Kabanata 9
Dangerous
"Are you okay?"
Natauhan naman ako sa lapit namin sa isa't-isa. I tried pushing him but to no avail, I failed. Sobrang higpit ng pagkakakapit n'ya sa'kin.
"Okay lang," I replayed the scene a while ago. "Sana ganon nalang 'no?"
The worry etched on his face was then replaced with a puzzled look.
"Sana sabay nalang tayong nahulog," I murmured before successfully getting away from him, leaving him in the water. Tiningnan ako ni Sid ng nakakaloko.
"Saya ka?" I asked, almost growling at him.
"Hindi po ako lalaban," he raised both of his hand like he's being arrested.
"What happened here?" Melissa arrived with her phone on her hand. Napakinig n'ya siguro ang mga iritan namin.
"Magbabagsakan dito in 5, 4, 3, 2. Ten nenen nenen ten!" pagkanta si Sid.
Melissa took no notice of Sid's song and went to me. "OMG! Tingnan mo, girl!" she showed me her phone. Nakichismis din si Sid at sumilip sa cellphone.
"The agency I'm working with commented on my post. They're asking me if you're available. Then they sent me a message and they're looking for your contacts and accounts," sunod-sunod n'yang ipinakita lahat ng mga sinabi n'ya. "It gained tons of hearts and people are commenting a lot!" excited n'yang sabi.
"Sikat ka na, Priya. 'Wag mo'kong kakalimutan ha?" madamdaming sabi ni Sid.
"Ayaw mo ba, Priya? I can pull some strings if you want to!" tuwang-tuwang pangungumbinsi n'ya sa akin.
I saw Lorenzo looking at us from afar. Hinubad n'ya ang nabasa n'yang damit at piniga iyon. He's very fit that it makes me want to ask him if he does workouts.
I looked away then cleared my throat. "I'm not into modeling."
"Sayang naman! You really have potential!" she looked dispirited as she said those.
Pinagmasdan ko ulit ang sarili ko sa mga larawan. I'm not exactly white but my complexion is fair enough. My eyes are a bit chinky and my brows matched them. Whenever I smile, my cheekbones would appear highlighting the badass look on my face. My black hair is purely straight and ends inches above my buttocks.
And Melissa being the pushy person that she is, she created social media accounts for me. Kung ayaw ko raw ay s'ya nalang ang maghahandle ang account ko at wala raw akong magagawa. Hinayaan ko nalang s'ya.
Manang called us for lunch and she even cooked hotdogs for the kids. Naglatag sila ng dahon ng saging at inilagay doon lahat ng pagkain. Sa kabilang side ng lamesa ay nakaupo sina Sid at ang dalawang bata.
Magkatabi naman kami ni Melissa at nasa kabilang side n'ya si Lorenzo. Later on, Melissa irritatedly stood up and changed her position with Lorenzo.
"You're so epal!" she exclaimed to Lorenzo.
We started eating with bare hands. Nagulat pa ako nang makitang pati si Melissa ay marunong magkamay. Pagkakaubos ko naman ng kinakain ko ay nilalagyan agad ni Lorenzo, hindi naman ako maka-angal kaya kinakain ko nalang.
"Ano ba!" the tiny amount of rage escaped in me. I'm on verge of puking yet Lorenzo kept giving me food.
"You should eat more," sabi n'ya bago muling lagyan ng kanin ang tapat ko.
"Busog na'ko," I stood up from my chair and grabbed a glass of water.
Halos mabulunan na'ko kasusubo. Naglabas naman si Manang ng ice cream kaya tuwang-tuwa sina Kael.
"Eat this," inabutan ako ni Lorenzo ng isang basong ice cream na punong-puno. Pinagtinginan naman kami nina Melissa.
"Masyado mo kasing ginandahan, girl," si Melissa na bumulong sa gilid ko.
"You should check your boyfriend from time to time. May sira na yata ang ulo," sabi ko sa kanya.
"Boyfriend?" iniharap n'ya ako sa kanya na mukhang may sinabi akong masama. "Yun pa rin ang alam mo?"
"Huh?" I'm lost.
"Alam mo ang ganda mong tanga," napanganga ako sa sinabi ni Melissa.
"Alam mo ang sakit mong magsalita!" pagbabalik ko sa sinabi n'ya.
"Nasasaktan kasi totoo, tanga!" Inulit pa talaga. "Lorenzo and Sid are my first cousins. Kung hindi mo naiintindihan, magkapatid ang father nila at father ko. In short-"
"Naiintindihan ko! Ginawa mo naman akong sobrang tanga," umismid ako sa kanya.
All this time, halos isumpa ko na si Melissa. Magpipinsan pala sila! Ilang oras akong nakatulala at hindi pa rin makapaniwala.
"Sige na, Kuya Lorenzo," si Kael na pinipilit si Lorenzo na maligo. Nakasakay kasi s'ya sa likod ni Sid at gusto n'yang pati si Yñigo.
Lorenzo glanced at me as if he's asking for permission. Pinagtaasan ko naman s'ya ng kilay. Wala rin s'yang nagawa at binuhat na si Yñigo sa balikat.
"Team Scooby Doo, assemble!" sigaw ni Sid at inayos ang pwesto ni Kael sa balikat n'ya. Napakagat naman ng labi si Lorenzo.
