Moving Next Door

Chapter 29

#MovingNextDoor

Chapter 29
Flowers

"Zendie!"

Nakangiti akong nilingon ni Zendaya. She was about to meet me halfway, but I charged right into her. Binati ko siya nang mahigpit na yakap.

"I missed you!" sabi ko bago humiwalay sa yakap. "Grabe! Ang tagal din nating hindi nagkita!"

"Yes. Ilang buwan din?"

"Oo!"

Sabay kaming umupo ni Zendaya matapos ang batian. I could sense some people, especially girls, stealing glances at her from time to time. May mga ilan pa akong nakitang nagpi-picture sa kanya.

"Don't mind them," bulong ni Zendaya kahit na kita sa kanyang mga matang nahihiya rin sa nangyayari.

"Hmm... Dapat pala sa medyo private tayo nagkita?" nahihiya kong sabi. "Nakalimutan kong fiancée ka nga pala ng isang Isaiah Mallari. Every fan of New Classic probably knows you now."

Zendaya blushed a bit, shaking her head. "Please... No."

"Nahihiya ka?"

"Well, I'm still not used to all the attention, but this is bearable. It's harder to ignore them whenever I'm with Isaiah."

"Syempre! Kasama mo na siya no'n," sabi ko.

"Yeah, that's why we often go on dates outside the country. Kahit na kilala rin siya roon, they know how to respect our privacy. They always allowed us to roam freely."

"Grabe!" Sumandal ako sa aking upuan, nangingiti habang tinitingnan si Zendaya. "Hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala kahit na matagal na rin kayo. Parang dati sabay lang tayong delulu, pero tinotoo mo naman. You got engaged to your idol."

Kahit na nahihiya, kita kong masayang-masaya si Zendaya sa nangyari. I mean, who wouldn't be? Kung ako siguro ang maging engaged o ikasal kay Ike baka araw-araw kong sasampalin ang sarili ko kung totoo bang fiance ko siya o nananaginip lang ako ng gising.

"How about you? Kumusta kayo ni Kaleb?" inosenteng tanong ni Zendaya. "Malapit na rin ba ang kasal?"

"Hmm..." Nangapa ako ng isasagot kaya napaayos ng upo si Zendaya. She suddenly looked guilty.

"Sorry, wait. Kayo pa rin, 'di ba?" paninigurado niya. "His initials are still on your bio, so I thought..."

"Kami pa rin," sabi ko. "Pero, uhm, we're currently on a break now. We had not seen each other for like... four months and eighteen days."

Bilang na bilang ko talaga. Pati nga oras kaya kong idagdag kung hindi lang masyadong magiging weird pakinggan kay Zendaya.

"You must be missing him a lot."

Tumango ako. "Magsisinungaling ako kung sasabihin kong hindi dahil miss na miss ko na siya kahit na ako naman ang dahilan kung bakit kami nasa ganitong sitwasyon."

"Well, now that you've mentioned, can I ask what happened?" Zendaya sounded hesitant and careful. "If only you don't mind sharing, of course. I don't want to pry into your business or relationship."

"Ayos lang..." sabi ko. "Ang totoo niyan, hindi ko rin alam kung paano nagsimula, pero I was fed up with my insecurities. Despite the constant assurance he's given me every single day that I'm enough... that I'm the most important person in his life, it wasn't enough. Nakaka-frustrate dahil hindi 'yon naging sapat para bumalik ang tiwala ko sa sarili ko. Kaya naman nanghingi ako ng space sa kanya dahil iyon ang tingin kong kailangan ko. He's kind and understanding enough to give me the space I needed to find myself and grow to be a better person."