Dominika (Pale As Dead I) | COMPLETED

𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚢 - 𝚝𝚠𝚘

┗━━━━━━━ ｈｅｌｅｎ ━━━━━━━┓

𝚘𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟶, 𝚠𝚎𝚍𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝟽:𝟹𝟶 𝚊.𝚖.

We watched Dee walk over to us pagkababa niya sa car ni Shishi. Her toothy grin was infectious. Nahahawa ako sa good mood niya kahit kinakabahan ako kasi ngayon na ilalabas yung results ng exams.

Bumaba na rin si Shishi at nag-nod lang siya sa amin bago siya dumiretso sa garden. Kami naman nila Dee at Gwen, pumunta sa benches na malapit sa fountain.

"Your mom called me," I said.

Nawala yung ngiti ni Dee. "What? Why?"

"She asked kung kasama kita sa bahay. Sabi ko oo, you've been staying at ours and sometimes at Gwen's."

She exhaled. "Thank you."

"Yun naman talaga yung usapan natin, 'di ba?" Gwen said. "Kapag kami ang tinanong nila Tita Giselle, kami ang kasama mo sa bahay."

"Yeah, nag-text din sa'kin si Daddy kagabi, eh. He asked me where I was staying din. I told her kila Helen. So baka kaya sa'yo tumawag si Mommy."

I shrugged. "She asked me rin kung sino yung guy na pumunta raw sa inyo the other day and nag-stay pa raw ng ilang hours sa kwarto mo."

Bigla siyang nag-blush. God, how I wished na kaya kong maging masaya para sa kanya but I did not trust Shishi talaga. He was a ticking time bomb, like what his own sister-in-law told Dee. May timer ang pasensya niya bago siya sumabog. Ayokong sumabog na naman siya kay Dee like their last fight. I only wanted long-lasting happiness for her because she earned it. But I really did not think that she would have it if she was with Shishi. Call me kontrabida or whatever, but this is my best friend we are talking about.

"So what did you tell Tita Giselle?" Gwen asked.

"Na classmate natin yun. She asked if he was your boyfriend, sabi ko hindi."

"Why would you lie?"

I looked Gwen in the eye. "Would you rather me tell the truth and get Dee in deeper trouble with them? No, I wouldn't like that happening. So that's why I lied."

Gwen sighed. "Okay, fine."

Dee bit her lower lip. "Did she buy it? Hindi niya ako hinanap para makausap for proof?"

"No, she didn't ask for you but, yeah, I think she bought it. She did not pry, eh. Sinabi ko rin kasi na hinika ka that day so sinamahan ka muna no'ng guy na sinasabi niya. She asked if it was Shishi. I said hindi. Another lie. But it saved your ass."

"I know. Thank you," Dee said and brought back her smile.

"Saka I said na hinatid ka niya sa bahay namin pagkatapos and that he was just tasked to give you your take-home exam kasi you weren't able to take it nga dahil hindi ka nakapasok."

"Really? Ang smooth naman."

I smirked at her. "You're welcome."

"Let's go to Roku na. Naka-post na raw sa hallway yung results," Gwen said.

"Can we stop by the clinic first?"

Nagkatinginan kami ni Gwen.

"I'm fine," sabi ni Dee. "First day ko kasi ngayon. Ang sakit ng puson ko."

"Is it your endo?"

"No, I think normal cramps lang."

So we got Dee's pain relievers before we headed to Roku. Marami na ring tao ang tumitingin ng results when we got there. Nakita ko agad si Paris among the crowd kasi nangingibabaw yung ulo niya dahil sa tangkad niya. Malapit na kami when he saw us and ang lapad agad ng ngiti niya sa amin. He raised a hand and waved us over.