Ynoa's POV
"Iliko mo diyan." I commanded and still looked serious.
Ramdam na ramdam ko ang tanong sa mata ni Roemer nang papasok kami sa paaralan ng kapatid. Pero hindi ito ang tamang panahon para magpaliwanag. And I don't owe him that.
Nang matapos ipark ay agaran akong bumaba. Sumunod ako siya likod ko, sakto naman at uwian na ng mga bata. Sa di kalayuan ay tinakbo ko na si Zeijan nang makita na tahimik na naglalakad. They are about to enter the school bus, but when my brother saw me. His face lit up.
"Zeijan! Are you okay? Nothing happened bad to you right?" dirediretsong tanong ko.
He looked at me with confused eyes. His nose wrinkled too. If I am not worried, I would've admired his cuteness doing it.
"Nothing po, why?" He asked.
"Listen to me, don't trust anyone okay? If someone approaches you, don't go with them okay?"
He nodded obediently and I hugged him. I feel so at ease knowing he's safe. Hindi ko kakayanin kung pati ang bata ay madamay. Mamatay muna ako bago siya mapahamak.
"Do you understand?" tanong ko ulit. He nodded. Then his face lit up as if he remembered something.
"Yes po. Look! I got five stars!" He shouted proudly.
"Wow! What shall I reward you?" I asked in an amused face.
"It's okay po, I am more than happy that I got into a nice school." He answered.
I patted his head and smiled more. Parang nagulat naman ang kapatid ko nang nakita ang kasama.
"You're still here?" I asked Roemer. Well I know but what I mean is pwede na siang umuwi?
"Obviously." He uttered.
"Thank you by the way. But you can go." I dismissed him and his jaw almost drop. Why?
"What about your work?" He asked. What work? Eh last meeting niya na yun! Huwag ngayon Roemer please!
"You see? I finished all the things I had to do. And also, wala ka ng schedule ngayon. So basically, wala na akong work." Paiba-iba ng tingin naman ng bata sa amin habang nag-uusap tila ba naiintindihan ang pinag-uusapan.
"You have work pa po? I can go home alone po. Sa school bus." Zeijan uttered and looked at me.
I smiled and looked at Roemer with piercing eyes. "I'm done with my work right?" Madiin kong tanong. My stares tell him to approve my decision because if not, I showed him the I'll kill you look.
Hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit pinilit pa ni Roemer na ihatid kami. I even explained to him that we're going first to a fastfood. I know Zeijan loves jollibee. He adores the big bee. And just for today I wanted to treat him. Pero may makulit kasi na ugok at mapilit.
Let's see if you can stand this crowded place, Roemer.
Ramdam ko din ang pagtatanong sa kanyang mata. I bet he's thinking that Zeijan is my son. Baka inisip na nun na maaga akong nabuntis. I think he's 3 years older than me though. However, I think it's better this way too. If the secret gets exposed, it's not good for Zeijan. Hindi ko ata kayang makitang ipagtabuyan ang kapatid.
I ordered in the counter for his favorite. I just ordered ordinary burger and fries for me because we had lunch earlier. Ganun din ang kinuha ko para kay Roemer.
When I got back to the seat, everyone are looking at him.
My heart almost melted when I saw Zeijan laughing. Roemer is smiling too. Weird, but Zeijan is your uncle.
Bitbit ang mga pagkain ay agad na lumiwanag ang mukha ng aking kapatid nang makita ako.
I slowly opened my burger and ate. Habang pinapanuod ang kapatid na kumain. I smiled.
"You don't like the food po?" Zeijan asked.
"I like it. Eat up big boy." He uttered and pick up fries.
My heart broke just by looking at Zeijan. He longed for a father and mother. Kahit sinabi ko na ate niya ako at mommy niya din ako, parang iba pa rin talaga. I saw how his eyes lit up just by looking at Roemer.
"What happened to your forehead po?" I almost choke at his question.
Kita ko naman ang pagpipigil ni Roemer. "Zeijan, eat first." saway ko.
Hindi na ulit nagtanong pa si Zeijan tungkol sa bukol ni Roemer, pero ramdam ko ang masamang tingin ni Roemer sa akin.
Nagpumilit naman siyang ihatid kami sa apartment. Hindi na ako umangal para makatipid sa pamasahe. I have to save up a lot of money. For us.
Nang makarating sa apartment tinignan ko si Zeijan.
"Baby, you have your key right? Mauna ka na." I uttered.
Agad niya naman akong sinunod at bumaling kay Roemer.
"Bye bye po! I hope to see you again." He smiled and left.
"Hindi na kita sisingilin." I uttered when Zeijan left. Kaming dalawa nalang ang nasa kotse.
Roemer looked at me with those confused eyes. Umirap naman ako, ang slow naman nito.
"Sa pinambayad ko sa meryenda mo. Hinatid mo naman kami e. Quits tayo." I uttered.
His jaw dropped at my words. Umirap nalang ako at akmang aalis nang pinigilan niya ako.
"What?" tanong ko
"He's your son?" he asked. I heaved a sigh and looked away.
"Y-yes." I lied.
"Where's his father?" He asked again.
"It's none of your business." I uttered. Binuksan ko ang pinto at tuluyang lumabas.
I'm afraid that he's going to question me. Natatakot akong mabuko. Ilang sandali pa ay narinig ko ang huni ng makina ng kanyang sasakyan hanggang sa tuluyan nang nakaalis.
BINABASA MO ANG
Who's the Boss? (Salvaje Caballero Series 1)
Romance"Hey. Got your new secretary? What kind of girl she is?" Brock asked. "Rude" "Sarcastic" "Short-tempered" "A secretary you'll never dream of having." I answered. "And man, she even looks more like a boss than me." His jaw almost dropped because m...