"Kuya, Team Garfield tayo. Sabihin mo Team Garfield, assemble!" Yñigo told Lorenzo. I stopped myself from letting out a laugh. Sa mukha ni Lorenzo ay mukhang gustong-gusto na n'yang itapon si Yñigo.
Napakamot s'ya sa ulo bago hawakan ng ayos si Yñigo. "Team Garfield, assemble," naiilang na sabi n'ya.
Doon ako tuluyang natawa. Maging si Sid at Melissa ay nakitawa rin. He's so adorable.
Nagsimula silang maglaban-laban, nagtutulakan sina Kael at Yñigo at kung sino raw unang mahuhulog ay s'yang talo. I laughed harder when Sid tried pushing Lorenzo which resulted to all of them falling into the water. Melissa was filming the whole scene while laughing out loud.
We all stayed in the water until the sunset and decided to call it a day. Pag-ahon ko ay inabutan ako ni Lorenzo ng towel.
"Thanks," it's the only thing that came out of my mouth.
Ngunit sa halip na ibalabal sa sarili ay tinawag ko sina Yñigo at Kael na nakalimutan ko palang dalhan ng towel. Pinagtabi ko sila at ipinulupot aa iisang towel. Their lips are trembling from the cold wind so I hurriedly took them inside.
"Lalamigin ka," pinatungan ako ni Lorenzo ng panibagong towel. "They can use the bathroom in my room," he said pertaining to the two kids.
"Sige, salamat," hila-hila ko sina Kael at Yñigo papuntang kwarto ni Lorenzo. I brought them inside the bathroom but they both scolded me in the end.
"Malaki na kami, Ate. Kaya na namin ni Yñigo," sabi ni Kael na sinang-ayunan naman ni Yñigo. Napailing nalang ako sa kanila at hinanda ang mga damit sa lababo.
Inilabas ko rin ang damit ko at hinintay na matapos ang dalawa. When you enter the bathroom, there's another sliding door for the shower and bathtub where the kids are in.
Pagkatapos nilang dalawang maligo ay biglang pumasok si Lorenzo. We stared at each other for a second then I looked away. He's already fresh from the bath so I wondered where he took one.
"Ako na ang magbibihis sa kanila," he told me when he saw that I'm drying the both of them. Wala namang pakialam ang dalwang bata at masayang nagkukwentuhan tungkol sa pagkahulog nila kanina.
I silently went in the shower. Mababaliw na yata ako sa kaiisip. When Melissa told me that Lorenzo's her cousin, what I thought first was the opportunities I wasted trying to get away from him.
Sayang!
Tinititigan ko ang mga buttons katabi ng shower. As far as I know, this is the heater. Wala akong ideya kung paano iyon pagaganahin. Sobrang lamig kasi ng tubig. I trusted my instincts and pushed the bottoms randomly.
"Ahh! Punyeta!" naging instant runner ako nang naging sobrang init ng tubig to the point na para akong napaso.
"Priya, what happened?" napakinig ko ang boses ni Lorenzo kaya napatampal ako sa ulo ko.
"Nagpa-practice lang akong kumanta ng acapella," mariin akong napapikit ay napakagat sa labi nang sabihin iyon.
"Okay," he sounded unconvinced. "Call me when you need anything."
Ibinalik ko sa dati ang shower at tiniis ang lamig ng tubig. I would shiver from time to time the reason why I hurriedly finished the bath.
Lorenzo has tons of stocks of bath soaps and shampoos. Samantalang ako, kung ano nalang available sa banyo iyon nalang ang ginagamit ko.
Sando ang nadala kong damit kaya naghanap ako sa mga ibinigay ni Melissa na t-shirt. Luckily, I found one. Paglabas ko ay nakaabang si Lorenzo sa may kama. Lalo kong naramdaman ang lamig dahil bukas pa ang aircon n'ya.
"Nilalamig ka?" he pointed out when he noticed my little shivers.
"A bit pero okay lang naman," I swear I tried avoiding his gazes but it's so hard. Pumunta s'ya sa cabinet n'ya at may kinuha doon.
S'ya na mismo ang nagsuot sa akin ng jacket n'ya and after wearing it to me, he pulled me closer for a hug.
I sharply inhaled a huge amount of air and gasped. Nakasandal ang ulo ko sa dibdib n'ya. Nanlaki naman ang mata ko.
"Can you feel my heartbeat?" he asked after seconds.
All along I thought it was mine. Ramdam ko kung gaano kabilis ang tibok ng puso n'ya, surpassing my own pace. I looked up at him only to see him already staring at me.
I inhaled his scent in the jacket. I smell like him. Ramdam ko ang pag-init ng pisngi ko. Bakit parang bigla akong binanas.
"Kakausapin mo na ba ako?" he asked me while his arms are still wrapped around my body. I became instantly frozen in the spot.
"H-Huh?" me, not understanding a single thing.
"I know you've been ignoring me," he lowered his head and pinched my nose using his other hand.
I don't know what sorcery caused me to be able to stand his long stare. Manang knocked on the door causing me to step back. She called us over for dinner.
Iniwan ko s'ya sa kwarto n'ya at dumiretso sa kusina. The world of overthinking welcomed me again, I've been their guest for quite a while now.
Napahawak ako sa dibdib ko nang makalayo sa kwarto n'ya. Parang naglaho bigla yung panlalamig ko kanina. But in another case, I've never felt that kind of warmth before.
I realized that I had him always, even with my eyes closed. And I fell for the idea of him. But ideas are dangerous to love.