Grievous: Dhenmer Ramos

Chapter Four

Mahigpit ang kapit ko sa kutsara at tinidor habang nasa hapagkainan kaming lahat bukod kay Christine. Hindi ako makapaniwalang iniwan niya akong mag-isa rito, ang sabi ng nakakitang katulong sa kaniya ay nagmamadali raw itong umalis.

Hindi ko naman magawang magalit dahil sigurado akong may dahilan siya. Baka may emergency na kaylangan niyang puntahan at dahil sa pagmamadali ay nakalimutan niya ako. Pero isang oras at kalahati na ang lumipas, wala pa rin akong natatanggap na text or tawag mula sa kaniya.

Nakayuko lang ako habang kumakain, hindi ko gustong makita ang manyak na crush ko na ang pangalan pala ay Dhenmer.

Nakakatuwa dahil kaya nga ako nagbabakasyon para makalimutan siya at ang halik niya, tapos ang bahay na pinagbakasyunan ko pala ay bahay niya at wala man lang akong kaalam-alam duon. I'm suppose to be here with Christine but she left me. Define disappointed. Frances Callanta.

God...

"So..." Tita Liz cleared her throat, napatingin kaming lahat sa kaniya at aksidente namang nagkita ang mga mata namin ni Dhenmer. Agad akong nag-iwas ng tingin pero ramdam o ang pamumula ng pisnge ko. "Dhenmer, hijo, what do you think of the foods? Kami ni Frances ang nagluto nito."

"Why is she even here?" Instead of answering the question, he opened a new discussion. Malamig pa ng boses niya sa yelo.

"She's Tin-tin's friends, pero sabi ng maid ay nagmamadali raw umalis si Tin-tin ng bahay. I think something urgent came up." She explained, she shook her head and put back her smile. "You didn't answer my question, mi hijo. Masarap ba luto namin ni Frances?"

"It's fine." Simpleng sagot niya at parang walang pakialam

Fine? Hunter's said I'm good at cooking, he doesn't lie!

Why did I even have a crush on him? Dahil ba sa looks niya? Oo nga't gwapo siya, pero hindi ko gusto ang personality niya. Maybe it's time to uncrush him, I should forget about this p*****t.

"Lo siento, Tita Liz, but it seems like ayaw po sa akin ng anak niyo. I think I should go since wala na rin naman si Christine rito." Nakangiti ako pero sa kaloob-looban ay nagbubukal ang dugo ko sa inis.

"Frances, you can stay here. Gan'yan lang talaga 'yang si Dhenmer." Sinamaan niya ng tingin ang kaniyang anak. "Pero akala ko ba'y magkakilala kayo, you seem... close. Ang close niyo nga kanina sa isa't isa sa living room."

Nahuli nga pala kami ni Tita Liz sa living room kanina, iyon na yata ang pinakanakakahiyang moment ng buhay ko, iyong makita ka ba namang sobrang close sa isang lalaki!

Kinagat ko ang ibaba kong labi, pinipigilan ang sarili na mamula sa kahihiyan.

"Leave that between them, honey." After Tito Damon said that, he looked at his son and glared at him. "Is that how you treat a woman, Dhenmer?"

"I'm only nice to my women, Papa. She's not my woman."

Tinignan ko ng masama si Dhenmer, inirapan ko siya at saka pinunasan ang bibig gamit ang nakahandang panyo sa lamesa.

"Okay lang po, bibisita na lang po ulit ako sa susunod kapag okay na si Christine." I stopped when I felt my phone rang inside my pocket, I excused myself to check the caller.

Christine...

"Christine's calling, sasagutin ko lang po." Nagpaalam akkng umalis sa hapag-kainan at lumabas sa kabahayan. "Hello?" Sinagot ko ang tawag.

"Frances, I'm sorry." She whispered. "I'm really sorry, may nangyaring masama sa lola ko, Frances. I'm sorry talaga, na-ER kasi 'yong lola ko eh kaya hindi agad kita natawagan."

"Ha? Eh, kamusta na 'yong lola mo? Anong nangyari?" Nakaramdam ako ng pag-aalala para sa kaniya at sa lola niya.

"It's nothing new, matanda na rin kasi si lola pero everytime na nasusugod siya sa hospital, nag-aalala pa rin ako ng sobra. But she's okay now, my grandma is a strong woman." I heard her sigh. "Frances, I'm really sorry I left you, I completely forgot about you, I was just really worried."

