Orphic Love

Chapter 15

Chapter 15
Basted

"Oo..."

Hindi ako makatingin ng diretso kay Rebecca. I can almost hear the loud beating of my heart as I wait nervously for her reaction.

I gulped when I heard her hummed in a lazy tone. Dahan-dahan akong nag-angat ng tingin sa kaniya. Rebecca sipped on her iced tea. Nakapangalumbaba siya, ang mga mata'y nakatingin sa labas ng café kung saan may mangilan-ngilang sasakyan ang dumadaan.

Gusto ko talagang magkaayos na kami ni Rebecca. I don't even know why they suddenly became cold to me exactly. Kung dahil ba sa paglilihim ko sa kanila tungkol sa amin ni Aedion, o may iba pang dahilan. I mean, it doesn't make any sense if they got angry at me because of Aedion, in the first place, sila itong pinagtutulakan ako sa kaniya kahit na ilang beses kong ginigiit na ayokong magpapansin.

But I guess it really hurt them that I didn't tell them about what's happening between us. Gaya nga ng sinabi sa akin noon ni Rebecca, tinutulungan niya akong mapalapit kay Aedion, of course she has to know what's going on between us.

"Anong plano mo ngayon?"

Napakurap-kurap ako. Rebecca turned back to me while raising an eyebrow. Napalunok ako. Ngumisi siya.

"Sasagutin mo? Of course, you will, right?" nahihimigan ko ng paghahamon ang boses niya.

Hindi ako nakasagot. I was still contemplating whether if I should tell her about my decision to turn down Aedion or not. Pero kung hindi ko sasabihin 'yon sa kaniya, then what will I tell her? That I'll answer Aedion? Baka magalit ulit siya sa akin sa oras na malaman niya na nagsisinungaling ako. I should just tell her the truth. It's Rebecca, a friend!

Umuwang ang labi ko, ngunit hindi nagtagal ay tinikom ulit iyon. I want to tell her the truth pero... bakit parang ayoko?

Rebecca shifted on her seat. Umayos siya ng pagkakaupo. Her eyes dropped to her food as she started to slice a small portion of it using her fork. Mahina siyang bumuga ng hangin.

"Naiintindihan ko kung sasagutin mo siya, matagal ka na rin may gusto sa kaniya. Kaya nga..." she trailed off. Her eyes lifted as she took a quick glance at me before looking back down to her food. "Nagdadalawang isip din ako na sabihin ito sa 'yo. Baka hindi ka maniwala... baka isipin mo na... niloloko lang kita,"

Kumunot ang noo ko. Bitin at kuryoso sa sinasabi niya, umusog ako, lumapit pa sa lamesa at halos humilig na. Rebecca shrugged her shoulders then put a small of piece of her food inside her mouth. She blinked at me while chewing it slowly.

"Ang alin? Ano 'yon?" I asked curiously.

The side of her lips twitched like she was amused of something. Tumikhim siya at pumormal ang upo. She swallowed the food in her mouth before shrugging her shoulders once more.

"Huwag na, hindi ka naman maniniwala. Hayaan mo na..."

Mas lalo lang akong nakuryoso nang bitinin niya ulit. Humilig na ako sa lamesa. Magkasalubong ang mga kilay, I looked at her intently.

"What is it, Rebecca? Tell me, please,"

Her eyes narrowed. "You won't get mad at me?"

Bahagya akong natawa. "Hindi, bakit naman..."

Umuwang ang aking labi. Hindi ko natago ang pagkamangha na may halong gulat nang biglang magbago ang ekspresyon ng kaniyang mukha. From looking like she doesn't care about what we're talking about, Rebecca suddenly looked pissed. Gritting her teeth, she rolled her eyes. Nilapag niya ang tinidor na hawak na may halong panggigigil.

"Turn down that fucking bastard, Yuri!" she exclaimed.

Napaatras ako sa kinauupuan. My eyes widened and heart almost stopped beating for a few seconds. Rebecca rolled her eyes again and flipped her hair to the side, she looked so angry.