Accidentally In Love

Chapter 26: Just The Memories

      Nagbuga muna ng inis na hininga si Phoenix bago inisang lagok ang shot glass ng hard drink na nakasilbi sa kanyang harapan. Agad na gumuhit ang pait ng alak sa kanyang lalamunan ngunit hindi sapat iyon upang makalimot siya.

      No damn drink will be good enough, he thought. No drink available for humans can make him forget about yesterday─ the last day he will ever spend with Gabbie.

      Malinaw pa sa isipan niya ang lahat ng mga nangyari kahapon. Her laugh still rings in his ears. He can still feel her warmth running on his skin. The taste of her sweet luscious lips still lingers on his mouth. And her tearful last words will forever be tattooed on his mind.

      He huffed and slowly uttered an oath. He had never felt so angry and helpless all his life. And what's more frustrating is that, he'd been sitting on that noisy bar for almost half an hour now but his psycho friend Paul is still nowhere in sight!

      Damn Paul for getting caught up again with his new wife! Hindi niya alam kung maiinis siya o matutuwa. But one thing is for sure, he envies Paul and Nikki.

      Two months ago, he had never thought that his heart was capable of loving. He had never thought about love all his life. He was well acquainted with attraction, pleasure and all the other stuff that goes along with it but never love. He taught then that love was just an overrated term for attraction. That only fools fall for the illusion of it.

      But then, Gabbie came and turned his world upside down.

      Ah, his Gabriela. The only woman who had shown him that not all woman would swoon around him. The only woman who would clash with him head on even when his anger is at its worse and still get away with it. The only woman who'd put up with him even if he was difficult to be around with. The only woman who had seen his scars. The only woman he had ever loved and yet...

     Nang ilapag niya ang shot glass sa counter, muli iyong nilagyan ng alak ng bartender. Nagmabilis siyang inumin iyon. But... still the same. He still feel as helpless and desparate as he was yesterday.

      He swallowed bitterly as he welcomed memories of Gabbie in his mind.

      He remembered how she got him during their first encounter in his hospital suite. He's supposed to be angry with the reckless driver who had injured his heel, but she looked cute on her pink scrub suit with that afraid-hesistant look on her face. And so he teased her with the ride me joke that most woman he encountered would fall for. But instead of a flirtatious grin or a sweet smile, all he got again was some nice beating on his injured heel! When he learned that Gabbie was also working at Angelicum Hospital, nagreklamo na siya nang tuluyan sa management. He was determined to slap her not just with a lawsuit, but also with the threat of unemployment. But she came to their next meeting with her lawyer, looking as determined as their last encounter. He knew she was afraid but her strong personality just won't give way. She was too strong she even announced to the world that she's still a virgin!

      So he thought that his joke the night before really came too far. He wanted to apologize but Henri was really determined to give Gabbie some jailtime. He would've let Henri get his way but then Gabbie's father came and begged for his daughter's freedom. He was deeply moved by her father's plea so he offered her a deal instead─ he will withdraw the case and she will be his all-around maid and therapist. Naisip niya kasi na dahil ilang linggong magiging limitado ang galaw niya, hindi siya makakalabas-labas sa oras na gusto niya. And so he will be stuck in his penthouse alone. And being alone is the thing he dreads the most. So he wanted to have a companion.

      When she agreed to the contract, he knew she'd be difficult. And difficult she really was. Unang araw pa lang nito sa penthouse, lagi na siya nitong tinatalakan. She'd teach him about getting his place clean and all the other stuff he didn't have the time deal with. Agad naman itong bumait nang pagbantaan niya itong itutuloy na lang ang kaso. Nag-sorry pa nga ito e kaso lang panay ang irap sa kanya. Ang akala niya, matatapos ang araw na iyon na puro na lang sila away. But she even shared with him her favorite food. At nakakabakla mang aminin, that simple gesture warmed his heart. He knew then that even though Gabbie would be difficult to live with for some time, he'd surely have some fun. And fun began when that night, she crawled under his blanket, half-asleep and murmuring. He would've complained pero hinayaan na lang niya. Naisip niyang bukas na lang niya ito papagalitan. But when he found her peacefully sleeping beside him in the morning, the story changed and so was the beating of his heart. She looked so defenseless, oblivious to her surroundings, so wrapped in profound sleep while the soft light of the morning sun played around her beautiful sleeping form. And for some unknown strange feeling, he kissed her!