Nights Like This

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Achievements

Pinaalam ko kay Papa na binilin ni Rex Niccolo ang sasakyan niya sa akin. I told him so he'd know that a space in our garage will be occupied for the next few weeks. Wala naman siyang reklamo at pumayag naman. He even told me to look after the car as if it's a living thing. When I pointed that out to him, he said that as basic courtesy, I should at least get the car cleaned. Tumango na lang ako bilang pagpayag.

Nalaman ko rin na kaya pala nasa Hong Kong si Rex Niccolo ay dahil siya at ang team niya ang pinadala ni Papa bilang representative ng VLL Architects sa joint project nila kasama ang isang kilalang firm sa Hong Kong. I was awed at how Papa entrusted him with that. Kasi pwede namang si Kuya Mikael o si Kuya Nikko ang ipadala. Hindi ko na lang tinanong dahil trabaho naman nila 'yon at wala akong kinalaman.

"If you don't want to get stressed, don't browse your social media accounts for a while," si Kuya Nikko nang mapadpad siya sa coffee shop isang gabi. Katatapos lang ng shift ko at nakaabang lang siya sa isang table, hinihintay ako. Ni hindi man lang umorder.

"Why?"

I haven't been using my phone lately. Panay lang ang tunog noon dahil sa mga notifications kaya pinatay ko muna at iniwan sa bahay.

"I checked your Instagram. It's full of hate comments. You should turn it off."

I just shrugged. Hindi na ako nagulat. I figured it'll be like that. Napigilan man nina Kuya ang ilang media outlets sa mga posibleng articles na kasama ako, may mga ilan pa rin na lumabas.

I've been painted as the evil witch in Claire and Henry's love story. Kung alam lang nila na mas gusto ko pang pumarty kaysa makisawsaw sa relasyon ng dalawang iyon ay tatantanan nila ako. Mabuti na lang din at pare-parehong walang pakialam ang mga tao sa Aquinas kaya malaya akong nakakapasok sa mga klase ko.

"Wala ka bang secret boyfriend?"

"Huh? Wala ako niyan, Kuya."

"Would be nice if you have one. One post with him and they'll all stop bothering you."

"You can't be sure they will stop. Baka pa mas lalo lang akong maging sentro ng usapan. Not that I care, though. They can talk all they want."

I really don't want to care anymore about people's opinions, especially because I know it all stems from a lie. Bahala na sila riyan mamatay kaiisip kung ako nga ba ang dahilan ng pag-reject ni Claire kay Henry. It's not my problem if my existence makes them feel pressed.

"Wala ka talagang boyfriend?" muling tanong ni Kuya.

"I think you'd know if I have one. E wala kaya 'wag mo na akong hanapan."

Besides, even if I do have a secret boyfriend, pangit naman kung gagawin ko ang ibig sabihin ni Kuya Nikko. I'll post about us and use him to cover up for my issue? That's crap.

"That's your fourth issue this year. How many do you plan to have?" he asked.

"Shut up, Kuya. You make it sound like I want to have more issues."

Kung papipiliin naman ako, gusto ko ng payapang buhay at hindi iyong laging sangkot sa kung anong problema. I want a life where I'm free and at peace. Right now, I have no luck on both of that which sucks a lot.

"Alright. If you say so. Paano ka pala uuwi? I can take you home."

"Huwag na. Dala ko 'yong sasakyan ni Rex Niccolo."

Hindi pa ako pinapayagan ni Papa na gamitin ang kahit isa sa dalawang sasakyan ko. His argument was that I might be followed if I use those. I wanted to reason out that that's impossible but he was too stern. In the end, hindi ako nakakontra at kahit gusto nang imaneho ang sariling sasakyan, nakatago pa rin ang mga susi sa akin. Ayoko naman noong mga SUV dahil masyadong malaki.