Last Christmas You Broke My Heart

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN : May Kahati Man Ako

I don't believe my father for a second. After all these weeks na lumipas everything seems normal but deep inside I can't help but have an eerie feeling about all of this.

One day, nasa sala ako ng bahay namin at nanunuod ng replay ng America's Next Top Model Season 12. I was eating my snacks na parang maayos na lahat. Weekly na nakakauwi si Papa galing Bukidnon. Nakakasama na namin siya tuwing weekends. Di na rin sila nag-aaway ni Mama. All is well I thought. But that was until his phone rang.

Noong una hindi ko pinapansin yung phone niya pero paulit-ulit 'tong tumutunog kaya hindi ko rin napigilang tumayo at sagutin yung phone niya.

Pagtingin ko sa caller ID ay Robert ang nakalagay na pangalan. I thought it was urgent so I answer the call. "Hello?", we both said in both end of the line.

It seemed normal but no. It is not your ordinary - nasagot ng anak yung phone ng Tatay niya. It was that scenario - na nasagot ng anak yung phone ng Tatay niya just to discover that a caller named Robert has a very feminine voice.

Baka naman nakitawag lang diba? I should be thinking that. It was possible, believable and realistic. But who am I fooling here? Myself of course.

He actually caught me with his phone in my hand. But I acted nonchalant. I keep saying inside my head: The devil works hard but I work harder.

I calmly tell him that someone named Robert was calling but I was not able to answer it dahil pinatay agad. He said okay but he seemed quite nervous and won't look me in the eyes. So there's the catch. Something is still going on. Tinatarantdo niya pa rin kami.

Kinalma ko talaga ang sarili ko. I wanted to scream and shout. Gusto ko magwala but I can't. I have to catch him redhanded para sure na maniwala si Mama at Erika na parehong mukhang willing magpaka-tanga para sa pamilyang ito.

That day what really save me from going mad is Jason. He sent me a text:

"Kita tayo? Kain tayo."

And I agreed. Huling labas namin ay yung pinilit niya akong mag-open up sa kanya after nung long quiz namin kay Sir Marco. And that was like almost a week ago. I miss the guy.

￭￭￭

"You okay now?", tanong ni Jason as we for our order.

"Medyo but the truth is I always think about what happened. Hindi ko maalis sa isipan ko", I said as I stir the still too hot ramen noodles.

"I hope you feel okay soon", he said gently with that sadness in his voice that he can't hide. And that bothers me. It felt like he was too busy fixing me when he can't fix himself.

Hinawakan ko yung malalaki niyang kamay. "Eh ikaw okay ka lang ba?", I asked sincerely.

"Hindi eh", mabilis niyang sagot na parang all along he was waiting for me to ask about how he feel. Napapailing na lang ako sa isip ko. How insensitive am I? I'm too focused on my problems that I forgot to care about my boyfriend.