Eighteen

Chapter 08

"Sir, tapos na pong i-develop and picture niyo ng girlfriend niyo. Kukunin niyo po ba?"

It was the photographer from earlier. We were just on our way out. They didn't notice me getting behind; they were too busy talking with each other.

I wasn't sure if I should take the photograph. Pero sa'n naman mapupunta kung 'di ko kukunin?

"Nakuha na po 'yong isa, sir. Ito na lang ang natira." Ilan ba dapat? He passed the photo over to me. This one didn't look like the one I'd put up a smile for. In this one, I was peering down at her. "Ah, kinuha ko na lang 'yan kanina, sir, kasi ang cute niyo tingnan." Ngumisi siya.

"Who took the other one?" I inquired. This was stirring my brain.

"'Yong nobya niyo po."

Pursing my lips, I fished my wallet from my pant-pocket. Ako na lang ang kukuha nito kung gano'n. Had she really taken the other one?

"Hindi ko siya nobya," nakangiti kong paglilinaw while passing him a one-hundred-peso bill. "I have no change, kuya. Treat yourself."

I looked at the picture again. 'Twas a candid picture of us – she was staring up at me while my head was reclining forward toward her 'cause she was tiny. A smile pulled on my lips, pero nang napansin kong gano'n ang naging reaksyon ko, bumusangot kaagad ako at tumikhim.

"Ay, salamat, sir. Bagay kayo. Baka naman crush niyo," biro ni kuya. Tinawanan ko lang 'yon at nagpasalamat ulit bago umalis.

Tinago ko 'yon dahil baka makita ni Dominic at kung ano pa ang sabihin.

And until now I still had it, kept inside one of my bags. I'd already forgotten about it until Camille and Hide arrived today. All she did was sleep on the lounger because of her period, and she looked so peaceful that no one had the guts to wake her out of it. Iniwanan ko na lang siya ng isang garapon ng cookies dahil mukhang kanina niya pa 'yon nginunguya. Girls tend to have those cravings. Cath put a note over it, letting her know that we hadn't forgotten about her.

"Nai." I turned to the voice of Dominic. He was in akimbo, standing right in the middle of the doorway of the deck, and a very annoying and predictable smile was plastered on his face.

"Go away, Nic," I hedged.

"Do you want to help Ca-mille?~" he said in a sing-song voice like Anna's 'do you want to build a snowman.' Nilakad niya ang pagitan naming dalawa.

"Hindi pa 'ko nakakaligo—'' His hard hands hauled me away from the railings and from the deck altogether. I struggled in his hold. Why did he have to be this firm?! "Dominic!"

"Mabango ka naman." He gently pushed me to the edge of the staircase. Just below, Camille and Mom's voice filtered through here from the kitchen.

Lumingon ako kay Dominic na seryoso na ang mukha ngayon. "Do it for Mom—I mean the helping, of course. Ibibigay ko sana ang phone niya, pero ikaw na lang. Kanina pa tumatawag si Tita." He pushed the phone into my hand before waving me off. And just like the kindest brother that I was, I did what I'd been told, regretting it while clambering down the stairs. I wanted so badly to turn back to him and raise my middle finger, but nobody had ever raised their bad finger in this household, so I'd been stifling my urges for months.

This is stupid.

Mom left to take the call, and so I was alone with Camille who was busy stirring a pot. We had a casual talk, as usual. Hell, she even voiced out her appreciation for my pancake flip. It was out of a habit; I wasn't tryna impress anyone specific – why the hell would I even do that? Cooking should be fun, was all.