IT WON'T STOP

27.

[ Amara’s ]

I woke up in bed, the sunlight hitting my face. I forgot to close the windows. And I was really exhausted; napuyat kami ni Machiko. 

"God, I'm still so sleepy," I uttered to myself, feeling my eyes shutting down again. But I forced them open; I need to attend an event. 

At least I had fun. Did she have fun? I don't know. It's really hard to read the nonchalant Machiko.

I'm glad we talked about it, and she agreed that babawi ako. Ayon lang naman ang usapan, wala nang iba.

"How should I make bawi?" I was talking to myself like an old, crazy woman. And I stood up, ran to the bathroom, and did my morning routine.

As I was doing my skincare, Maise called me all of a sudden. Nakuha niya pala number ko. Siya ang pinaka close sa akin sa friends ni Machiko, kaya binigay ko na. Mala mayor ako pag dating sa social circles. Char.

"What?" I answered on the call.

"Naneto, magkasama kayo ni Machiko 'no?!" Her OA voice blew out of my ears. I laughed at that.

"Huh? What the hell are you saying?" I acted clueless.

"Huwag mo akong ma English-English, parehas lang kayo ni Machiko! Ano nga?!" She answered jokingly. "Bilis! Umamin ka!"

I sighed before answering. "Yes, yes... But we did nothing romantic! We talked, that's it!" 

"Wala na, defensive. May tinatago ka niyan?" She was teasing me. Naririnig ko pa yung tawa niya.

"Wala, okay." I sounded calm already. "We did sort out things between us, iyon lang."

"Iyon lang?" Her voice still sounded funny.

"Yes, and how the hell did you know, ba?! Stalker ka siguro ni Machiko?" I answered quickly.

"Yung locations kasi namin nila Caily, Juniper, and Machiko sa group chat ay connected. At tsaka binalitaan niya rin kami na nagkikita kayo unexpectedly, kaya napaisip ako na ikaw kasama niya." 

Wow, she told her friends about me. Affected talaga siya?

"Hindi na kasi siya nag s-share masyado. Yung sainyo lang nasabi niya," she added.

"Oh, okay." I smiled a little. "We just cleared things between us, Mai. And I know she's not in love with me anymore. Babawi lang ako, okay?"

"Sige, ingatan mo 'yan, Amara. Mag ingat kayo." Her voice sounded genuine. And the call ended after we said our goodbyes.

I didn't know what to feel after the call. I didn't want to rush things between us. Ang importante ay maayos na kami, iyon ang gusto ko.

"Let's do this, Amara," I encouraged myself before going out of my condominium a few minutes later. I drove away to go to some places related to work.

An hour passed, I had coffee, and I decided to open my phone. I need to text Machiko. Babawi ako, eh.

Amara: hi, what do you want for lunch? :)

Amara: let's eat tgt hehe

Seen

I sighed. Okay, she's really busy. She doesn't have time for this, but I will try.

I just closed my phone and looked down while drinking my coffee. My phone notified me a few minutes later, which made me feel excited.

I thought it was Machiko’s reply, but it wasn't.

"Oh, damn," I sighed heavily. It was Sadie’s text message.

Sadie: kain arat [location]

I had to join her; Machiko wasn't replaying. It made me feel so sad while I was driving to go to the picnic place where Sadie was eating lunch.