"No, Christine, okay lang. Mas kaylangan ka ng lola mo, besides, nag-enjoy naman ako rito kasama si Tita Liz." Totoo iyon, naputol nga lang ang enjoyment na iyon nang dumating si Dhenmer. "At kaya ko namang umuwi mag-isa-"

"Bakit ka pa uuwi, Frances? You can sleep there, I'm sure papayagan ka ni Tita at Tito, hindi ka nila hahayaang umuwi ng gabi."

I gasped when someone grabbed my wrist and snatched the phone from my hand.

"H-hey!" Tinignan ko ng masama si Dhenmer na hawak-hawak ngayon ang cellphone ko sa tenga niya, hawak-hawak niya rin ang pulsuhan ko ng mahigpit.

"Tin, why the heck did you leave your friend alone in my house?" Kinausap niya si Christine sa kabilang linya kasabay ang paghila niya sa akin papasok sa mansyon.

"What the hell? Ano ba? Bitawan mo 'ko!" Hinila ko mula sa kaniya ang pulsuhan ko.

Ano bang problema ng manyak na 'to?

"What am I suppose to do with her? I don't even know her." Sumulyap siya sa akin, may something sa mga mata niya na nagpatahimik sa akin. His eyes are so cold, he looked so scary with that eyes. "She's not my type, Tin."

Hindi ko alam pero parang na-offend ako sa sinabi niya, napakunot ang noo ko at sumama ang mukha.

"Fine, I will let her stay for the night." He pulled the phone off his ear and ended the call.

"Will you let go of my hand already!?"

His eyes moved to my wrist that he's holding, he immediately let go of me. Hinimas ko ang pulsuhan ko na 'yon dahil namula ito't bumakat ang kamay niya. Masama ang tingin ko sa kaniya, inirapan ko siya at nilampasan siya.

Napakabastos, bigla na lang hinahablot ang cellphone ko nang hindi nagpapaalam. Ano naman kung hindi niya ako type? Hindi ko rin siya type, sa ugali pa lang. Itsura lang ng kagusto-gusto sa kaniya.

"I will tell Tita Liz and Tito Damon that I'll leave, kaya ko namang umuwi mag-isa at mukhang napipilitan ka lang namang pag-stayin ako sa bahay mo kaya aalis na lang ako." Humarap ako sa kaniya, hindi ko inakalang nakasunod pala siya sa akin kaya muntik na siyang mabangga sa akin. I stepped away quickly with my slightly wide eyes.

He shook his head. "Tin-tin will scold me non-stop, so just stay. Baka kapag may mangyaring masama sayo, ako pa ang masisi."

"Well, in that case I'll just ask Hunter to pick me up." I rolled my eyes, I snatched my phone from his hold and opened the screen. "Tutal siya naman ang puno't dulo ng lahat kung bakit ako nandito."

"I heard from him that he fired you, he wanted you to relax and have a vacation, am I right?"

My thumb was already hovering Hunter's name on my contact list when he said that, I stopped myself from pressing and looked at him with a frown.

"Hunter won't share anything especially about me unless you asked." I raised my eyebrow at him.

"Your boyfriend is a close friend of mine, to be more clear, he's my bestfriend, Miss Callanta. We share things to each other." He stepped close to me, I raised my forefinger as a warning that he shouldn't get close to me but he just smirked in return. "I guess you don't know Hunter that much."

Napanguso ako. "Hindi naman ako interesado sa buhay ng boss ko na 'yon, wala akong pakialam sa kung sino man ang kaibigan niya. At boyfriend? Sinong boyfriend ko? Wala akong boyfriend, hoy, at lalong hindi ko boyfriend si Hunter!"

He stepped forward once again, I tried to step back but he caught my wrist to stop me from moving. His hand grabbed my jaw like he did in the bar, tinulak niya ako sa pinakamalapit na pader at pininid ako roon.

"You talk too much, hm? I want to do something about that talkative mouth of yours." He slapped my lips with his finger which made my blood boil.

"How dare you!?" I said through gritted teeth.

"Dhenmer? Frances? What are you two- Oh my gosh!"

Dhenmer and I froze when we heard his mother's voice. Napatingin ako sa direksyon kung nasaan ito, nakatakip ito ng bibig niya at kung ano na naman siguro ang tumatakbo sa utak niya.

