Love Charade

Chapter 38: Detour

Naisipan kong sulitin ang bakasyon na binigay ni Rio kaya agad akong umuwi sa condo at nag empake bago umidlip ng labinlimang minuto.

Napagdesisyunan kong magbakasyon muna sa bahay namin. Baka doon ko makuha ang matinong sagot sa lahat ng gumugulo sa isip ko.

Nang magising ako, nagbihis agad ako ng kulay puting over-sized shirt at gray leggings at pinaresan ng puting running shoes.

Na-miss ko rin ang pumunta sa gym at mag exercise. Halos hindi ko na nga maalala kung kailan ako huling nag-gym. Hindi ko na kailangan pang bumaba o lumabas ng condo dahil nahati ang rooftop ng building na ito sa tatlo, garden, gym at swimming pool.

Inabuso ko na ang pagiging magkaibigan namin ni Rio dahil humingi ako ng isa pang pabor sa kanya. Hiniram ko ang kanyang Land Rover. Pumayag naman agad siya pero may kundisyon, dapat kasama ang driver.

Akala ko sarili niya ang tiutukoy niya kaya naalarma agad ako dahil walang maiiwan sa ospital pero sinabi niyang si Manong Tunying, ang isa sa family drivers nila, ang sasama sa akin.

I bet he doesn’t trust his beloved Jaguar car with me.

Tsk. Men and their toys.

Bago kami tumulak pauwi sa kinalakihan kong bahay, napagpasyahan kong pumunta muna sa condo ni Ate Kora. Para kahit paano mabawasan ang bigat na nakadagan sa puso ko.

I thought she was out but apparently, I saw her sulking comfortably in her sofa with her brown blanket wrapped around her. A hot coffee was placed on the top of her center table, its bitter and sweet aroma reached my nostrils. But something was off with her. She was spacing out, she didn’t notice me coming in.

I even needed to call her twice for her to glance at me. What was wrong with her?

I immediately went to her and examined her whole face. She looked so distracted, a mess even.

“What’s wrong with you, Ate?” Kunot-noo ko siyang pinagmadan bago binaling ang tingin sa T.V. Hindi ko naman maintindihan ang lumalabas doon kaya naisipan kong patayin na lamang iyon.

“Kaia…” namilog ang mata niya nang mapagtantong nasa tabi niya ako.

Biglang binundol ng kaba nag dibdib ko. Pinasok ba siya? Pinagsamantalahan? Ninakawan?

“Ate!” I exclaimed loud enough to get her whole attention.

“Yeah!”

“What happened to you?”

“W-wala. Nandito ka pala. Kagabi pa kita tinatawagan ah. Nag-aalala ako.”

Kaya ba ganito siya dahil sa pag-aalala sa akin? Pero parang over naman yata ang reaksyon niya.

“I needed time for myself last night. I needed to breathe. Actually, uuwi nga ako sa bahay. Magpapalam lang ako at hihiram ng susi.”

“What? You’re escaping? Kai, you need to face this. He’s back and I believe it’s for good, for you.” She rolled her eyes at me. I scowled at her in return.   

One thing I noticed ever since I was in high school, the moment Archie came in my life, my sister always took his side. She really favored Archie over me, even until now.

“Ate hindi mo man lang ba ako kukumustahin? Akala ko ba nag-aalala ka?”

“I am! Pero nandito na siya. Ayoko lang namang mawala ang opportunity na magkasama ulit kayo. You’re not getting any younger. And you suffered hard enough.”

I stood up and heaved a deep agonizing sigh before returning my gaze to my sister.

“I’ll figure this out, okay. Just please give me time!”