Taped-Up Heart

XVI. Trouble

Chapter Sixteen

Trouble

"Duane."

It was now my turn to stop him in the hallway. He looked at me, his face remained impassive. "Look, I'm sorry for ignoring you and avoiding you."

I just didn't want him getting mad at me. Ayoko rin na mag-iba iyong tingin niya sa akin. I want to remain as the Asia he knew, dahil 'yun naman talaga ako. Iyon ang totoong ako. The real Asia shows whenever I am with Duane. Dahil kapag kasama ko siya, alam kong hindi ko kailangang magpanggap dahil tanggap niya ako sa totoong ako.

Well, in the very first place, I wasn't the type to pretend.

"And about Tiu, you're getting the wrong idea. Nothing's going on between us, and I'm not avoiding you because of him. We aren't even friends—"

I was cut off when he suddenly enveloped me into a hug. I stayed still. Nagulat ako sa biglaan niyang pagyakap sa akin. For a moment, my heart stopped beating and I felt safe in his arms.

"Duane..." I called.

Mas lalong humigpit ang yakap niya. "Let's stay like this just for one more minute," he said. Hinayaan ko lang siya, hindi ako kumontra o umangal.

"I'm sorry for avoiding you, ang nonsense lang nung rason ko... sorry," I told him. I am never going to tell him that I was avoiding him because I was scared to find out what he really felt for me.

I didn't want to complicate things.

I was fine with this.

I was fine with us being special to each other.

I was fine being friends with him.

I didn't want to ruin that.

Kumalas na siya sa yakap niya sa akin. Hinawakan niya ang magkabila kong braso. "Don't avoid me like that again, okay?" I nodded. "I might go insane thinking what I did wrong when I did nothing."

I smiled. "Sorry."

He showed me a lopsided smile. "Apology accepted."

* * *

I stopped walking when I saw Achaia sitting in front of my unit's door. Ano nanaman ba ang kailangan niya? And what was he doing there? Bakit niya ako hinihintay?

Nagpatuloy na ako sa paglalakad. Kaagad siyang tumayo nang makita niya ako. "Asia," he called.

Tiningnan ko siya. "What?" I asked. I was still annoyed with him and with the stunt he pulled yesterday. Ano ba kasi ang gusto niyang iparating at binuhat niya na lang ako palayo kay Duane out of nowhere kahapon?

Bumalik nanaman ang mood ko na annoyed ako sa kanya everytime na makikita ko siya. Nasisira nanaman kaagad iyong araw ko kapag nandyan siya.

Naiinis ako kasi ayos naman na iyong platonic relationship namin. 'Yung hindi na ako naiinis sa kanya kasi na-realize kong ang bitch ko sa kanya, tapos ito nanaman siya. He's so good at ruining my mood. Expert na expert siya doon.

"Even if you said that it isn't worth my time, I still want to get to know you more."

Natigilan ako sa paghahanap ng keycard ko.

"So bad."

Nanatili akong nakatingin sa bag ko. I couldn't look at him in the eye! Dahil ayokong malaman kung seryoso ba talaga siya o hindi. Dahil ayokong may iba akong maramdaman kapag napatunayan ko na seryoso siya.

My god, bakit ba niya pinipilit na paguluhin iyong mga bagay na simple lang naman dapat?

Iyong mga bagay na madali lang naman, bakit ba pilit niyang ginagawang komplikado?