The Weird Existence of Henry

ch. 15

i n s e n s i t i v e

Nag-ayang sina Stacey na maghang-out ngayon. Ilang araw ko na rin silang iniiwasan. Medyo nagi-guilty na rin ako dahil kung anu-ano nalang ang dinadahilan ko para hindi sumama sa mga lakad nila nung nakaraan kaya napagpasyahan kong sumama sa kanila ngayon. Tsaka, Stacey said it would be just, us girls kaya umoo agad ako. Tsaka nami-miss ko na rin sila. Nami-miss din kaya nila ako?

Nang makarating ako sa apartment nila Cindy, nandoon na silang lahat. They were at the dinning table, chillin.

"Gwen!!!" sinalubong naman agad ako ng yakap ni Martha.

"Finally, the bitch is back!" ang sabi naman ni Stacey na yumakap din.

Huli kong nilapitan si Cindy na alam kong may pagtatampo sa akin. At first she was acting as if di niya ako nakita.

"Grabe ka! Di mo ko namiss?" ang sabi ko nang makalapit na ako sa kaniya.

"Siyrempre namiss!! Nakakainis ka talaga!" she said, as she hugged me, giving in. Bigla nalang siyang bumigat hanggang sa nagpabuhat na.

"Hoy, di kita kayang buhatin!" ang reklamo ko agad.

She let go of me. "Pumayat na kaya ako!"

Nagtawanan lang kami sa sinabi niya.

They said they wanted to hang out bago magsiuwian ang lahat. Semestral break na kasi. We were eating ice cream habang nagkalat ang mga papel sa harapan namin.

"Kamusta ka naman Gwen?" tanong ni Stacey.

"Oo nga! Wala na kaming masyadong balita sayo," ang sabi naman ni Martha.

"Ganoon pa rin naman. Wala namang nagbago," simpleng sagot ko.

"Eh, kamusta naman kayo ni Henry?" tanong bigla ni Cindy.

Halos matapon ang ice cream na sana'y isusubo ko.

"Ha?"

"Yieee! Kayo ha! Masyado kayong sweet! Ikaw laging laman ng IG stories ni Henry," kantsaw naman ni Martha.

"Hindi ka ba naman pinaiiyak noon? I just hope he would go back to his old ways," ang sabi naman ni Stacey.

"Old ways?" tanong ko naman.

"Yep, masyado kasi yung playboy," kwento pa ni Cindy.

"Well, nakwento niya sakin na he used to date the hottest girls in school. Pero never naman niyang na-mention na nagcheat siya," ang sabi ko naman.

"Well, as far as we know, he didn't cheat on anyone kasi he never had a serious relationship naman noon. Ikaw palang," ang kwento naman ni Martha.

"Old habbits die hard," dagdag pa ni Stacey.

I opened my mouth and closed them again. Gusto ko sanang ipagtanggol si Henry pero wala akong masabi. Gusto ko sanang sabihin sa kanila na hindi siya ganoon. But who am I kidding? I barely knew anything about his past! Kaya tumahimik nalang ako.

"Ano naman to?" I asked about the papers in front of us, also subtly diverting the topic.

"Oh those are notes about our plan," sagot naman ni Cindy.

"Plans for what?" tanong ko ulit.

"Okay so Amy is throwing this huge surprise party for Wesley for their monthsarry. So we're helping her with the plan," paliwanag naman ni Stacey.

Agad akong natigilan. So they're that serious.

"Ikaw baka may mga suggestions ka, you know, maybe you might throw a surprise party for Henry one day. What would you do?" tanong ni Cindg sakin.

"Ha? Naku, alam niyo namang wala akong alam diyan no," sagot ko naman agad, feeling uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"Asus! Sige na, magaling ka kaya sa mga brainstorming of stuffs like this. Ikaw, paano mo isu-surprise ang boyfriend mo kung sakali?" pamimilit ni Martha.

"Sorry, wala talaga akong maisip," mahina kong sagot, medyo pabulong pa.

"Okay then," ang sabi naman ni Stacey.

***

"How insensitive could they be?!" reaksyon ni Henry nang makwento ko sa kaniya ang nangyari.

Sinundo niya ako galing sa pad nila Cindy and now we're inside his car.

"Hayaan mo na, di rin naman kasi nila alam," ang sabi ko naman.

"Hindi alam? Kaya nga you lied to them about having a boyfriend kasi akala nila na-broken hearted ka about Wesley diba?" bulyaw naman niya.

"Bakit ka ba nagagalit?" tanong ko naman, nagsisimulang mainis sa kaniya.

"Eh ikaw kasi eh! Kinakawawa ka na nga nila pinagtatanggol mo pa!" sagot naman niya.

"Of course! They are my friends!!!" bulyaw ko naman sa kaniya.

He was clenching his jaw. Namumula na rin ang kaniyang tenga pati leeg. Sumasakit na rin ang lalamunan ko.

"You call that friendship? Kawawa ka naman," patawa niyang sabi.

That's it!

"Stop the car!" utos ko.

My voice sounded weak and small and I hate it.

"What?" medyo nagulat pa siya.

"I said stop the car!" I said it again, this time, louder.

He rubbed the back of his neck and slammed the steering wheel with his free hand.

"Fine!" ang sabi naman niya.

Agad niyang tinabi ang sasakyan.

"Asshole!" ang sabi ko at agad lumabas.

I shut the door as hard as I can!

Pinaharurot niya agad ang sasakyan, leaving me, fuming mad on the sidewalk.

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I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it :') This is Patch saying Yes to Happy Reading and Happy life ❤