Project LOKI ③

Chapter 46: Shades of Grey II (Grey Morning)

"Hindi po yata maganda ang gising niya," bulong ko. I couldn't tell my aunt that he and Luthor had a sibling fight here last night.

"Paano niyan ang play n'yo?" tanong ni tita. Inilapag na niya sa mesa ang dalang supot ng pandesal. "Dapat may energy kayo kapag nagpe-perform! Medyo maaga pa. Baka gusto niya munang magpahinga?"

"Ako na hong bahala sa kanya." Ngumiti ako't in-escort palabas ng unit si tita. Wala na siyang naging tanong pa.

Pagkasara ng pinto, umupo ako sa kabilang couch dala-dala ang isang pandesal at ang aking hot choco. Muling itinaas ni Loki ang libro para takpan ang kanyang mukha.

This felt strange to me. Kagaya kasi 'to ng ilang movie na napanood ko na noon. The morning after a couple fight. Parang gano'n, pero hindi talaga gano'n.

I was waiting for him to start a conversation, but he said nothing. Nagpatuloy siya sa paglilipat ng mga pahina ng libro. No, he wasn't really reading. There's no way he'd finish two pages within thirty seconds. Malamang ginagamit niyang prop ang libro para iwasang magkausap kami.

"How are you feeling?" I asked nang makalahati ko na ang kinakain kong pandesal. Alam kong he's not feeling a hundred percent okay, but it's the best approach to strike a convo with him.

Hindi ko masabi kung nailabas na ba niya ang lahat ng hinanakit niya kagabi. Maybe there's still some resentment inside his heart. Hindi rin kasi namin napag-usapan ang lahat ng dapat pag-usapan. We'd only talked about Luthor's affiliation to M's organization.

Speaking of that, we haven't touched on how they pulled off the fake fire and Rosetta's fake death in the white hostel. Nor have we discussed how Luthor knew that Jaime Santiago is the founder of M's organization. Well, Luthor's revelation alone was already too much for us to process. Pwede pa naming pag-usapan ang mga 'yon sa mga susunod na araw.

"My cheek's feeling better," he replied.

Napapikit ang mga mata ko at iniyuko ko ang aking ulo. Nag-flashback na naman sa isip ko ang pagsampal ko sa kanya at sa kanyang kuya kagabi. I somehow felt guilty. I somehow felt I went overboard with the slap. Nadala na rin kasi ako ng emosyon ko noon.

Loki's not the type to beat around the bush so I might do the same.

"Last night, you asked me if I knew it already," I recalled, taking a three-second pause. Nakatingin pa rin ako sa librong binabasa niya. "Are you upset or disappointed in me?"

'Yan ang tanong na paulit-ulit sa isip ko kagabi. He said that he had already expected it. What I don't know was how he took my confirmation of his suspicions. Did he feel betrayed? Did he feel that I kept him in the dark?

Kung magagalit siya sa akin, maiintindihan ko. Pwede na niyang ibalik sa akin ang mga pinagsasabi ko noong nag-outburst ako sa pagtatago niya ng kanyang hinala kay Jamie. He could proudly call me a hypocrite.

I braced myself for impact.

"Why would I?" Loki lowered the book below his chin.

Eh? My eyes blinked as I stared at him. Tama ba ang dinig ko?

"You're neither upset nor disappointed?" I asked for confirmation. Ipinatong ko sa center table ang aking mug. Hindi ko pa rin siya nilubayan ng tingin.

"Is there a reason that I should be?" He began twirling a few strands of his hair.

My eyes narrowed into slits. "I knew about your brother's secret and I kept it from you for weeks. Ine-expect kong madi-disappoint ka dahil hindi ko sinabi sa 'yo."

Hindi ako naghahanap ng gulo ngayong umaga. Hindi ko rin ipinagpipilitan na dapat siyang magalit sa 'kin. Mas mabuti ngang wala siyang negative reaction tungkol sa ginawa ko. But I was somewhat in disbelief sa naririnig ko ngayon. Yesterday, he was like a volcano that erupted and went out of control. Today, he was as calm as the sea after a storm hit.