Chapter Thirteen
From: Mitchell
Sorry for the late notice!
Won't be able to drop you off at your place.
I sighed in disappointment. Hindi ko naman pwedeng sungitan siya dahil hindi ko naman siya totoong boyfriend. Wala talaga siyang obligasyon sa akin. He just promised me that he'll send a text kapag hindi niya ako maihahatid. Which he just did.
'Okay lang. I'll text my driver na lang. Ingat!' I replied to his text. Then immediately texted our driver to pick me up here at school. Knowing na matatagalan pa si Manong, I decided to roam around the campus to pass the time.
Dinala ako ng mga paa ko sa Lover's Lane.
Parang kailang lang si Nico ang kasama ko rito. Pero ngayon, gulu-gulo na lahat. I am with Mitchell now–although our relationship is fake. Idagdag pa natin sa eksena si Lourd na nagbantang gaganti sa ginawa ko sa kanya kagabi.
God, why did I do that to him?
Ano ba sa tingin ko ang mangyayari nung ginawa ko yung prank? Titigilan niya ako? Ususumbong niya ako kay Mommy?
Pinalala ko lang ang lahat.
I sighed again as I sat down at the nearest park bench. Kukunin ko sana ang microbio book ko nang biglang may mga babaeng sumulpot sa harapan ko. Napatigil ako sa ginagawa ako at tinitigan lang sila.
"Hi," bati ng nasa unahan nila. Mukhang siya ang leader ng grupo nila. "You're Daphne Villareal, right?"
Napakunot nang bahagya ang noo ko bago ako tumango. Paano nila ako na kilala? "Yes. Can I help you with something?"
Ngumiti silang lahat sa akin. Para bang na-excite sila sa pag-kumpirma ko ng katauhan ko. Weird.
"Okay lang ba if mainterview ka namin?" tanong ng leader nila. "I'm Rita, by the way."
"What for?" tanong ko bago ngumiti sa kanila. I still kept an eye out pa rin sa mga kagrupo niya dahil meron talaga silang weird vibes.
"School paper. Music major kami," sagot ni Rita bago siya biglang umupo sa tabi ko. "We'll just ask you about music stuff."
Napaurong ako nang bahagya. "Oh. Okay."
I don't feel good about this. I don't like it when strangers invade my personal space. Pero ayoko rin namang maging rude at biglang lumayo. Baka rin mali naman ang iniisip ko sa kanila.
"Are you a fan of Pinoy rock bands?" unang tanong ni Rita.
Umiling ako. "Not really. I also listen to old rock songs because of my Dad."
"Wala kang gustong Pinoy rock band?" agad na follow-up question nito.
Lalong lumaki ang paghihinala ko dahil napapansin kong wala sa kanila ang nagti-take ng notes at parang walang sinusundang questionnaire si Rita sa pag-iinterview niya sa akin.
"Uhh... I don't know. I've got no time to listen to the new ones," I answered distractedly.
Napansin ko ang pasimpleng paglingon ni Rita sa mga kasama niya, para bang may senyasang naganap sa loob lang ng ilang segundo.
"Familiar ka ba sa indie rock music scene dito sa Pilipinas?"
"No..."
"May favourite kang new rock song?" sabat ng isa sa mga kasama ni Rita.
Umiling ako. "Wala."
Tinitigan ako nang matagal ni Rita bago siya nagtanong ulit.
"And you're the girlfriend of Mitchell of The Rubbers?"
Sinasabi ko na nga ba.
I stared at her dead on. "Is this still about your school paper or my boyfriend?" I asked with a brow raised.
Hindi siya sumagot. Instead, she stood up in front of me and addressed her group. "Girls. Anong gagawin natin sa bandwagon fan na to?"
Nagulat ako nang bigla nilang pinalibutan ang inuupan kong park bench. May ilang humawak sa magkabila kong braso.
"What the hell?" I sputtered as I tried to stand up. Ang lalakas nila at ang tutulis ng mga kuko!
"Get your hands off her," sabi ng isang pamilyar na boses ng isang lalaki. I knew who it is kahit hindi ko siya nakikita dahil sa mga nakaharang sa harapan at paligid ko.
"Lourd!" I called out his name in relief.
"Go ahead and hurt her, I'll send this video to Mitchell," narinig kong pagbabanta niya. Agad namang nagsibitawan at nagsitakbuhan palayo ang mga fangirls ni Mitchell.
"You okay?" tanong sa akin ni Lourd nang makalapit siya sa akin. Umupo siya sa tabi ko, I watched his eyes roamed around my face and my body. Matapos niya akong i-inspection for injuries ay tinanguan niya lang ako at sumandal sa park bench.
"Uhh... Thanks for saving me," I reluctantly said as I watch him played with his phone.
"Don't mention it," he answered dismissively.
Shit. Mukhang galit pa rin yata siya sa pang-paprank ko sa kanya kagabi. I have to own up to it and apologize. What I did was uncalled for and dangerous.
