The Tale of the Guardian

17

"Who's that?" He tried sitting beside me but Asha pushed me 'til I'm beside the arm rest of the couch.

He tilted his head on the side, seems annoyed with Asha's intervention. Asha pouts at him but still wasn't leaving my side. He sighed and almost  immediately Ashly dragged Asha away from me. She was still sulking and pouting at Light, masama 'din ang tingin sa huli. Then when he sat beside me, our eyes met briefly when he was in the act of sitting down.

Leven cleared his throat and he immediately got all our attention.

"You don't remember Charlotte? Her family's been close friends of yours" 

Light glanced at me and my brows furrows. I mouthed...

'What are you looking at?'

"The Salvias? Which one?" Tumango si Leven binuka niya ang bibig para mag salita pero naunahan siya ni Flame.

"Yung tinulungan mo nung nawala sa building! Yung babaeng blonde. Pinatulog mo pa 'nga 'yun dito--" tumikhim si Ate Sofia and Flame immediately stopped talking.

For a brief second, the word 'pinatulog' lingered on my mind...

He glanced at me.

"I seriously don't remember" instead of answering Flame, he whispered it on me. Tinaasan ko siya ng kilay.

"So?" I heard them all sigh.

"Ano ba talaga? Kayo ba o hindi?" Asha broke the silence.

"Of course not!" He hissed.

"Then why didn't you clarify it to her? She kept telling everyone that she's engaged to you" Tinataasan na ni Ash ang boses. Ashly tried to calm her down.

I heard him sigh again, he seems really stressed.

"I didn't know about this, and it never felt this crucial 'til now" he pushed his hair back and lean his back in the couch.

"I only know her because of her family. But we aren't really engage" he whispered.

I just noticed that my heart been ramming in my chest the whole time.

"Then why didn't you clarify it to her?" tanong ulit ni Asha, patayo na mula sa kinauupuan.

Liningon ko siya sa likod. Umayos siya ng upo after hearing Ash and then he snapped his fingers. And then all I could see were the stars.  Tumungo ako and saw the whole galaxy! I am floating!

This means we are traveling! He brought me with him.

"Even if I knew about this issue before, I wouldn't be bothered with it. But then you came and then this became excruciatingly crucial" napakunot ang noo ko.

"So kasalanan ko pa?" Medyo napalakas ang boses ko. He sigh and reach for my waist but I stepped back. Or I float back?

"No. I'm not blaming you. I'm telling you how much you affects me. I feel like I needed to explain everything to you so that you wouldn't misunderstand. I don't want you thinking that I'm interested in someone aside from you" his voice is soft and calm. And his eyes are so gentle that it feels like he is begging me to believe what he says.

"Aside from me?" I could only whisper.

This is why I wanted to go back faster.

"So it wasn't obvious that I like you?" He stepped forward again. This time he succeeded in holding my waist since I couldn't move a little.

I swallowed the lump on my throat or was it a lump or my beating heart? I wasn't thinking straight. I couldn't even calm my heart down.

Ang daming pumapasok sa utak ko at hindi na makapag-isip ng matino. His warmth is the only clear thing that registers.