A year later..
"Oh ba't nakakunot-noo 'yang kuya mo kahit hindi ko inaano?" Agad kong puna kay Kara ng mapansin ang ekspresyon sa mukha ni Devlin sa sala habang patungo sa garden ng mga Encarnacion, one Saturday morning.
Gusto ko ako lang ang rason kung bakit nasisira ang araw ni Devlin.
"Baka LQ." Kara shrugged. Ibinalik nito ang atensyon sa pagbabasa. Anong klaseng kapatid ang ganito, walang alam at walang pakialam?
Because I can't stand being curious, bumalik ako sa sala, at nilapitan ko si Devlin. Bihira kong makita na magkaroon ng misunderstanding si Shannon at Devlin sa tagal ng pagkakakilala ko sa dalawa.
"Hi hon," Agad kong tawag pansin kay Devlin. Hindi man lang ito lumingon sa akin. "LQ kayo ni gold digger?"
Mabilis itong tumingin sa akin na masama ang tingin. Oh diba, insulting Shannon is the best way to catch his attention. Inagaw ko ang cellphone mula sa pagkakahawak niya. Tinignan kong mga text messages iyon para kay Shannon pero isang oras na at wala pa ring reply.
Aba. Himala.
"You know what, kung ako na lang sana ang tini-text mo, hindi ka maghihintay ng ilang minuto para sa reply. Sasagutin kita kahit na walang kwenta message mo in seconds." I batted my eyelashes at him.
Inis niyang inagaw ang phone mula sa akin ng walang kahirap-hirap dahil sa height difference, at muling umupo sa sofa.
"You know what it means? May ibang pinagkakaabalahan 'yang girlfriend mo." I planted seeds of doubt in Devlin's mind. "This never happened before, right?"
Hindi niya nagustustuhan ang sinabi ko at padabog itong tumayo at umakyat sa hagdan.
I caught a glimpse of Kara's bitch face plus her eyes rolling. "What's with that reaction?" Tinaasan ko siya ng kilay. Napapailing naman itong itinirik ang mga mata. She seemed irritated.
"Aren't you afraid of karma? Stop playing with my brother's feelings." Nakataas ang kilay niya sa'kin.
Hilaw akong natawa sa kanya. I don't get her concerns.
"I've been like this towards your brother for almost a decade Kara. What I'm doing to him is nothing new.." I explained to her. I don't get why Kara is upset with me? I've been like this to Devlin since time immemorial.
"I'm just worried about the pressure he's under these days. Tapos lagi mo pang inaasar o ginugulo pati si Shannon. Let him be, it has been years since it happened Breanna." Tumalikod ako sa kanya at tumungo sa pintuan ng bahay kesa sumagot pa. Sumunod naman ito.
Medyo malamig ang hangin. Mukhang uulan pa. I didn't want to catch a cold. I texted mang Josif to pick me up sa front ng bahay mismo nina Kara.
"I'm not that shallow Kara. Kahit pa napahiya ako sa buong subdivision and school noon, that was what? six-seven years ago? My wounds have healed, although there are still a few scars here," Itinuro ko ang tapat ng dibdib. "Its nothing serious. Mga bata pa kami noon. If I'm still stuck-up I wouldn't be just fooling around with the two of them. I'd make their lives fvcking miserable. You know me, and what I'm capable of." Paliwanag ko kay Kara sabay halukipkip habang hinihintay ang pagpasok ng sasakyan sa gate ng mga Encarnacion.
Recently I've been sensitive. Could this be because of puberty? Maybe. But Kara and I we're starting to have more misunderstandings recently.
Its partly true that I've buried that embarrassing episode between Shannon, Devlin and I a few years ago. Although time and time I am reminded, but I've learned to push it to the back of my head.
BINABASA MO ANG
The Chasing Game
General Fiction"There's no 'us' Breanna. There's just you and there's just myself."
