Once Upon A Twilight [ONGOING]

7. The Guardian

[ERYKKA]

"OUCH! My head."

I massaged my forehead. I woke up with a throbbing headache. Nakakasilaw din ang ilaw galing sa glass window. Lalo tuloy sumasakit ang ulo ko.

Itinaas ko ang kumot sa mukha ko to shield my eyes from the blinding light of the sun.

What happened? Bakit sobrang masakit ang ulo ko?

Then something snapped inside me. The glass window! Wala akong matandaang may glass window sa kuwartong pinagamit sa akin ni Hazel. Nasaan ba ako?

I took a peek from the covers. Wala rin ako sa isa sa mga silid sa bahay nina Hazel. I looked at what I was wearing. An oversized bath robe? I can't remember ever owning an oversized bathrobe.

I untied the bath robe only to be horrified. Wala akong suot na panloob! Goodness gracious! Ano ang nangyari sa akin?

I scanned the room I was in. Hindi ko matatandaang pumasok ako sa silid na ito last night. It looked like a high-class hotel room.  Kumpleto ang amenities. May ilang gamit na hindi pamilyar sa akin.

Bigla ay bumukas ang maliit na pinto. I hurriedly pulled the robe tighter around my body.

Coming out of it was the man I never expected to see first thing in the morning!

It was Matthew!  The only thing that covered his nudeness was the towel around his waist!  

"So, gising ka na pala." He smiled at me as if it was a normal thing to do.

I could see droplets of water dripping from his hair down to his bare chest.

Siya ba ang kasama ko magdamag?

I could feel my cheeks burning.

I tried to avert my gaze from his body. I looked straight into his eyes.  "Y-you! a-ano'ng ginawa mo sa akin? B-bakit nandito ako? A-anong lugar ito?"

"You were drunk and...bringing you here seemed to be the best option.  You're in Safar Hotel." 

"What?!  Nasisiraan ka ba ng bait?  Why didn't you take me to Hazel's house instead?"

Goodness! Kahit pa lasing ako ay walang karapatan ang lalaking ito na dalhin ako roon at samahan magdamag. Ano na lang ang sasabihin ng mga tao? What about his cousins? What would they think about me? What about Hazel?

Tila mabibiyak na ang ulo ko sa sakit. I cradled my head with both hands. Why is this happening to me? I started to remember what happened last night. I was drinking margarita with Nathan. Konti lang naman ang ininom ko pero nahilo ako. Kaya siguro ako dinala dito ni Matthew.

Hindi man lang ba ako hinanap ni Hazel?

"Are you okay?"

Ang tanga ng lalaking ito. Kitang hindi ako okay, nagtatanong pa.

Suddenly, I remembered something. I looked at him suspiciously.

"What?"

"M-may...may...uh...I mean..."  I don't even know kung paano ko itatanong. Nakakainis.

"Nothing happened, if that is what you are so concerned of.  Wala si Hazel kagabi dahil nag-away sila ng bestfriend kong si Fred and no one knows where they are at this moment.  And...you... were not yourself last night.  Nag-aalala akong iwanan ka at baka kung mapaano ka dahil sa ininom mo kagabi." At least his answer gave me relief but still I was worried.

He was so calm about everything samantalang ako ay gusto nang sumabog. Was he telling the truth?

Sinundan ko siya ng tingin. He walked gracefully to the closet. Parang hindi siya apektado sa mga pangyayari.