He Broke Me First

Chapter 12

"Napagod ba kayo sa byahe?"

Tumingin ako kay Nanay at umiling. Kasalukuyan kaming kumakain ng hapunan. Magkatabi ang upuan namin ni Joaquin kaya ramdam na ramdam ko ang tingin niya sa' kin.

"Kumain ka na, hijo," sabi ni Tatay, nasa katabi ko ang tingin.

Joaquin turned his gaze away from me. "Opo. Thank you po."

Sumubo ako ng kanin at pasimple siyang sinulyapan. I just feel awkward! I couldn't forget what he did in the kitchen! Namumula pa rin ata ako hanggang ngayon.

"Pwedeng sumabay?"

Napatingin ako kay Nicola. Pinsan ko, pero sa lahat ay siya lang ang hindi ko kasundo. She doesn't like me. I don't care. Palibhasa mas maganda ako sa kaniya.

Nawala ang ngiti sa labi niya noong dumako ang tingin niya sa' kin. Tinaasan ko siya ng kilay kaya inirapan niya ako. I scoffed. What a great time to see her face.

Umupo siya sa bakanteng upuan sa harap ko. Parang biglang nag-ningning ang mata niya pagkakita sa aking katabi. I silently frowned—annoyed with the way of how she stared at the man beside me.

Noong bata pa lang kasi kami, hindi na talaga kami magkasundong dalawa. Alam ng lahat ng nasa bahay na 'to ang tungkol doon. Paanong hindi? Huling kita namin ay nag-away pa kami. Sinabunutan niya ako kaya sinampal ko siya. It was her fault, anyway. She attacked me first.

Bahagyang siniko ni Joaquin ang braso ko kaya binalingan ko siya. "Bakit ayaw mo pang kumain?"

"I'll eat now," I simply told him.

"May boyfriend ka na pala, Syrbia?" Nicola asked out of the blue.

I tilted my head. I glanced at Joaquin who was now drinking his glass of water. I'm guessing she thought him as my boyfriend, huh?

"And what about it?"

"Nothing. I just find him cute. Can I talk to him after dinner?" She was trying to piss me off.

I sighed. "Didn't I say that he's not looking for a pet? My bad. Maybe you should just try next time." I smiled.

Nagsalubong ang kilay niya. Sasagutin pa sana ako ni Nicola pero tumikhim si Tatay kaya napatahimik kaming pareho at pinagpatuloy na lang ang pagkain. I rolled my eyes. She was making me lose my appetite.

"Ang sungit mo naman, Miss," natatawang bulong ni Joaquin sa' kin.

I took my spoon and put it on his mouth so he would shut up. Dinadagdagan pa niya ang inis ko, e. I laughed at him when his both cheeks got full with rice. He looked cute, though.

Sa kaniya ko na lang sinubo nang sinubo ang lahat ng nasa plato ko dahil tuluyan na akong nawalan ng gana at nag-eenjoy akong pakainin siya. He'd roll his eyes but would not complain at all. Hindi ko mapigilang matawa. Mukha kaming mga tanga.

Napatigil ako sa pagpapakain kay Joaquin noong magsalita si Nanay. "Hijo, nako, saan ka n'yan matutulog? Sakto lang ang kwarto rito sa bahay. Ayos lang ba kung dito ka na lang sa sala?"

"Ayos lang po sak-" He was quickly cut off by my mother.

"Sa kwarto na lang s'ya ni Syrbia, Nay, matutulog at alam kong hindi sanay 'yan sa hindi kutson ang hinihigaan," pag-suggest ni Mama.

"Sige," agad na pagsang-ayon ni Nanay. "Okay ba sa' yo, Syrbia?"

I was about to answer but Nicola, being an attention seeker suddenly spoke. I pushed my tongue inside my cheek and leaned on the chair.