Tempted [Tagalog]

Chapter 8: Expired Friendship

“OKAY ka na ba, sir?” tanong ng isang nurse kay Clarkson habang inaayos nito ang band aid sa noo ng malandi kong kaibigan.

“I feel so much better, now that you’re here—”

“Hoy, Clarkson!” I yelled, cutting off their maharot moment. Bwiset na ‘yan, kadarating pa lang namin ni Belle pagkatapos ay ganito agad ang bubungad sa amin? My goodness gracious!

Sabay silang napatingin sa akin at kitang-kita sa reaction ng nurse ang pagkabigla kaya naman kaagad siyang nag-iwas ng tingin at umalis sa harapan namin. Paika-ika akong naglakad palapit sa higaan kung saan kasalukuyang nakaupo si Clarkson at sinalubong ko siya ng isang matinding sapok.

“f**k!” nakasimangot niya bulyaw habang hinihimas-hamas ang batok niya. “Bakit nananakit ka ng pasyente?!”

“Mukha mo, pasyente!” I said while squinting my beautiful eyes at him. “You call yourself a patient, samantalang panay harot ang inuuna mo? Kadiri ka talaga.”

Clarkson immediately shook his head tsaka bumaling ng tingin kay Belle na nakaalalay sa akin. I pushed him away so that I could sit down on the bed with blue sheets. Nakita kong kumamot na lamang sa kanyang batok si Clarkson habang nakakunot ang noo.

“What happened to your knee?” curious na tanong niya. He even pushed Belle a little para lumuhod sa harap ko at i-check ang tuhod kong may sugat.

“Don’t touch my precious knee!” Inirapan ko lang siya sabay pitik sa kamay niyang gumagapang na sa binti ko papunta sa tuhod. Tumikhim siya sa ginawa ko pero hindi siya nagpatinag. He even called a nurse to check on me.

“Kahit kailan, napakalampa mo,” he said seriously.

“Wow, lampa. Big word,” sagot ko. “Nahiya naman ako sa isang sapak lang sa 'yo, tulog ka agad!”

Clarkson’s face immediately turned red. Agad na niyang hinila palapit ang nurse na kaharutan niya kanina lang at hinayaan itong gamutin ang sugat ko sa braso dahil sa kalmot ng bruhang jowa ni Matthew at ang sugat ko sa tuhod dahil naman sa pagkakadapa ko kanina.

Pesteng buhay 'to! Ano na lang ang sasabihin ng iba kapag ang diyosang tulad ko ay may peklat na? OMG! I need to visit my dermatologist soon.

“We saw your ex earlier,” balita ni Belle without looking at Clarkson. Kaagad akong napatingin sa kanya and the sudden change on his facial reaction, the moment Anabelle mentioned the term “ex” is obvious enough to make me smirk. Clarkson soon shifted his gaze at Belle, giving her a vague expression.

“What’s with the look, Clark?” amused na tanong ni Belle. “Affected much?”

Ang kaninang seryosong expression ni Clarkson ay bigla na lamang bumalik sa dati. Nakuha pang ngumisi ng mokong. What a pretentious jerk.

“Affected? Sino, ako?” Clarkson said nonchalantly. “Med—pero teka! Sino bang ex ko ang tinutukoy niyo?”

Belle and I both let out a deep sigh.

Aware kami na gago si Clarkson kaso hindi ko ma-take na pati pagiging slow, sinalo niya rin. My gosh! Ito ang tinatawag na puro mukha lang ang asset pero daig pa ang internet connection sa Pinas sa sobrang slow umintindi!

On the other hand, ang hirap nga naman kasi i-point out kung sinong ex ang tinutukoy namin. Sa dami ba naman ng naging babae ng lalaking 'to. Nakaka-stress ng beauty!

“Cut the bull, Clarkson,” inis na sabi ko. “Alam kong kilala mo kung sino ang tinutukoy namin dahil isa lang naman ang naging official jowa mo.”

Tumayo na ang nurse at isa-isang iniligpit ang kanyang mga kagamitan tsaka diretsong lumayas habang malagkit pa rin ang titig sa pesteng si Clarkson. He even winked at her!

What an insolent bastard!

“Ow!” reklamo ni Clarkson matapos kong ibato ang designer bag ko diretso sa sikmura niya. Matalim niya akong tinitigan na siya ko namang tinapatan.

“Asshole!” sigaw ko sa kanya. Good thing, this is a private clinic kaya kami lang halos ang nandito at walang ibang makakarinig ng bangayan namin.

“I’m gonna sue you for physical assault!” he said while touching his stomach. “Lagi mo akong dinadaan sa pisikalan. Kawawa ang gandang lakaki ko sa 'yo e.”

“Then go ahead and sue me!” I said. “Wala kang katino-tinong kausap since bir—"

“Guys! Ano ba?” sabat ni Belle. “You two always fight like kids! Can you both shut the f**k up and act like well-mannered adults?”

“She started it first!"

"He started it first!”

Clarkson and I both said at once habang nakaturo pa kaming dalawa sa isa't isa. Pareho pang napaawang ang mga bibig namin habang matalim na nagtititigan. We both trailed off a few moments later at mabilis na tinalikuran ang isa't isa, both arms crossed.

Halos sabunutan na ni Belle ang kanyang sarili sa inaasal namin ni Clarkson but I didn’t bother. Wala nang magandang nangyari sa araw na 'to, tapos nagkaro'n pa ng sugat ang makinis kong balat.

“Nakakaloka kayong dalawa,” ani Belle. “Whenever I'm with you both, I feel like I’m babysitting two spoiled brats!”

