Amour Rouge (Red Love)

Chapter 13

"Hindi ba't sabi mo na magaling naman na driver si Charles in the first place?" Gigil na tanong ko kay Lily.

"Iba nga 'yun, Rose Edeline! Magaling si Charles pero ibang iba yung performance niya 'nung SG GP!"

"And your point?"

"Charles won the GP because of you! He is inspired dahil sa'yo! OMG ka!" I want to tell them na what Charles and I have is pure friendship. I'm just helping him by pretending. Kanina pa tumitili ang dalawa sa mga usapan namin about my GP experience.

"Ginalingan mo naman kasi masyado, Red! Charles Leclerc hulog na hulog sa'yo oh!" Leaving out the 'pretend' agreement, I told them na nasa flirting stage pa lang kami ni Charles. I know they will find it fishy 'pag sinabi ko na we're dating already.

Bilib din ako sa acting skills ni Charles, paniwalang paniwala ang mga kaibigan ko sa mga photos naming dalawa. Quoting what they said, "He looks so in love with you, tingnan mo!"

Dear Miss Rose Edeline Sanchez,

We are very pleased to inform you that you have been selected to work as a nurse at our hospital.

"Oh my God, I got accepted!" I ran to my mom and pinakita sa kaniya ang email ng hospital na in-applyan ko.

"Anak, I'm so proud of you! Alam na ba 'to ng Dad mo?"

My dad is a busy man, he works as a neurosurgeon in Spain. My dad originally wanted me to apply in Spain para magkasama kami. Pero sadly, I still need a year of experience as a nurse here in the Philippines before I can apply internationally.

It's been two months since I met Charles. He actually invited me to watch his races held in four countries pero hindi ako natuloy. Sobrang busy din kasi ako at laging tumatama ang mga interviews ko sa date ng GP niya. After his win in Singapore, hindi na nakapag-podium pa muli si Charles. But his results are not bad, he finished P4 sa Japan, P6 sa Qatar, P5 sa Brazil, at P4 ulit sa Mexico. His next race will be held in Spain.

During those months, lagi niya akong kinukumusta via DMs. We continued our communication, minsan nga ay nag vi-video call din kami.

"Anak? I heard you got the job?" My dad finally accepted my 5th call attempt. I know na lagi siyang busy sa mga surgeries, which I totally understand especially na nasa the same medical field ang mga profession namin.

"You still have a month before your work, right? Why not visit me here in Spain? I also heard that your boyfriend will race here. I'll book your plane ticket."

Dahil nga na lantad na lantad ang relasyon namin ni Charles sa internet, nalaman ito ni Dad. He was mad at first pero he understood naman na malaki na ako. Hindi niya kasi gusto na masaktan ulit ako after sa cheating ng ex ko.

"Pero dad-"

"You visit me here, that's final. I have another surgery. Goodbye anak, I love you." He ended the call habang ako naman ay nakatunganga lang.

Actually, hindi pa ako ready na makita si Charles! Parang ang awkward!

Medyo excited din ang tatay ko at nag book na siya ng flight after nung tawag namin. Akala ko ba may surgery?! My father booked me a flight for tomorrow, agad agad! Wala ba akong opinyon o boses sa pamilyang 'to?

Hindi na din ako nag abala pa na sabihan si Charles, I'll surprise him. Kunwari hindi ulit ako makakapunta tapos makikita niya na lang ako na naka-abang sa garage ng team niya. I gigled at the thought, masisiyahan ba siya 'pag nakita niyang nandoon ako?

To: Daddy
Dad? Nasa airport na po 'ko, nasaan ka?

From: Daddy
Anak sorry, may emergency surgery ako. I asked my kumpare's son to pick you up. He'll drive you to the hospital, wait for me in my office. My surgery will end in 3 hours.

I sat by the airport's waiting area. Paano ako marerecognize ng anak ng friend niya? Need ko pa ba gumawa ng parang card board na may pangalan ko? I opened my bag to find something I could use. Wala akong papel or kahit ballpen. I looked around to find any stores na pwedeng mapagbilhan pero sadly, parking space na ang nakapalibot sa area na 'to.

A car stopped in front of me and nabigla ako sa busina. Sino ba 'tong gagong to?

He rolled down the window na nasa side ng passenger seat. "Hola, Red!"

What is he doing here? Dahil ba 'to sa jetlag or talagang nawawala na ako sa sarili? Bakit nandito siya? Bakit siya nasa loob ng sasakyan na nasa harapan ko?

"Carlos?!" Siya ba ang anak ng kumpare ni Daddy?! Siya ba ang susundo sa'kin?!