Between Hate and Love

Chapter 9

Napabalikwas ako sa pagkakaupo. Sa gulat ko ay tinulak ko si Khal palayo sa akin. He had a firm posture and even though I pushed him, he did not even flinch.

Hindi ako tumingin sa kanya. I cleared my throat while he finally removed both his hands that was locking me on my desk. I arranged my clothes and fixed myself, trying to recover from what happened.

I almost kissed him!

Hindi ko alam kung naiinis ba ako dahil hindi natuloy ‘yon o dahil dumating na naman ‘yung babae. Maybe both?

It was an inch! Just an inch before his lips would lock onto mine!

Sayang.

Khal made his way to meet the girl – Sarah Sangson. She was a very persistent girl that was very much interested with Khal for the past three months. She knew full well that Khal wanted her father, so she was taking advantage of that. Sarah even posted pictures of them on her social media accounts!

Sarah entered Khal’s office and hugged him immediately. She looked at me, handing the paper bags that she was holding. I stood up to get it and place it on the couch. “Careful! Those are worth more than your yearly salary!”

I rolled my eyes and pursed my lips. Ang lakas ng loob niya na mag-utos nang mag-utos, parang binabayaran niya ako.

Khal glanced at me. Nahuli niya ako’ng nagtitimpi. Alam ko’ng kuha niya na naiinis ako. Pero hindi niya ako pinansin, he just nodded at me.

“Just get me a coffee then you can leave. I’ll see you at the parking lot by twelve noon sharp.”

I nodded.

Gusto’ng gusto niya talaga kapag naandito si Sarah, tapos lagi pa niya ako’ng pinapaalis. Could it be because he was really into her.

Sarah smiled widely at Khal. “Aww! My Khal really love alone time with me!” she muttered, giving Khal a kiss on his cheek.

Kulang na lang yata ay lumambitin siya kay Khal na parang Koala o ‘di kaya’y panda.

“Oh, and get me my peppermint tea. It’s for my diet. I don’t want to look fat like you,” she stated, pointing her hands at me.

I tried not to look myself and not to burst in anger to the girl, because of Khal. So I just nodded and made my way outside his office.

“Aww! My Khal really love alone time with me!” I said, as quiet as possible, mimicking her voice. She really had the courage to tell me I was fat?!

I looked at my reflection once I was on the elevator. Was I really fat?

What the hell!

One thing I hate was how someone comments about my weight or my size. I was sure my BMI was normal! But that girl made me think badly of myself. Who was she to make comments about my body and tell me that word?!

Naabutan ko si Hendrix sa cafeteria habang nagkakape siya. He nodded at me and by the way my forehead was creased, he already knew that I was not in the mood.

“What happened?”

I shrugged at him. “The girl.”

Just the mentioning of the girl, Hendrix immediately got it. I already told him about Sarah, and then he mentioned to me that she was insignificant since Khal was only getting along with her for the sake of winning Mr. Sangson.

“Grabe siya kung makapag-utos, akala mo kung sino,’ reklamo ko kay Hendrix. “Tapos kung makadikit siya kay Khal! Akala mo talaga… I just can’t believe this…’

Hendrix chuckled at me. “You know, Khal learned to do some things in order to get things done. He broke some of his principle to survive. You’re not the only one who experienced hardships for the past five years.”

I brought Khal’s coffee to his office. He was still entertaining Sarah. I placed the cup of coffee and the peppermint tea on the coffee table and excused myself.

As I walked outside back to the cafeteria, hindi mawala sa isip ko ang sinabi ni Hendrix tungkol kay Khal. He was right. The fact that Khal hated to use people for his own gain was a testament that he changed.

Wala akong balita sa kanya for the past five years. Wala akong lakas ng loob para gawin iyon. Para akong biglang sinaksak dahil sa selfish thoughts ko. Oo nga. It was not just me who had to survive back then. Pati siya. We have each other’s back then I left him.

Binalikan ko si Hendrix sa cafeteria. He was still there and he had his coffee with him. “Kumusta?” tanong niya sa’kin pagkabalik na pagkabalik ko.

“Still with that woman. Sobrang kailangan niya ba talaga ng technology analyst, kaya niya ‘yon ginagawa?”

Hendrix sighed. “Mr Sangson’s one of the best in the country. He left ReFill Company two years ago because of his wife’s death. Khal’s probably trying to make him work again. Kulang din kasi tayo ng technology analyst na engineer rin at the same time. He’ll surely contribute great works if ever mapa-oo siya ni Khal.”

I nodded, trying to digest everything that he told me.

We stayed a few minutes inside the cafeteria para magkuwentuhan. From what I was getting, everytime na mababanggit ko sa kanya si Venera, his eyes was sparkling. But there was pain from it. Hindi pa rin siguro sila nagkakaayos. Hindi na ako nagtanong pa ng kahit ano tungkol sa kanila. Seems like they had to figure it out on their own.

“Teka, wala ka ba’ng trabaho? Parang lagi ka’ng tambay dito?” I asked Hendrix. Haanggang ngayon kasi hindi ko pa rin alam kung ano’ng ginagawa niya sa kumpanya. All I knew was that he was a big shot. Panay rin kasi ang tango sa kanya ng mga guard at mga empleyado rito.

Hendrix chuckled. “Halika, hatid na kita sa parking lot. It’s already quarter to twelve,” he urged me to stand up.

I shook my head at him and stood up.

We walked to the parking lot where I was supposed to meet Khal.

“Would you believe if I tell you that I am the head of the security department?”

My eyes widened at Hendrix. “Ikaw? Lampa ka kaya!” Venera and I used to laugh at him for being clumsy. He was used to it and he would always run after us kapag sinasabihan namin siya no’n, hanggang sa madapa siya kakahabol sa’min.

“Hoy! First year lang naman ako lampa!”

I chuckled at him. “Kidding aside. Pero hindi talaga halata. I didn’t imagine you being one. ‘Di ba dati, gusto mo maging veterenarian?”

Hendrix nodded at me. “Well, it doesn’t mean I won’t become one. I actually applied for the program… Probably going to study again kung makakapasok ako.”

I jumped in joy. Hendrix had been the kindest to the animals. Silang dalawa ni Khal! Kaya nagkakasundo sila dati.

I guess we outgrew some of our dreams, but there were dreams we couldn’t let go of. And I was glad that Hendrix was pursuing it now. Natagalan lang siguro, pero hindi ibig sabihin na imposible at hindi niya magagawa.

“Congrats, Hendrix! I hugged him. “Sigurado ako’ng makakapasa ka, and you’re gonna be a vet six years from now.”

Hendrix chuckled. “Well, thanks to Venera for pushing me.”

I smiled at him. We were having a great conversation about how he was convinced to apply for the program, but we were interrupted by three long horns coming from a car that stopped in front of us.

I immediately took a step away from Hendrix when the car window opened and the owner oft the car—Khal—looked at me with a crease on his forehead. “Let’s go.”

My forehead creased too. Oh… Why did he look so mad?