Mercedez 3: Wildfire Games

7

Cradled

He stepped on the gas that our ride to my condo was quick. The sudden acceleration was in synced with my heartbeat. Hindi ko alam kung dahil ba iyon sa kaba dulot ng mabilis niyang pagmamaneho o... may iba pang dahilan.

I pissed him off, I know. Kaya naman, hindi na ako nagulat nang nag make out lamang kami sandali sa unit ko saka siya nagpaalam nang umuwi. Tinawagan din kasi siya ng kapatid niya, importante raw.

And weird enough, I fell asleep so peacefully again. Again.

Mukhang kailangan ko na talagang bisitahin ang psychologist at psychiatrist ko. Am I okay now? Is my insomnia okay? But how?

Parang biglaan naman yata? Saka... I didn't take my medicines.

Days passed in a blink at napansin kong hindi buo ang araw na hindi kami nagkikita ni Hadzri. Palagi niya akong niyayaya magdate at mag hang out. And dating like a real couple never happened to me and my exes. I was detached emotionally kaya iyong dates namin is either sa condo ng ex ko o sa mga bar. I disliked the idea of dining out as a date. I found it too romantic and romance is not part of my vocabulary in terms of relationships. Hindi ko alam kung bakit hinahayaan ko si Hadzri na gawin ang mga ganitong bagay kasama ako.

My grandparents also dropped by my office when Friday came. Hindi raw sapat iyong naging dinner namin. Dapat ko raw silang kitain at least once a week.

I just laughed though. Alam ko naman kasing nanlalambing lamang sila at... ako lamang ang narito. Viau is in Cebu kaya hindi nila basta bastang makita in person unless puntahan nila do'n. Mukhang wala pa kasi sa plano no'n ang umuwi rito. Si Denver naman ay masyadong abala sa school kaya ganoon.

Saturday came and I had to decline Hadzri's dine out invitation. I told him that I'd meet my best friend. It wasn't a secret that Ylan is my best friend kaya hindi niya na iyon kwinestiyon pa. He even offered to drive me there but I had to turn it down. Kaya ko rin naman ang sarili ko, he doesn't need to worry about it.

Pagkapasok ko pa lang ng Okada ay sinalubong na kaagad ako ng isang receptionist. She's familiar with me because every time Ylan would invite me for a dine in, we would always go here. Simula pa noong high school pa lang kami. This place is convenient din kasi dahil sa mga exclusive rooms.

Pagkapasok ko pa lang sa inireserve niyang room ay kaagad ko siyang namataan. It was a large room with a huge round table. Dalawa lamang ang upuan no'n and it was across his.

Prente siyang nakaupo sa silya niya at nang mamataan ako ay kaagad siyang tumayo para ipaghila ako ng upuan.

A server was also with us. May dala itong push cart na laman ang mga mamahaling pagkain namin ngayong gabi.

"Good evening, ma'am... sir..." tinanguan ko ito nang batiin kami habang nilalagyan niya ng red wine ang mga flute namin.

He smiled curtly. "Enjoy your dinner po."

I muttered my thanks. Ylan did, too. Yumukod ito bago tuluyang nilisan ang kwarto na inoukupa namin.

Nag angat ako ng tingin sa kasama ko. He was watching me. Kanina ko pa iyon naramdaman pero hindi ko muna pinuna dahil may iba pa kaming kasama.

His dark eyes were revealing emotions I hadn't seen before. Why would he looked so betrayed?

My heart raced.

My mind boggled.

I cleared my throat. "Let's eat first," yaya ko dahil hindi naman siya nagsasalita.

"Sure," he nodded then looked away as he busied himself with his food. Lihim akong nagpakawala ng malalim na hininga.

Wow, I never thought this dinner would be this suffocating.