Of Thunders, Cigarettes, and Heartbreaks (Sweater Weather Series #1)

Chapter 32

nothing — bruno major

𐙚𐙚𐙚

A week after our trip to Pangasinan, most of my friends returned to their hometowns, including Haru. I was left alone in Katipunan since I had no plans to... go home for Christmas. Kuya Kieran would probably celebrate with me, and I'm sure he doesn't want to spend it in Cavite either.

However, I wasn't completely "alone" because Sanjo also didn't have any plans to go home. Wala pa siyang nabanggit sa akin na kahit ano tungkol sa pamilya niya kaya wala akong ideya kung bakit. Nagtanong naman ako ngunit ang tanging sinagot niya lang sa akin ay wala raw tao sa bahay nila kapag pasko. It felt awkward to ask him further, so I kept my questions to myself.

Kaya heto ako ngayon, nakatulala sa balkonahe ng unit ko at pinagmamasdan ang mga gusali na kahit anong titig ko ay hindi naman nagbabago. Hindi ko na alam kung ilang sasakyan na ang nabilang ko nang makita ko ang mensahe ng mga kaibigan sa group chat namin.

Seine
@Era crush ka pala ni gavin

Era
huh??? sure ka? ang pangit ko kaya

Seine
kaya nga eh nagtataka rin ako

Caliber
TEH??? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Era
HAUP K SEINE ANG SAMA MO

I shifted in my seat as I noticed the conversation starting to get interesting. Nakisali na ako sa usapan nang lumapag na rin ang iba naming kaibigan, nag-send pa talaga ng mga pictures pang-update daw.

Koen
sent a photo.

chillin' 😊😘👌

Ria
Delete mo 'yan naaalibadbaran ako.

Kit
maligo ka naman koen naaamoy kita rito

Koen
wow ganyan ba talaga kapag may manliligaw na kit sumasama ang ugali

hindi na ikaw ang dating kit na nakilala ko

Kit
miss ko na siya :(

Ishiara
Tanginang buhay 'to nabuhay na lang para kiligin sa relasyon ng iba bosit grr

I laughed when I saw Ishiara's reply. Hindi na ako sumagot doon nang biglang mapadako sa oras ang tingin ko. Then I realized that Sanjo was supposed to be on his way by now. We planned to watch a movie after he was done with his workout at the gym.

Nabanggit ko kasi sa kanya ang paborito kong palabas at gusto niya ring mapanood para raw maintindihan niya ang mga kwento ko tungkol doon. Sinabi ko naman na hindi na kailangan at pwede namang i-kwento ko na lang, pero mas gusto niyang mapanood din iyon dahil daw paborito ko. He wanted to experience what I felt about the movie so he could give a genuine reaction if we talked about it again.

These past few days, I could tell that Sanjo was making an effort to get to know me better. Lahat ng paborito ko, alam na yata niya–hindi dahil nagtatanong siya, kundi dahil mahilig siyang mag-obserba. He gives his full attention when it comes to me and my interests, and I feel free when I'm with him because he never makes me feel bad for being myself or for doing the things I love.

Noong sinabi niya na nililigawan niya na ako, para akong nabingi. I never expected a guy to put in so much effort to get to know me, especially since no one else ever did. I also never allowed anyone to get that deep into my life—until him. His curiosity and genuine interest made me feel seen in a way I hadn't experienced before. I found myself opening up, sharing thoughts and feelings I usually kept to myself.