What Destiny Lies for Us (Esperanza Series #1)

Chapter 25

Chapter 25
Emergency Call
raeminiscence | #WDLFUwp

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I got through the end of my speech without Maddox. It was the most uncomfortable thing I'd done.

Noong sinabi ko sa kanyang 'wag na niya akong puntahan, pinanindigan ko 'yun ngunit habang nagtagal, may hinanap-hanap ang mga mata ko sa audience.

Pero para kay Maddox, mahirap um-oo na lang noong sinabi kong 'wag na siyang magbalak na sumunod pa. Kapalit ng pagpayag niya ay ang walang-tigil na kaka-text niya sa'kin sa posibilidad na makahabol siya.

Hindi naman 'yun natuloy.

Sinuyo niya ako pagkatapos dahil daw ang kulit niya. Siguro nga makulit siya pero naging makulit lang naman siya dahil ayaw niyang hindi makapunta. Sa totoo lang, 'yung inis ko nakadirekta lang sa sarili ko pero naibuhos ko lang sa kanya.

Sooner or later, we ambled the months like how we used to.

May meet-and-greet event ang Lucent Caim pagkatapos ng guesting nila sa isang interview. Malayo-layo ang binyahe nila kaya ilang araw ring nawala si Maddox. Ganoon pa rin naman ang ginawa namin. We continued to send each other snippets of our day and make short vlogs as though the other was really there to see that moment. But still, there were rare times when we'd have some time by ourselves and call each other.

"Natanggap mo na?"

My forehead warped. "Natanggap 'yung?"

"'Yung pinadala ko?" mabagal niyang dagdag, nagtataka. "Wala pa bang dumadating sa'yo diyan?"

"Wala..."

"Ha?! Pinadala ko na 'yun kay Thaddeus ah? Kaninang umaga ko pa 'yun pinadala."

He bantered with Thaddeus endlessly. Aniya, noong umaga na siyang nagbilin para makarating sa'kin kaagad 'yun. In Thaddeus' defense, they were busy so they couldn't bring whatever it was to me. It directly came from their mouth that our business wasn't as important as what they had to do. I still didn't know what his gift was, Maddox wouldn't budge and tell me.

"Nakakainis talaga 'yun. Pumayag na siya noong una e, ano pang inaarte-arte niya?"

I laughed calmly. "Don't worry about it. I can go there and pick it up myself."

"No! They were supposed to do it! 'Yun 'yung usapan namin. Hintayin mo na lang siya ha, Chai? Ta's tawagan mo ako 'pag nakuha mo na. Bibili lang akong alak para mamaya."

I thought I could be sneaky enough to let him tell me what it was but still, it was a no. Hintayin ko na lang daw.

After I received a text from there telling me they were here, Thaddeus' small wave greeted me. Was this box the item Maddox was pertaining to? It didn't look like Thaddeus carried a heavy one as they were able to lift it with one hand with ease but it was larger than I expected. Mukha rin siyang hindi galing sa bahay nila. Who wears a turtleneck and slacks casually around their house?

"Uh... Akin na 'yan," I drawled, reaching out to receive the box. "Naabala ka pa namin."

"Hindi," they replied sparsely.

"I'm saying we are though," I murmured yet enough for them to catch. "Thank you for bringing this."

"Yeah, you did bug me." They fixed their glasses slipping from their nose. "Tell Maddox I don't do favors. He owes me for this one."

"He's your cousin. Tell him that."

"He's my cousin. I know he doesn't listen to me."

They sighed and shook their head in disapproval. They didn't speak anymore yet waved at me goodbye in a nonchalant way. Hindi naman na niya ako makikita pero kumaway pa rin ako. Dire-diretso na siyang sumakay sa kotse niya. I waited until he got off before I closed the gate.