Something More

Chapter 035

Audrey's POV

I opened my eyes, and tried to sit up. I yawned and looked around, and realized where am I. The clock read 9:32 AM. Oh, 9:32 na agad? So... mga ganitong oras gabi na sa Pinas and for sure nasa honeymoon na sila Xander at Elaine.

I groaned. Di'ba nandito ako para maka-move on? So I should stop thinking about him.

Ano na kayang nangyari? Sigurado tuwang-tuwa si Xander—

STOP THAT.

At si Elaine.. naka-suot ng magandang wedding gown papunta kay Xander na nakangiti—

Huh? Nakakainis. Bakit ko pa iniisip sila? Kaylangan ko nang mag-move on at kalimutan siya. I need to. I have to. Pero pano? Anong gagawin ko? Hindi ko talaga alam. Kung pwede lang isang pitik lang at makakalimot na ako.. pero bakit ganun? Ang hirap talaga nito... gusto ko nang makalimot.

Pumasok ako ng CR at tinitigan ang sarili ko sa salamin. Gulong-gulo na ang buhok ko, ang laki na ng eyebags ko, my lips are dry and namumula ang mata ko. Oh great, kagabi nga pala umiyak ako nang umiyak.

Yeah, akala ko kung ilalabas ko lahat-lahat at idaan sa pagiyak, akala ko makakalimot na ako... yun pala hindi. Bakit kaya ganun? Palagi tayong umiiyak, pero hindi naman sumasabay sa pag-agos ng luha ang mga problema natin. Kung pwede nga lang na kapag umiiyak ako lumalabas din ang mga sakit at pupunasan ko lang at mawawala na... pero hindi naman ganun yun eh. Kahit umiyak ka pa nang umiyak, wala ring magbabago. 

At... mas masasaktan ka pa dahil sa alam mong kahit kelan man ay wala siya dyan sa tabi mo para maging karamay mo at magpasaya sa'yo. 

After I ate dinner, napadaan ako doon sa may Eiffel Tower. Magse-seven na kaya madilim na, at nakabukas na yung mga lights. Ang ganda talaga ng view. Ang sarap pa ng simoy ng hangin. Ha... Paris, the city of love. Pero mas marami namang loveless na nandito ngayon.

May nakita akong batang lalaki na nagbigay ng flower sa batang babae. I smiled, parang kami lang kasi ni Xander nung bata pa kami eh. Naalala ko nun, naglalaro kami ng kasal-kasalan, ako yung bride siya yung groom. Eh ngayon? Totoong groom na talaga siya. Tapos nung six year old kami, nung kasal ng tito ko, ako yung flower girl at siya yung ringbearer. And.. feel na feel ko pa nga nun yung paglakad sa aisle papunta kay Xander. Na parang feel ko ako yung ikakasal.
"Xander..."

Tears started to flow again. I covered my eyes and cried and cried. Nakakahiya naman dito, ang daming tao.. pero di ko mapigilan eh. Ang sakit talaga. I love him so much.

Then, may humawak sa shoulders ko and I didn't turn. Tapos walang sinabi yung taong humawak sa shoulders ko, instead that person handed me a handkerchief. Tinatakpan ko yung mukha ko kasi nakakahiya eh, and took the handkerchief. When I wiped my tears away, I opened my eyes and wala na dun yung taong nagbigay sa akin ng panyo. I looked around to look for that person... pero dahil sa dami ng tao dito hindi ko alam kung sino.

I looked at the handkerchief. Blue siya, and panlalaki. Amoy pabango nga ng lalaki eh. Wait... this looks really familiar. Tinitigan ko nang mabuti yung handkie and may nakita akong AJ sa may side in yellow color. This... ako ang nagtahi nito. This was my gift nung nalaman kong ikakasal na si Xander at Elaine.

AJ.. Alexander Joseph. Xander Martinez. Xander...?

I panicked. I looked around, kaylangan ko siyang mahanap.. nasaan na siya? Is he really here? Pero bakit? He's supposed to be with Elaine.. diba? Pero... wait, am I just imagining these things? Nababaliw na ata ako..

