MY EYES FURROWED as I almost run to get my freaking phone. It's ringing so damn loud. I checked the time at our wall clock. It's still 4:30, who in the world would call at this time? Dali-dali kong pinunasan ang basa kong kamay habang sinisilip sa aking phone ang pangalan ng tumatawag.
JERK FACE is calling..
Naiinis na sinagot ko ang tawag. "What do you want jerk? Don't you have other friends to bother there in America? It's fucking early!" I grumpily hissed.
"Are you in your red days?" I grunted at his teasing tone. He often call me these past few days and it's kind of pissing me off already. Hindi ko siya maintindihan. If he really wants someone, then he shouldn't have left.
It's been two years since he left. It's been two long years since the two month condition ended. Masyadong naging mabilis ang pagdaan ng mga araw hanggang sa taon na ang binibilang namin. Dalawang taon na ang nakalipas. I just can't believe it.
"What do you want?" Pilit kong pinakalma ang aking boses.
"I just wanna check upon you." Rinig ko ang matunog niyang pagbuntong-hininga.
"No shit, Khalil Forest. Ilang beses na bang nangyari 'to? I know you didn't call me just to check on my well-being." Sabi ko saka nagpakawala ng matunog na paghikab.
"How mean, witch. Kausap mo ako tapos bigla kang hihikab? Naging kayo lang ng Lucas mo nawalan ka na ng paki-alam sa'kin." Pagdadrama pa ng lalaki. I just can't help but to roll my eyes. Exactly how many times did I already hear this from him? Palagi siyang may baong ganitong linya every time he calls.
"Just get to the point, okay. Ask what you wanna know so I can go back to sleep. I've still barely close my eyes when you called." Pandidiretso ko na sa kanya. He's taking too much time. I wanna spend my free weekend in sleeping. College have never been nice to me since the last few years but it was specially cruel to me now that I'm graduating already.
"You know what I want to know, Loraine." Biglang namang naging seryoso ang boses niya. Napabuga na lamang ako ng hangin saka napahilot sa aking noo. I already know what he's gonna say. "Who's that fucking Aaron guy? What was he doing in your house and why was that bastard holding her hands so fucking casually?" Tila kasing lamig ng yelo ang kanyang boses.
"Kali," nahihirapan akong magpaliwanag. "My dear friend, Olivia is free to be in a relationship with any guy she likes." Marahan kong sabi, ipinapaintindi ang bawat salita sa kanya.
"I know, but what if that fucktard takes advantage of her? You can't tell what's going on the mind of guys these days---"
"Jerk face, calm your ass down. I've met the guy. He's decent." Kalmado kong sabi. Natahimik naman siya sa kabilang linya.
"I can't believe this, I'm sexier and hotter than that turd. And what kind of face is that? Mukhang alimango.. tch." Rinig kong pagbulong pa niya sa kabilang linya. Napabuntong-hininga akong muli. Now he's complaining. Honestly, I don't understand why he chose to be away when he didn't even make an effort to move on from my sister.
And worse, palagi niya akong tinatawagan kapag nababalitaan niyang may kinikitang ibang lalaki si Olivia. It's out of my control if Olivia wants to date other guys. Isa pa, she's already in legal age, and she's not hiding the fact that she wants to date someone. And I always make sure that the guy is decent enough to get mine and Carter's approval. Even Dad is hesitant to just let any guy date our Olivia.
And seeing how Olivia's doing fine, I can conclude that even Kali decides to court her again, she'll reject him..
"Why don't you just go and date other girls too? You should move on, it's been two years already." Napapagod ko nang sabi. He tched on the other line.
"I've moved on! I don't like her that way anymore, okay? I already told you I just care about her. All of us grew up together and we're already like a f-family. Of course, I'll be concern if there's someone who's stealing my girl--- I mean my little sister!" Defensive na sabi niya. Oh really? Tch, this guy really don't know how to make a perfect alibi. He's so freaking obvious.
I sighed.
'He haven't moved on. Did he even try?'
"So you care about her as a sister. It's too bad, ni hindi niya nga kailanman nabanggit pa ang pangalan mo, even as a brother, simula nung umalis ka." Sarkastikong sabi ko. Bigla namang tumahimik ang linya. Oh well, looks like I took the joke too far.
