Held Captive (The Youth #4: Pierce Sandoval)

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P I E R C E    S A N D O V A L

The day would be relaxing if it weren’t for the mess I need to clean. Kinabukasan ng bisita nila Ezekiel dito ay naiwan akong mag-isa para ayusin lahat ng kalat kahapon. Habang nag-liligpit sa living room, I saw a familiar black jacket whose owner I immediately recognized.

Ryleigh must have left this last night. I sighed, hindi sinasadyang maamoy ang pamilyar na amoy nya. After a while, sinampay ko ito sa loob ng closet ko. Pagkatapos na ligpitin lahat ng kalat ay tamad akong pumasok sa banyo para maligo. Then I proceeded to be lazy.

Prodigy messaged me para mang-aya mamayang hapon sa Strumm’s mamaya. I quickly replied saying that I’ll go pagkatapos ay nag-check ng ibang messages and DMs. There were a lot from girls. Ang iba naman ay sa mga kakilala ko. Nagr-reply naman ako sa iba, but I ignore other messages.

Napag-pasyahan kong mag-aral na lang habang walang ginagawa. Kahit naman tarantado ako ay marunong akong mag-sipag sa pag-aaral. Takot ko na lang kay mama at baka sa kangkungan na ako mapulot.

But before I can even sit down on the table, the doorbell from my apartment rang. I wondered who is in my front door? Baka sila Hermes. Or maybe a hot chick?

Joke lang dun sa hot chick.

I stood up when the person rang the doorbell the second time. Agad akong napa-nigisi ng makita si Ryleigh sa labas ng apartment ko. Impatiently ringing the doorbell a few times.

“Hey, baka masira yung doorbell ko.” I playfully said. She stopped ringing the doorbell and looked at me bago umirap.

“Took you long enough to open the door.” Aniya pabalik.

“What are you doing here?” Tinaasan ko ito ng kilay at nginisian. Mag-sasalita na sana ito kaso bigla itong natahimik at nag-iwas ng tingin.
My smirk grew wider, “Missed me already, Jiminez?” She faked cough and looked me straight into the eyes this time. Her eyebrows are furrowed and her eyes are throwing death glares at me.

“Ehem, naiwan ko yung jacket ko dito. Kukunin ko lang.” Sagot nito at muling nag-iwas ng tingin.

Napa-tango ako at bahagyang ngumiti. I eyed her from head to toe. Ryleigh Jiminez was wearing her usual high waisted wide jeans. Naka spaghetti strap tank top ito habang nakasabit ang isang shoulder bag sa balikat nito.

When I joked about a hot chick waiting outside my door, hindi ko naman alam na magkakatotoo. I mean, Ryleigh is looking like a full course meal here.

“Stop checking me out and get my jacket already.” Inis nitong saad bago ako sinamaan ng tingin. I chuckled and raised my hands in the air as if surrendering. I went back inside to get her jacket from my closet para ibalik sakanya. Nang maka-balik sa pintuan ay mabilis nya itong hinablot sa akin.

“Anything else, Miss Ryleigh?” I teased her, sapagkat mukhang may gusto pa itong itanong.

“Do you, uhh, usually answer the door shirtless?” Tanong nito at bahagyang nag-iwas ng tingin. I glanced at my body and realized that I am indeed shirtless.

Is that why she keeps on blushing? Napa-ngisi ako at inasar sya.

“Well, if it’s you who’s waiting at the door then I’d gladly welcome you half naked.” I jokingly said and winked at her.

“You shameless jerk!” She retorted and rolled her eyes for the nth time.

“You keep on blushing though. So I’m making the conclusion that you like what you’re seeing.” I smirked at her. She looked at me with pissed eyes.