Leave Your Lover

Chapter Fourteen

The past few days were fine. Her relationship with CJ is okay. Hindi niya masasabing bumalik na sila sa dati dahil mukhang malabong mangyari iyon ngayon pero at least wala ng tension. There's an awkward moment yes, but at least she could say that everything's fine.

Alas sais na natapos ang review niya at pasado alas siyete naman ng dumating siya sa Ledesma Towers. CJ texted her that he'll duty on the BGC branch tonight. Naka sick leave daw kasi ang manager niya. That's the thing with him now. He kept on updating her even if she didn't asked him too. Palagi itong nagtetext kung may lakad. He even send her pictures on messenger sometimes.

He's picking up the pieces of her trust and no matter how she warned herself never to get overwhelmed, she still does.

She appreciates CJ's efforts. Minsan pa nahuli siya nitong pinapakialaman ang phone nito. Hiyang hiya siya noon. She really thought he'll get mad at her but instead, CJ gave her his password. Birthday iyon ni Nay Kamil. He even registered her finger print on his phone so she could easily open it.

She read texts messages from Jusmaine. The woman desperately wants him back pero nilinaw ni CJ na wala ng sila. It gave her sleepless nights because the butterflies in her stomach gone wild. Kinabukasan nagpalit si CJ ng sim card. He said he already told her his side. Nakay Jusmaine na iyon, pero gusto nitong magsimula ng bago, kasama siya.

Dumaan siya sa Jollibee para mag take out ng chicken spaghetti at peach mango pie. Sinamahan niya rin iyon ng coffee jelly float. Binilhan niya rin si CJ ng one piece chicken just incase na magutom ito pag-uwi.

Natapos niya iyong Dash and Lily over the weekend. She tried to browse on netflix but she's not in the mood for it so she opened the stereo instead.

Kanta ulit ng LANY ang pinatugtog niya. It's Van's favorite band. Noong isang gabi lang nanood ito ng concert sa MOA Arena kasama ng mga kapatid nito. He invited her but she refused. Busy na kasi siya sa review noon.

She flipped through the pages of her review materials and eat the food that she bought while listening to LANY's music. Paper ang kantang tumutugtog.

But we look good on paper, we keep fooling all the neighbors. They think we have a perfect life cause they don't hear us when we fight, so we look good on paper, then we fall apart later.

Natigilan siya. The lyrics of the song is so sad. Akmang akma sa kung paano sila ni CJ ngayon.

Come to think of it. Wala namang may alam na ganoon ang sitwasyon nila. Their family thinks they're perfect but what they don't know is they're so broken inside that marriage.

Lumalim ang gabi. Mag aalas dose na ng madaling araw pero hindi pa rin umuuwi si CJ. He's supposed to be home by ten. She kept on calling him pero cannot be reached ang telepono nito. Sinubukan niya ring tumawag sa BGC branch pero walang sumasagot roon. Suddenly, she's overthinking again. Ang sakit sakit na naman ng dibdib niya. She kept on thinking if he's with Jusmaine, did they got back together? What are they doing now?

Nagsawa na kaya si CJ sa kakasuyo sa kanya. Was he got tired of waiting?

Her thoughts was interupted when the door opened. It was CJ.

She walk towards him and slap him hard in the face. Tumatahip ang dibdib niya. She felt so betrayed. Mangiyak ngiyak siya sa galit. CJ looked dumbfounded. Hindi nito inaasahan iyon, maging siya rin naman ay nabigla. Naghalo halo na ang emosyon niya at hindi niya napigilan ang bugso niyon kaya napagbalingan niya agad ito.

"What was that for?" He looks calm, his voice is soft. He doesn't even look mad. Ibinaba nito ang dalang bag sa kitchen counter bago siya muling hinarap.

"Where have you been? Are you with Jusmaine? Are you betraying me again? Anong ginawa ninyo?" Sunud-sunod na tanong niya.

"Teka lang, Carson. Saan ba nanggagaling iyan?" Pain crossed his eyes and she could hear how it reflects on his voice.

"You're supposed to be home by ten! Sa Young's ka ba talaga galing? O baka naman kay Jusmaine! Ano nagkabalikan na ba kayo?" Her tears fell. She felt so stupid to believe he would actually change.

