Just The Strings (COMPLETED)

Kabanata 45

#JustTheStrings

Kabanata 45

Saint's family was wonderful. His father really liked me, lalo na nung nalaman niya na dating presidente iyong great-grandfather ko. His mom adored me when she learned that I was close to all her sons, dahil ako lang pala talaga ang nakakasundo nilang lahat. Even Dani, hindi siya close kay Austin. And Ate Maggie loved me when I promised to shop with her one of these days. His grandparents were just happy that he's got himself a girlfriend. And his cousins were all really cool.

"Tired?" he asked as he was driving me home.

I nodded. Ang daming kumausap sa akin. I felt so drained.

"You wanna eat first? You didn't eat much tonight," he said.

"What? You were watching what I eat?" I said, eyeing him. Issue niya talaga iyong braso ko, masyado daw payat.

"Yeah..." he lazily said. "You're really thin, you know? Abuela scolded me because she thought I was starving you."

Ang cute talaga ng Lola ni Saint! She's old but really energetic! And she was able to travel all the way from Madrid, kahit nakakapagod iyon.

"You're not starving me. You're a nagger kaya," I reminded him. He nagged every time. When I was not studying enough, when I forgot to eat (because he nagged me to study), kapag nakakalimutan ko na makipaglaro kina Finley. Saint is definitely a nagger.

He laughed, and his laugh echoed in the car.

"So, what do you want to eat?"

"Uhmm... pizza and fries?"

"Such a kid," he said and then ruffled my hair. "Alright, let's get you some pizza and fries."

We bought food and then drove home. Doon kami huminto sa isang part ng subdivision namin. We opened the back of his car and we sat there quietly, looking at the stars shining brightly above us.

"Saint..."

"Hmm?"

"Do you know Cindy?"

Napa-tingin siya agad sa akin.

"Why?"

"I saw her tonight. At the party."

Natigilan siya. I didn't want to push him if he didn't want to tell me things... just like he gave me space when I needed to breathe. I was ready to divert the topic when he answered my question.

"After I was born, my parents separated for a while... That was when my Dad met Cindy's mom."

My mouth went agape. Cindy's his sister?

"And then things happened, and Cindy was conceived. My mom learned about this and she was enraged. It was just a trial separation, they weren't really separated. I didn't know what exactly happened, bata pa kasi ako nun," he said with a smile. "But when Mom filed annulment against my Dad, together with a petition to never let him see his kids, I think that that was when my Dad realized that he couldn't lose Mom. He tried getting back with her for a year, but Mom wouldn't have any of it. She tried seeing other people... but in the end, they compromised for our sake. And also, both families threatened to disown them kapag naghiwalay sila. So there's that."

I looked at Saint and I wanted to hug him. Hindi ko akalain na may ganito pala sa buhay niya... He had always been all sunshine. I didn't notice the storm hiding behind the clouds.

"...kaya ba nawawala iyong 1997 na frame sa bahay niyo?"

"You noticed?" he said, looking at me.