decoding the boys ✔️

43 | siya lang

The following days were a flurry of exams, projects and reports. I buried myself in school work, hoping na kapag ginawa ko 'yon, madi-distract ko ang sarili ko.

It helped, somehow.

Nakatulong din na lagi kong kasama ang mga pinsan ko ngayon. They were a welcomed distraction in the time of heartbreak.

"Motherfucker! That's cheating, assfuck!"

Nakuha ni Kuya Jacob ang atensyon ko sa sigaw niyang 'yon. Napabaling ako sa nilalaro niya at kaya naman pala. He lost the game.

Kuya Paul barked a laugh. "What's cheating there, man? We're playing here."

Kuya Jacob scowled and fumbled with the buttons again. "Rematch!"

"Sore loser!"

"Fuck you. Rematch!"

I let out a small laugh. Parang bata talaga 'tong si Kuya Jacob kung minsan. Sure, he's buff and filled in the right places pero kakaiba din talaga ang temper niya.

The boys were here, all of them except Kuya Travis na nasa work pa. Galing sila sa birthday ni Carlo Lazaro at nang matapos ay dumiretso sa bahay para ituloy ang inuman. Malapit na kasi ang Christmas break kaya pa-easy easy na ang mga ito. Mathev, Gian, Kuya Onyx and Kuya Andrei stood by the bar, drinking beer. Nasa sofa naman at naglalaro ng Xbox sina Kuya Paul at Kuya Jacob habang nasa kabilang sofa ako at pinanonood sila. Sat beside me was Kuya Nick, busy sa kung ano man ang ginagawa sa cellphone niya.

Yeah. Typical De Villa bonding.

"Christmas party bukas. Balak n'yo?" tanong ni Kuya Nick sa amin.

He was referring to the University Party sa SMX tomorrow night. Open siya sa lahat ng college students basta nasa legal age na.

Kuya Jacob shrugged. "E 'di pupuntahan?" Sabay tawa.

"Should we? I heard Gutierez will be there," sabi ni Kuya Paul na tutok pa rin sa laro.

At the mention of his name, I startled. Nakatuon ang atensyon ko sa phone ko pero nakaabang ako sa bawat salita nila.

"Let the fucker go. Wala namang magagawa 'yon sa 'tin." Then for a brief second, Kuya Jacob tore his eyes off the screen to glance at me. "'Di ba nakasama mo 'yon sa Youth Camp? I saw the pictures."

My heart beat paced up. Humigpit ang kapit ko sa cellphone ko at nanlamig ang mga palad ko.

"Yeah. Group mate ko," sabi ko, trying to sound as normal as possible.

"Nakakapag-usap ba kayo?"

Dread churned in the pit of my stomach. My mouth went dry. Ang tagal na rin ng Youth Camp. Bakit bigla niyang na-bring up ito?

"Hindi," I lied.

"Good. Won't do you good if you do. Mabuti nang iwasan mo 'yon."

Casual ang pagkakasabi niyang 'yon. Nasa game pa rin kasi ang focus niya.

"Give him the benefit of the doubt, Kuya. He could be nice."

Umiling si Kuya Jacob. "You don't know what you're saying. Just avoid him."

"Why should I?"

Mukhang nagulat sila sa tanong ko dahil napabaling silang tatlo sa 'kin.

Kuya Jacob arched a brow. "He's not good for you, okay. Trust me. Para sa 'yo rin naman 'to. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Why, Kuya? Why would I get hurt?" I pressed on.

Kuya Jacob hesitated, then said gruffly, "Basta. Sumunod ka lang, Javee." There was cold finality in his tone that made me shut my mouth.