Your Place Or Mine? BOOK VERSION (PUBLISHED BY VIVA PSICOM)

Chapter 46: Sem Break

HALEY'S POV

Graduation means being busy as hell, I just realized. Sem break nga pero sobrang busy naman ng schedule ko. Sa weekend, susunod kami ni Jess kina Russell sa Batangas para naman makapag-relax ng konti at makapamasyal. The university soccer team will have a team building at konting training workouts. After that, we'll plan for the house blessing.

And today, it's the first day of the outreach program sa orphanage. Nakakainis si Seth kasi umaga ang pinili niyang schedule. Gusto ko sana after lunch kaso, hindi naman siya available.

So, what will I bring? Since half day lang naman ito, I had my red Lacoste hobo bag filled with my stuff. Cellphone, loose powder, sanitizer, cologne, breath mints, lip gloss, and hanky.

And the OOTD? Shorts? No, Russell won't be pleased. So I settled for skinny jeans and plain gray Guess shirt with my hair pulled up. Tama lang ito. I'm sure maglalaro lang naman kami ng mga bata. I took one last look at the mirror and grabbed my keys.

At dahil sem break, walang traffic. As I wait for the green light, one box caught my attention on my dashboard. Kinuha ko ito at binuksan. In it are few dried petals. I always do this. When someone special gave me flowers, I kept few petals as souvenir. And these were from Russell.

Time flies so fast. Ilang buwan na rin ang nagdaan simula noong huli kaming mag-usap. That was when I tried to confront him. So far, so good. Naging consistent naman siya sa pag-uwi ng maaga at naging mas sweet pa ito. Kahit busy kami pareho, we find time for each other. This gives me some peace of mind.

But what he said to me that day puzzled me. May hindi ba siya sinasabi sa akin? I was dying to find out. But something is holding me back. What if, he keeps things from me because he doesn't want to hurt me?

Gusto kong manahimik, but I can't. That last conversation with him kept bugging me. If that meant something is going to hurt me, mas maigi siguro na hindi ko na lang ito malalaman pa. Sabi nga nila, "what you don't know won't hurt you." And I guess, I'll have to leave it that way.

He said he loves me. I wanted to believe that because I trust him. I love him so much. At sa tingin ko, 'yon lang ang mahalaga. Whatever it is, I'll wait for the time na siya ang magsasabi sa akin. Ayoko siyang pangunahan. I'm sure, may maganda siyang dahilan kung bakit ayaw pa niyang sabihin ito sa akin sa ngayon.

Hindi ko namalayan ang oras. Nasa harap na ako ng orphanage. Bumaba ako ng sasakyan at sumilip ako sa gate. May guard na ito ngayon. Dati kasi wala. Bumaba ako at nilapitan ito. Hinanap ko ang office ng OIC sa orphanage, si Sister Wendy.

Naabutan ko si Seth na masayang nakikipagkwentuhan sa madre. Ngumiti si Sister Wendy nang makita ako.

"Halika iha maupo ka," sabi nito.

"Good morning po, Sister." Lumapit ako at nagmano sa kanya.

Palipat-lipat ang tingin niya sa aming dalawa ni Seth at makahulugang ngumiti ito.

"May activity ang mga bata sa Main Hall. Kayong dalawa na lang muna ang bahala. May conference lang ako. Sana lang makabalik ako before lunch."

Tumayo na ito at kinuha ang bag.

"Ako na po ang magdadala." Kinuha ni Seth ang bag sa madre.

Kapansin-pansin na closeness ng dalaw na siyang pinagtaka ko pero minabuti kong manahimik. Tahimik kaming tatlo na naglakad hanggang sa makarating kami sa kotse na nakaparada sa bukana ng gate.

"Natutuwa ako at nagkita ulit kayong dalawa," nakangiting sabi nito.

I gave her a puzzled look, pero hindi niya ako pinansin. Tumingin ako kay Seth, pero nakayuko lang ito.