Just This Once (COMPLETED)

Kabanata 41

#JustThisOnce

Kabanata 41 

I didn't know where we were headed.

I didn't even ask him.

Sabi niya kasi, 'wag magtanong. And for once, I didn't want to contest his decision. Gusto ko lang sumunod sa kanya.

I slept during the duration of the ride. Nang magising ako, puro palayan na iyong nakita ko. I was sure we were in some province, but even then, I didn't ask him where we were.

"Good morning," he greeted when he caught me opening my eyes. "I bought coffee," he said at saka tinuro niya iyong cupholder sa sasakyan niya.

Carefully, I lifted the coffee and drank it. Tahimik kong tinignan iyong paligid namin. My mind couldn't help but wonder... nasaan kami? Paano 'yung school? Drop na ba kami?

Paano 'yung tatay niya?

All these questions begging to be asked...

I begged them to shut up.

"Aren't you curious?" he asked.

"Saan?"

"About anything."

I shook my head. "I already spent a lot of thinking and wondering for the past few days. Gusto ko munang ipahinga iyong isip ko," I replied and then I looked at him and smiled. "Besides, no questions, right?"

You really couldn't judge a book by its cover. Outside, Parker seemed too perfect. From the outside, you'd think that there's nothing he would ever probably want because he seemed like he already got everything figured out. But if you take a closer look, you'd see all the flaws. And the battle scars.

Because deep inside, he just wanted to be happy. Like everyone else. Pero hindi naman kasi pare-pareho iyong pinagdadaanan ng lahat... It just happened that his journey's a little more jarring than everyone else's.

"Where do you want to stay?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Kahit saan."

"Hotel or house? Apartment?"

I pressed the windows down. I smiled. "There," I said, looking at the beach. "Can we stay there?"

Luckily, there was an available beach hut for us. Si Parker iyong nakipag-usap sa babae habang ako naman, nakaupo lang sa buhangin. I listened to the sounds of the waves. I watched as the sky was starting to turn colors. I smiled at the birds flying.

Damn, this felt relaxing.

"There's a market twenty minutes from here. We can buy things from there," he said.

"Dito muna tayo," I said, still looking at the beach in front of us.

Tahimik na naupo si Parker. Pareho kaming naka-tingin sa mga alon na papunta sa amin.

"This feels nice," he said.

I smiled. "Yeah..."

"I'm sorry," he said.

"It's okay."

"Won't you ask me what I'm apologizing for?" tanong niya sa akin.

I shook my head. "Whatever it is, it's okay," I told him.

"I was a jerk."

"You were... but that's okay," I said and then looked at him. "Can we not think about our problems? Kahit ngayong araw lang?"

I knew pretending that everything's alright wouldn't solve anything... that we're just delaying the inevitable... but I felt like we both deserved a break.