Unexpectedly Attached To You

Chapter 12

The rest of the evening went smoothly. Nagkukwentuhan lang kaming lahat at sa kalagitnaan n'on ay nakikisali na din saamin si Noah.

I find that he is really good in fitting in. He can change his humor depending on the people he is with.

Though as the sky got darker, the thoughts of home got bigger. Hindi ko na alam ang ineexpect ko pag ka uwi ko. Hindi ko alam kung pagagalitan ako dahil hindi ako nagpaalam na late ako uuwi, or ang tahimik at malamig na bahay lang ang sasalubong saakin.

I tried to brush off these thoughts but they keep on creeping back. Here I am with the best people in the world, to me, tapos my mind is in a whole different place. A place I don't want to be in.

I was deep in thought, staring at the fire, when I felt someone grab my hand and give it a gentle and assuring squeeze. It was Noah. He was busy talking with my friends, but for some reason, that little touch of a hand made my heart melt in a hundred different ways.

"Hindi pa ba kayo inaantok?" Halata sa boses ni Zira na inaantok na ito.

We all eventually agreed that it was time to go home. It was 9pm anyway. We spent about four and a half hours there.

"Inaantok kana?" Noah asked.

"Not really." I wasn't tired but the thought of coming home to nothing made me feel drained.

"Hungry?" I shook my head. "May gusto ka ba?" He asked me.

"Wala."

"Are you okay? May nasabi ba ako? May nagawa?" was he concerned?

"Ha? Wala naman. Okay lang ako." It can get worse from here.

"You don't look okay. Bigla ka nalang nawalan ng gana after you saw me vaping. I can stop if you want." He insisted.

"No. It's not that. Do whatever you want. It's fine." I didn't want him to change his habits because I ask him to. I'll admit it's not something pleasing to be around pero hindi ko siya pipilitin na baguhin yung mga nakasanayan niya.

"Anong problema, then?" Pamimilit niya.

"Just random family problems. It's fine. Don't worry about it." He went quiet for a second. He probably never expected me to have these kind of problems. And to be honest, hindi ko din naman ineexpect na magkakaroon ako ng ganitong problema.

"If you ever need to escape reality, nandito lang ako whenever you need me." He offered.

"Thank you." I quietly said. And again, with one sentence, he makes my heart melt.

The whole ride home was peaceful. I spent the majority of it looking out the window at the city lights we passed by. Noah would randomly ask me questions pero that never lead to another conversation.

Soon we were in front of my house. I didn't want to get out yet. Nakatitig lang ako sa bahay, I didn't say anything nor did I move a muscle.

Ayoko pa. Tonight felt so great that I didn't want to waste that just because of this cold problem I have.

"Take all the time you need." Noah whispered to me in a gentle voice.

"Thank you. I'll see you on Monday." Sabi ko kaagad. I didn't want to take up too much of his time.

Kinuha ko na ang mga gamit ko at bumaba sa sasakyan niya. I turned around to bid my last goodbye of the night to him. He immediately rolled down his window when he saw me.

We exchanged "goodnights" and I watched as his truck went further into the distance.

I walked into the house and not surprisingly, katahimikan nanaman ang bumungad sakin. The same silence that has been ringing in my ears for the past days. It's only been a few days but it feels so long.