Playing For Keeps (Book 2 & 3)

2. Chapter 19.

"The best is yet to come..."

"Jealous... ha!" Drei muttered to herself while she sat on the edge of her bed wiping the tears away from her face. Then she grabbed several pieces of tissue beside her and blew her nose. "Like as if I should believe that!"

She allowed herself to shed a few buckets of tears right after Alex walked out on her. A good cry and a never-ending monologue, that's what she needs. In fact, it's becoming a habit already. There was no one to blame for her over sensitivity but her hormones and the asshole, Greek god father of her unborn child. She hated them both. But she hated Alex the most. She hated him for the gimmicks he's been doing to make it up to her. It annoyed her. She hated him for the efforts he's been doing just to get her attention. And she hated him even more tonight when he told her that he was jealous.

'I'm jealous because you'd rather be with him than be with me...'

His words were still clinging unto her mind, playing over and over again like a broken record. She scowled at the thought and then her hand caressed the bulging bump.

"He expects me to believe that... ganoon lang ba ka dali yun, Zooey?" she addressed the question to the person inside her tummy. "After being an asshole, your father thinks I could let him get away with that that easy... Jealous... yeah right?!"

But underneath the cold façade that she's been putting on for the past few days, there was a part of her who believed it. Her heart. That tricky organ on her chest believed him. Every single one of his gimmicks, every single one of his efforts. Her heart bought it all.

Yet tonight was the highlight of it all because her heart believed every single bit of his words. She cringed at the memory. The fierce expression on his face and how he said it with so much conviction just nailed it right through her chest. It was real and Alex was telling the truth. And now she hates herself, which is why she chose to shut him out before she finds herself vulnerable around him. She's already on the right track but his words were now holding her back. Goddamn it!

Drei gave out a heavy sigh. She stood up, stared at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were swollen from crying, her nose was red. She looked awful. She was done crying for tonight and she didn't want Matty to see her like this. So she walked out of the room and into the bathroom to wash her face. Then she headed into the kitchen to fix herself a sandwich and a glass of milk for dinner. It was already quarter to eight, she was still all by herself and Manang Pilar wasn't home yet. Matty arrived a few minutes later; Tope bought him home after having dinner with the Soriano's at Greenbelt. The boy took a bath and changed into his pajamas.

"Mom, can I ask you something?" Matty said. The both of them were inside his room already and getting ready for bed.

"Go ahead," she smiled at him.

"Nag-usap na po ba kayo ni Daddy Alex?" his face was serious. Now, Drei didn't see this coming.

She arched a brow at him feigning ignorance. "Nag-usap? Tungkol saan?"

"About sa inyong dalawa..." he said casually.

"Ano naman pag-uusapan namin? At bakit kami dapat mag-usap?"

"Because you and Daddy Alex need to talk... you don't talk to each other anymore... is there something wrong?" She was silent. "Nag away po  ba kayong dalawa?"