The Precious You

three

A/N: This is an ABRIDGED and UNEDITED version of TPrY. Available po ang complete version nito in PDF format from Elisean Books for 249 Php. Purchase link is in my bio.

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AKALA NI Annelise eh nagkamali siya ng rinig. Sinabi ba talaga ni Griffith na next time, he'll do better?

"Wait. What?" tanong niya na naguguluhan.

Tiningnan siyang muli ng lalaki habang ngumunguya ito ng sandwich. "Sabi ko I'll do better next time. Ibig sabihin mag-te-text muna ako bago ako tumawag." His head tilted to one side. "O trigger ba ng anxiety mo 'yung phone notification? Gusto mo bang i-email na lang muna kita? O messenger?"

She blinked at him, her thoughts a jumbled mess. May sinusundan kasi siyang flowchart sa isip niya. She was at the "tell him about your mental illness" part. At dahil madalas eh kumakaripas na ng takbo ang mga tao kapag nalaman ang lagay ng mental health niya, she never actually planned on what to do if someone apologized to her and said "they'd do better next time" as if they planned on pursuing a relationship with her anyway.

"May I ask you what your intentions are?" she blurted out and Griffith covered his mouth as he gave her a startled laugh.

"Sorry," anito na umuubo-ubo. Inabot nito ang napkin para punasan ang bibig nito. "Parang dapat eh tatay mo 'yung nagtatanong sa 'kin niyan."

"Wala dito ang tatay ko," she pointed out.

"I know," he said in a soft way that told her na naikuwento na dito ni Betsy na iniwan sila ng tatay nila nang ma-stress at mahirapan ito sa mga babae sa buhay nito. Tumikhim SI Griffith. "So, my intentions..."

Kahit hirap siyang makipag-eye contact, pinilit ni Lizzy na tingnan sa mata si Griffith. He really had kind eyes—Heh! Shut up about his eyes!

"Dahil sabi mo overthinker ka, I'm going to be blunt with you. There's no need to interpret this or anylize it for hidden meanings." He returned her gaze. "Crush kita. Gusto kitang mas makilala. Gusto kitang ligawan, at eventually, gusto kitang maging girlfriend."

That was definitely not in her "How to Deal with Doc Griffith" flowchart.

Nagkibit-balikat ang lalaki at binigyan siya ng maliit na ngiti bago nito muling inangat ang sandwich nito. "If you need time to process that and manually decide on how to feel about it, go ahead. I can wait."

He took another bite of his sandwich and carefully chewed as he watched her while she "processed" what he said.

Ang totoo, she felt calm. Weirdly calm. She wasn't good with conversations, and with any other person, she would have already lapsed into silence at this point, ordering herself to calm down. Pero ngayon, kalmado na siya na para bang pati anxiety niya eh hindi alam ang gagawin dahil kay Griffith.

"Ganyan ka ba talaga ka-prangka?" nakasimangot niyang tanong.

"Only if it serves a purpose," anito.

Umiling si Annelise. Hindi niya sasabihin na hindi niya inasahan ang sinabi nito. Hindi namnn kasi siya gan'un kamanhid at 'yun na rin, hindi naman naging subtle si Griffith sa pagpapakita nito ng interes sa kanya. She'd read enough shojo manga and romance novels that even she knows exactly how to interpret his actions. Nagulat lang siya na sinabi nito iyon sa kanya. Narating niya ang konklusyon na na-appreciate niya ang honesty nito. Siguro tama lang na suklian niya iyon ng honesty din.

"Doc—"

"Griff."

"What?"

"Griff. O Griffith kung ayaw mo ng Griff. Hindi naman kita pasyente so huwag mo na ako tawaging Doc."