MY PRETEND BOYFRIEND

Chapter 19

After David got into the shower room, Sophia started listening to music while waiting for him to ease her boredom. She then looked around the room to assess. Some items had been moved from their previous positions. Cabinets and dishes were pulled to the center of the room. Only expensive guitars were placed on the bed, far from the other objects.

She got up to tidy the textbooks and then piled them up on the bookshelves that had been pulled from the wall before turning to look at the paint color.

This time, it was gray. Anyway, it looked brighter than black.

"David!" she shouted his name while he was in the bathroom.

"What?" he called out.

"What do you want to eat? I’ll go out to buy."

"There are lunchboxes in the fridge. Take them out and heat them in the microwave. Why are you so stupid? Outside’s hot as hell right now."

Wow! She got scolded again.

"Alright, damn it," she replied, but didn’t do anything. She just kept listening to music while waiting for him to finish his shower. Don’t even think that he would come out with a sexy look in a towel wrapped around his waist, with water drops on his body...

Because he came out wearing clothes. Maybe, he’s scared because she would curse him again.

David was wearing a large white shirt and his boxer shorts. He looked so weird to her because she usually only saw him in his uniform or his football shirt.

"Nakatitig ka na naman sa’kin," his low voice spoke. She immediately looked away.

"H-hindi kaya."

"Are you hungry?"

"A little." The tall figure went to open the fridge, took out the lunchbox, and put it in the microwave.

"I only have Tapa."

"If there’s nothing else, that’s fine. How are your hands?" She just realized that his hands hadn’t fully recovered. She didn’t even know if he could still practice guitar.

"Why are you worried about me?"

"... I’ve told you, I’m just concerned about our club."

"You still won’t let me touch your boobs so the wounds haven’t healed yet."

"Gago!"

She heard his soft laughter. They then sat down and ate the preheated lunch boxes while arguing for an hour. This time, her mission was about to begin in exchange for the professional guitar tutorial. But why did she have to invest so much like this? She thought she might cry. Imagine, isang babae at isang lalaki helping each other bring scaffolding into the room. If you ask why they didn’t call anyone else for help, David told her that his friends didn’t know how to get here. Okay, alright. It was just her. Only she knew his secret chambers.

After bringing the scaffolding in, they began their work. The easy tasks went to her; unpacking and arranging furniture in the middle of the room. The hard work, such as painting and whistling, was his job. Fine, she was good with that!

The most extreme task was that the shoe cabinet had fallen upside down during the removal process from the wall. So, she had to rearrange his shoes. But why?

Why did she need to do this? She wasn’t his wife!

She sat and looked at his shoes. Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Vans, and New Balance. Too many shoes! Was this his collection? Damn.

"Whose slippers are these?" she pointed at the USA brand blue slippers before the person next to her turned around to answer.

"Kanino pa ba? Akin ‘yan."

"All of these?"

"Umm. They're very comfortable to wear."

"Should I tell your fans? They’ll buy them for you."

"If it’s someone else’s gift, I won’t use it."

"Whew! What a dignified man!"

"But if it’s from you, I will use it."

"Why should I buy it for you?" David just narrowed his eyes.

"Hey, those near the door, don’t put them in the cabinet."

"Katulong mo ba ako, ha?"

"Katulong sa buhay."

Damn it! She could never beat him. She walked to the corner, trying to move those shoes to the middle of the room. As she saw them, a question popped into her mind.

Do you still dare to call these shoes? She called them rubbish at home. All the shoes were new, except for a pair of Converse and Onitsuka in front.

Why didn’t he use all of them?

Damn!

She kept complaining again and again, but she still did what he asked her to do. The room never fell into silence. Not because they kept arguing but because of the music playing while they worked. Then a knock on the door interrupted them.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Is your friend coming?" she asked, but David shook his head and frowned as if he didn’t know anything.

Knock!

"Open the door," he said. She stood up and turned to open the door.

