Just Us

Chapter two

Habang nakapikit ay nangunot ang noo ko sa kirot na nararamdaman ng katawan ko. Tunog ng tv ang naririnig ko at ang liwanag nito ay sumisilaw sa kakamulat ko lang na mata.

What the hell happened? Is it too much?

Hindi pa ako masyado makatayo dahil ramdam ko ang bigat na nakadantay sa tiyan ko. I finally opened my eyes only to see my roommate who was claiming my whole like it was hers. She has that angelic sleeping face. Her lips was slightly in pout that made me want to kissed that delectable lips but I know I should not.

Mabilis kong ibinaling ang tingin sa pintuan ng kwarto ko at katulad pa rin naman iyon kagabi na nakasarado. Ibinalik ko ang paningin sa babaeng walang kamalay-malay sa aking tabi at saka dahan-dahang inalis ang pagkakayakap sa baywang ko.

Napabuga ako ng hangin nang hindi ito magising dahil sa kaunting paggalaw ko. Kasabay ng aking pagtayo ay saktong tumunog ang aking cellphone kaya naman mabilis ko itong kinuha at sinagot.

"Daddy," I said as soon as I answered the phone. Nasa tainga ko lamang ang cellphone habang naglalakad ako papuntang kusina.

Naghanap ako ng makakain sa loob ng ref at nang may nakitang itlog ay agad akong kumuha. I bit my lower lip as my eyes were glued on the remaining eggs on the tray.

I bit my lowerlip as I heard a little commotion on the other line.

"Cadence, baby!" a familiar sweet yet baritone voice filled the other line. It's Dad.

"Papa," I acknowledged. I stopped moving and just placed the eggs aside.  I leaned towards the countertop as my heart gets a little heavy because of my unsaid feelings.

"How are you? Are you eating well? Your Dad said you're okay but I am always worried..." I chuckled to hide the bitterness.

Papa was always the kind and sweet one, while Dad was a bit off sometimes when it comes to authority. Siguro dahil na rin sa businesses na hawak niya. After all, he is the first born of the Dela Cuestas kaya mas marami ang hawak na responsibilidad sa kaniya kumpara kila Tito Shymone.

"Im okay, Papa. Dad was always checking, probably afraid because you are too worried."

My Papa, Kyler Olivarez is Dad's partner. It may sound ridicious but I am born with science. Kirnon Dela Cuesta is my biological father, they had a procedure to produce me.

My life as a Dela Cuesta is really out of the box, I am an outsider. Pakiramdam ko hindi ako kabilang. Dela Cuestas are born living a head of time, ganoon din sa mga pinsan ko na kahit kailan hindi ko nakasama. In short or better understanding, I am the blacksheep of the family.

We talked for about five minutes before the line had its dead air. "Papa, still here?"

It's not like I am prohibited, hindi lang talaga ako sanay sa presence na mayroon sila. Kaya during high school, imbes na sa school kung saan nag aaral, ay minabuti kong mag States. And there, I made my own name. Far from being Dela Cuesta, far from being Kirnon's daughter.

He sighed on the other line. I also heard him gulp that made me furrowed  my brows.  "We have a charity event that we need to attend. We want you to join us." They know that I am not comfortable going to events. They don't know the real reason of it tho, they just think that I am just being my introvert self.

Nakailang minuto rin ang tawag kaya naman hindi na ako magtataka na may pares na ng mga mata ang nakatingin sa akin. "Sige po, I'll think about it." Hindi ko na hinayaang makasagot ang nasa kabilang linya at binalingan na ang babae na nasa harapan ko.

The girl from last night has that same sultry look embodied on her eyes. She walked towards me and clinged her arms around my neck.

I looked at her with eyes without emotions. "What do you want?"