“H-hoy! Hindi ako brat!” protesta ni Clarkson. “Gwapo ako. Period—”

“We saw Aome earlier, Clarkson!” pagputol ko sa kayabangan na naman niya. “And she’s with some guy, more handsome than you.”

He slightly open his mouth to say something pero kaagad din niyang itinikom iyon. Nag-iwas siya ng tingin at nagsimulang maglakad nang pabalik-balik sa harapan namin ni Belle.

I knew it! She still has that kind of effect on him.

“Affected nga,” bulong sa akin ni Belle kaya out of the blue ay bigla na lamang kaming nagtawanan, stopping Clarkson from walking back and forth. He threw a deadly stare at us but it wasn’t enough to stop us from laughing.

“Who would have thought na ang isang commoner like Aome will make the casanova anxious.” There’s a hint of sarcasm in my voice but as much as possible, I am trying my best not to push Clarkson’s button. Mahirap na, baka magwala ang mokong e.

“E 'di wow,” nang-aasar na sagot ni Clarkson. Kunwari pa ang ungas, halata naman na affected pa sa babaeng 'yon.

I can’t help but scowl my beautiful face while the deafening silence is slowly eating up the comforting ambiance of this clinic.

“Bakit ba kayo nag-break ni Aome?” tanong ni Belle, breaking the silence a little while ago. “It’s been a year, Clarkson. Don’t you think that as your friends, we deserve to know the real reason?”

Maging ako ay napako rin ang tingin kay Clarkson na parang akala mo'y anytime soon ay hihimatayin na naman sa way of interrogation ni Belle. I stayed silent pero sa totoo lang, curious din ako kung ano ba ang totong dahilan ng break-up nila.

“Past is past, nevermind,” ani Clarkson tsaka muling ngumisi nang nakakaloko. “Pero teka, sino 'yong tinutukoy niyong mas gwapo sa akin?”

“We’re not telling unless you tell us the reason. Take it or leave it, Clark,” mahinahong sagot ni Belle, making him groan mischievously.

“Ano bang meron at trip niyong alamin ang nakaraan ko? It’s not even worth to tell anymo—”

“It is!” I blurted out of frustration. “Alam mo kung anong ginawa ng pamilya niya sa family ko pati na rin sa isang business ni Daddy. So cut those shits and tell us what happened!”

Pakiramdam ko'y bigla na lamang bumigat ang dibdib ko after I said those things. Both Clarkson and Belle were stoked from my sudden outburst but I can’t contain it anymore! Her family had damaged us quite enough in the past but I will never let that happen again.

“A-Allie,” halos pabulong na tawag sa akin ni Belle but I ignored her. I am so pissed right now and I badly want to smack someone on the face.

From the start, Aome and I were good friends kasi halos magka-wavelength kaming dalawa in terms of hobbies. I play the cello while she plays the violin. Her father was one of my Dad’s most reliable employees in one of our companies during that time and even offered her a full scholarship grant. She’s half-Japanese but she was raised here in the Philippines.

Everything was going smoothly until one day, nalaman ko na lamang na nagkakamabutihan na silang dalawa ni Clarkson. At first, I was okay with their romantic what-so-ever, thinking that finally… nakahanap ng katapat ang malanding si Clarkson. Their relationship went on for about more or less, three years din.

But one night, I overheard my Dad’s conversation with Aome's father about some kind of robbery within one of our businesses and based on what I understood, pakana lahat iyon ng tatay ni Aome so that he could live in luxury without breaking a sweat. I even confronted Aome about it pero todo tanggi lang siya that time and then I came to realized na baka intentionally lahat ng nangyari. She approached me so that if her dad failed to embezzle a huge amount of money from us, at least her precious daughter can still win our affections and leeched something from us.

My Dad even sued them in court pero in the end, not guilty ang naging hatol. It’s just annoying to know na kami na ang nanakawan tapos lumalabas pa na sila ang biktima. I just hate them to the core and I even swore to never cross paths with her again.

“I want to ruin her...” I whispered while both of my hands balled into fists. How can she look so okay habang ako’y ganito pa rin? It was like the way she acted earlier proved that I was right about her all along.

“We broke up after my parents found out about us and I don’t have the balls to fight for it,” sabat ni Clarkson, cutting me off. Kaagad kaming napatingin sa kanya and he’s giving us a slight smile, malayo sa madalas niyang ipakita sa amin.

“That’s it?” hindi makapaniwalang tanong ni Belle. “Iyon lang ang tanging dahilan ng break-up niyo? And wait, you kept that stupid reason from us for about a year? Unbelievable!”

Clarkson chuckled, “gago ako e.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Oo, gago ka nga! At ikaw rin ang may kasalanan kung bakit ako nasagutan!”

“Aba't paano ko naging kasalanan?”

“Sagana ka sa babae, kinulang ka sa physical strength,” sabat ni Belle kaya naman ang kaninang tensyon na namumuo kanina ay bigla na lamang nauwi sa tawanan dahil sa muling pamumula ng tainga ni Clarkson.

Natigilan lamang kami sa tawanan namin nang biglang tumunog ang mga cellphone naming dalawa ni Clarkon, hudyat na mayroong nagpadala ng mensahe. I reached out for my phone and saw my Dad’s name on the screen.

“Come home this instant. We need to discuss something important and don’t forget to bring Clarkson with you.” Hindi mawala ang pagkakunot ng noo ko after ko mabasa ang text message galing kay Daddy.

Great. What is it this time?