Beauty As The Beast

T H R E E (1/3)

“Good morning, doc! Gising ka na?”

I breathe in deeply as I sit up from my bed, checking at the time on my table clock. “The phone’s been ringing endlessly, Bree. I guess I’m awake.”

“Good. See you!”

“Yeah. Meet me in front of St. Peter.”

“I knew you’d say that. I’m already here, in fact.”

Napatayo ako bigla dahil sa sinabi niya. It’s already six in the morning and I guess sleeping late already took its toll on me. “What the hell. Give me fifteen minutes. Maliligo lang ako.”

“Hey, what’s the rush? I can give you an hour. Kumain ka muna.”

“Sabay na tayong kumain. Pupunta ka pa naman dito, ‘di ba?”

“S-seryoso ka ba?”

I frown. “I thought we already agreed?”

“S-sige. Okay. Fifteen minutes, then.”

Mabilis akong kumilos kapag pinilit kong magmadali. I quickly wear a peach sports bra with gray sando, matching peach shorts and running shoes. Since wala na ring time masyado para magsuklay, I just tie my hair in a messy bun. Wala pang ten minutes, I’m already jogging my way out of our house to meet up with Bree.

She’s leaning against a black Porsche while waiting for me when I see her. “Wow. The Flash?” bungad niya sa ‘kin.

It’s always a breath of fresh air whenever I see her wearing something else out of her intern scrubs and white lab coat. Naka-jacket siya na black with pink linings on top of a pink sando tapos jogging pants and running shoes.

“Is that a Caienne2014?”

Tumingin siya nang may nakakalokong ngiti sa sasakyang nasa likod niya sabay tumango. “Yep.”

“Where’s your BNW?”

“May mino-modify ‘yung kapatid ko sa BNW, e. I just bought this one recently.”

I nod, studying her. “Giniginaw ka ba?” I crack.

“Doc, malamig sa ‘min. Malamig sa biyahe. At ganito talaga ako ka-conservative magdamit, para namang hindi ka pa sanay.”

I chuckle at her lightly. “Whatever. Tara na?”

Hindi ko alam kung kinakabahan ba siya o ano habang tumatango. Binuksan niya ‘yung passenger door ng sasakyan niya, willing me to step in. “Seryoso ka talaga, ah?” she confirms.

I snort. “Don’t make it sound like it’s a big deal, Bree. You’re going to make things awkward.”

As we drive our way to my home, tahimik lang siya. Patingin-tingin ako sa kaniya kasi baka mamaya, hindi na pala siya humihinga.

“Turn right,” I say, as the last turning direction. “That house.”

Tumingin siya sa tinuturo ko tapos huminga nang malalim. “Oh, my gosh. I’m so nervous.”

Napasimangot ako bigla. “What are you even so nervous about?”

“Paano kung isipin nilang...” She shakes her head. “Nothing.”

She parks in front of our driveway at nauna na akong bumaba. Hinintay ko siya sa pinto ng sasakyan niya hanggang makababa. “Relax,” I utter, holding her hand. “Nobody’s going to bite you... unless you ask.”

Glaring, hinampas niya ako sa braso na tinawanan ko lang. “Gusto mong ikaw ang kagatin ko?!”

Naglakad kami papasok at ramdam na ramdam kong kinakabahan siya. Hindi ko alam kung bakit pero gusto kong matawa. Ano bang nakakakaba? Una, wala naman akong gagawin sa kaniya—unless of course siya ang may gawin sa ‘kin, then that’s a different story. Pangalawa, wala namang tao sa mismong bahay namin. Kuya Ted is always in his room during work hours when he’s not needed and the maids are on off whenever it’s my day to rest.

“Ang ganda ng bahay niyo,” I hear her mumbling.

“Coming from the girl with a great big house, that’s something,” I retort.

Sinama ko siya hanggang makarating kami sa second lounge tapos nilagay ko ‘yung phone ko sa music dock.

“What do you normally listen to?” I ask.

“On a scale of one to metal, I listen to anything, doc,” she swiftly answers.

“You can stop calling me ‘doc’ at least outside our business hours, Bree. I have a name, too.”

Umupo siya in one of the white couches, looking around. “Nasanay na kasi ako, e.”

“You wouldn’t want me to call you by your stage name, would you?” I snide.

“No, you wouldn’t want to call me ‘Spring Breeze’. You’re too lazy to take that effort, I know.”

Natawa ako. Damn right, I am. It’s actually why I always make the names shorter because I hate exerting effort.

I put the music in shuffle and let it fill the whole house with random songs. Since kahit ano naman daw, pinapakinggan niya, might as well take her to my personal playlist. And number one on mine is...

