EASE | unique salonga

TWELVE

Sorry with the confusions regarding the chapter titles. It's because I am currently editing the previous chapters. Don't worry, it won't affect the flow of the story though.

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...

Direct Messages > with Salonga, Unique T.

Wait what? >

< What
< Is
< Your
< Numero
< Uno

With shaking hands, and a a quick awkward at his failed attempt to speak in Spanish, I sent him my number.

Deep down, alam ko na dapat akong masaktan dahil kinailangan niya pang tawagan ako gamit ang payphone imbis na sa cellphone niya mismo, ibig sabihin ba nun iniisip niya na ipagkakalat ko ang number niya? Nasasaktan ako dahil alam kong wala padin siyang tiwala sakin pero isinawalang bahala ko na lamang 'to.

Huminga ako ng ilalim. Ang totoo, kinakabahan ako. Hindi ko alam kung ano ang sasabihin sakanya ... This was going to be so awkward.

Just as I clicked my phone off, awaiting for the call, my phone began to vibrate and my annoying rington set off.

Unknown Number

"Ay putakte!" An abundance of cuss words filled my head, and at this moment I wanted to deny this call; wimping out.

Luckily, my body gave me a huge "KERIBELS MO YAN, GIRL" while my brain wasn't functioning properly and I picked up bringing the phone to my ear.

Shallow breaths filled my ear as I realized they were the shaky breaths of someone nervous, and cold-- and that someone was the one and only, Unique Torralba Salonga.

Silence was brought by both ends, while I just stopped breathing, and he wasn't talking.

"Hello?" We both said at once, breaking the ice as we both awkwardly burst out laughing.

"Hi." I mutter shyly after the laughing.

Unique lets out a small laugh, and I feel the tension ease up (besides my inner voice screaming like a maniac).

                    "Well, ang awkward naman." I say with yet, you guessed it, another laugh.

More silence.

"Sorry ... " Unique hesitated, with an apparent intake of a shallow breath. "Ako ang tumawag sayo, dapat ako yung naglilead ng conversation."

                    "Okay lang. Hindi mo naman kung ang awkward ko." I said it because it was true. "Pero salamat sa pag-call..." I trail off, still not knowing how to react to this. Texting him is so easy, but talking? I've never been good at phone calls, ever.

"Stop thanking me. Dapat ako ang nagpapasalamat sayo."

I bite my lip hesitantly, shutting my eyes remembering the whole point in why we started talking. "I haven't done much, Unique, but thanks for you thanking me, pero-"

                    "Pero ano?" He cuts of, almost harshly but I can hear the slight quiver in his voice resembling how cold he is.

                    "Pagkatapos ba nun—" I hesitated. "Sinaktan mo ba ang sarili mo ulit?" I ask, my mind now not functioning to help me breathe normally.

Silence.

                    "Unique...", I say with a quiet sigh of angst and sorrow.

"Magsisinungaling ako kung sasabihin ko sayo na hindi." Bulong niya. I feel my eyes slightly sting, my subconcious slightly panicking, stop sweating eyes.

"Isla, let me explain--"

"Bakit Unique?" I cut him off and I feel as if I'm being too harsh.

"Ito yung dahilan kung bakit ayaw kong mag-usap o mag-kita tayo. Alam kong magtatanong ka, at wala akong ibang pwedeng gawin kundi umamin sayo kasi alam ko na hindi tama na magsinungaling ako kasi ikaw ang tumutulong sakin —"

"I'm clearly not! If this still happens--"

                    "Isla, pwede ba ..." He sighs, and I hear a small snifle and debate wether he's crying or his nose is running from the cold. "Isang beses ko lang yun ginawa ulit. Nakakatulong ka.
Everytime we talk when I get that urge, you distract me."

I stay silent, words not forming to say anything in response.

"I just wanted you to know that you do mean something to me Isla." He says quietly.

My heartbeat probably picked up 8,903,882 times.

"And I just want you to know you mean something to millions of people, and me." I say back timidly.

"Maybe we should both just shut up more and believe eachothers words, yeah?" He laughs lightly.

"Yeah." I agree, and to his avail he laughs mockingly.

"Maybe yeah will be our forever." His voices quivers again as I can actualy hear a loud swoosh of wind.

"Shut up, oh my god." Napabuntong hininga ako. "An
I just shake my head, a smile growing on my lips. "That joke has been made way too many times."

Silence fell again after our laughter died down, but this time it was a nice silence.

"Isla, h—"

Car tires screeching, continous loud clicking of most likely cameras, and yelling suddenly sets off.

"Sino ang kausap mo, Unique ngayong madaling araw na?"

"May Girlfriend na si Unique?"

"Akala ko sila pa ni Ate Chy?"

"Kaya ba distracted siya sa mga gigs nila?"

I hear Unique's breathing pick up, and thats when I hear a sigh with a sniffle; and I bet my life he's crying.

Nakinig lang ako sakanila. Wala na akong ibang magawa kundi makinig at sisihin ang sarili ko. I should've known this was a stupid idea, he shouldn't have been out in the open like that on a payphone. I make out what a few of the people yelling are saying, and it seems so unreal-- then the phone cuts dead.