Separated Love (Season 1)

Chapter 16

Separated Love

by larajeszz

Chapter 16

Bago pumasok sa school ay dumaan muna ako sa bagong café na halos katapat lang ng AIS. Kahit na hindi ako mahilig sa kape, pinilit pa rin ako ng mga kaibigan ko dahil sigurado silang pasok ito sa panlasa ko.

I was walking towards the direction of the store when I felt a presence behind me. Dahan-dahan akong tumingin sa likod pero normal na daloy ng mga tao lang naman ang nakita ko ro'n. Nagpatuloy ako sa paglalakad pero nararamdaman ko pa rin ang presensiyang 'yon kaya mas binilisan ko ang bawat hakbang ko. I could slowly feel my heartbeat intensifying.

Nang pinagbuksan ako ng guard ng pinto ay nakahinga ako nang maluwag. Ngumiti ako sa kaniya at sinuklian siya ng isang “good morning.” I feel safe now.

Halos puno na agad ang café kahit pa sobrang aga pa lang at nakita kong iisang table for two na lang ang available. Hindi naman kasi 'yon gaanong kalakihan kaya nasuyod ko agad ng tingin ang buong lugar. Isang Vanilla Bean Latte ang in-order ko.

Umupo ako sa natitirang bakante na table at naglabas ng isang libro habang hinihintay ang order ko. Mukhang karamihan sa mga nandidito ngayon ay call center agents sa mall na katabi lang din ng AIS.

Paano ka ba naman makakaipon kung puro tambayan ang katapat at katabi ng pinapasukan mo? Halos nasisimot ko na ang allowances ko kapag nagyayaya ang mga kaibigan ko!

"Vanilla Bean Latte for Jaycee!" sigaw ng barista makalipas ang ilang minuto.

Kinuha ko ang order ko at habang naglalakad pabalik sa table ay may naramdaman na naman akong presensiya sa likod ko. Kahit may halong kaba sa dibdib ay nilingon ko ‘yon. There I saw a man smiling at me like I just caught him in the act.

“Hi, miss,” he greeted with an awkward smile. “I didn’t mean to scare you or what. I just like to ask if p’wede ba akong maki-table sa’yo?” He pointed to the rest of the café. “All seats are occupied.”

Saglit kong sinuyod ng tingin ang kabuuan at nakitang table ko na nga lang ang maaari niyang puwestuhan.

I looked back at him. “Sure thing,” and gave him a small smile before proceeding to my seat.

Nang makaupo ako ay muli kong ibinaling ang atensiyon ko sa libro. Hindi ko ipinahalata pero alerto rin ako sa kilos ng lalaki sa harapan ko. It’s really hard not to no matter how hard I try; I was taught to be cautious around strangers. But this guy in front of me, he looks… decent. He was wearing a corporate attire and he pulled out his laptop from a bag and placed in on the table.

Nang mag-angat siya ng tingin sa akin ay muli kong iniiwas ang mga mata ko patungo sa binabasa. I don’t have to be friendly around him. Some customers here are from AIS, and maybe—it is not impossible—some might know me as Asher’s girlfriend.

And Cally was right; I really did like their coffee.

"You’re an ABM student from AIS?" he asked, eyes still on his laptop.

Dahan-dahan akong napatingin sa uniform ko na may nakalagay na “ABM” sa may bandang dibdib. So, he was also observing?

"Ah, yes,” I answered.

"Isaac Beltran." He offered his hand na siyang hindi ko inaasahan.

Pilit ngiting tinanggap ko ang kamay niya at ipinakilala rin ang aking sarili. "Jaycee Buenaventura."

He moved his head to the side at pinanliitan ako ng mga mata, para bang may naalala siya. "Are you somewhat related to Mr. Jonas Buenaventura?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm his daughter."

"Oh, I see." There was a hint of shock on his face. "Oo nga, I could see your resemblance from your mom."

"How'd you know my parents?"

"Sa business, marami ka talagang makikilala. My dad is friends with your father."

Knowing that he knows my parents, something inside my felt at ease. Pero still, hindi ko kailangan makipagkilala pa sa kaniya. What is Savanna sees us?

"Uh... I have to go." I started fixing my things as I hesitantly stood up.

"Maaga ba mag-start ang klase sa AIS?"

