Hindi nagparamdam si Arvic for a few days which is a good thing dahil naiinis pa rin ako sa kanya.
Naiinis ako kasi hindi ko alam kung bakit galit ako. He is right, wala naman siyang ginawang masama sa akin. Hindi ko rin naman siya gusto para magselos.
Hindi 'to selos. Inis lang ako sa katangahan niya.
Tinawag ako ng receptionist sa building namin. "Ma'am taga 5th floor po kayo? May iniwan po sa amin, pinabibigay kay Ms. Mandy."
"Ano po 'yun?" Nagtataka kong tanong.
She handed me a familiar paper bag.
"Thanks. Iaabot ko nalang." I said and left.
May post it sa cup nakalagay sorry. At least he has the decency to deliver and write this himself.
Hindi ako nagtext sa kanya. Though I accepted his peace offering doesn't mean we're okay now. Hindi nga man lang siya nagpakita. He could've give this to me personally.
Naabutan ko si Arvic sa labas ng bahay pag-uwi ko. So he finally thought of personal apology now?
"Oh bakit nandito ka?"
"I miss you." He blurted out and added, "I mean us in speaking terms. For the record, I'm not messing around."
"I got your peace offering by the way."
He shifted on his foot. When is Arvic not sure of himself? I hid a smile because he's flustered and all. Bumaligtad ang sitwasyon namin. Usually siya ang confident at ako ang nahihiya.
"Can we talk without you threatening to hit me?"
I smiled and nodded.
"Pakinggan mo lang muna ako."
So I did. I waited for him to say something. Matagal bago siya nagsalita.
"I don't know how to approach this. Lahat ng kaibigan ko lalaki so I really don't have any idea how to do this. Gusto kong malaman mo na si Enah ang nag iisang babaeng close friend ko. Nagkakasundo kami because we have the same opinion on relationships. She's not liked by my friends but she's my friend. We are not what you think we are. Matagal na 'yung sa amin and we just laugh it off every time we remember how we used to be a thing."
I pursed my lips. This is probably the longest and most sincere thing Arvic has ever said to me. Not to mention the most open thing.
"And you're not just Mandy. You make me do things I don't usually do and I should be annoyed but I'm not. I'm not like this, hindi ko ugaling mag explain. I don't like talking but with you, talking seems to be the right thing to do. I really miss talking to you."
I looked at him and thought about his apology. He didn't exactly say sorry but he said enough.
"Me too. Sorry kasi overthinker ako. Sorry that I'm immature and kind of selfish. And sorry that I threatened to hit you with my bag."
He smiled at the last part.
"For the record, I will choose you over Enah." He said.
"Are you sure? Wala nang bawian 'yan." Loko ko.
"I'm sure."
Napailing nalang ako. Sobrang babaw ng pinag awayan namin. Sa totoo lang ay wala naman siyang kasalanan. It's all on me pero sinuyo niya ako. Any girl would be lucky to have Arvic. I mean, a man with a big ego but is willing to let down his pride and apologized is so rare.
"You know what? Promise hindi na ako magtatampo over things like this." I said.
His lips twitched. "You better be sure, Mandy. Wala nang bawian 'yan."
"I'm sure."
"Then we're good. Muntik na ako lumuhod kausapin mo lang ako ulit." Aniya.
I scoffed, "Alam nating dalawa na never mo 'yan gagawin so umuwi ka na bago pa magbago isip ko."
"Umuwi ka na muna."
"Whatever. Bahala ka kung ayaw mong umuwi. Bye!" Sabi ko at pumasok na sa gate.
I just heard the engine as he drove away.
xx
I never thought I'd say this but I missed Pepper. 'Yung kaming dalawa lang at puro asaran at lokohan lang.
Niyaya ko siya agad pagbalik niya from province. He is lounging in my bed and we just ordered food to eat.
"Ano nang ganap dito?" He asked.
"Walang ganap."
"Anong wala? May pag moment daw kayo sa bahay nila Arvic."
Nanlaki ang mata ko.
He laughed, "Trisha told me. Akala mo ha. Sabi ko sayo wala kang takas sa akin."
"Hindi 'yun moment. We just talked." I answered defensively. Hindi niya alam may moment rin kami sa bahay.
"Anyway, magbibirthday na ako. Block the date."
Nilingon ko siya. "Duh. As if I didn't already do that."
"Good." Then he got up and went to my closet. "Magtatampo talaga ako sayo pag hindi ka pumunta." Pepper said while rummaging through my closet.
"Kailan ako hindi pumunta sa birthday mo?"
"Sinasabi ko lang just in case you want to ditch."
"So anong ganap this year? You went all out last year."
Pepper's birthday is always the wildest among all the parties. All out siya tuwing magbibirthday. Maybe that's why he got so many blessings.
"Gusto ko lang ng simpleng party. Sakit sa bangs ng gastos."
"Kailan mo pa inisip ang gastos? Diba nga sabi mo you deserved everything since pinaghirapan mo 'yan?"
"Ah basta simpleng birthday lang talaga ako this year."
"As if. It's like saying you're wearing casual but then comes with a gown."
Pepper pulled out a dress and grinned at me. "Feeling ko bagay 'to sa akin."
"Nope." I said then he placed it back.
Umupo siya sa carpet. "Simple lang talaga ang gusto ko this year. May party, yes, pero I'm inviting a few people lang."
Napailing nalang ako dahil narinig ko na 'yan. With Pepper, a few people may mean isang buong barangay.
So the next time Arvic and I met bumibili kami ng regalo para kay Pepper. Nico also tagged along saying he want to buy Pepper a gift too.
Imbitado ang buong barkada nila sa birthday ni Pepper seeing as they're growing closer sa pang aasar sa amin. Trisha and her friends are coming too.
Nico showed us a mug with animal prints on it.
"Uhm.." I pursed my lips and looked at Arvic. He stiffled a laugh.
"Ok naman 'to ah? Bagay kay Pepper. Wild." Nico defended. He really wanted to buy that mug for Pepper so hinayaan nalang namin siya.
Si Arvic wine ang binili and I bought different styles of socks because I know Pepper likes wearing cute socks.
"Kumain naman tayo. Hindi ba kayo nagugutom?" Sabi ni Nico.
"Manlilibre ka ba?" Arvic asked.
"Ano ba naman 'yan! Ikaw ang mayaman sa atin tapos ako pa ang manlilibre?" Kumamot sa ulo si Nico at tumingin sa akin para humingi ng tulong.
Natatawa ako, "Nico, baka naman. Kahit pizza lang."
"Sige magkampihan kayo. Porket bati na kayo pinagtutulungan niyo ako. Mag-away na nga lang kayo ulit."
Arvic glanced at me. "Never. Tara na, Nico, libre mo na kami ng pizza."
