I accidentally deleted chapter 12. Hay. Nag-iinarte kasi ang mouse ng computer ko. Anyway. Here is Chapter 12. Again.
CHAPTER 12
RINDEL'S POV
We just lied in his bed. We were quiet for a few
minutes after the heated scene that just happened.
“So.”, simula nito. “Does this mean that our deal is
off?”, tanong nito.
I turned to look at him.
“Really?”, I asked him. How could he not get that I
really like him?
“What? Di ba ganun naman ang usual na
nangyayari? You meet someone, you fuck
him once and then leave him.”
“Jared, I like you. Uulitin ko na naman ba? I won’t
leave you, alright?”
He was quiet. He then moved his head to nod.
“But we don’t have any label.”, he said.
“Do you want us to have a label?”
“Yes?”
I chuckled. “Tanong ba yun?”
He also chuckled. “Yes.”
“Yes, tanong yun or yes you want us to have a label?”
“Yes about the label.”
I kept quiet, thinking if it’s a good idea to be in a
relationship with Jared. I mean, yeah I like him but I don’t know if I like him
enough to be in a relationship with him.
“I - It’s okay if you don’t want to. I’m just
throwing the option out there just in case.”,
he added quickly after I didn’t speak for a few seconds.
“No, I actually want us to be in a relationship but I
have to warn you, I’m high maintenance.”
He sat up. A grin plastered on his face.
“Really?”, he asked excitedly.
I chuckled at his childish reaction.
“Yes, really. Now lay back down boyfriend. My arms
miss you.”
He happily obliged.
“You know, mag-boyfriend na tayo but I realize we don’t
even know each other well.”
“Oo nga ano? Let’s play 20 questions.”, he suggested.
“Sure. Hindi ko nga lang ma-gets kung bakit 20
questions ang tawag sa larong yan eh lagi naming sumusobra ang mga tinatanong.”
He laughed. “Yeah, ako nga rin eh. You start.”
“Uhm, favorite food.”
“Anything pasta but more on lasagna and cheesy stuff.
Most embarrassing moment?”
“That’s unfair.”
“Why? It’s a fair question.”, he said, chuckling
slightly.
“I’m starting to hate this game.”
He rolled his eyes.
“Just answer the question. Come on.”
“Uhm, cumming within two minutes of foreplay.”
“Really?!”
“Don’t rub it in!”
“But how? We lasted a lot longer than that earlier.”
“I was a virgin back then. I didn’t know anything
about control and I just got too excited that I came bago pa man matanggal ang
pantalon ko.”
This time he laughed really hard.
“Stop laughing! It’s not funny.”
“Yes it is.”, sabi nitong patuloy pa rin sa pagtawa
which made me pout.
“Awww. Come here.”, sabi nito saka ako hinalikan sa
labi. “It’s okay. It’s embarrassing and funny but first times are like that.
I’m sure hindi lang ikaw ang nag-iisang nagpalabas ng maaga sa inaasahan. The
good thing about it is that, we learn from those experiences and we can laugh
at ourselves.”
I looked into his eyes and smiled.
“Yeah. It really is funny.”, I said and he laughed. I
found myself laughing with him after a while.
“How about you? Your most embarrassing moment?”, I
asked.
“Hmmm. Probably fifth grade.”, he said.
“Bakit?”
“Every December kasi ay may variety show ang school
namin. Since provate school, we use the variety show as a fund raiser for
school improvements. So for this variety show, selected kids get to perform.
They either dance or sing or do an act and I was always chosen to sing. Kaya lang
that year, I was already early in puberty. Kaya naturally, hindi stable ang
boses ko and the piece I chose is Forever’s Not Enough by Sarah Geronimo and To
Love You More by Celine Dion dahil yun ang sikat that time. I thought I had it
at hindi ako papalpak but when the high note came for Forever’s Not Enough,
pumiyok ako. It was embarrassing kasi yung family ko na naghihiyawan sa gilid,
biglang tumahimik at naupo. I still continued to sing though.”, he explained
laughing every now and then. I chuckled at his story and imagined what he
looked like younger and how he must have sounded back then.
He’s just so animated when he tells stories and he
always finds the silver lining when things get tough. That’s one of the
qualities I admired about him.
“Now that you mention it, hindi pa kita naririnig
kumanta.”, I egged him.
“Oh no. No, I’m a better actor than a singer
though.”, he said trying to get out of the situation.
“Just a few lines. Please?”, I persuaded.
“But…”
“For me?”
“Ugh! Don’t get used to using that line against me.”,
he said.
It took him a few moments before he actually sang.
“Come on. Naghihintay ako. Lulumutin na ako di ka pa
kumakanta”
Muli itong naupo at sumandal sa headboard ng kama. I
did the same.
He just rolled his eyes and starting singing.
