Dagger Series #3: Unscripted

Chapter 13: Flashback

"For my bags and shoes." He didn't say anything more and he dragged the pink luggage out but when he turned back around to my arrays of designer bags I saw how he hesitated. There's a lot of it so I can't blame him. "The Chanel diamond forever bag." He looked back at me and stared at me blankly. I gave him a tiny smile and pointed, "The small white one. And that Louis Vuitton backpack on the left. I also need the gold taupe Himalayan Birkin, the one on top near the red one. Oh no not that one. I only use that for big events. That's a gift and it cost I think roughly two million."

His beleaguered eyes turned to me. "Pesos?"

"Dollars."

I saw him sighed and he grab the other bag. I pointed another Birkin this one in black and he took it before placing it in the pink luggage. The shoes are easier. I selected a nude Christian Louboutin heels, a black Prada, a studded white Valentino and a sneakers from the same brand, and my red Manolo Blahnik. I asked him to grab me three random eyeglasses and he did with a grumble. I know he's losing patience so I didn't push him.

"Kung may kailangan ka pa, your manager will bring it to the house. Nasa kaniya na rin ang phone mo at wallet," sabi ni Pierce nang magawa niya ng isara ang mga luggage. "Do you need anything else?"

Ikaw. "Wala naman na."

It took him three trips before he managed to get everything inside his car. Mas mabilis sana iyon kung pinatulong niya ako pero pinaghintay na lang niya ako sa sasakyan. After a few minutes, he went back inside the car. He drove faster than we traveled to mine. Pinauna niya akong makapasok sa bahay niya bago niya ibinaba ang mga gamit sa sala nang makarating kami.

"Follow me."

Dala ang dalawa kong bagahe na umakyat siya sa itaas. He opened one of the guest rooms and he put all the bags inside.

"I have four rooms in this house aside from my room and Arc's. You'll take this room since it's close to mine. The other three rooms are downstairs."

The room is beautiful and cozy. Nakakadagdag sa kandahan no'n ang tanawin sa labas ng malawak na salamin na bintana.

"You can change your clothes first. Lia and Gun left food in the fridge for dinner."

Nagbaba ako ng tingin sa suot ko. Lucienne let me borrow her new unicorn leggings and Pierce gave me a black hoodie as a top with a Dagger logo. "Okay na ako sa suot ko."

Nagkibit-balikat siya at nauna ng lumabas ng kuwarto. Sinundan ko siya hanggang sa makababa kami sa sala.

"Ilalagay ko sa office ko ang desktop mo. I have an old desk that you could use. But if you want me to put it in your room just tell me."

"Your office is fine unless it will disturb you."

"I rarely use it so you can stay there."

He opened a door that lead us to the kitchen. I followed him and he inclined his head towards the high stool. Umupo ako roon at pinanood ko siya habang kumikilos sa malawak na kusina.

"Do you know how to cook?" I asked.

"Before, no. Pero nang dumating si Arctic sa buhay ko kinailangan kong matuto." Inilagay niya sa microwave ang isang glass pan. "My cooking is tolerable but sometimes it's a hit or miss too. Lia always give us food kaya hindi na kailangan ikatakot ni Arc kapag minsan naiisipan ko na mag-experiment."

"She cooks a lot."

"She loves doing it. I think it's more of wanting us to eat as a family. Lia's parents are the worst. She never really had a family except for her grandmother."

"Now she got you guys."

I can't remember if I ever saw Pierce smile wide but I was taken aback when he did. If he's handsome with his grumpy attitude, the smile put him into a different level. Kung ngingiti lang din siya parang ayokong gawin niya iyon kapag nasa marami siyang tao. Baka dumami pa ang kaagaw ko.

"How about you? You have a large family right?" he asked.

"Yeah. Lalo na nang magkaanak na ang mga pinsan ko. My cousin Ainsley even gave birth to twins. One boy and a girl. Kaya sa ancestral home ng mga Lawrence dalawa ang mahabang table namin. Para kaming nasa Harry Potter movies."

"Is she an agent too?"

"Nope. There's not a lot of us that didn't became one but it's kind of a big number considering na sa generation lang namin hindi naging agents lahat."

"Why didn't you?"

Nagkibit-balikat ako at nangalumbaba ako habang pinapanood siya. "I wanted to achieve a lot but in my own kind of normal. Acting made that possible for me. I always loved the attention and my job gave me that. My parents were always supportive."

"But?"

"Sometimes I can't help but wonder if I'm a disappointment. Kuya Cross didn't follow that path either but he's a doctor. He's very relevant. I'm just... well, I'm just me."

"You're not a disappointment."

"I know that but-"

"You're an actor. You're showing an adulterated view of life just by portraying them on the screen. You're a storyteller, Belaya, and that's not an easy job. Specially not in this world where everyone is hiding from the truth."

I gave him a smile. "Thank you."

"You're a beautiful, hot, and sexy actress with a big big big heart. Remember?"

And with that, I beamed at him. "You got that right."