Cloaked Heart (Eastwood University Series #4)

Chapter 6

A/N:

Stay safe, everyone and pray for the safety of other who's deeply affected by the tropical storm.

Chapter Six

"You're early!"

Nagitla ako sa biglang pagbati sa akin ni Kuya Tyson na nasa sofa at ngayon ay nanonood ng one piece sa Netflix. He jumped from his seat at sinalubong ako ng yakap, na sobrang ikinataka ko. He's energetic for some reason. It's also unusual for him to be like this dahil hindi niya ako sinasalubong yakap tuwing uuwi ako.

Nakakunot ang noo kong pinagmasdan ang pigura nitong yakapin ang aking katawan. Kasalukuyan na akong nakatingala sa kaniya na niyayakap ako.

"You're weird," I muttered bago mapagpasyahan na ikalas ang katawan sa malagkit nitong katawan. Naglaro sa labas tapos hindi marunong maligo after.

"Niyakap ka lang, weird na," nakanguso na sigaw nito sa papalayo kong pigura para uminom ng tubig.

Nang makarating ako sa kusina ay nagulat pa ako ng makita si Daddy na nandoon din at nainom ng tubig habang may binabasa sa kaniyang cellphone. Everything is weird today, even Dad. Bakit ang aga niya nakauwi?

"Oh, Felicity," he drank the remaining water from his glass and greeted me with a kiss on the forehead, "Good evening, dear."

"Good evening, Dad. You're early," sabi ko kaya mahina itong natawa habang tumatango. Kinuha ako nito ng baso at nilagyan din ng tubig iyon bago ibigay sa akin. "Thanks," I muttered bago uminom ng tubig.

"I'm giving myself a week off. Work's been draining me," he said with a hint of whine in his voice. Saglit pa akong natawa dahil ngayon ko lang itong narinig magsalita sa ganoong paraan. So weird.

I gulped down the water, eyeing my dad suspiciously. "A week off? That's not like you, Dad. You never take breaks. Tsaka, who's gonna handle your case for the meantime?"

He waved his hand off, "Don't worry about it. It's settled." He said bago ibaba ang cellphone doon sa counter at napayuko ng nakasandal sa counter. I find it odd to see him like this. He's calm but I know there's something in him that makes me worried.

"What is it?" Tanong ko, making him look up to me. He chuckled and shook his head. I tilted my head to observe him more. Something was definitely off, but I couldn't figure out what. Dad was always so composed, so collected. Seeing him like this—vulnerable, even—was unnerving.

He sighs, finally giving in dahil sigurado sa aking tingin sa kaniya. "You look like your mother, don't look at me like that."

Natawa ako ng mahina dahil doon. Well, they always remind me na kamukha ko talaga si Mommy, hanggang sa height ay halos parehas kami ng tangkad and it's fascinating. Everytime na isasama nila kami ni Kuya sa events noon, every guests told me that I look like her. Hindi naman ako makaangal dahil bukod sa totoo naman, maganda naman talaga si Mommy. Kaya nga nabaliw si Daddy e.