Between Hate and Love

Chapter 29

The second day in La Union ended in a blur. Napagod ako sa biyahe at pag-ikot sa iba’t-ibang parte ng La Union dahil sa rami ng lupa ng mga Asuncions at hindi magkakalapit ang mga iyon.

Sarah was still mad that I slept on the bed with her, pero wala siyang nagawa. Halos itulak niya ako pero nang sinamaan ko siya ng tingin ay tinalikuran niya ako at saka siya nanahimik.

I woke up earlier the next day. Mag-aayos kami ni Khal ng kontrata dahil may kailangan kami na i-edit. Kaagad ako’ng nag-ayos at nagbihis. I wore a simple yellow summer dress and quickly went downstairs. Pakiramdam ko’y maagang nagising si Khal dahil marami siyang kailangang asikasuhin na papers, imemeet din kasi namin ‘yung attorney for the contract.

“Good morning, Sir,” I greeted Khal. I was right, he was already at the cafeteria, having breakfast. Hindi siya sumagot sa pagbati ko, he only instructed me to eat and then follow him at the lounge later. Matapos nu’n ay umalis na rin siya kaagad. Hindi nga niya inubos ‘yung pagkain niya.

My forehead creased and my eyebrows almost aligned. He was so cold! Hindi rin niya ako tinitingnan nang maayos, tapos ay iniwan niya pa ako. I guess his kabaitan was just a trial card, he was back to the Khal that ‘I didn’t know.’

I sighed heavily and had my breakfast. Kaunti lamang ang kinuha ko dahil wala rin naman ako’ng gana. I immediately followed him.

Nang makarating ako sa lounge ay nandoon na rin ‘yung attorney na inaasahan namin. They were already conversing and Khal was noting something on the contract. When he saw me, he gave me the paper and I immediately looked at it. As usual, there were notes and he asked me to edit it immediately.

I sat down beside them and started rewriting the papers through his ipad, gladly, the office in the building has a printer so we would not have a problem about it.

The meeting with the attorney was done after an hour, and just a few minutes afer their conversation, I was done editing too. Gladly, I saved all the files online, so I was able to edit it rather than retype the whole thing.

When the attorney left, Khal handed me the papers. Then, in my peripheral vision I found River looking at us.

Khal probably caught my eyes. He shook his head and quickly stood up, leaving me without any words.

Ano ba ang problema niya?

Nagmamadali ko’ng kinuha ang mga gamit ko para sundan si Khal. I saw River coming my way, so kaagad ako’ng umalis. I didn’t want to interact with him or tell anything to him. Bakit ba kasi sa lawak ng Pilipinas ay dito pa siya napadpad?

“Wait, Khal!” pagpigil ko sa kanya. “I mean, Sir! Wait,” paghabol ko.

Khal looked back at me with a disappointed expression, “What more do you need, Ms. Reyes?” tanong niya.

That was when I realized, ‘bakit ko nga ba siya hinahabol?’

It was out of impulse. Umalis kasi siya kaagad tapos nandoon pa si River, so I immediately followed him.

I wasn’t able to answer.

“See, you don’t know.”

Khal scoffed and shook his head. “Give me the copy once you’re done with it. Iwan mo na lang sa kwarto ko. Then you can leave,” malamig na wika ni Khal. He strided a few steps away from me and then decided to walk back to me, leaving an inch gap between us. “Oh, by leaving, I meant, you can go back to Manila. I don’t need you here anymore.”

Para ako’ng sinaksak sa sinabi niya.

He didn’t need me anymore.

Parang simula naman nu’ng una pa lamang ay hindi niya ako kailangan. I needed him more than he needed me. And that was before, and even until now.

Back then, he was my support system and he was the one that keeps me standing on my feet. Tapos ngayon, hindi naman niya talaga kailangan ng assistant. In actuality, mas kaya niyang trabahuhin lahat ng mag-isa, kaya lamang yata siya kumuha ng assistant ay para magkaroon siya ng kaunting pahinga.

He was asking me to leave.

Hindi ako sanay na paalisin niya.

I gulped a few times. Pinigilan ko ang pagtulo ng luha ko. Wala ako’ng naisagot sa kanya at nang makaalis na siya, that was when I realized that I was holding my breath.

Para ako’ng nanghina nang tuluyan na siya na mawala sa paningin ko. Quickly, I went to the bathroom to calm myself down. Binasa ko ang mukha ko at saka pinakiramdaman ang sarili ko.

Hindi ko alam ang gagawin ko. He was pushing me away again!

To: Venera Girl

He’s telling me to go back to Manila. River is here.

I informed Venera. Kailangan ko ang opinyon niya tungkol sa nangyayari. Ayoko’ng bumiyahe sa Manila ng mag-isa.

Venera called me in an instant.

“Ano?! Nandiyan ‘yung gago mo na ex?!” bungad sa akin ni Venera. Her voice was loud and she was pissed. “Sinundan ka ba niyan? Ang lawak ng Pilipinas, gaga ka! Bakit nandiyan ‘yan?!”

I shook my head as if she could see me. “Hindi ko rin alam. Nagulat na lang din ako na naandito siya. Do you think it was the reason why Khal was asking me to leave? He was nice to me already, before River appeared out of nowhere!” pagsusumbong ko.

Venera sighed loudly. “I don’t know anymore. Lahat kasi kayo magulo takbo ng utak. But I hate your first ex more than Khal, so whatever. Susunduin ka namin ni Hendrix diyan, but tomorrow na lang ng morning. Is that fine?”

I immediately said yes to Venera.

“Haynako! What would you do without me?!” Venera chuckled.

Yes. Ano nga ba ang gagawin ko kung wala siya sa buhay ko? I would be a lot lonelier and wala ako’ng tagapagligtas.

“Ewan ko sayo. Thank you, and see you tomorrow.”

I ended the call and sighed deeply.

I did what Khal asked me to do. Nang matapos ko ipa-print ‘yung contract, I went to his room and knocked a few times.

Hindi siya sumasagot.

Gusto ko siyang kausapin, magpapaalam din ako na bukas na lamang ako babalik ng Manila.

I wanted to know why he was asking me to leave, ‘yung malinaw na dahilan, hindi ‘yung dahil lamang sa hindi na niya ako kailangan.

Kung puwede nga lamang ay kausapin ko na siya para humingi ng tawad at magpaliwanag tungkol sa lahat ng nangyari. Sana handa na siya na makinig.

Ilang segundo na ako sa pinto nang mapansin ko na bukas ito. I knocked a bit louder and the door opened a bit.

The room mirrored ours almost perfectly. In the dim light, Khal was perched on the edge of the bed, his lips locked with Sarah's in a fervent, primal kiss.