Red Strings of Fate (Haunted Series 2)

Strings 13: Suspicious

"If you want to help me, you could just clean the wound." He stated calmly at pumasok sa banyo na parang wala siyang sugat!

I heaved deeply because I would be hyperventilating from anxiety after seeing those blood, "Okay." 

Nag chat ako kay Rossana para magtanong kung pano mag linis ng sugat. Siya 'yung nurse eh! Pero putangina, di siya nag rreply kaya nag search nalang ako sa google. Sorry na! Hindi ko alam!

Sumunod ako kay James sa banyo. He glanced at me before pulling out a medicine kit from the bottom cabinet of his countertop, and he raised his fingers in a come hither gesture, calling me towards him.

Okay, google says to clean the wound with water kaya pinabayaan ko lang siya linisin ng tubig ang sugat niya habang nililinis ko ang kamay ko. I stared at him from the mirror, what happened to him?

Pagkatapos ng ilang minuto, kumuha na ako ng cotton ball at nilagyan 'yun ng alcohol habang hinuhubad niya uli ang t-shirt niya, tumingin ako sa ibaba para bigyan siya ng privacy pero bigla siyang naglakad palayo sa'kin kaya napatingin uli ako sa kanya.

I was about to ask him where he's going, pero habang naglalakad siya palayo, mas nakita ko ang ibang peklat na alam kong luma na sa likod ng kanyang katawan. 

Why... why does he have those? 

His muscles flexed as he sat down on the couch, and he looked up at me expectantly. 

Realizing he was calling me with his eyes, umupo ako sa tabi niya, holding the alcohol in one hand and the cotton ball in another, "Okay, baka masaktan kita ha."

He nodded while smirking, and I wanted to curse out loud. Bakit nakangisi siya? Why does he find this amusing?

"Sabihin mo kung masakit ha?" He nodded again. I dabbed the cotton lightly on his skin at nagulat nalang ako nang umigik siya at sumigaw, "Bakit? bakit? bakit? Gago, okay ka lang?!"  

Lumayo ako sa kanya ng kaonti dahil natatakot akong mahawakan at bigla siyang masaktan pero bigla siyang tumawa. Pieces of his wet hair, now falling on his face as he did.

"Stop panicking. It's not that deep." Tumawa na siya ng tuluyan at nanlalaki ang mata kong napatingin sa kanya. Aba putangina nabaliw na.

I squinted my eyes at him, at hinawakan ang braso niya para ilayo sa kanyang taligiran at diniinan ang cotton. Nakakagigil to ah, "'Wag kang gumalaw!"

He flinched nang diniinan ko ang lagay sa gilid ng sugat niya, he looked at me betrayed and I was immediately guilty. Kumuha ako ng bagong cotton at mas maingat na nilagyan ang sugat niya. While doing that, hindi ko maiwasang tingnan ang mga peklat niya.

He has a lot of scars.

He has one on his pelvis, and I caressed it. I felt his breathing hitch, and I immediately realized I was touching him inappropriately kaya napalayo ako. When I looked up, he was staring at me, "I'm sorry."

Andami kong tanong pero hindi na ako nagsalita. Scars have histories, and some stories of our history bring us pain when we remember them. I don't want to be the cause of him feeling those again.

"You still think I'm hot with all these?" Tumawa siya bigla at nagulat ako sa sinabi niya. Naalala ko ang pinagsasabi ko nung mga nakaraang linggo. Ano bang nasa isip ko at sinabihan ko siyang hipon, itong lalakeng 'to hipon?

Mabilis akong umiling, "To make you feel better, it adds spice." Putangina ito nanaman ako. 

Gago anong spice?! 

I stared at his scars, which tell me that James lived a life different from what I imagined him to be. He has all this money, the mansion, the security. Pero bakit may ganyan siya?