Dominika (Pale As Dead I) | COMPLETED

𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚢 - 𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚎

┗━━━━━━━ ｈｅｌｅｎ ━━━━━━━┓

𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟽, 𝚜𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝟽:𝟻𝟶 𝚙.𝚖.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐞?

I heaved a deep breath pagkabasa ko ng text ni Dee. Hindi muna ako nag-reply and I finished applying the contour to shape my face. I had round cheeks kasi so I always made sure I turned them angular whenever I applied makeup. Then I did my eyes, cat's eyes, to make them look bigger. Because of my Chinese blood, dad's grandfather was from China, my eyes were a bit chinky. To finish, kinapalan ko yung concealer sa ilalim ng mata ko kasi ang laki na ng eyebags ko.

Once I was done, I looked at myself in the mirror. Mukha akong bata sa suot kong high-waisted shorts and vertically striped button down. It was a good thing na sa BBG kami kasi pinapasok ako dun without trouble. Sa Toracco kasi, kailangan pa ng back up nila Paris.

Bago ako lumabas ng room ko, Dee called me.

"Hindi ka nag-reply!"

"Sorry, I was doing my makeup."

"Naks! Papunta na kami ni Shishi sa BBG. Ten daw ang set nila."

"Does she know na kasama ako?"

"Of course!" She paused and I heard Shishi's voice calling her by her last name kaya nagsabi siya ng wait. "She told me she was excited."

"Really?"

"Yup. Papunta na rin daw siya. Ihahatid siya ni Kuya Simon. Ikaw ba? Gusto mong daanan ka namin?"

"'Wag na, babe, iikot pa kayo. Baka magwala 'yang boyfriend mo."

"Hindi naman."

"Sige na, paalis na rin ako. I'll see you there, okay? Thanks for making this happen."

"I love you, Lenny, sana magkaayos na kayo ni Gwen after this."

"Love you too. Bye."

Dad and my siblings were in the living area pagbaba ko. He was playing with Castor in the console he gave him on his eighth birthday. Akala ni Phoebe, kasali siya sa game, but she was using my old controller na hindi nakasalpak. They were all having a great time kahit sobrang kalat na dahil natapon yung snack nila.

Napatingin sila sa akin paglapit ko at ngumiti sa akin si Daddy.

"Ihahatid ka ba nila Gwen o susunduin kita?"

Ngumiti rin ako. "I'll just text you po." Lumapit ako sa kanya at niyakap siya. "Thanks, Dad."

He kissed the top of my head. "You look so beautiful, Len. Lalo mong nagiging kamukha ang mommy mo."

Bumitiw na ako sa kanya at binelatan ang mga kapatid ko. "Etong dalawang 'to kasi, mga panget."

Nagreklamo sila at nagturuan. Tumawa na lang ako at nagpaalam na rin at sumakay na sa car ni Daddy dahil ihahatid ako ng driver niya.

On my way to Nunier, kinakabahan ako. Hindi ako mapakali and wala akong ibang magawa kung hindi tumawa na lang sa jokes ni Mang Roland. Usually, nagbibiruan kami palagi, eh. But it was helpful kasi medyo nabawasan yung kaba ko.

Paris texted me as well noong kakapasok lang namin ng Cantu, asking kung nasaan na ako kasi nandoon na raw sila Dee at Gwen. Sabi ko, malapit na, and ang huling sinabi niya ay good luck.

When I got there, nakita ko agad yung best friends ko sa labas. They were drinking beers kaya nagulat ako kasi hindi naman talaga umiinom si Gwen, but there she was, holding a bottle of San Mig. Kasama rin nila si Amy na umiinom din.