The Man in Strings

XVI. Aftermaths

A/N: O surprise ulit. Peace offering kasi ayoko namang mag-one year 'to bago matapos 'di ba. Ehehehehehe. September 25 'yung anniv neto. Lol. Hello bitches yaassss this is a real update lol

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Tangina, ang sakit ng ulo ko.

I looked around and realized I'm in Maine's room. It's almost ten in the morning, and I found it quite embarrassing because I've overslept. Excuse man o hindi na nalasing ako, at inaamin ko na oo, may tama ako kagabi, hindi pa rin dapat ako nagigising ng ganito ka-late lalo na sa bahay nina Maine. Baka masabihan pa ako ng batugan.

Agad akong bumaba at si Maine lang ang nadatnan ko sa may kusina. I almost panicked when I thought I saw her cooking, but it turned out that she's just boiling water. Nakahinga naman ako doon. Hayy, Nicomaine.

"Gising ka na pala," she saw me first and spoke before I could greet her a good morning. I proceeded to do my morning spiel, anyway, and kissed her temple before sitting. Sinimangutan nya lang ako. "Amoy alak ka pa."

I chuckled. We sound like husband and wife.

"Nasaan sina Tatay?"

Naningkit ang mga mata nya. "Nagpatawag syang Tatay?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, it just came out naturally. If you're uncomfortable, kapag kaharap sya, Tito na lang itatawag ko."

"Nagtatanong lang naman ako," naglapag sya ng isang tasang kape sa harap ko. "Hindi ba masakit ang tiyan mo o ang ulo mo?"

"Medyo," pag-amin ko. "Mawawala rin 'to kapag naligo ako."

Maine still doesn't look amused. "Ganyan ka ba lagi kapag nag-iinom?"

"Ano?"

"Wala," at sumimangot sya ulit bago naupo sa harap ko. The whole time na humihigop ako ng kape para mainitan 'yung tiyan ko, parang painit rin nang painit ang ulo nitong babaeng 'to sa'kin.

"Bakit ang sungit mo?" I asked her. "May sinabi na naman ba ako?"

"Wala," she crossed her arms. "Nagsimba sina Tatay, kaka-alis lang. Pinaiwan ako kasi apparently, lasing 'yung boyfriend ko."

"Sorry na," paglalambing ko. "I just thought it's okay since nasa bahay nyo naman ako, walang mangyayari sa'kin. At tsaka nakakahiya sa tatay at kapatid mong hindi uminom."

"Eh papaano kapag nasa labas ka? Kapag iba ang kasama mo?" Hindi pa rin sya natitinag. This is another side of Maine that I haven't seen. She really, really surprises me every day. "Do you ask every girl you see to have sex when you're drunk?"

Nasamid ako. Literal. Not just for the sake of artistic storytelling. I almost felt like the warm coffee came out of my nose and I'm not even kidding. Maine kept her passive face and just went to get me a glass of water and a few pieces of tissue. Pinunasan nya rin ng basahan iyong parte ng mesa na nasa harapan ko dahil nga may ilang patak ng kape. But she still kept a straight face the whole time she was doing it.

"Okay ka na?" She crossed her arms again. Ano 'to? Tangina, ayoko na maglasing ulit.

I nodded. "Okay, balik tayo sa usapan. Sagot, Richard Faulkerson JUNIOR."

"Anong tanong mo ulit?"

"I'm a writer, okay sige slow ako at times, I will give you that and I won't deny anything, but I do my research before writing dahil hindi ko alam lahat ng bagay. And drunk people are stupid, but they never lie. Now, answer me. Anong frustration mo?" I didn't even see her blink. "Sex o ako?"