All Over Again

CHAPTER 19: Sprung

Venice's POV

Ako: You know... Now that I think about it... Siguro, uuwi na lang ako.

Jerwin: Uh, nahh.

Jerwin parked the truck sa usual parking spot niya.. I stared at the building in front of us.. Parang bigla siyang naging haunted building --dapat katakutan, dapat iwasan. T-T

Jerwin turned off the engine and then hopped off the truck. I still didn't move. Nung umikot sya papunta sa side ko, I locked the doors from the inside. Hindi ako baba dito. H.I.N.D.E.

Jerwin: Venice?! Let's go!

He started knocking on the window, careful na hindi masyadong rough sa uber-loved nyang truck.. Pero sinisigawan naman ako.. wahahaha kala nya ba tatalab sa'kin yang sigaw-sigaw na yan?!?

Ako: NOO!! Ayoko!

I saw him take out his keys. Pumosisyon naman kagad ako, na as soon as he pressed the unlock button, binaba ko ulit ung lock.

Jerwin: Will you stop doing that?!?

Ako: Will you stop forcing me to go?!?

He pressed the unlock button again, and this time, I wasn't fast enough, kaya nabuksan nya ung pinto. I almost landed on my face nung biglang nawala ung bintana sa harap ko. Good thing Jerwin caught me.

Ako: I don't wanna go. T-T I slapped somebody.

Jerwin: At least you didn't punch her. And you don't have any scratches or bruises...

Ako: Nicole was bruised?!? O_O

Jerwin: Her arms and legs. Now, can we go?

He grabbed my arm and tried to pull me out of the truck.

Jerwin: Do you mind letting go?!?

Mas lalo akong kumapit dun sa side nung truck. Jerwin tried to pry off my fingers.. Itsura na lang namin..

"Uh.. You two look.. happy."

Napatingin ako sa likod ni Jerwin, and si Jerwin naman, taking advantage of the distraction, hinaltak ako and offff I went out of the truck. He immediately slammed the door and locked it.

Ang sanctuary ko.. T^T

I turned to glare at the newcomer na nang-distract sa'kin -- only to find Nicole standing there -- being her usual fashionable self. -__-

Nicole: Venice! You were called too?

Ako: Yeah. Ikaw din?

Nicole: Yeah. T^T

She suddenly grabbed my hands and looked into my eyes.

Nicole: We'll get scolded together. Stick with me, and I'll stick with you. T^T

Ako: We shall be punished together. T^T

Jerwin: Kung ayaw nyong madagdagan ang sermon snyo, maybe we should start going now.

Ako: Should we start praying, Nicole?

Nicole: If we manage to get out of this unscathed, I assure you, I'll offer novenas to.... some saints.

Jerwin: Oh for crying out loud.

Sinundan na namin ni Nicole si Jerwin papasok nung building. Somehow, medyo na-ccomfort akong nandito si Nicole. At least, mahahati ang sermon ni Tito Ray.

We stopped in front of Mr. Santos' office as the secretary announced we're here.

Ako: Alam mo.. It's not too late to run

Nicole: He'll hunt us down. Trust me. I've tried.

Pinapasok kami nung secretary, and nagtago kagad kami ni Nicole sa likod ni Jerwin -- just in case biglang may flying na kung ano na aimed at either one of us. Mr. Santos was sitting in his big, comfy chair when we walked in. When he saw us, he immediately pointed to the two chairs in front of his desk.

Nicole and I dragged ourselves paupo, while Jerwin sat on the couch at the other side of the room.

Mr. Santos: What took you so long?

Jerwin: Traffic.

Nicole: A LOT of traffic.

Mr. Santos: Very well. Nicole.

Eto na. Magsisimula na ang sermon. T-T

Nicole: Yes, tito? -__-

Mr. Santos: You know why you're here. I know my sister is very lenient in raising you, but to abuse that freedom and end up in jail?!? Did it occur to you how embarrassing this is for the entire family?!?

Nicole: It will never happen again.

Mr. Santos: At naisip mo man lang ba kung anong impact nito sa career mo if ever the press decided to run the story?!? It's a good thing I was able to pull a few strings and prevented them from publishing anything! How irresponsible can you get?!?

Wow that's harsh.. O_O

Mr. Santos: At dinamay mo pa si Venice--!