Just then, my phone rang. Si.. Xander.
I quickly answered it. "Xander? Hello nasaan ka? Xander..."

"Audrey." his voice was a soft whisper. Tumaas ang mga balahibo ko. And.. tears started to form again.
"X-x-x-anderr..." I sobbed. 

"Ssssh, huwag ka nang umiyak dyan. Uhugin ka pa naman."

I chuckled. "Oy, hindi ah.. pero Xander.. ikaw.."
"Audrey," he said. "They say when you count to ten while closing your eyes.. the moment you open it, you would see the one for you."

"Wow english. Noseblood." I joked.

He chuckled. "Seryoso. Count one to ten."
I smiled. "Ehh... a-ayoko... nakakahiya.. saka magmumuka lang akong ewan dito eh.. saka a-ano bang trip mo ha?"

"Audrey, trust me. That's what frie– I mean, that's what we do."

I hate it when he does that. Kasi kahit anong sabihin ni Xander, napipilit niya ako. "Okay fine, I'm counting."
"Out loud." he said.

"Huh? Ayoko nga." sabi ko naman.

"Please?" he said. 

"Okay na nga.." I closed my eyes. "One, two, three..."

Xander is not speaking anymore. But I continued anyway, kahit pinagtri-tripan niya lang ako. "Four.. five, six..."
I heard his phone hang. Huh? Ba't niya ko binabaan? Loko talaga. But I decided to keep on counting anyway. "Seven... eight... nine..."

Okay... I'm seriously counting? I took a deep breath first and muttered "ten" and opened my eyes.

And... there was nothing. 

See? Sabi na nga ba niloloko lang ako nung Xander na yan eh. I knew it. So he's there with Elaine, having fun and gusto niyang ipamukha sa akin na he's happy while I am—

And all of the sudden, I felt an embrace from the behind. A gentle, soft hug... a hug that's familiar. A hug that I've known since then. Someone so close to my heart.. someone whom I loved from the very start.

"I love you Audrey. I always did. And.... Eiffel for you."

"Corny mo. Makapag-joke ka ah. And anyway... why are you here, diba kinasal ka na?"
He sighed. "Can we leave the explanations for later?"

"And can you please let go of me? Nakakahiya. And anyway.. hindi naman tayo."

He chuckled. "Bakit gusto mo bang maging tayo?"
"Oo, matagal na.. eh kaso ang torpe-torpe mo. Ginamit mo pa si Marielle noon."

"Nako, pinaalala pa." sabi niya. "Audrey Michelle Tan.." 

"Oh?" I asked.

"I love you so much." he whispered in my ear, which tickled me a bit.
"Weh? Di nga? Then prove it." I said.

He let go of me, and made me face him. He was so close to me, our nose touching, and I could smell his sweet breath. Ang bilis ng tibok ng puso ko. I blushed hard.

I closed my eyes and waited for it.

Pero instead, nakarinig ako nang malakas na tunog. His.. heartbeat. Nag-landing ako sa dibdib niya. I opened my eyes.. and looked up at his face. He was blushing, too.
"Hindi kita hahalikan.. I want to save that for our wedding."

"Wedding agad? E hindi nga tayo." I reminded him.

"Audrey..." he touched my shoulders. "I love you." 

I smiled. "Paulit-ulit? Oo na. Alam ko."

He smiled back. Hinawakan ko yung kamay niya and ran, nakisabay siya sa pagtakbo ko. We stopped and stared at the Eiffel Tower.

"Ang ganda no?" I said.

"Mas maganda ka." sabi niya naman. I stuck my tongue out and started to walk away from him. "Wait lang Audie!" he called. I chuckled.

"Mag-eexplain ka pa sa akin," I said.

He nodded. "Yes, yes, I'm ready for it."

Naglakad lang kami nang naglakad, my back on him. And.. I stopped. And he stopped too. I turned and flashed him the happiest smile I ever had. "Xander, I love you too."

He smiled and went near me and pulled me for a hug. And.. that moment, the world seemed to have its stop... and there was joy in my heart.