Chapter 11 | Father and Son

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"WHAT are you doing here?"nang lingunin ni Hailee ang lalaki sa kanyang likuran, napigil niya ang hininga nang halos magtama na ang ilong nilang dalawa.

Agad na dumako ang tingin niya sa mga mata nito.

And at that moment, her eyes immediately glued on his.

It is supposed to be awkward but Hailee can't help it. The man in front of her has the face you can't help but stare at. And for some unknown reason, the face of someone annoying back in the country flashed before her eyes.

And her mind immediately erased these emerging thoughts.

Yeah, this man in front of me looks good, just not good enough as others.

"Hey,"Hailee finally snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the man's voice that had the rasp of who just woken up.

"Are you planning on staying like this?"anito na may bakas ng iritasyon. Mabilis na natanto ni Hailee nakahilig pa rin ang kanyang likod sa mga kamay nitong nakasuporta at mabilis pa siya sa alas-kwatro na tumayo nang tuwid.

"It's you again—"

"What are you doing here?"Hailee stopped in between her words and her face turned into a frown when the man cutted her off in his provocative tone.

Hinawi ni Hailee ang buhok at nagtaas ng tingin sa lalaki.

"I could ask you the same. Did you follow me here?"

He looked at her in the eye and suddenly chuckled.

"Follow you? Oh my, you still have jetlag, don't you?"sabay walang emosyong saad nito. "I should have the right to ask you that. Nasa tapat ka ng bahay ko."iminuwestra pa nito ang kamay sa pintuan.

Napasinghal si Hailee. Nag-ta-Tagalog naman pala.

"And what are you expecting, paniniwalaan kita? What are the odds that we will end up meeting again at the same place?"hindi nagpatinag si Hailee at pinantayan ang tono ng pananalita nito.

Napailing na lang ang lalaki.

"You're ridiculous."saad pa nito na parang hindi makapaniwala.

Bumuntong-hininga pa ang lalaki at napaatras na lang si Hailee nang humakbang ito patungo sa pintuan. Nanlaki ang mga mata niya nang ilabas nito ang susi at ginamit para buksan ang pinto.

Hindi nakaligtas sa paningin ni Hailee ang pagtingin ng lalaki sa kanya pabalik na parang sinasabing, I told you so.

Dahil dito, napaiwas siya ng tingin. "I'm sorry."nahihiyang saad ni Hailee na halos ibulong  na ang mga salita sa hangin.

Sumilay naman ang isang ngisi sa lalaki at napataas ng kilay si Hailee nang marinig niya itong mahina tunawa.

What's so funny?

Dala na rin ng hiya, nagkunwari na lang siyang tumitingin sa mga kotse sa daan.

Hailee was waiting for that man to come inside so she could go on her way but the door had not closed and she can still feel him staring at her.

Dahil doon, sinilip niya ang mukha nito at tama nga ang hinala niya dahil natagpuan niya ang lalaking natingin siya sa kanya.

"You know it's not fair to apologize without looking at the person in front of you."sa sandaling 'yon, tila binuhusan siya ng malamig na tubig nang marinig ang mga salitang sinambit ng lalaki.

"Can I get your name then?"tanong ni Arthur at nahuli niya ang tipid nitong ngiti. "I think I should know my neighbor's name, don't I?"

She Was A CupidTahanan ng mga kuwento. Tumuklas ngayon