"Hindi. Walang ganoon." Inilabas nito sa bulsa ang iPhone. "Nalowbat ako. Sobrang dami ng tao, you know how hectic friday gets. I was supposed to be home by nine. Kaya lang nagkaroon ng gas leak sa kitchen. We need to silently tell the customers that there is gas leak and they need to leave because the restaurant might explode. We need to do that as discreet as possible. Baka kasi magka stampeed kung magtatakbuhan ang mga tao palabas. You can call Blake if you want. Kilala mo naman iyong pinsan ko diba? He's an engineer and he's the one to do the inspection right after they fix it." Mahabang paliwanag ni CJ. Para siyang binuhusan ng malamig na tubig hanggang sa bumalik siya sa katinuan.

The fact na walang panunumbat sa boses ni CJ habang sinasabi ang lahat ng iyon ang lalong nagpahiya sa kanya sa sarili. She felt so ashamed on the way she reacted. Nasaktan niya pa ito ng pisikal.

"I-- I'm sorry."

"It's okay, love." Lumapit ito sa kanya at hinalikan ang sintido niya. "I'll just charge my phone so you could get Blake's number from it."

"There's no need for that."

"Then I'll go take a shower." Hinalikan siya nito ulit sa pisngi bago ito pumasok sa banyo.

God! What have she done?

Hindi pa rin siya mapakali habang nasa shower si CJ so she called Alex. Pinsan rin iyon ni CJ and he's the closest to her. He's the one who's in charge in the U-belt branch and the one famous for Naked Chef's Sexy Fridays.

"Yow?" Bati nito sa kanya ng sagutin ang tawag. Nanginginig pa ang boses nito.

"Are you alright?"

"Ang lamig, Carson. Ang hirap kumita ng pera." Muntik na siyang humagalpak ng tawa sa sinabi nito. Kung ganoon bukas pa rin pala ang U-belt branch. Sa bagay, Alex turned it into a bar and restaurant so malamang na marami pag nag iinom doon. And she bet he's naked cause it's friday.

"It's 12AM, technicallt, it's Saturday already. You can take your shirt on."

"Tsaka na, sayang naman iyong mga pumapasok dito makita lang akong nakahubad. So why did you call?"

"Do you have Blake's number?" Kagat labing tanong niya. She felt really ashamed for hurting CJ physically but she won't give up her peace of mind. Kailangan niyang malaman kung totoo talaga ang sinasabi nito.

"Why? Isn't Connor already home? Hindi niya pa nasasabi sa'yo?"

"Uhm, ano. He said he's gonna be late, but he didn't give further details. Sabi niya pag-uwi na lang niya sasabihin." Gumawa siya ng dahilan. Wala naman kasing may alam ng totoong nangyayari sa kanilang dalawa kung hindi si Van.

"Okay naman. Naayos agad, wala namang nasaktan. Nakabalik na dito si Blake. Nag-iinom kami kanina nila Cash ng tumawag si Connor na may gas leak nga daw." Paliwanag nito habang nagseserve ng order sa customer. Rinig niya iyon sa background. Nagpaalam na siya kay Alex dahil nakakaistorbo na siya.

Mas lalo siyang napahiya sa sarili at nahihiya siyang humarap kay CJ. It's not right that she act out of her impulse. Nagkasakitan tuloy sila.

Maaga siyang nagising kinabukasan. She really felt embarassed so she wanted to make it up to him. Nagluto siya ng agahan but not the usual. Tamang tama na may stock siya ng hipon at crab stick sa ref. She cooked seafood pasta for him. Tapos na siyang magluto ng lumabas si CJ ng kuwarto.

"Hey, you're awake. Good morning." She greeted him with a smile. Inilipat siya sa serving dish ang pasta bago inayos sa pang dalawahan ang mesa.

"Anong meron?" Amusement was dancing in his eyes. Inamoy ni CJ ang pasta sa serving dish.

"This is a simple sorry gesture. I'm really sorry I doubted you last night, and well, slapping you." Naglagay siya freshly squeezed orange juice sa baso nito.

"Carson, you shouldn't say sorry for it." Hinawakan nito ang kamay niya. "I know where you're coming from and I understand. Normal lang na magduda ka."

"But still--"

"Shh." Hinalikan nito ang kamay niya. "Let's just enjoy the meal and forget it."