CHAPTER 20
1293 Words
PRIMO'S POV
J A N I C E . . . pulled over the side, just in front of my house. Kung hindi ko pa narinig ang tunog ng paghila niya sa handbrake, hindi ko ma-re-realize na nakarating na kami.
I glanced at the massive mansion on my right. Kung tutuusin, walang masyadong nagbago sa itsura n'on. My mom has always been great at keeping things neat and tidy and she always sees to it that the house would not show any signs of time passing. It looked nearly the same as how I remembered it from when I was young. But at the same time, there is a different vibe in to it now. Maybe not. Or maybe it's just me. Maybe I was the one that changed.
I let out a long, deep sigh as I looked away from it.
The next thing I heard was the sound of the engine coming back to life and Janice releasing the handbrake, getting ready to roll.
Nagtatanong ang tingin na nilingon ko ito.
"It's written all over your face," sabi lang ito.
"The what?" tanong ko.
"That 'I-don't-wanna-be-here' look," sagot naman nito habang paikot na itinuturo ang mukha ko.
Kinunutan ko ito ng noo.
"Don't even try to deny it. I can't even understand how Mia can't see how you're obviously still so in love with her, when it's clearly written all over your face everytime you see her, " tila balewala nitong sagot habang nagmamaniobra.
"Excuse me?"
Pero sa halip na sagutin, she just gave me a quick smirked before she stepped on the gas.
None of us said anything while we were on the road. My mind was still stuck in that last comment that Janice made earlier. Not that I'm awkward or anything, but more like worried that my feelings might been too obvious when Mia is around.
Hindi nga kaya siya nakahalata? I asked myself over and over habang nakatingin ako sa labas ng bintana.
"We're here," untag ni Janice sa pag-iisip ko.
I quickly scanned the place. It was an unnamed bar just outside San Mateo. I was so lost in my thoughts na hindi ko namalayang nakalabas pala kami ng bayan.
Bumaba na ito ng kotse kaya sumunod na lang din ako. She's right anyway, I don't think I'd like to be home in this state.
I watched Janice stride through the entrance with some sense of familiarity. Mukhang hindi ito ang unang beses na nagpunta ito doon.
Kaunti lang ang taong naroon. Siguro dahil madaling araw na or dahil hindi peak season.
I quietly followed Janice as she settled down in a spot at the balcony.
As soon as we sat, a steward attended to our table. He attempted to handover a menu but Janice politely refused.
"Just a bottle of Macallan, 1926 and a Mocktail Mary for me, thank you," she said with ease.
Napataas ako ng kilay.
"I have to be sober enough to drive and to attend to you once you go on to your drunken drama," nakangiti nitong sabi sa'kin nang makaalis ang steward.
Hindi ko alam kung matatawa ba ako o maiinsulto sa sinabi nitong 'yon.
"You know, good girlfriends don't talk to their boyfriends like that," I jokingly said while eyeing her like a hawk.
"I never said I'd be a good girlfriend," awtomatiko nitong sagot.
My brows arched automatically, halfly amused.
"To be honest, kung hindi lang malaki ang utang na loob ko sa'yo, I would never agree to be your fake girlfriend!"
I laughed at her clear annoyance.
"No?" panunudyo ko.
"Over my dead body! Ang yabang-yabang mo kaya!" mariin nitong sagot.
I've known Janice since since college. Her older brother, Julian, was my lab partner in med school before he passed away in an unfortunate car accident when we were in second year. She had always been like a younger sister to me since then.
I leaned back and crossed my arm in front of my chest, deciding to tease her more.
"But I know for a fact that you once had a crush on me, " panunukso ko dito.
Nakita ko ang panlalaki ng mga mata nito.
I saw her mouth opened to respond but the steward arrived with our order so she stopped herself and immediately returned to her 'properly mannered self'.
Napatikhim ako para pigilin ang sarili kong matawa dahil sa pagkukunwari nitong iyon.
And as soon as makaalis ang nagsilbi ng drinks namin, she returned to this childish, ill-mannered girl right before me.
"Ewww! Yuck! Never! Saang lupalop mo naman nasagap ang karumaldumal na balitang 'yan? Kay Julian?!" she continued, complete disgust written all over her face.
"He was your older brother you know, show him some respect,"
"Yeah well he died when he was 18, and I'm 28 now, so technically, I'm 10 year older than him now," pagrarason nito.
Seeing how she can somehow joke about her brother's passing now makes me feel relieved. That means kahit paano ay naalala na nito ang kapatid nang hindi ito gaanong nalulungkot.
Naiiling na lang akong natawa sa pagrarason nito. Bigla ko tuloy naalala ang tila behind the scenes ng pagpapanggap naming mag boyfriend and girlfriend sa harap ni Mia at mga taong kilala namin.
FLASHBACK:
"This is why I can never resist you baby..." I said to Janice purposely using words with double meaning and saying them in a seducing manner.
I was fully aware that Mia was watching hence the acting.
Mabuti na lang at magaling din sumalo itong kapatid ng nasira kong kaklase kaya agad nitong nasasakyan ang mga linya ko.
"Primo!" Janice respond in a flirty manner while secretly giving me a tight pinch under the table.
And thanks to my high pain tolerance, the torture she was giving me did not show on my face.
"E-Excuse me..." pagpapaalam ni Mia bago ito nagmamadaling lumabas ng kusina.
Clearly it bothered her. I know I shouldn't be doing this but I would be a fool to deny na hindi ako natutuwa dahil alam kong nagseselos pa din siya.
We continued to play pretend until we were completely sure na wala na ang audience namin.
We heard her fading footsteps as she went back upstairs to Talia.
Mabilis na kumalas si Janice mula sa pagkakayakap ko tsaka umaktong dumuduwal.
"Yuck, Primo! Nakakadiri, sa totoo lang!" she said in complete disgust.
"Shh! Baka biglang bumalik!" mariin kong saway dito habang sumisilip sa may pintuan ng kusina.
Hindi na naman ito nagsalita pero abot ang pagpag nito sa sarili na para bang nadikit ito sa maruming bagay.
"Arte," komento ko.
-end of flashback-
I chuckled at the memory.
"So ano, hanggang kelan pa ba ako dapat magpanggap na girlfriend mo? 'cause honestly speaking, it's not the best place to be," she casually said then she sips on her cocktail.
Unti-unting nawala ang ngiti ko nang maibalik ako sa reality.
Not knowing the answer to her question, I resorted to opening the bottle of whiskey in front of me and poured a glass for myself.
"Alam mo Primo, when you asked me to do this act with you, I hesitated a lot," maya maya ay seryoso nitong sabi.
Natigilan ako at napatingin sa kanya.
"Why?" tanong ko.
She started stirring her drink absent mindedly as if trying to find her words.
"I couldn't help but wonder kung ano ang nangyari sa inyong dalawa. I-I mean...you two were so in love back then. You were the dream couple. W-What happened?" nag-aalangan nitong tanong.
And I comtemplated what answer will I give her.
"I messed up. I messed up big time," I admitted.
I felt her hand squeezed mine.
"Then don't make the same mistake you did, Primo," she said with much sincerity.
I smiled.
"I won't"
- Writer