"T-tita, it's not-ump!" Nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang biglang takpan ni Dhenmer ang bibig ko ng kamay niya.

"Mama, we'll go ahead and sleep. Frances will be sleeping in my room tonight." He said casually, smiling innocently at his mother.

"Oh, is that so?" She cleared his throat. "Sure, but please, can you both keep it down? Our house sure is big but the walls aren't sound proof."

Kumunot ang noo ko, pilit kong kinukuha ang kamay ni Dhenmer sa bibig ko pero diniinan niya lang ito. May ngising tagumpay na naglalaro sa labi niya, ang ngisi niyang dati ay napapaginipan ko pero ngayon ay gusto ko ng suntukin paalis sa labi niya.

"We'll just sleep, Mama. But if we might do it, we'll be sure keeping it down."

Gusto ko siyang pagtatadyakan dahil sa pagsakay niya sa ina niya. Si Tita Liz naman ay mukhang natutuwa pa sa nakikita at agad kaming pinabayaan.

"Seems like Mama really likes you, baby." He said, gone his serious expression and ice-cold tone of his voice.

Baby mo mukha mo!

I want to say that to him but he's still covering my mouth with his hand. Ang nagawa ko lang ay tignan siya ng masama at tadyakan siya sa binte.

"And you're also violent, are you also rough? Because I like s*x that way." He pulled his hand away from my mouth, sigurado akong namumula ang paligid ng labi ko. Sa tagal ba naman ng pagtakip niya rito.

"Ano bang problema mo sa'kin, ha? Alam mo, nakakinis ka na talaga!" Napipikon na ako at masama akong mapikon, masama talaga. Lalo na't mga kabastusan pang lumalabas sa bibig niya, that's definitely a wrong move!

He chuckled, he put his thumb over my lips and leaned close. Our nose almost touching.

"I'm just kidding, baby. Don't take it seriously." He pinched my nose and moved away from me, but he held my wrist again and pulled me towards the stairs.

I don't know what got my tongue, I was speechless because of the simple action he performed. My mind suddenly went blank and I found myself letting him drag me to somewhere. My eyes landed on his hand that's holding my wrist, for some reason, my heart started beating fast.

Natauhan lang ako nang huminto na kami, umikot ang mata ko sa paligid ng silid na pinasukan namin. Isa itong bedroom na panlalaki, ang bango rin at ang linis tignan ng paligid.

Walang masyadong displays, posters or anything pero kumpleto naman ang furnitures at malalaki tulad ng furnitures nila sa first floor.

I heard the door close behind us, I quickly pulled my hand away from him and prepared a personal space between us.

"I told you, I'm not spending the night here, especially not in your room!" I folded my arms over my chest.

"What's wrong with my room? My room's big and the bed's wide." He motioned his hand to his king-sized bed.

Kinagat ko ang ibaba kong labi, tumingin ako sa malapad at malaki niyang kama. Napanguso ako at napailing.

"I will spend the night here, fine. But not here in your room, please."

"Why not? My bedroom's better than the guest room. Try it." I gasped in surprised when he pushed me to the bed, he also dropped himself on the bed beside me which was more surprising.

I pushed mysef up with my elbow, hindi ko na napigilan ang sarili ko na paluin ito sa tiyan niya.

"Ow!" He grabbed his stomach. "You're so mean."

"You're so annoying!" Pinalo ko pa siya ulit sa tiyan, nang hindi pa nakuntento ay sa dibdib naman.

"Geez, woman!" He catched my fists, he pinned them on my sides as half of his body hovered over mine. "Calm down, will you?"

"I'll calm down when you stop annoying me!" Singhal ko sa kaniya.

Why did I even had a crush on him? Crush means admiration, right? Ano bang ka-admire-admire sa kaniya? Ang looks niya? Imposible kasing i-admire ko ang masama niyang ugali. Siguro ay dahil sa pagnakaw niya ng halik, siguro dahil siya ang first kiss ko kaya hindi ko siya maalis sa isipan ko?

Ganoon ba 'yon?

I stared into his green eyes. His eyes reminded me of nature, I love his eyes. I love staring into those beautiful depth.

"I'm just kidding, don't take me seriously, baby." He chuckled. "Don't worry, I'll sleep on the couch. Solo mo ngayong gabi ang kama ko."