Housemates With Benefits [COMPLETE|PUBLISHED]

Oliver (60)

The hallway is as dark and quiet as it has always been at this time of day. The darkness does not bother me much for I have already seared this route in my mind anc ould walk this with both eyes close. I've been on this route every morning since nakauwi kami ni Sabrina dito sa bahay.

At first, I can't understand why my mother gave Sabrina the room on the guest wing when we have a lot of room on the family wing. In fact, ang kuwartong katabi ng sa akin is a connecting room. It just needs a little bit of cleaning and it is good to go. Aangal sana ako kung hindi lang ako kinausap ni Dad on the night we arrived. He told me to take it easy with Mom with regards to Sabrina and to understand the sleeping arrangement. I was reminded again that though my parents are usually cool, they still came from a more conservative generation.

So I resorted to sneaking around to go to Sabrina's room. I was successful with that for a total of 15 minutes dahil nahuli naman agad ako ni Dad sa aktong pumapasok ako sa kuwarto ni Sabrina that first morning we were home. Kinabukasan, it was Yaya Meding who caught me turning the knob. Nakatanggap pa ako ng kurot sa tagiliran dahil sa kapilyuhan ko raw.

The most epic encounter happened several mornings after my nanny caught me. Si Mom naman ang nakasalubong ko at kamuntikan pa akong matapunan ng chamomile tea niyang bitbit dahil nagkagulatan kami.

"Napakasalbahe mong bata," pabulong niyang asik sa akin nang ipaliwanag ko kung saan ako pupunta.

"I'm not going to do anything, Mom," depensa ko naman. "Matutulog lang talaga ako doon. Kahit i-check mo pa. Hindi ko nilo-lock ang pinto."

"Makaka-istorbo ka sa tulog ng iba! Ill-mannered louse!"

"Mommy!" Aggrieved ako sa tono at statement niya.

"Don't you mommy-mommy me Oliver," matigas niyang sabi.

Bago pa man ako makatugon ay biglang bumukas ang pinto ng kuwarto nila ni Dad at dumungaw ang ulo ng aking ama mula roon sa pinto. Nagtaka pa siya nang makita kami. "What are the two of you doing there at this ungodly hour?"

"Itong anak mo, Jaime, nagloloko na," pagsusumbong ni Mom.

Dad grinned and approached us at inakbayan ang Mom. "Why is it na kapag may ginagawang hindi mo gusto itong anak natin, pinapaako mo siya sa akin ng mag-isa? As far as I can remember, hindi 'yan nabuo sa sarili kong sikap. You were a very active and enthusiastic participant in that creative process."

Mom and I couldn't hide our disgust with what we heard from him.

"Dad! Come on! I so don't need that image of you and mom in my head!" groaning, I buried my fingers in my hair trying to physically pick out the image of my parents doing the deed out of my fucking mind.

Tinawanan lang ako ng magaling kong ama. "What? It's true. Team effort ka namin. Isn't it, honey?"

Pinanlisikan lang siya ng mata ni Mom and it was nothing to him. He even grinned wider. "An enabler to your very naughty son," Mom accused.

"Now, now, honey that's not true."

"Oh it is. Sa pamilyang ito, ako ang palaging kontrabida kasi kunsintidor ka!"

Sabay na umangat ang mga kilay namin ni Dad doon. Mom seems to be unaware of how much she spoils me. It was so bad na maging ako aware of how much I have been getting away from her. Tapos heto siya and accusing dad of tolerating my misdeeds? Wow.

Instead of refuting Mom's claim at humaba pa ang usapan, Dad guided her back to their room. Mom kept on nagging all the way but Dad just shrugs it off, chuckling. Tinapunan pa niya ako ng patagong kindat bago niya sinara ang pinto.