"I mean---" hindi ko na natapos ang sasabihin ko.
"Really?" Malamig ang tono ng boses niya. Uh-oh, someone really got annoyed by that.
"No really. Of course nababanggit ka naman niya, er.." bigla akong napa-isip kung may sandali nga bang nabanggit ni Olivia ang pangalan ni Kali. But I can't seem to remember any time. Did she ever talk about Kali? Ugh, there's no use. She's really not thinking of Kali anymore.
"Tch, no need to remember the things that didn't happen. Good bye." Marahas niyang ibinaba ang tawag. Napailing naman ako sa sariling katangahan. Well, it's not really stupidity since I'm just telling the truth, but Kali needs to wake up now. My sister is really over him.
Muli akong napatingin sa wall clock. It's five o'clock in the morning.
"I guess I'll just get back to sleep."
Muli kong tiningnan ang phone ko para tingnan kung may mga text o ibang tawag pa roon. I see one unread message and it's from Lucas.
From: Boyfriend
Sleep. You gotta stop staying up late.
4:54 a.m.
Napangiti naman ako sa text niya. Ngunit agad iyong napalitan ng lungkot. We're both busy. I'm a graduating student and he's starting to run his own company now. I miss him so damn much. Sa palagay ko ay magtatatlong linggo na rin simula nung huli kaming magkita at kamustahan lang iyon na hindi pa tumagal ng dalawang oras dahil biglang nagkaroon ng problema sa kompanya niya.
Dang it. I want to hear his voice.
I tried to call him but he's not picking up. Napangiti nalang ako ng mapait. Maybe he's that busy?
I'm never the clingy type of girlfriend. Pero hindi ko maiwasang hindi hanapin ang presensya niya. Three weeks without a single phone call is too much, even for me.
I sighed before replying to him.
To: Boyfriend
I'll sleep for the whole day. Don't overwork yourself. Rest.
5:06 a.m.
That's just how we usually text each other. Cold, no sweet messages, I love you's and other cheesiness. I guess we're just both not into those things. Though, he can be both sweet, weird and a jerk to me when we're alone depending on his mood.
I climbed back to my bed and it didn't take a single minute before I was sound asleep.
"I'm not seeing Lucas these past days, Laine sweety." Mom commented in the middle of our dinner. I swallowed my food first and sipped water before speaking.
"Weeks, Mom." I corrected her. Mom sighed and shook her head.
"I heard he's been busy running his company. That young man is sure a dedicated one. Don't worry, you've picked the right guy, sweetheart." Sabi ni Dad. I just nodded at him.
"It's just that..." Hindi ko na itinuloy ang balak kong sabihin at nagpatuloy nalang sa pagkain.
Mom looked at me with concern.
"I know you missed him so much, but you gotta wait and and not be greedy of his time. Alam kong mahirap dahil ganyan din ako sa ama mo noon. Pero kailangan mo siyang intindihin. I'm sure hindi rin madali kay Lucas na magkalayo kayo." Nagpapaintinding sabi ni Mom. Tila may nalasahan akong pait sa kinakain ko.
Greedy of his time? I just wanna hear his voice even for a second. That's greed?
"Don't worry, Mom. I'm just a bit worried because he might overwork himself." Matipid kong sabi na nagpangiti kay Mom and Dad.
"Lucas is so lucky with you." Mom smiled at me so sweetly. Ginantihan ko iyon ng tipid na ngiti saka bumalik sa kwarto ko.
I turned off the light and hit the lamp on. I spent my time reading my notes, when my phone suddenly beeped. I was taken aback and checked it immediately.
...
From: Boyfriend
Have you slept well?
7:34 p.m.
...
Napangiti naman ako sa text niya. I immediately replied at him.
...
To: Boyfriend
Mmm. Rest now, stop working.
...
I've waited for his reply until five minutes have already passed and there's still no response. I sighed and put my phone back again. It's quiet disappointing but I'm happy that he's making an effort to check on me.
"But does it hurt to save at least a minute for a phone call?" I breathed out. I really want to hear his voice. I understand that he's busy, but still...
