Breaking The Ice

14

Halos isa't kalahating oras na yata kami nasa byahe ni Andrei at hindi ko pa rin alam kung saan niya ako dadalhin. Sadyang napakagaling niyang magtago ng bagay-bagay. I sighed.

"Naiinis ka pa rin ba dahil hindi ko sabihin sayo kung pasaan tayo?" he laughed.

"Hindi naman" simple kong sagot.

"Wag ka mag-alala, malapit na tayo. Wag kana mainis sa akin. I really want to spend time with you. Ang hirap yayain ka sa mga ganito noong bodyguard mo pa ako dahil syempre may limitasyon ako pero laking pasasalamat ko nung natapos ang pagiging bodyguard ko sayo. Reaching you became easier" he said and quickly gave me a smile. 

Sasagutin ko sana siya ng biglang tumunog ang cellphone ko. Napairap na lamang ako ng makita ko kung sino yon.

"Nagtetext ba sayo si ate Tiffany? Pakiramdam ko kaya siya tumatawag sakin ngayon dahil alam niyang ako ang kasama mo" tanong ko sa kanya.

"Pinatay ko ang phone ko. I'll just reply once we arrived" he sighed. 

"Sige, edi hindi ko na lang din 'to sasagutin. For sure, puro insulto at banta na naman sasabihin niya" I scoffed then turned my phone off as well.

"Hindi talaga kayo magkasundo ni Tiffany no?" 

"Obvious ba?" I sarcastically said.

"Pakiramdam ko tough love lang yung pinaparamdam niya sayo. I think she actually cares for you"

"Tough love my ass" I uttered. "Naging mabait lang siya sakin simula nung naging bodyguard kita. Gustong-gusto ka kasi siguro. Ewan ko ba anong ginawa mo sa kanya nung college kayo" 

"Admit it Bev, I'm charming" Andrei confidently said. 

I was about to retort back when he continued what he's saying.

"Pero di ko rin alam. Sa totoo lang, wala naman ako gaanong kaibigan nung college kami. Tahimik akong tao Beverly" seryoso niyang pagkakasabi.

"Totoo ba?" tanong ko na punong-puno ng gulat.

"Maniwala ka" he chuckled "I love being alone" 

"For a person who advised me not to push people away, ikaw pa talaga magsasabi sakin na you love being alone?" 

"Sabi mo gusto mo akong makilala. Eto ginagawa ko na Bev. I was a different person back then kaya nga di ko alam kay Tiffany ano bang nakita nya" he said and ran his fingers through his hair.

"What made you change?" tanong ko at nilingon siya.

"I had to learn it the hard way" he answered and quickly gave me a sad smile.

 I think it's about his brother. I just stared at him. Andrei really knows how to throw in a strong facade. It makes me sad how he has to do it, how it requires him to be strong.

"Beverly, wag mo nga ako titigan" he side-eyed me.

"What? Hinahanap ko lang ano nagustuhan ni ate Tiffany sayo.  Maybe if she doesn't annoy the hell out of me I will directly ask her" sabi ko at sumandal na muli sa upuan.

"Bakit hindi mo tanungin ang sarili mo? Bakit mo rin ako nagustuhan?" he mischievously asked.

 I was too taken aback with his question that I wasn't able to answer him immediately. Lumabi ako at di ko pa rin alam paano ba ako sasagot.

"You can answer me mamaya, malapit na tayo" he said and that calmed down my nerves. 

I bit my lip and just looked out the window to see where we were.