I never meant
to be the one to let you down
If anything I
thought I saw myself going first
Didn’t know how
to stick around
How to see
anybody but me be getting hurt
I keep
remembering the summer night
And the
conversation breaking up the mood
I didn’t wanna
tell you were right
Like the season
changing, oh, I felt it too
Does anybody
know how to hold my heart?
How to hold my
heart
‘Cause I don’t
wanna let go, let go, let go too soon
I wanna tell
you so before the sun goes dark
How to hold my
heart
‘Cause I don’t
wanna let go, let go, let go of you
“Can you finish the song?”, I asked him. I loved this
song by Sara Bareilles and his voice just made the song more emotional and he
really is a great singer.
I’m not the
kind to try to tell you lies
But the truth
is you’ve been hiding from it too
I see the end
sneaking in behind your eyes
Saying things
no words could ever do
Does anybody
know how to hold my heart?
How to hold my
heart
‘Cause I don’t
wanna let go, let go, let go too soon
I wanna tell
you so before the sun goes dark
How to hold my
heart
‘Cause I don’t
wanna let go, let go, let go of you
Is anybody
listening?
‘Cause I’m
crying
Is anybody
listening?
Does anybody
know how to hold my heart?
How to hold my
heart
‘Cause I don’t
wanna let go, let go, let go too soon
I wanna tell
you so before the sun goes dark
How to hold my
heart
‘Cause I don’t
wanna let go, let go, let go of you
Does anybody
know how to hold my heart?
How to hold my
heart
‘Cause I don’t
wanna let go, let go, let go too soon
I wanna tell
you so before the sun goes dark
How to hold my
heart
‘Cause I don’t
wanna let go, let go, let go of you
I kissed him when he finished the song.
“That was beautiful Jared. I never knew you had a
great voice.”, sabi ko rito.
He smiled and I saw a blush on his cheeks.
“Thanks.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“That’s already a question.”, he stated and I rolled
my eyes.
Tumawa naman ito. “Sure.”
“Bakit ka humito sa pag-aartista?”
“I was afraid you’d ask that.”
“It’s okay if you don’t want to answer, I just wanted
to know.”
“Di, okay lang.”, he said and smiled. “I was actually
only doing acting because I needed the money. Not for me. Kasi may kaya naman
ang pamilya namin. It was for my ex.”
“Nick?”, tanong ko.
“Yeah. He was studying to become a doctor and it’s
expensive so I promised to pay for his schooling. We had so many plans. I
thought hindi na kami maghihiwalay. I was happy with him. He was sweet, caring,
responsible, smart too and not bad for the eyes either. Pero nagkaroon ng scholarship
for aspiring doctors. Nung sinabi niya sa akin syempre masaya ako para sa kanya
dahil isa siya sa limang tao na nabiyayaan nun however, nung nalaman kong sa
ibang bansa pala ang scholarship, I told him what I thought and said that I’d
continue paying for his school wag lang kami maghiwalay dahil hindi ko alam
kung kakayanin ko ang long distance relationship. Eventually he chose the
scholarship over me saying he had to do it for our future.”
I nodded. “So naghiwalay kayo not because of anyone’s
involvement? Like third party or something?”
“No, he was loyal and we were in the relationship one
hundred percent. Pero masakit pa rin sa akin yung iniwan niya ako because of
his ambition. You must think na ang selfish ko kasi hindi ko man lang inintindi
ang sitwasyon niya at hindi ko sinuportahan ang pangarap niya.”
“I’m sure you had your reasons.”, sabi ko rito.
“Yeah, I do. I was also given a choice before kami
nag live-in. It was either I break up with him or lose my family. I chose him
over my family Mark. I gave up seeing my family, my nephews and nieces just to
be with him. Pero siya hindi niya man lang magawang mag-stay ditto para sa’kin.
It’s not like hindi siya magiging doctor kung ditto siya mag-aaral sa
Pilipinas.”
This time he was already shedding tears. Pinunasan ko
ang mga luhan nito gamit ang mga hinlalaki ko. I then kissed him.
“Shh, tahan na. He’s not worth it. I’m here now and
will do everything in my power to keep you. Okay?”, I said.
He nodded and smiled.
“Iniisip mo siguro na may feelings pa ako sa kanya
kasi iniiyakan ko pa rin siya.”
“No. I don’t think that. I know that feelings never
really just disappear, they just grow smaller by time.”, sabi ko rito.
He smiled. “Thank you.”, he said.
“For what?”, tanong ko rito.
“For listening. For not judging me. For being here
with me right now.”
This time ako naman ang ngumiti.
“There’s no way I’d rather be.”, I replied.
At that moment, nangako ako sa sarili kong hindi ko
papakawalan ang taong ito. I feel really protective of Jared. I swear that I
would never let him hurt like that again.
TO BE CONTINUED...