"No, but... May kailangan pa akong i-meet, eh," palusot ko while wearing a fake smile.

Tila hindi naman niya napansin ‘yon dahil nanatili siyang kaswal. "Okay. Nice meeting you, Ms. Buenaventura."

After leaving the café, I could still feel a presence behind me. Parang nagmamatyag. Parang bawat kilos ko ay alam at pinapanood. I wasn’t on my right mind but I still managed to walk straight, too straight that I bumped into someone.

“S-Sorry… Pasensiya na,” I uttered while looking down.

“Jaycee?”

I looked up from hearing a familiar voice that calmed my system. It was Asher.

Dahan-dahan kong naramdaman ang paghupa ng kaba sa dibdib. At ‘yon ay dahil… sa boses niya.

“Where have you been? And why do you look so scared?” he asked softly.

He took a step forward and put the back of his hand on my left cheek. I stiffened as I let him do that. He was trying to get rid of tiny beads of sweat. Pakiramdam ko ay mas lalo lang may namuong pawis sa katawan ko dahil sa pagdikit ng balat niya sa akin.

“Ms. Buenaventura.” A voice from earlier arrived not far away from behind me.

Hindi pa man ako nakakalingon kay Isaac ay maingat na akong itinago ni Asher papunta sa likuran niya. His jaw was clenched as he looked straight at Isaac.

When I looked back at Isaac, his mouth was forming an “o” shape, like he was understanding that he shouldn’t cross the line on where he currently is. It sounded like I was just assuming, but I wasn’t! Nasa likuran na ako ni Asher pero ang kamay niya ang nakakapit pa rin sa braso ko. Na para bang sa oras na bumitaw siya ay mawawala na lang ako basta-basta.

“You left your handkerchief,” Isaac explained calmly.

Ni hindi ko na namalayan ‘yon sa sobrang pagmamadali kanina. Asher was the one to reach for it with his free hand; the other one still not leaving my arm.

“Thanks,” the tall man in front of me replied with his low voice. Though he sounded cold, it was nice of him to still show his gratitude.

“Thank you, Isaac,” sambit ko rin.

Asher side-glanced at me. I gave him a confusing look. Can’t I be thankful to someone who gave back something that was mine?

I heard Isaac chuckled, his hands in surrender. “Calm down. I was just simply giving it back to her, man.”

All he received from Asher was a slight nod. Saglit pa akong tumingin kay Isaac bago ako hinila ni Asher papasok ng school. We were just few steps away from the entrance. At kung kanina at sa braso siya nakahawak, ngayon naman ay sa kamay ko na.

I was so glad na nauuna siya nang kaunti sa paglalakad. I’m sure I looked like a freaking walking tomato! His pace was still slow, though. It was as if he knew that my short legs couldn’t compete with his.

“You didn’t have to be so cold, you know?” I whispered to him. Kinailangan ko pang tumiyad para lang makarating ‘yon sa pandinig niya.

“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind the cold treatment,” he uttered.

“But… I do.”

He stopped in his tracks. Marahan niyang binitawan ang kamay ko at humarap sa akin. I couldn’t read what he was thinking; all I could focus on was how good looking he was with his brows furrowed.

“You don’t like it?” He said it in the softest possible way! I almost felt my knees trembling.

“A-Ayoko lang na… may masabi sa’yo ang ibang tao. Hindi ka naman kasi nila kilala.” Hindi ko magawang labanan ang tingin niya habang tinuran ko ang mga ‘yon.

“I don’t care about what others think…” He took a step closer, eyes still on me. “I only care about what you think.”

Nahugot ko ang hininga dahil sa lapit ng mukha niya sa’kin ngayon. I was so thankful na maaga pa at wala pang masyadong tao.

I lowered my head. “I… don’t like it.”

He lifted my chin with his hand. He sighed when our eyes met. “Okay. Forgive me.”

He gestured with an open palm, as if telling me to walk first. He was no longer holding my hand, and I felt kind of… sad?

“Sino ba kasi ang lalaking ‘yon?”

“I don’t know him personally. But he knows my parents. I guess they’re business partners.”

