Between Hate and Love

Chapter 22

La Union was hella far. I made myself comfortable at sitting at the shotgun seat, pero ang hirap gawin nu’n lalo na’t kami lang ni Khal sa loob ng sasakyan. Gusto ko sanang i-request na buksan namin ‘yung radio, kaso nang maalala ko ‘yung nangyari nu’ng nakaraan ay napailing na lamang ako.

Khal put all my baggages at the car trunk. Buti na lamang at nag-overthink ako kaya’ marami ako’ng dalang gamit. Still, one week would be long at marami siguro kami’ng gagawin.

Khal was driving as he was telling me what to do. Ayon sa kanya, we would be staying in a hotel sa La Union, then he would meet some people there, have lunch and dinner meetings, surveying of different areas, and many more that I wasn’t able to recall.

“Stick with me all the time,” habilin niya.

I checked the ipad, and there was his schedule. I guess he already arranged some of it. I rechecked the emails to make myself busy.

“Nag-breakfast ka na?” tanong niya sa’kin. Nagulat ako dahil sa tanong niya, but I tried to keep it casual. Wala siyang binabanggit tungkol kagabi kaya wala rin ako’ng binabanggit na kahit na ano tungkol doon.

“Hindi pa,” tugon ko. It was true, hindi pa ako nag-aalmusal dahil nakatulog ako matapos ko’ng mag-ayos.

Hindi sumagot si Khal, pero maya-maya lamang ay nasa drive thru na kami. Tinanong niya ako kung ano’ng gusto ko, at saka niya inorder ‘yon.

Sa isang oras na biyahe namin ay nagtataka na ako. He seemed… nicer. Mukhang nasa good mood siya, pero hindi talaga siya nagsasalita ng kahit ano tungkol sa nangyari kahapon.

So, I decided to ask about it.

“About last night,” panimula ko. It got Khal’s attention and he glanced at me through the rearview mirror. “Are you alright? Is there… something more that I could do?” tanong ko.

Khal didn’t answer. It took him several seconds before saying, “No. Thank you. I’m sorry if I pester you, it won’t happen again.”

Umiling ako. “You did not pester me. It’s actually fine… uhm,” I tried to find the right words to tell him, but I ended up saying, “If you need my help, I’m just here… Sir.”

The Sir at the end of my sentences feels really odd.

Khal smirked, but not in the way that would make me drop dead. It was a mocking smirk. Humigpit din ang hawak niya sa manibela. “Not gonna trust that anymore, because the last time I badly needed you, you weren’t there.”

Natahimik ako dahil sa sinabi niya. Dapat talaga hindi na ako nagsalita!

I pursed my lips… “Khal…”

“What, Ms. Reyes?” tanong niya sa’kin. His tone was indifferent.

“Nothing, Sir,” sagot ko at tuluyan nang tumahimik.

I messaged Venera that we were already on our way. Nagrereklamo rin ako sa kanya tungkol sa nangyari pero inaasar niya lang ako.

From: Venera Girl

Ginusto mo naman yan. Gaga ka kasi. Tuwang-tuwa ka naman kasi 1 week mo kasama.

I could not and I would not deny that. One week with Khal would either make us better or would make us worse. I was hoping it would be the former.

Dalawang oras na kami’ng bumibiyahe nang magpasya si Khal na huminto sa isang gasoline station.

Habang nagpapagasolina siya ay dumiretso ako sa comfort room. La Union was around four hours drive, at nasa kalahati pa lamang kami, pero parang pinapatay na ako sa katahimikan naming dalawa.

I tried to break the silence many times, pero ayaw talaga ni Khal. Palagi niya ako’ng binabara at binabalik niya sa akin lahat ng ginawa ko no’n. Hindi ko naman siya masisi, pero nakakainis pa rin!

I got a soft served ice cream para kumalma bago ako bumalik sa kotse niya.

Nang makabalik ako sa sasakyan ay mayroon siyang kausap.

“Okay, I’ll let you come, only because your father talked to me. Just, please listen to him and to whatever that I would say. This is a business trip, just a simple and local one kaya papayag ako,” Khal explained.

I wondered kung sino ang kausap niya pero hindi na ako nagtanong, kasi baka mamaya ay masamain niya ‘yon.

Nagsimula ulit ang biyahe naman, but I noticed na bumalik kami. “Where are we going?”

We went into a subdivision and then later on, it hit me—Sarah would be joining us.

Wow. Fun.

Sarah was already standing at the doorstep of their house. She had luggages and she was wearing a bright yellow maxi summer dress with a huge summer hat and eyeglasses.

Hindi na kailangan pa na sumagot ni Khal dahil nasa harapan na namin ngayon si Sarah.

Bumaba ng sasakyan si Khal kaya sumunod ako. Sarah immediately smiled nang makita niya si Khal, she ran towards him and hugged him. Then, lumabas ng bahay si Mr. Sangson.

I greeted them and when Sarah looked at me, she rolled her eyes and handed me her bags. “Bring all those inside. Ingatan mo ha, eveyrthing’s expensive!”

Kinuha ko ‘yung bag niya at saka inilagay ‘yon sa trunk, all while mocking her and rolling my eyes.

Mr. Sangson and Khal talked for a bit while Sarah was hugging Khal’s arms. Habang ako naman ay nakatayo na malapit sa koste, pinapanood sila.

When everything was settled, Mr. Sangson waved his hands goodbye. I opened the shotgun seat, and Sarah came running to enter the car. “Thanks,” sambit niya sa akin at saka hinila ang pinto para isarado.

I was supposed to sit there!

I looked at Khal, trying to get an explanation from everything that was happening but then he wasn’t looking at me. Pumasok na siya sa driver’s seat kaya naman sumakay na rin ako sa passenger seat.

Akala ko masosolo ko si Khal for a week, but I was wrong.

Kung minamalas ka nga naman talaga. Hays.

Sarah was now chatting with Khal. I swear, I would never get used to her voice. I mean, there was no problem with some people’s voice because that was natural to them, pero iba kasi ‘yug sa kanya. Sobra ang nipis ng boses niya kapag si Khal ang kausap niya, pero kung ako, akala mo’y tigre siya na lalapain ako anytime.