"About last night, Lourd..." I trailed off when he didn't look my way. "I went too far."
"You didn't."
My brows furrowed in confusion. I know for a fact that I really went too far last night. "But you were so red last night! Akala ko hihimatayin ka sa anghang. Inubos mo pa yung soup!" Hindi ako makatulog kagabi dahil maraming pumasok na possibilities sa utak ko.
What if he's just acting cool? Pero hindi na pala siya makahinga nang maayos? Kasi ang pula-pula niya. Aakalain mong puputok ang mukha niya dahil parang may lumalabas na usok sa nostrils at magkabila niyang tainga.
Lumingon siya sa akin at ngumiti. I noticed it didn't reach his eyes. "Marami ka na ngang nakalimutan sa akin."
Lalo akong napasimangot sa sinabi niya. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I love spicy food, Daphne," simple nitong sumagot bago napailing. Ibinalik na nito ang atensyon niya sa kanyang phone.
I sighed. Shit. How could I forget that? I panicked and felt guilty for nothing.
I cleared my throat and asked him what was really bugging me last night. "Gagantihan mo talaga ako?"
"What do you think?" lang ang isinagot niya.
"You will," I answered with a sigh. "You don't have to stay here with me. I'm sure hindi na nila ako babalikan."
"I'm not like your boyfriend, Daphne. I can't just leave you here with the Nico still on the loose." May narinig akong pagkairita sa tono niya.
"He was busy," I shot back lamely. Hindi ko naman pwede sabihin sa kanya na wala namang kasalanan si Mitchell. But I get where he's coming from. He's an overprotective douchebag but he still gave way for Mitchell when I told him protecting me wasn't his job anymore.
"You should've texted me instead. Pauwi ka na sana ngayon and not waiting for your driver."
I shrugged. "Next time na lang."
"There shouldn't be a next time, Daph," Lourd seethed. "I'll fucking beat the shit out of your boyfriend if something happened to you when he's not with you."
Umiling ako para ipakita ang pagtutol ko. "He's busy, Lourd. Importante sa kanya ang career niya."
"You should be his top priority. Not his band," he shot back without missing a beat.
Natawa ako sa sinabi niya. "We're just in college. Music is his life."
Tinignan niya ako at hindi ko mapigilan ang sarili ko na mapatitig din sa kanya. "Then he shouldn't be with you. You deserve nothing but the best."
I looked away when his gaze became too much for me. Iniba ko rin ang usapan dahil ayokong umabot pa kami ulit sa dangerous territories.
"Ikaw, bukod sa panggugulo mo sa akin, anong pinagkakaabalahan mo?"
"School. I'm a PolSci major, by the way," he answered, his gaze still trained on me.
Huh. Just like Dad and Ninong. "Are you following Ninong's steps?"
"If you're asking if I wanted to be a lawyer, then yes. I don't to be a politician like your Dad."
I cleared my throat as I threw another question his way. "What else? Ano pa ginagawa mo ngayon?"
I can still feel his intense eyes on me. "It's just you and school."
"Boring ng buhay mo," pilit kong biro. "What's your life like before you came back?"
"My life in Canada? It's pretty normal." Am I ready to learn about his life in Canada? Why did I ask him that? "I studied, hangout with friends, did the whole high school thing."
"How about girls?" I blurted out without thinking.
Fuck. Just shut your mouth, Daph. Shut it.
"You mean girlfriends? I had three."
Three.
"Three."
"Yeah."
Okay. What should we do with this new information? Bakit pa kasi ako nagtanong? Bakit biglaan akong nagkainteres sa buhay niya bago siya bumalik?
At bakit hindi ako makahinga nang maayos sa katotohanang nagkaroon siya ng tatlong girlfriends sa loob ng ilang taong malayo siya sa akin?
I only had Nico and he had three.
"Were they serious relationships?" I couldn't help but ask.
"Yes."
You had to ask, Daphne? God, why do I feel like shit right now? Why does his answer make my heart squeeze so hard? Why does it hurt?
Tapos na kami, diba?
Bigla akong napatayo dala ang bag. "I think should go. Nandiyan na si Manong sa may Gate 3," sabi ko sa kanya habang nakatuon ang atensyon sa direksyon ng Gate 3. I can't look at him right now.
"I'll walk you there," sabi niya bago ako hawakan sa braso.
I twisted my arm off his hand. "No need."
"Daphne."
"I want to be alone, Lourd," pakiusap ko sa kanya nang hindi pa rin siya tinitignan.
"Mauna ka maglakad, susundan kita," he compromised. Tumango ako at nagsimula na maglakad palayo sa kanya. Dahil sa bilis ng paglalakad ko ay nakarating kaagad ako sa Gate 3. Nakita ko kaagad ang family car namin at ang driver namin na naghihintay sa akin.
Malapit na ako sa aming kotse nang tawagan ako ni Lourd.
"Daph?"
"Yes?" I acknowledged him without looking back.
I heard him sigh before he completely shattered my heart all over again.
"Walang pumantay sa'yo."