During our first period of class, our adviser announced that there would be an upcoming camping; or more like a retreat camping. A lot of my classmates rejoiced, but I didn’t feel anything much, really. Habang pinagmamasdan ko ang mga kaklase ko ay nadako ang tingin ko kay Savanna. Hindi na kami magkatabi. Nag-request siya kay Sir Albert na ilipat siya; hindi naman na ako nagtaka. Maybe our plan is working, somehow.

Savanna wasn’t celebrating, instead her eyes were pinned elsewhere. It was on Asher. Nang ilingon ko ang atensyon kay Asher ay nagulat ako nang makitang sa akin siya nakatingin.

“Will you join?” he mouthed.

“I don’t know yet,” I replied with a shrug.

Ibinaba niya ang tingin sa phone niya at nagsimulang magtipa. Makailang segundo pa ay naramdaman ko ang vibration ng cellphone ko. It was him. Kung no’ng nakaraan ay sa social media kami nag-uusap, we now have each other’s contacts.

From: Asher

i won’t go if you won’t go.

I gave him a “what-are-you-talking-about?” face, he just smirked. Then, I started typing for a reply.

To: Asher

You can go without me. Magpapaalam pa ako kay Mommy, eh.

Mabilis siyang sumagot.

From: Asher

boring kung wala ka

From: Asher

gusto mo ba ipagpaalam kita kay tita?

Ramdam ko ang init ng mukha ko sa unang reply niya, and a familiar warmth had spread in my heart when I read that he called my mom “tita”. It was just like before.

“Sama ka, Jay?” tanong ni Syrine sa tabi ko. Hindi ko na na-replyan si Asher.

“We’ll see.”

Simula pagkabata pa lang ay hindi na ako masyadong pinapasama ni Mommy sa mga camping na ‘yan kasi madalas akong magkasakit noon. Pero dati pa naman ‘yon, siguro naman ngayong malaki na ako ay mapapapayag ko na siya.

During breaks, kasama naming magkakaibigan si Asher. Mas komportable na ako ngayon na nakakasama siya dahil hindi naman napapadpad sa canteen naming mga senior high school si Kuya Jaywen. At isa pa, ramdam ko rin na komportable na si Asher sa mga kaibigan ko.

“Asher, totoo bang maraming malalaking gagamba sa Australia?” tanong ni Cally habang abala kaming lahat sa pagkain.

He answered after sipping a lemonade, “I’m not quite sure about that. We lived on a city, baka sa mga rural areas lang.”

Tumango naman ang kaibigan ko. “Eh, ‘yong mga kangaroo? Totoo bang may muscles sila?”

“Cally, what if kumain ka na lang, ‘no?” ani Ivy at napailing na lang.

“Curious lang naman!” depensiya niya.

“Hindi kaya ma-turn off si Ai-“

Bago pa man matapos ni Aiden ang sasabihin ay binusalan na siya ni Cally ng waffle sa bibig. Napairap na lang si Syrine at napailing. Si Asher naman sa tabi ko ay natawa lang saglit at bumalik na sa pagkain.

He’s completely aware na may gusto ang kaibigan ko sa kapatid niya. Hindi ko sinabi sa kaniya; he sensed it. Kapag kasi gustong asarin ng mga kaibigan namin si Cally ay magtatanong sila kay Asher about kay Aizan. He’s not dumb. Kitang-kita niya ang side eyes nila kay Cally at ang pananahimik nito tuwing mangyayari ‘yon.

After lunch ay absent na naman si Savanna sa mga sumunod na subjects. Hindi ko alam pero nakakaramdam ako ng awa.

To: Asher

Do you have any idea kung bakit wala si Savanna?

From: Asher

i don’t. just let her be; maybe she’s finally coming to her senses.

Hindi ko maitatanggi na nag-aalala ako. Aren’t we being too much on her? Ito lang ba talaga ang paraan para mapauwi siya? To break her heart?

While I was thinking about it, nilingon ko ang kinauupuan ni Asher. Taimtim na siyang nakikinig sa discussion habang nagno-notes. I smiled to myself upon that sight.

Suddenly, my thoughts had gone away. Seeing him looking like he doesn’t worry about a single thing puts my heart at ease. Bigla na lang nawala ang mga pangamba. Nawala na lahat ng katanungan. Pero kahit na naguguluhan, isang bagay ang nasisiguro ko…

I’m willing to take the risks for him.

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-larajeszz