Stonehearts 7: Ruby

Sixteen

"Ugh! It sucks that I'm not with you right now. Sobrang boring dito sa Singapore. When Evan said we'll go around the city, hindi ko naman in-expect na in the business sense 'yon." Aly whined. I see her dropping her head down on the table where she had put her phone down.

"It's alright, Aly-cat. I-set na lang natin ulit ang pagpunta natin dito." I said in attempt to uplift her mood.

She raised her head, "Kailan ka uuwi?"

"Dapat ngayon, but we decided to extend for two more days. Marami pa kasi akong hindi napupuntahan."

"Sa lagay na 'yan, dapat pag-uwi mo rito wala ng Bryce drama, ha?"

I tried my best to smile. The truth is, whenever an opportunity present itself to remember Bryce, I'd willingly plunged into it.

"'Yon din ang sabi ni Sage."

"Kaya makinig ka sa kanya. Sa amin. I'm really starting to like that Sage. Mukhang matino mag-isip."

I tittered but chose not to elaborate on how much of a man whore my pseudo-big brother is.

"Anong gagawin niyo ngayong araw?" Aly asked.

I shrugged, "Wala, naiwan ako mag-isa rito sa bahay ni Sage kasi may importante raw silang gagawin ngayon ng mga barkada niya, business stuff. Tinanong naman niya kung gusto ko sumama kaso tumanggi ako."

"Hindi ka lalabas?"

"Lalabas, pero mamayang gabi pa. Mag-ni-night market uli kami."

Saka namin narinig ang tawag ni Evan sa background. Napairap sa kawalan si Aly bago siya nagpaalam.

I exited my facetime app and stared at the open space blankly. I have nothing to do. Sana pala dinala ko laptop ko para nakapagtrabaho pa ako.

I mindlessly fumbled on my phone, clicking apps and then closing them after. It wasn't long until I was tempted to stalk Bryce's accounts.

Number at sa messenger lang kasi siya blinock ni Aly. Nagmakaawa ako na kahit 'yong social media accounts niya lang ang itira sa'kin.

Pinag-iisipan ko pa lang kung bibigay ba ako sa maling gawain na 'to nang napaigtad ako dahil sa biglang pagtunog ng doorbell.

I calmed my heart for a few seconds before I went to answer the door. Sumilip ako sa peephole at nabigla nang nakitang si Reid ang nasa kabila.

"Akala ko importante lakad niyo ngayon?" tanong ko pagkabukas ko ng pinto.

Nagkibit-balikat lang siya saka pumasok. He doesn't really say much. Bihira ko siyang narinig magsalita. Sabi ni Sage at Claus, ganoon daw talaga si Reid. He's always has his nose on his phone working. Wala rin siyang interes sa babae hindi katulad ng dalawa niyang matalik na kaibigan.

Sinundan ko siya ng tingin at nakitang dumiretso siya sa kusina.

"Magpapadala na nga lang ng kasama si Sage, 'yong tahimik pa. Parang wala lang din." Bulong ko sa sarili ko saka ko siya pinuntahan.

When I got there, he had already set his laptop on the kitchen counter and was in deep concentration on whatever he's working on.

"Kumain ka na ba?" I again tried. I got a nod as a reply. Good enough.

Naupo ako sa harap niya. Nakita kong nagtaas siya ng tingin sandali bago ibinalik ang atensyon niya sa ginagawa niya.

"Reid, can I ask you a question?"

My words dangled in the air for a while before he stopped typing and stared back at me, "If I say no, will that stop you?"

I bit my lip and smiled, "No. Itatanong ko pa rin."

Hindi na siya sumagot. Muli niyang ipinagpatuloy ang kung ano mang ginagawa niya.

I sighed and rested my body at the back of the bar stool. "Hanggang saan ba ang dapat nating gawin para sa taong mahal natin?"

I saw how his eyes widened but he was quick to mask his reaction. "If you want to talk about love and shit, wait until Sage and Claus arrive. Those fuckers have a lot to say about everything anyway."

"Why? Hindi ka pa ba na-inlove?"

His expression suddenly hardened, and his body became stiff. Bigla tuloy akong natakot at nagsisi kung bakit ko siya tinanong n'on.

"S-sorry. Sige na, hindi na kita guguluhin."

Minabuti ko na lang na mag-cellphone ulit. Gusto ko sanang pumanik na lang sa guest room na tinutuluyan ko kaso ayaw ko namang iwan si Reid pagkatapos ko siyang tanungin ng bagay na hindi pala siya komportableng sagutin.

"Arcie." Napataas ako ng tingin. His face was deadly serious and was clean of any emotion. "I don't know much about love. But what I know is, you have to do everything you can for the person you love, or else you'll regret what you didn't do for the rest of your life."

I stopped breathing.

Maybe, he's right? Maybe, I shouldn't give up Bryce. Paano kapag magbubunga pala lahat ng ginagawa ko?

Napatikhim ako saka tumango. "Thank you." 'yong lang ang tangi kong nasabi bago ako umakyat sa taas.

Hindi naman ako tumakbo pero hinihingal ako pagkasara ko ng pinto. Sumandal ako roon. Napansin ko na lang na nanginginig ang kamay ko ng itinaas ko ang cellphone ko.

"I'm really sorry, Aly." I murmured before I unblocked Bryce.

I'm shaking, my heart is pounding like crazy, and I'm nothing but a bundle of nerves when I started typing my text.

Me: Bryce, sorry for reaching out just now. Work has been crazy. But I hope you're doing okay. If you want to talk about it, I'm here.

I pressed send.

I looked at my chat bubble, and it wasn't long until a reply popped out.

Bryce: It felt good to be finally hearing from you. How are you, lately? I'm not really okay. But I already accepted everything, or in the process of accepting Aya and Ferris' relationship rather.

Me: Did you tell her you love her?

Bryce: I did. But she made it clear that she can never look at me in the same light.

Me: Ang sakit naman.

Bryce: Well, at least I know that it's love. Hindi masakit kung hindi siya totoo.

Hindi na ako nakapag-isip ng sasabihin. Hindi ko alam kung matutuwa ba ako o ano. But, one thing I'm sure of is that I'm starting to build my hopes up again.

Bryce: Are you free tomorrow, Rubs? I would like to see you, if that's alright.

I was about to tell him that I can't and that I'm still in Baguio. Saka ko naalala ang sinabi ni Reid kanina. What if it's this moment? Paano kapag tinanggihan ko siya ngayon at maging isa ito sa mga pagsisisihan ko?

Me: Sure. Is tomorrow afternoon, okay?

Bryce: It's perfect. See you tomorrow, Rubs.