I fell in love

Chapter 23

"Bwisit 'yon!" Iritadong anas ko. "Bwisit! Bwisit! Bwisit!" Paulit ulit ko pang anas.

Naiirita talaga ako.

"Relax, babe. Umuwi na tayo. Bukas na tayo mag bayad ng bills. Masyado nang mainit 'yang ulo mo."

Inalalayan niya ako pababa sa escalator.

Iritado man, mas pinili ko na lang na hindi na magsalita kahit hanggang nung makapasok kami parehas sa sasakyan.

"What did he tell you before I came?"

"He... just asked for my number," nag iwas siya ng tingin.

I could tell something wasn’t right. The way Althea kept avoiding my eyes, how she looked everywhere else but at me, said more than anything she was trying to explain.

She wasn't just nervous. She was careful. Too careful.

Her fingers kept fidgeting with the edge of her sleeve, and her voice had this strange pause before every answer, like she was measuring each word before letting it out.

I noticed how she never once held my gaze for more than a second.

nd it wasn’t just once. It kept happening, like she was afraid that if she looked at me long enough, I’d see something she was trying to hide.

"Althea," umayos ako ng upo paharap sa kaniya. Hinuli ko yung kamay niya. "Please, tell me the truth."

She sighed. "Promise me that you won't get mad." Diniinan niya ang hawak sa kamay ko.

That’s when I knew. She wasn’t telling me everything.

"Okay," I breathed out, trying to control myself as much as I can.

"Promise me, Mariz."

Ilang ulit akong tumango para maunawaan niyang naintindihan ko ang gusto niyang iparating.

"Ano ba kasi yung sinabi niya?"

"Well... he asked for my number because he wants to have some fun, daw. You know... err, sabi niya, 'just some typical one night stand,' of course, I refused. Tapos hiningi niya ulit yung number ko and then you came."

Bumuntong hininga ako at pinakatitigan siya.

"I said no, of course, but he was insisting. He mentioned that it would just be casual sex. His friends were laughing so I thought they were just joking..." Mahina pa niyang dagdag.

I felt the anger slowly creep into my body, rising from somewhere deep and quiet until it sat heavy in my chest.

My hands tightened on the steering wheel, jaw clenched without even realizing it. I tried to breathe through it, but the feeling wouldn’t go away.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Althea watching me.

She was still, seated quietly on the passenger’s seat, her eyes tracing my face like she was trying to figure out what I was thinking.

I hated feeling like this in front of her. But what upset me more was the thought that someone had spoken to her in a way they shouldn’t have.

"No," pigil niya nang buksan ko ang pinto sa side ko.

I will never be okay with people being careless. Not with Althea. Not with someone like her.

"Baby, please. Don't do anything. He's a customer and siguro naman biro lang?"

"Fuck, Althea. Saan ka nakarinig ng ganong biro?" Hindi ko na naiwasan yung pagtaas ng boses ko. "Let me go." May diin kong sabi.

"You'll just talk to him." She said that with finality.