When it Rains, it Hurts

8

"Bakit gano'n trato sa 'yo ni Edward? 'Di naman 'yun dati gano'n, ah?" tanong ni David habang nagre-review kami sa favorite coffee shop namin. I just shrugged at him. "Sure kang hindi kayo? Baka kayo na, kaya nagalit 'yon! Sabihin mo aksidente lang 'yung nangyari. 'Di naman talaga tayo naghalikan."

"Sa tingin mo ba sasali ako ro'n kung kami ni EJ?" Sumimsim ako sa cup ko at umismid. Kinuha ko ang highlighter ni David na pink at ginamit iyon sa notes ko. "Sa'n mo 'to nabili? Ang ganda ng shade. Bilhan mo naman ako."

"Order ako tapos address ko sa 'yo."

"Thank-"

"Naka-COD," tumatawang banat ni David. Napakatarantado niya talaga! Tumayo siya bigla at lumipat ng upo sa tabi ko. Isinandal niya ang kaniyang ulo sa aking balikat. "Clara, idlip lang ako. Mga 10 minutes lang."

"Bigat mo," bulong ko. Natawa lang siya. He crossed his arms over his chest and fixed his position. Makakatulog kaya siya sa puwesto namin? Parang imposible.

Habang umiinom ako sa cup ko, hindi sinasadyang nagkatinginan kami ng isang babae na mukhang bata pa. Mukhang mas bata sa amin ni David. Nakatingin siya sa amin ni David habang kinakain ang pasta. The way she held the fork made me scared. Galit 'ata si ate sa mundo. Umiwas na ako ng tingin.

Nang lumipas ang 10 minutes, nagising na talaga si David. Paano niya 'yun nagawa? May alarm ba siya sa katawan? Kinuha niya ulit ang handout niya at nagpatuloy sa pagsagot at review. Nang maubos ko ang coffee ko, tumayo ako para umorder ulit. Nag-order din ako ng fries dahil favorite 'yon ni David. Pagkatapos kong mag-order, tumalikod na ako sa counter at nagulat nang makita iyong babae kanina sa harapan ko. Mas maliit siya sa akin pero mukha siyang bayolente. Natakot tuloy ako at maglalakad na sana paalis nang i-abot niya sa 'kin ang isang tissue.

'Girlfriend ka ni Maverick?'

"Hindi-"

"One Vanilla Sweet Cream. Cold brew. Just put Dawn there." I waited for her to finish ordering. Nang matapos siya, nilingon niya ako. Tinuro niya ang counter. "Bayad na 'yun. Just give it to Maverick. No need to tell him who payed for it. Malalaman niya naman kaagad. Bye."

Tulala ako nang umalis ang babae. Sino ba 'yun? Bumalik ako sa table namin ni David. Nahalata niya 'atang may kakaiba sa akin dahil natigil siya sa ginagawa. Sinenyasan ko siya na ayos lang ako. Maya-maya pa ay sinerve na ang coffee at fries.

"One Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew for Dawn!" Napalingon si David sa paligid nang marinig ang Dawn. Nagulat si David nang tumayo ako at naglakad papunta sa counter.

When I sat beside David, I slid the drink beside his fries. He looked at me, confused. Nang makita ang nakasulat na Dawn, mukhang naintindihan niya na ang lahat. Luminga-linga siya sa paligid, siguro'y hinahanap ang babae.

"Umalis na siya. Who is she?"

"It was Solana. Ah, that woman." Pumungay ang mga mata ni David habang tinitingnan ang pangalang nakasulat sa cup. "I call her Dawn. Her name's Solana Eos. Eos means The Dawn."

"May gusto sa 'yo?" Nilingon ako ni David at napangiti siya. Iyong ngiting hindi nang-aasar. Masayang ngiti iyon.

"Why are you asking? Did she glare at you? She does that to everyone... She wants me to be safe. She's special to me, like you, Clara."

"Then why aren't you dating her? She seems a nice woman. You're wasting your time on Zelena- Wait did you... Did you keep Solana because she reminds you of Zelena?"

"No, of course not. They're different... So much different. I'm in love with Zelena. Solana's a good friend to me... I don't date my friends." But the way he talked about Solana... There's this slightest chance of him, falling in love with that girl.

I used to believe that we should always have someone by our side. Not until I spent months without him... Being alone wasn't that bad. It made me realize a lot of things. It made me become an independent individual.

I lost in court against Jerrick. Because unfortunately, our evidence wasn't good enough. The recent bruises by the time I went to the hospital were not considered to be Jerrick's fault as they can be caused by accidents. According to the doctor, it was neither because of Jerrick's hands nor a weapon that he might have used. But it wasn't the end of it. He was kicked out of school. He was forced to attend rehabilitation by his parents. He was even banned from seeing me. He apologized to me and even confessed his sins to the public.

Now, I am stepping into a new chapter of my life. I'm officially a student nurse. I hugged my two best friends, Qamari and Pia. David handed me a bouquet after that hug with my girls. I encircled my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

"Congrats! You made it!"

"We made it, David!" I corrected him.

He chuckled and gave us a distance. "Sa'n tayo mamaya?"

"Hmm, unli-wings?" I saw how his eyes glistened. "G!"

"Sage?" David's brows furrowed in an instant when he saw Edward approaching us. I signaled the girls to take David with them. I looked at Edward and saw him holding a bouquet of sunflowers. "Congratulations."

He handed me the bouquet. I smiled at him, "Thanks, EJ. Kumusta?"

"I'm fine now... Ikaw? Kumusta?"

"I'm so happy right now. Student nurse na ako. RN na sa susunod." He smiled like how he used to smile at me. "Balita ko... May girlfriend ka na. Ilang months na?"

"Two months. Her name's Clarisse. Kaklase ko sa isang subject. How about you? Kayo na ni David?"

"No, it's not like that between us." Mahina akong natawa. "He's just a friend. If you're still thinking of that kiss, it wasn't real. Hindi rin naman namin alam na kami pala iyong partners."

"Oh, I see... Sage, I don't want us to act like strangers. Ibalik natin 'yung dati. When I lost you, it felt like I lost my family."

"EJ, you didn't lose me. You were just too afraid to reach out to me. Hindi ako nawala. Ang katotohanan nga niyan ay... naghintay ako." I couldn't control myself and when I felt like hugging him, I did. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry for forcing you to do it. I'm sorry for confusing you."

"I'm sorry for thinking that we could be more than friends. I know now that we are meant to be friends. I don't want to lose you again, Sage." He hugged me back and whispered, "You still have me."

"I love you, EJ. You're the best person I could ever have."

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