Shape of You—Ed Sheeran

“Nice choice,” I hear her saying.

“Dito ka lang, ah? I’ll try to see if there’s anything we can eat. Kapag wala, magpapa-deliver na lang ako. Make yourself at home.”

“Sama ako,” pahabol niya and when I look back at her, she’s already walking towards my direction.

“Separation anxiety again?” I joke.

That grants her another reason to shove me. “Ayoko lang nang iniiwan ako. I’d rather be with someone in roughness than be at peace alone.”

Natahimik ako. Her intention might be different but her words start confusing me. Sa ganitong aspeto, magkaiba kami ni Bree. Bukod sa ayoko ng clingy, mas gusto ko pang mag-isa lang ako pero may peace kesa naman may kasama nga pero magulo naman. Not that I’m considering it, pero ano na lang ang mangyayari kung magkatuluyan kami kung hindi kami iisa ng pananaw sa ganitong bagay?

“Na-speechless ka na naman sa words of wisdom ko.”

I scoff. “Whatever, Bree.”

Hinawi ko ‘yung kurtina sa daanan papasok sa kitchen as a courtesy to my first visitor.

“Ikaw lang mag-isa?” she finally asks the question na sa tingin ko, e, kanina niya pa gustong itanong mula makarating kami rito.

“Yes,” I say. “Well, dalawa na tayo ngayon.”

“N-nasaan sila?”

I look back at her while opening fridge. “Who?”

“Wala ka bang kasama?” balik tanong niya.

I shrug. “Ikaw. Kasama kita.”

She grunts. “I mean, sa bahay. Kasama sa bahay. Like parents, siblings, whatever.”

Binalik ko ‘yung atensyon ko sa paghahanap ng makakain sa fridge. “Wala ka rin kayang kasama sa bahay,” sabi ko naman.

“You don’t have to answer the question if it makes you uncomfortable, doc.”

Sa isang salita, biglang may nag-flashback sa isip ko.

Uncomfortable.

Sa lahat ng pwede kong maalala, ‘yung walang-hiyang kapatid niya pa na nag-strip off ng shirt sa harapan ko kahapon lang. Now that is a whole new level of ‘uncomfortable’.

“I’m sorry. Did I just make the atmosphere awkward?”

Biglang bumalik ‘yung isip ko sa kasalukuyan as Bree speaks again. “N-no,” I nervously say. Kinapa ko ‘yung noo ko kasi bigla ata akong nainitan. Suddenly, the kitchen feels too small for two people.

“E, bakit bigla ka atang nanahimik?”

“Para namang ‘di mo ‘ko kilala, Bree. The conversational part of my vocabuly is always conventional. Either I’d talk a lot or not at all.”

“Sigurado kang this isn’t about my question?”

Napaisip ako. s**t lang kasi halos ‘di ko na nga maalala kung anong tanong niya. “It’s not about the question, I swear. I am not that easily offended, Bree.”

Finally, she nods. “I’d assume that your family isn’t living here, then.”

Oh, that question.

“Funny how I assumed that a woman like you with a stable job and high salary would still be living with your parents,” she adds.

“I have a sister,” I tell her instead. “She saw you in person once but I didn’t let her get close to you because you were in the lab. But she knows you.”

“Knows me?”

“Yeah, I talk about you with her.”

Hindi siya nakasagot so I glance at her again as I prepare the coffee maker.

“You look surprised,” I say.

“I’m... I just... I never thought you’re that kind of person.”

I snort. “What kind?”

Naglakad siya nang mabagal palapit sa kinatatayuan ako. “The kind that would talk about another person in particular with her sibling or someone close.”

Natawa ako bigla sa kaniya. I just don’t understand why she has to make a big deal out of everything I do. “First off, Angel and I aren’t that close. Or at least not as close as you are to your siblings. Second, I only talk to her because she’s asking and I only talk about you because I have nothing else to talk about.”

“So hanggang sa usapan, nasisingit lang ako because I’m your only choice?”

“Why can’t you just see it as ‘I only talk about you because you’re the only person I want to talk about since I don’t really like mingling with other people’?”

Hindi siya nakasagot. Instead, she crosses her arms over her chest and leans her back against the countertop.

And since I already started it, might as well let her know what I’ve noticed ever since. “Why are you like that? You’re so much more. Sometimes, either you think so less of yourself or you think so less of what I think about you.”

She gives me a resigned smile. “Thank you. That’s the nicest thing I’ve heard from you so far.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re making it a big deal again. Now that’s awkward.”

This time, ako naman ang tinawanan niya.