Wreaking Havoc

capitulum finale

"Do you think it'd be better to buy online or punta na lang tayong IKEA?" Eli walked towards me at nagpatong ng bowl ng sinigang sa lamesa bago umupo at tinignan din 'yung pinapakita ko. I've been contemplating the past few days to buy a new sofa sa bahay since ever since Isla bought a new cat, almost all corners of our sofas have been scratched by her cat and Lola was horrified since I know how old those sofas are. Probably could be an antique collector's item since they bought that from Italy, kaya bago pa masira lahat ng pusa ni Isla, pinatago na ni Lola 'yung mga upuan.

"Kailan ka ba free?" tanong ni Eli habang nagb-browse siya do'n sa website. I had to find cat-proof sofas dahil pakiramdam ko kapag nakakita na naman si Lola ng cat-scratch ay baka mahimatay naman siya. Not that she hated Isla's cats, she was just really conscious even about the littlest details at home. Probably because she's always had an eye for design. 

I opened my iPad and checked my schedule. A year has passed and even though we know a lot has changed, we were still the same people. I was still a Neurosurgeon at St. Dominique and Eli was still a Criminal Lawyer. Isla decided to still take a year off from school and focus on her passion, and even opened her own online bakeshop. I wanted to help her open a physical shop man lang sana, pero ang sabi niya she'd do that on her own kapag may naipon na siyang pera sa online bakeshop niya. Hindi na rin naman ako tumutuol kasi 'yun naman 'yung gusto niya.

"Hm... Wala akong free this week," I uttered and frowned. Natawa naman si Eli at kinabig ako papalapit sa kaniya at niyakap.

"E 'di order na lang tayo online," sambit niya. Tumango na lang ako at kumawala sa yakap niya.

"Gutom na'ko," sambit ko dahilan para matawa siya. Pero gutom naman na kasi talaga ako! Kagagaling ko lang ng surgery at binisita lang ako ni Eli dito sa ospital dahil off niya ngayon. Hindi na nagja-jive madalas 'yung oras namin kaya kapag may free time kami, either dito si Eli tatambay para lang kumain or do'n ako sa firm nila pupunta. Hindi naman ako naba-bother sa setup namin. We're both busy individuals with highly demanding jobs... I should even be thankful that Eli was understanding enough. 

"How's your new case going?" I asked habang nagsasalin ng sabaw sa kanin, si Eli naman naglagay ng isang platito ng patis na may sili at inilagay sa gitna ng lamesa.

"Attorney-client privilege," natatawa niyang sambit. Mentally napatampal ako. But I also just wanted to make sure na he's safe whatever case he takes! Criminal cases ang kinukuha niya madalas at ilang beses na rin akong nakarinig ng cases ng mga abogado na bigla na lang pinapa-shoot to kill. Kahit naman may security pa rin si Eli, hindi pa rin naman nawawala 'yung kaba sa dibdib ko. Tapos sobrang swamped niya pa sa kaso madalas kaya no'ng inalok siyang magturo sa university nila noon, tinurn-down niya muna 'yung offer.

Tahimik na lang ako kumain pero nagulat ako no'ng biglang hinawakan ni Eli 'yung kaliwang kamay ko dahilan para mapatingin ako sa kaniya, "I'm safe don't worry."

I frowned, "Just make sure you're safe, and I'll be okay... Okay?"

Eli nodded and smiled, "I told you, you won't lose me."

Napairap ako, "Hindi ko talaga alam kung sa'n mo pinupulot 'yan, eh no'ng college pa tayo ang tahimik mo naman."

Natawa siya, "Nahihiya nga ako!" 

"Sus, kasi crush mo na'ko noon pa?"

Tumango siya habang nakangiti pa rin. Wala talagang hiya-hiya 'tong lalaking 'to. 

Eli just let me eat my sinigang in peace, but we'd talk about anything randomly—just not work. It was wrong of me to ask him about the case he was handling, pero gusto ko lang kasi ng assurance na ayos lang siya. I didn't care about status and connections anymore, after Felix's case it came to me—it doesn't really matter if they're well-connected or not, kung gusto nilang pumatay... hahanap at hahanap talaga sila ng paraan para gawin 'yun.