Unbind the Strings

Thirty Two

"Eto si Alonzo, boyfriend ko. Oo. Huwag ka sanang malito dahil ang layo ng itsura ni Kai sakanya, 'no? Oo. Hehe." Gab said while tapping Alonzo's back.

"Sorry." Sophia chuckled. "Alright, noted." She said and looked at me.

"You must be Cali." she said, smiling at me widely.

I stood up and smiled back at her. "Hi, nice to meet you." I said and she went closer to make a beso with me. She also went to Liam and introduced herself.

"Liam." Liam said, with no emotions at all and sat back beside me.

"Upo na kayo, kainan na!" Neil said and called the waiter to order a bucket of beer.

"How's Manila, Jay? Ang tagal mong hindi nagparamdam, ah?" Gab said, while opening the bottle of beer.

I glanced at Jay and saw his arm around Sophie. "Uh, busy lang. Sobrang daming ginagawa." he said and glanced at me as well.

"Sana all busy pero may time maghanap ng girlfriend." Kai said sarcastically. Natawa ako sa sinabi niya at nagpatuloy nalang sa pagkain.

"Nah, she was unexpected." Jay said, while stroking Sophie's hair. "I don't wanna fall in love, not at all. But, you know, she made me smile and at some point and then, boom. Nahulog na ako without even realizing it." he said while smiling and took a sip from his bottle. Sophie smiled at him and they looked at each other for a while.

"Ayan na 'yung ibang foods, yes!" Neil exclaimed and fixed the table for a larger space.

"Cali, kuha ka na ng pizza dito since ikaw naman nagbayad." Kai said while laughing and slicing a piece of pizza for me.

"Ayaw ni Cali niyan, she wants Hawaiian, right Cal?" Jay said out of the blue.

"Uh- actually." I was cut off by Liam.

"No, she likes garlic and shrimp already. Mind your own girlfriend, pare." Liam said while putting the pizza on my plate.

"Whooo, ang inet naman ng paligid. Swimming tayo mamaya, ha?" Alonzo said while looking at each of our faces.

We continued eating and we didn't plan on getting ourselves drunk kasi we still have to go swimming later. Tamang chill lang saka usap about buhay. Nag-ingay na rin ako para mawala yung awkwardness sa paligid. I excused myself to go to the bathroom to freshen up and pee.

"Uh, excuse me, saan po rito 'yung restroom?" I asked the crew and she pointed out the direction to the restroom. "Okay, thanks."

I went inside and looked myself in the mirror. I was trying to talk to myself about the presence of Jay around, convincing myself that he already moved on and Liam is just beside me all the time. I went outside after freshening up and saw him standing while leaning against the wall. What is he doing here?

"I didn't know may kasama ka papunta rito." he said in a casual manner.

"Bakit? Ikaw lang ba may karapatang mag-sama ng jowa?" I said and raised my eyebrows at him.

"I guess you really moved on from me, huh." He said while smiling, seriously looking at me.

"Huh? Bakit ako? Mukhang nauna ka na nga, matagal na." I said and rolled my eyes at him.

"Hindi ka sure, Cal." he said.

"Wala naman akong pakealam." I said and walked away from him but he grabbed my hand and let me face him.

"Hindi pa tayo tapos, Cali." he said and looked at me straight.

"Matagal na kayong tapos. Leave her alone." Liam said, grabbing my hand away from his grip and pulling me closer to him.

"Bakit ba lagi kang nangengalam, ha? Sino ka ba?" Jay said and tried to push Liam's shoulder.

"Hindi ba dapat 'yan ang tinatanong ko sa'yo? Sino ka ba? Ex ka na, get lost pare." Liam said, smirking. I saw Jay's fist forming a circle so I tried to pull Liam away from him.

"Eh kung ikaw kaya iligaw ko, fucker!" Jay shouted at him while trying to grab his collar.

"Anong sabi mo? Fucker? Tangina, ang kapal naman ng mukha mong sabihin sa 'kin 'yan." Liam said aggressively.

"Oo tangina ka. Nakikiepal ka, hindi ka naman belong." Jay said again, making Liam more angry.

"Nakakahiya ka pare. Ugali mo may lagnat." Liam said as he took a step back.

"Guys, please. Tama na." I said, pulling them away from each other.

"Gago ka pala eh!" Jay said and pushed Liam against the wall, giving him a hard punch. I was shocked to see what happened and Jay suddnely stopped for a moment, contemplatig what he did.

"What the fuck, Jay? Are you out of your mind? Inaano ka ba nung tao, ha?"

"Cali, let me explain..." Jay said, trying to grab my hand again.

"Wala na tayong dapat pag-usapan. Inaantay ka na ng girlfriend mo. Let's go, Liam." I said and assisted him as we turned our back on him.

I heard him cursing as we slowly turned our backs on him. We went back to the table and our friends looked confused, wondering what happend back there.

"Please get your boyfriend there and tell him to mind his own business please. Thanks." I said to Sophie while getting a pack of ice from the bucket of beer.

"Are you okay? Saan masakit?" I turned to Liam and started dumping the ice to his face.

"Did he hurt you? What did he do to you?" He said, caressing my face slowly.

"I'm fine, you should be worrying about yourself." I said and he pulled me closer for a tight hug.

"Please let me know kung ako parin ang gusto mo, ha?" he said, still not letting go of the hug.

Hindi ko na alam, I'm so fucked up.

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welp welp