Chapter 18
NASA PROCESS PA rin ako ng pag-iinternalize ng text message ni Aniel nang biglang tumunog ang hawak kong phone at nagpakita sa screen ang pangalan niya. Halos mabitawan ko 'yon dahil sa sobrang gulat.
Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!
Why the fuck is he calling me? Pagkatapos niyang mag-send ng ganoong message, may lakas ng loob pa siyang tumawag?
Where the hell is he getting the nerve to do those things? Ako lang ba ang nahihiya sa aming dalawa?
Hindi ko maisip kung ano ang itsura niya ngayon. Kung pinagpapawisan din ba siya, kung malakas din ba ang kalabog ng dibdib niya, o chill lang siya. But seriously! How can he be chill if he just sent to me a confession of his feelings?
Nathaniel Felan just told me he missed me! There's no way he can be chill with this.
With my slightly shaking hands and rapid heartbeat, I tapped the answer button on my phone and placed it near my ear.
"It's not me," I heard Aniel's low but panicking voice.
"Huh?"
"It's not me, Nemesis," ulit niya.
"W-What are you talking about?" nalilitong tanong ko.
"The recent message that I sent you. It's not me. I didn't typed it," he replied.
Beat.
"Oh," tanging sagot ko. Para akong nabibilaukan. "Okay..."
I felt my heart twisting. I flinched when a sudden pain passed through my chest down to my stomach. Parang may biglang humarang sa lalamunan ko kaya hindi ako makalunok nang maayos.
Fuck! Why was I hurting?
"That fucking engineer snatched my phone and played with it. I'm sorry. I didn't expect him to slide through my inboxes."
"Ayos lang!" I tried to laugh the bitter taste my mouth is currently consuming. "Alam ko na agad na prank lang 'yon pagkabasa ko ng message. I mean..." I laughed louder. Mukha na akong tanga. "Bakit mo naman ako mami-miss, 'di ba?"
Aniel was silent for a moment before speaking. "Right. I don't even think about you. Even just for a second."
Aray.
"Same here." Sure, Nemmie. Lokohin mo lang sarili mo.
Pareho kaming natahimik. Akala ko nga ay tinapos na niya 'yong tawag kasi wala na akong marinig na ingay mula sa kabilang linya. But the call is still on-going kaya alam kong nasa kabilang linya pa rin si Aniel.
I took a deep breath and said, "Ibababa ko na 'to." the same time Aniel spoke and ask me, "Are you busy?"
Napapikit ako. Shit.
"You're busy," Aniel declared after another few seconds of silence. "I'm sorry. Sige na. Ibaba mo na 'to."
"Hindi naman ako busy. Marami akong free time. Swear," sabi ko at agad na nagsisi dahil tunog desperada na ang mga sinasabi ko.
"No. It's alright, Nemesis. Wala naman akong sasabihing importante."
"Okay nga lang. Wala talaga akong ginagawa. Promise."
"It's alright. You can hang up."
My forehead creased. "Hindi nga. Okay lang talaga."
"Nemesis—"
"Do you want to talk to me or not?" medyo naiiritang tanong ko.
My gosh! Can't he read between the lines? Akala ko ba matalino siya? Bakit hindi niya makuha kung ano ang gusto kong iparating?
BINABASA MO ANG
Pursuing My Nemesis
Romance"Can you forget the past in exchange of the present?" After breaking up with her long term boyfriend, Nemmie Salvacion promised to herself to just focus on her work and to not be engaged in any romantic relationship yet. It is not because she was to...
