Sinfully Angelic

Chapter 20

20 : tied to be free

"You can go ahead and take a shower first."

Nang sabihin iyon ni Rien ay binigyan ko siya nang makahulugang tingin, ibig ipinaparating kung sigurado ba siya rito. He just nodded his head and gave me a tight lipped smile.

I wasted no time and went in. In my mind, I kept thinking that I had to be quick so he could take a shower after me. I wouldn't want any of us to get sick anytime now, especially when we had to meet his parents tomorrow.

Rien... iyon ang kauna-unahang pagkakataon na makita ko siyang umiiyak. And when the man cried, he cried with all his heart out. My inkling was right. He was in love with that girl Aysielle to make him burst like that. She could be the reason for his one and only condition.

I had only seen two men shed a tear twice in my life, including Rien. The first was during Dad's heartbreak when Mom left. And now, Rien's heartbreak. It wasn't a good sight to see, because whenever I do witness all of that, something inside me would break as well.

The water stopped pouring when I turned the shower off. Water drops from the flanges began dripping one by one on the tiled floor, making a rhythmic dropping sound. My body was completely bare. I felt the coldness beneath my soles as I walked around the bathroom to search for a towel.

Ngunit wala! Oh, no.

Shoot!

My mind became alert and my heart began beating loud in my chest. How will I get out of here now? And I didn't even have my spare clothes with me.

I knew I had to call outside. Hihingi ako ng tuwalya kay Rien, ayon ang solusyon sa problema ko. But would I even have the guts to? That would be so embarrassing!

The door was literally in front of me. I stood by it bare naked, embracing myself, squeezing the water out of my hair while trying to prepare myself mentally just to shout Rien's name.

Two sudden knocks made me jolt. "Hey, Emi. Excuse me for disturbing but I figured out the towels are right here," a pause, "just in case you don't have any..."

My hand reached for my chest. Goodness, it was pounding! Hindi agad ako nakapagsalita. I swear, kaunti na lang ay makukumpirma ko na talagang mind reader ang lalaking 'to.

"You don't need to answer if you have one."

Nang marinig ang salita niya at ang tila papaalis na mga yabag ay mabilis akong mas napalapit sa pinto. Inilagay ko sa likod ng aking tainga ang iilang basang hibla ng mga buhok ko bago itinapat ito sa gawang plastic na material.

"I— I need the towel."

A halt and a silence came from outside. A few seconds after, I heard two gentler knocks. I grabbed the door knob and twisted it open slowly. Tumago lamang ako sa likod ng pinto habang binubuksan ito, binibigyan ng tamang espasyo ang kamay niya para mailahad lamang ang tuwalya.

I grabbed the white towel peeking by the door when I eyed it. No matter how careful I was to receive it, my clumsy ass self still accidentally brushed his hand, sending electric waves crawling through my arm and to my nape. Ramdam na ramdam ko kung paano tila kidlat na iniwas niya ang kaniyang kamay nang sobrang bilis.

And of course, my people pleasing self never forgot to mutter a soft thank you. Sinagad ko na rin ang kahihiyan nang utusan ko siyang ipakuha 'yong bag ko at ando'n ang mga damit ko.

Thankfully, I brought a spare. Most of my clothes were at that five star hotel we were staying at.

Dahil sa malakas na ulan at madilim na kalsada ay napagpasyahan namin ni Rien na magcheck in na lang sa pinakamalapit na hotel. At dahil isang malaking Sabado ngayon at umuulan pa ay puno ang mga maliliit na hotel sa bandang lugar na ito. Buti na lang ay may isang bakanteng room ang hotel na nahanap namin.