic that is obviously stranger to me. Natatakot ako na baka kapag magpatuloy kami sa pinag-uusapan namin ay baka may magbago sa amin bukas na hindi ko magustuhan, sa katunayan ay kuntento na ako sa kung ano mang relasyon namin ngayon.

I do have a slight idea on what he's talking about and I have a feeling that if I opened my head a little bit more about it, then I might comprehend everything that's happening between us, but instead, I just kept my mind close away from that knowledge.

Nang matapos kami sa pagkain ay hindi pa kami agad-agad na umalis, hindi na rin kami nag-uusap at sahalip ay may sarili kaming pinagkakaabalahan. Habang ako ay tsini-tsek ang lahat ng pinamili ko, siya naman ay naglalaro ng online game sa phone niya.

"I didn't know that you're into gaming, I thought you're aren't the type." I mentioned as I was going through the things I brought.

"Ito pinagkakaabalahan ko sa dalawang araw na wala ka." Sagot niya pero ang atensyon niya ay nasa screen pa rin ng phone niya.

"Aw, akala ko tapos na tayo dyan. Nagtatampo ka pa rin ba?"

Mahinang siyang tumawa. "I'm just cooling my head for a bit since I'm going to do something crazy later."

When we got bored, we finally left the fast food and walked around the mall a little more before leaving. We drove around the town with his motorbike, the calm breeze of air was making me feel a lot better than before.

Instead of going to my house, we first went to his and ate dinner there and it was already night. I was exhausted from the long but fun day, I definitely want to do that again. It's refreshing and exhilarating.

Tahimik kaming nagsalo sa hapag, napagod din yata ang bibig namin sa pagkekwentuhan buong araw. And when I thought that he'll drop me home once I finish my dinner, he invited me to watch a movie with him in the living room.

Ayokong matapos agad ang araw naming magkasama kaya pumayag ako. Nagligpit kami ng pinagkainan namin, tinulungan ko siya na maghugas ng mga ito. Pinauna niya ako sa salas, tahimik akong naupo sa couch habang hinihintay siya na matapos.

Bumalik siya na pinupunasan ang kamay ng hand towel, sinabit niya ito sa coat rack at tila nagmamadali na naglakad patungo sa gawi ko.

"So what do you wanna watch?" He sat beside me, picking the remote on the center table and turning on the TV.

"Ikaw nalang pumili, wala akong masyadong alam sa mga movies. I don't even remember the last time I watched a movie." Nahihiya kong sagot.

"You don't know what movie you're into?" he asked again.

"No..."

"Have you heard of anime?"

"From Ryder, yeah."

"I think you'll be into that, and I know a movie that you'll like for sure."

Hindi ako sigurado sa mga nangyayari sa screen sa harapan ko, wala talaga kong alam pagdating sa mga teknolohiya. Hindi nalang akong nag-abala pa na hulaan ang nangyayari sa TV at hinintay nalang ang sinasabi niyang movie.

"The title is Koe no Katachi, that's the japanese title. In english, it's called A Silent Voice," he explained.

Finally, there was a scene on the screen. Sumandal ako sa sandalan, sa tabi ko ay ganoon din ang ginawa ni Emmanuel. Hindi kami nagsalita at nanatiling naka-focus sa pinapanood. An hour and a half later, the movie ended and my eyes are tearing up for some reason.

It was a nice movie with a good animation. I couldn't believe what I watched is a japaneses cartoon, It almost felt like the scenery were all real. How can anyone draw something like that?

The story was heartwarming. At first, I hated the protagonist but as the story moves by, I was empathising with him. I'm glad that we watched it.

I wiped my tears away when the credits rolled up, Emmanuel finally moved beside me. I turned into ice when he threw his arms around my shoulder, I turned my head to look at him and gave him a questioning look.

"Do you want to watch movies with me often?" He asked with a sweet smile.

I cleared my throat, looking away to hide the blush on my cheeks. "I-i want to, but I don't think I have time."

"Then if you have time, we'll watch movies at home and maybe I can bring you to a cinema? How do you like that?"

"O-okay, I think that's fine."

Natahimik muli sa buong silid, sobrang nahihiya ako dahil sa ayos namin. Gabi na pero nandito pa rin ako sa bahay niya, kami lang dalawa na tila ba isang date.

Namula ang buong mukha ko dahil sa naisip, mariin kong pinikit ang mga mata at napailing sa sariling ilusyon. Not like a date! Not like a date!

"Hey, Ashley?"

I hummed as my response, playing with my nails and fingers on my lap.

"I like you."