Way Back Into Love (Back Again Series #2)

01

"I'm so glad na tapos na ang midterms! We deserve a drink, Emcy!"

Saglit akong tumigil sa paglalakad nang marinig ang sinabi ni Phoebe, kaibigan ko. I rolled my eyes at her. Lagi niya na lang akong inaayang uminom! Ever since, I've really hated the smell of that damn alcohol. That's why I'm really curious why so many people enjoy drinking. Like, why... or how? It smells and tastes so bad kaya! One more thing, lagot ako kay Chad, my brother, 'pag nalaman niyang umiinom ako.

"Ayoko nga," pagtanggi ko at naunang maglakad. I heard her call my name, but I ignored her until we reached outside the campus.

After Tito Paulo's death, I and Chad's adoptive parent, nag-transfer kami ng school. One of the reasons we transferred was because we moved out. We left the house that Tito Paulo left us. It was a big house, so it was hard for us to maintain, given that it was just Chad and me. We didn't want to sell it, so we just visit it on weekends para maglinis.

Tito Paulo left us a lot of money. Wala na siya, pero monthly pa rin kaming nakakatanggap ng sustento. Adopted lang kami ni Chad, pero kahit kailan hindi namin naramdaman 'yon dahil we were financially and emotionally stable in his care.

So when he left us, it was hard for us to accept it. We had to move out... to leave that house filled with memories of him. We couldn't move on if we kept seeing him in every corner of the house... remembering him.

"Alam mo, lagi ka na lang tumatanggi. Just this once, please!" she pleaded. Para siyang bata.

I rolled my eyes on her. "No is a no, okay? Isa pa, I don't like what you're drinking! Black label, really? Ang sama ng lasa!"

"Hmm..." Umakto siyang nag-iisip. "How about cocktail? Parang juice lang 'yon! Besides, nagyaya ang mga kaklase natin tomorrow. Hindi ka pa rin ba G? May poll sa GC, parang ikaw lang ang hindi nag-yes," mahabang sabi niya.

I checked my phone to see if she was telling the truth. There was a poll, but she lied about me being the only one who hadn't said yes. Half of our class was in, while the other half wasn't.

Saglit kong binasa ang usapan nila.

Robert:

Inom after exam?

Or bukas na lang?

Joy:

titingnan kung deserve

Phoebe:

Wdym titingnan?

Dapat G lang!

Calvin:

g ako

pero bukas na lang hahaha

Angel:

g! gawa ako ng poll 😁

Bea:

iw ganan pala ang mga president, palainom masyado