I shrugged away my thoughts and focused on my notes instead. I gotta distract myself so I won't be able to think of him.
But before I could even get my notes, my phone beeped once again. I piped my expectations down and just pick my phone again. Maybe he's just saying good night.
But my eyes widened at surprise and my heart almost jumped out of excitement the moment I read his message.
From: Lucas
Can I call?
Hindi pa ako nakakapagreply sa kanya ay bigla na siyang tumawag. It didn't take a single ring before I hit the answer key.
"Of course, you jerk!" Asar kong bungad sa kanya pagkatapos kong sagutin ng tawag.
"I've missed you.." sa pagtugon niya lang na iyon ay nakahinga na ako ng maluwag. Damn it! This is the voice that I've been longing to hear for weeks. Now, I can finally sleep peacefully at night.
I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. "Me too." Tipid kong sabi. I closed my eyes as I listen to his breaths. It really calms me down.
We've stayed quiet for a while. The others might find us awkward but we understand each other so much that I think we can communicate without words.
"How are you?" Mahinahon kong tanong.
"Exhausted," paos na tugon niya. Nagtataka akong napatingin sa aking cellphone.
"You're overworking," kunot noo kong sabi.
"Yeah, a bit." Pagod na bulong niya. Hinilot ko ang aking sentido at napapikit.
"If you die because of your work, I'll kill you." I coldly threatened him. Natawa lang siya ng mahina na ikinaikot ng mga mata ko.
"So sweet," tukso niya.
"Sweet your ass, go sleep and rest! I'll just text you---" I stopped talking when I heard a thud. I stayed silent and smiled a bit when I heard his light snore. He must be really tired.
Siguro kung ibang babae lang ako, magagalit ako kung tutulugan lang ako ng boyfriend ko sa kalagitnaan ng tawag. But I'm not like other girls. Though, it do makes me a little sad that we only talked for barely five minutes. But I feel so happy and contented with just that. I appreciate that he spared a bit of his rest time to call me.
But I'm worried. May problema ba sa kompanya niya? Gaano naman kaya iyon kalaki para magpagod siya ng ganoon? I feel so pathetic that I can't help him but I guess business isn't just for me. Hindi ako interesado roon. I want to focus more in my art and to my architectural skills.
Napa-iling ako saka napatingin sa mga nakatambak kong notes. I slept the whole day so I can go for the whole night.
"I love you, Lucas." I said softly. I chuckled when I heard him groan before ending the call.
"OH MY GOD!" Kunot noo akong napatingin sa pader ng kwarto ng marinig ang sigaw na iyon ni Harper sa kabilang kwarto.
What is she up to?
I remember her talking about her super dream guy a couple of days ago and she just wouldn't stop talking about him all the time. Though, I let that pass since the guy probably don't like Harper that way. Si Carter ang pinaka-iritado sa issue na ito. I don't know if he's being overprotective to his twin or he just hate the guy.
Well, whatever.
I got up from my study table and did a little stretching as I went outside to check on Harper. Nakita ko ang kunot-noong si Carter na kalalabas lang din ng kwarto niya sa harapan ng kwarto ni Harper at si Olivia naman mula sa kwartong kaharap ng sa akin. Magkatabi ang kwarto namin ni Harper at magkatabi rin ang kay Carter at Olivia. We have four guestrooms and two master bedroom, our parents occupies one of those.
"What's happening to that person?" Masamang mukha ni Carter na halata namang naabala sa pagtulog. I arched an eyebrow at him.
"She's not person, she's your twin." Mataray kong sabi na ikinatahimik naman niya.
Nauna naman si Olivia na katukin ang pinto ni Harper. "Harper?" Concern is visible in Olivia's eyes.
Bumukas ang pinto at malaking ngisi ng kapatid ko ang bumungad sa amin. "Hey sissies. And what are you doing here, twin?" Taas kilay niyang tanong kay Carter.
"Maybe to lecture you about not freaking out in the middle of the night shouting like there's nobody sleeping next door?" Sarkastikong ganti ni Carter. Harper just glared at him and faced us.
"Sissies, oh my gosh! He replied! My future hot boyfriend replied on me!"
And here we go..