Between Hate and Love

Chapter 12

Khal insisted on bringing me home while I kept telling him that we should get his wounds cleaned up first. Seryoso ang mukha niya habang nagdadrive. He looked so pissed at dahil sa traffic ay mas nainis siya.

Panay ang busina niya kahit na kita naman namin na pula pa ang traffic lights sa kalsada.

“Hey, calm down.” I tried my best to make him control his attitude.

Seeing the blood flowing from his forehead down to his eyes, I immediately looked for my handkerchief. Slowly, I wiped the blood that was on his face. He did not move. Hinayaan niya ako na gawin ‘yon. His forehead was creased and his eyes was set on the road. His demeanor was that of an angry man, at dinig ko ang mabigat niyang paghinga.

I tried to keep my thoughts together as I was looking at him. I wiped the blood that was on his lips too and then tried to tap the blood coming from his fist, but the traffic light turned green and he drove immediately. Kaagad ko’ng inilayo ang kamay ko sa kanya at tahimik na pinagmasdan ang kalsada na tinatahak namin.

Naging pamilyar ang daan sa’kin at kahit hindi ko tanungin si Khal, alam ko na papunta ‘to sa bahay ko.

He was driving swiftly. He knew where I was living.

“You know where my house is, Sir?” I asked, surprised by the fact that he knew exactly where to drive me home.

“Do not assure. It’s in your resume.”

I pursed my lips. Oo nga naman. Nakita niya ang resume ko at ang address ko ang nakalagay doon, kaya paano’ng hindi niya malalaman?

After a few minutes of driving in nothing but silence and his heavy breathings, we finally arrived at my house.

“Let’s clean your wound first, Sir,” I told Khal.

“No, get off my car. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Khal’s words were final. Pero kung matigas siya ay mas matigas ako.

“Please. Ayokong mag-alala. Lilinisin ko lang ang sugat mo… Sir, and after that you can rest agad once you get home.”

I took Khal’s hands and looked him directly in his eyes. “Please, Sir.”

Khal immediately looked away and then sighed. “Fine. You have a first aid kit?”

I nodded.

“Get it and clean up my wounds here. I don’t want to get inside your house.”

I did not say anything and just went off his car. I took my first aid kit inside my room and also took an ice from the ref and brought it outside just like what he asked me to do. The streets in the community of my house was small, but there are only a few people with cars coming here. Kahit na nakaparada si Khal sa labas ay walang nagrereklamo. Pero binilisan ko pa rin ang kilos ko dahil baka mamaya ay may sumita sa amin.

I entered his car once again and found him talking with someone over the phone.

“It’s not my fault that he’s an asshole and a perverted one. I don’t care if he’ll pull out his shares in the Philippines, it’ll be his lost, not ours,” Khal said and then ended the call. He looked at me and shook his head.

I but my lips, trying to think about what I would say. Otomatiko siya’ng humarap sa akin at pinagmasdan ako. I was still on my dress and blazer while he was still in his rugged and bloodied suit and long sleeved polo.

“I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have talked,” I said, apologizing. He certainly got into trouble because of me.

“He’s a douchebag, he deserve what I did.”

I argued that he got into trouble because of that, at mukhang magkakaproblema pa siya sa kumpanya dahil doon.

“I chose to punch him. Hindi ikaw ang dapat mamroblema dahil doon. I didn’t do it for you in the first place.”

I cleaned the blood from his eyebrows and his lips. Then I took his knuckles to clean it. His palms were still rough. His hands were still as big as I remember them to be. Just like before, I thought how much our hands fits perfectly with one another. But unlike the old times, I wasn’t able to say that out loud.

“Do you mind if I ask what happened inside after I left, Sir?”

Khal took his hands away. “Mas mabuti na wala ka’ng alam. Go to sleep and meet me in the office tomorrow. Surely, we’ll have a lot of things to do.”

Tinanguan ko siya. Ilang beses ko pa siyang tinanong kung ayos lang ba talaga siya at makakapgadrive siya pauwi. Gusto ko pa’ng pahabain ang oras kasama siya. Gusto ko pa siyang kausapin, alukin ng kape sa loob ng bahay, at humingi ng pasensya dahil sa nangyari.

“Khal…” I called out his name and then realized that it was wrong. “Mr. Ejercito… I… I’m sorry about earlier. Hindi ko nagustuhan ang patungo ni Mr. Aziz. I should have excused myself earlier in the conversation, para sana naiwasan na natin ang gano’ng insidente, but I didn’t.”

Suminghap si Khal. Hawak niya nang mahigpit ang manibela. “It’s not your fault. Don’t blame yourself for what happened.”

After that, Khal left immediately. Nanatili ako sa labas ng bahay hanggang mawala sa paningin ko ang sasakyan ni Khal. Maya-maya pa ay tumawag si Venera.

“Hey, are you okay? Your Khal just called me, asking me to go to you and make sure you’re fine.”

Nanghihina ako’ng pumasok sa loob ng bahay. I brought with me inside the first aid kit and the bloodied handkerchief. The ipad that I was using for work had a lot of notifications pero hindi ko ‘yon pinapansin. Binuksan ko ang mga ilaw sa buong bahay at saka dumiretso sa kwarto.

“He did that?”

Venera said yes, then proceeded to ask me what happened. “He sounded mad, you know. I don’t like his bossy attitude, but I figured something was wrong. Just the great Khal called me to ask if you’re fine!”

Kinuwento ko kay Venera ang lahat ng nangyari kanina. “But I don’t exactly know what happened inside. Mr. Aziz looked mad and so was Khal.”

Even though what happened was terrible, what happened gave me hope again.

“Am I out of my mind Venera? Alam ko ang pangit pakinggan, pero dahil sa nangyari, I’m holding on to the belief that Khal still cares for me, big time. Kunwari lang siya’ng matigas outside, but his still the Khal that I know… maybe?”

Venera chuckled. “Papunta na ako diyan. Diyan na rin ako matutulog. Gaga ka na wala sa sarili. You were harassed, tapos ganiyan pa iniisip mo! If I’m Khal, I would have done the same thing. Baka hindi lang suntok inabot sa’kin ng Mr. Aziz na ‘yon.”

I smiled like a fool.

Damn this life is making me feel crazy.