The next morning, Lea was awoken by a cold dab of towel on her face. She grunted, then put her hand forward and tried to guess who it was. Her eyes flew open as she realized that it was Aga's face she was touching.
" Anong ginagawa mo dito? " she asked, her voice deep from her little party last night. She forced herself to cough, and ended up coughing for real.
" Oh, dahan dahan. " He remarked, in a soft voice. " Does your throat hurt? "
She nodded. She was trying to search her brain for the reason why Aga was here. She can't remember calling him, but there were bits of talking that she remembered.
" Did I call you last night? "
He shook his head no. " Babes, wala ka bang naaalala? "
" I-I remember some things, but not entirely. I don't remember how I got to bed. " she admitted. " How did I get here? "
He chuckled. " I carried you, babes. You puked on me last night, di mo ba naaalala? "
She wanted to slap herself. She couldn't believe that she did that, to Aga, more importantly.
She pushed herself to sit up, and Aga's arm guided her. His left hand was on her back, helping her push it.
" Ags, bakit di ka pa umuwi? "
He did not answer. Instead, he reached for the towel on her bedside, and continued dabbing it on her face. The towel felt cool, which was exactly what Lea needed.
Aga noticed that, and so he asked, " Do you want me to adjust the AC? Or you want to go downstairs? "
She looked at him with a very shy smile. She didn't know how he still managed to remember her little quirks, since the last time he took care of her when she was drunk was 6 years ago.
----
(2013)
It was one week before her Playlist concert, and Lea was sitting in a bar with her friends, Dawn and Regine.
" Sigurado ka ba Dawn, na okay ka lang? " she asked. The poor girl looked so uncomfortable in a bar. It seemed like going out wasn't her thing anymore.
Reg snickered. "She's a homebody now, teh. Not the wild girl we used to know."
Dawn slapped Reg's arm for that. " I'm just thinking about Ayisha. She's in Anton's, eh baka busy 'yung tao. "
Lea nodded at her. Dawn's love story was one of the most complicated stories she ever encountered. She has known her since the 1990's, and the one guy who complicated her love story back then, is the same guy who's complicating it now.
" Ano namang sabi ni Richard? " Reg asked.
She sighed. " He didn't want to, but you know, Ayisha is Anton's daughter. Not because we separated, their relationship will stop. Anton is a very nice guy, and I know that he loves his daughter more than anything. "
" Speaking of Richard, buti pinayagan ka? "
Dawn laughed, but she still looked uncomfortable. " Nasa taping pa. Susunduin niya daw ako after. "
" Ay talaga? Nako, ako din susunduin ni Ogie. Pero syempre, di 'yun makakapasok dito. We're still keeping it a secret. "