"Why are there so many newspapers here... Eh? Hi there! Are you David’s friend?"

The woman in front of her looked surprised. She then stepped aside to make way for the person who had just entered without permission.

"She’s my mother."

Awww! His mom looked so young! No wonder David was handsome.

"Hello, good afternoon," Sophia greeted politely.

"Why didn’t you call me?" the person standing on the scaffold and holding the brush calmly asked.

"It wouldn’t be a surprise if I called you! Mom secretly came to see if you have a hidden secret."

"..."

"Please continue what you’re doing. Mom just came to stop by."

How was that possible? Now she felt uncomfortable. What’s more, she was so close to her. She quickly put the fruit she had brought in the fridge and then sat on the bed to watch Sophia and David.

"What’s your name?"

"I’m Sophia Laurel po."

"David’s friend, right?"

"Yes."

"Hmmm... Strange. He usually doesn’t bring anyone to his room."

"It’s not strange." David hurriedly denied it. His mother just nodded and then walked around the room. Sophia didn’t know what to say or do. She didn’t even know where to stand. Although his mother was being very hospitable, they both knew there was still a wall between adults and young people.

A wall of respect and consideration.

"Come and help me paint. Don’t just stand there like a lost child. And stop panicking."

"What the..." She was about to curse but immediately closed her mouth. Considering his mother was here, using dirty words meant looking for trouble.

"These shoes should have been thrown away. They look worn out."

Before she could hold the brush, her body rushed toward David’s mother at full speed.

"Tita, shoes ko po ‘yan."

"They’re Sophia’s? I thought they were David’s."

Uhm... Hello? I think your son’s shoes were more tattered than mine! She heard a giggle from the woman and then turned back to help David paint.

"So, why are you painting your room? You didn’t want any other color, right? Just black."

"Someone doesn’t like it, so I have to change it."

"Who? Your girlfriend?"

"A friend."

"That’s a shame. Why don’t you have a girlfriend? Are you shy?"

"Mommy..." Now, Sophia understood. She knew where David got his annoying habits from. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

"Sophia, let me tell you something. David has never had a girlfriend."

"Is it true po, tita?" Oh ho, her eyes widened when she heard his mother. Seriously? A popular man who was loved by thousands of people had never loved anyone? Or maybe he had one but didn’t tell his mother.

"Yes! I only found porn DVDs when I tidied up his room."

"Mommy, kay Daddy ‘yun!" He quickly replied.

"So, Sophia, have you ever had a boyfriend?"

"Yes!"

"How many?"

"Nakarami na rin po, Tita. Pero wala ring nagtatagal." After saying that, they both laughed. She was the real player.

"Help my son find a girlfriend. He’s not interested in anything but..." She then stopped talking and took a deep breath as if trying to hold back her tears.

"..."

"David, I know I lost you since that day..." So dramatic.

"..."

"The day you bought your first guitar, and you’ve forgotten me." Now, Sophia felt pity for his family, but...

Don’t laugh... Self, stop it. Don’t laugh!

Hahahahahahahahahaha. But it was funny!

After that, David’s mother talked with them for half an hour. The reason she was there was that David’s dad had some government business to do, so they flew from the US to the Philippines. His mom left some apples and KitKats for them.

Now, the dark room had changed to a cool indigo. This was an American-style room that she liked. She wanted to ask for leftover paint to bring it back to her room so she could paint her walls too.

"Hey, I want to know something."

David sat on the floor while peeling apples and putting them on a plate for Sophia to eat.

"What now?"

"Your mom said that you’ve never had a girlfriend. Is that true?"

"As she said."

"Really? Incredible."

Should she believe him? How could such a rare item like him survive? Or was it because he had such an annoying attitude? But which person wouldn’t like someone as handsome as him?

"So, what kind of person do you like?"

"Why?"

"To help you find a girlfriend."

"Not your f*****g business." Damn, that hurt! But she’d better stop pushing. Let him do whatever he wants.