Venice: Hold on, tito! Don't be so harsh on Nicole. I started the whole thing. I slapped Angel first!

Nicole: Venice!

Venice: The fight wouldn't have happened if I didn't make Angel angry in the first place. So please, don't be so harsh on Nicole. Yell at me.

Nicole: Wait, tito. Venice was just defending Jerwin.

Jerwin: What? Me?

Nicole: Angel was being a stupid b-- I mean, Angel was drunk and saying mean things. Venice just acted like any other fiancée would have.

Mr. Santos stared at us. His face looks thoughtful, which I think suits him better than the angry expression he had earlier.

I don't know what else to say. Ayoko naman mapahamak si Nicole, pero takot rin naman akong mapahamak. T-T

Ako: Are you.. breaking off the engagement because of what happened?

Jerwin: What?!

Napatayo bigla si Jerwin dun sa inuupuan nya and napatakbo palapit sa'min. Nicole looked at Tito Ray anxiously.

Mr. Santos: And why would you think that?

Venice: Kasi po.. Your family is highly respected. Kung ako nga po na hinde naman talaga kasama sa pamilya n'yo eh nag-ccause na ng ganitong kahihiyan..... Then.. maybe--

Jerwin put his hand gently on my shoulder.

I stopped talking and looked at him. He's staring at his father-s***h-manager.

Jerwin: Nothing happened. Can't we just let this one go?

Nicole: Venice didn't do anything wrong, tito. Please don't break off the engagement.

Napatingin sa'ming tatlo si Tito Ray and then he sighed.

Mr. Santos: Nicole.. It's not like Venice is engaged to you.

He smiled. Ai, he smiled! The tensed atmosphere lifted.

Mr. Santos: I'm not breaking off the engagement between you and my son, Venice. And I think you and Nicole have both realized your mistakes.

Nicole: Does that mean we're off the hook?

Mr. Santos: Make sure it doesn't happen again.

Nicole: Yes, sir!

Nalunod ako sa yakap ni Nicole. I was so shaken by everything na hinayaan ko na lang si Nicole na i-suffocate ako

.

Tito Ray looked at Jerwin and gave him a smile.

Mr. Santos: I didn't expect you to stand up for her.

Jerwin: *shrugs* Yeah, well.. Where else would my amusement come from?

Mr. Santos: Oh by the way, Venice.

I untangled myself from Nicole's grasp and turned to face Tito Ray again.

Mr. Santos: Can you tell your mom that I found cheap tickets for her?

Ako: Tickets?

Mr. Santos: Yes. The tickets for her flight to the US. She wanted to leave as soon as possible, so it was somewhat difficult to find inexpensive tickets. She asked me for help.

Ako: I... Uh... O_O

She's leaving?

"You didn't know."

I sank in the passenger seat of Jerwin's truck. After the final exchanges, pinauwi na kami ni Tito Ray. Lutang na lutang ako na hindi ko na maalala kung anoh pa nangyari after sinabi ni Tito na may tickets na raw ang nanay ko papunta sa US.. Hinayaan ko na lang si Jerwin na i-lead ako pabalik dun sa truck niya.

Ako: That wasn't a question.

Jerwin: Your face said it all. Your mom didn't tell you she's going back?

Ako: I guess... She never had the chance. Madalas naman na wala ako sa bahay.

Jerwin pulled out of the parking lot as I fastened my seatbelt. I can't believe my mom didn't tell me.

Jerwin: Hmm.. But you used to live by yourself, right?

Ako: Yeah.

Jerwin: So anong pinoproblema mo? If you've done it before, you can do it again.

Ako: But I don't wanna live by myself again.

Jerwin: Ayaw na ayaw?

Ako: Sobrang ayaw na ayaw.

Jerwin: Then you won't mind living with me?

Ako: Shut up.

Jerwin: What? I thought sobrang ayaw na ayaw mong mag-live dun sa bahay by yourself?

Ako: Yeah-ha! But I'm not squeezing myself in your parents' house noh!

Jerwin: That's why I said live with me

Ako: Ano? What are you talking about? Hay naku! Manahimik ka nga muna dyan. I need to think.

Jerwin: Okayyy...

My mom is going back to the States. She probably expects me to live in the house again.. alone.. all aloooneee.. I don't really want to be alone again in that big, empty house..But.. who am I to hinder my mom's wishes?

Arrrgggghh!!!