Beauty As The Beast

T W O (3/3)

“Miss Gomez, nasa bahay na po.”

Napadilat ako bigla at parang kinakapos ako ng hangin. s**t, I fell asleep again. Parang seconds lang ‘yung dumaan kanina ngayon, nasa bahay na kami. Natatandaan ko pan puro ‘yung amoy ng strawberry na ‘yon ang nasa isip ko, hindi ko na namalayan na tulog na pala ako buong biyahe na naman.

Pagdating sa kwarto, at saka ko lang naisipang tingnan ang phone ko.

Spring Breeze: There’s something I need to tell you.

Ayoko pa naman no’ng ganitong ang daming intro bago sabihin ‘yung dapat sabihin. Nagkakaroon ako ng mild anxiety kakaisip kung bakit kailangan pang lagyan ng ganiyang intro kung pwede namang diretsahin na lang. Kaya kahit alam kong kanina pa ‘tong message na ‘to, I still take my chances in sending one back.

My Number: Bakit hindi mo na lang sabihin agad kung ano?

At dahil naisip ko nang baka hindi na siya makapag-reply ngayon  tinabi ko na ‘yung phone ko. Seconds after, nag-vibrate ‘yung phone ko sa table.

Spring Breeze: How are you still awake? It’s late.

For some reason, I feel the need to keep my encounter with the other Larqueza to myself. Pakiramdam ko kasi, magkakaroon ng iba pang tanong kung ikukwento ko pa. Like, what does it have to do with me, being awake in this hour? E, alam naman ni Bree na I’m a morning person and I sleep early at night, too. Tapos dahil lang sa encounter namin ng kapatid niya, hindi na ‘ko nakatulog nang maaga?

Isabelle: Maybe I’m just excited for tomorrow’s plans. I don’t know.

Nagulat ako dahil nag-ring ‘yung  phone. This time, I can clearly see her name on my screen tapos bigla akong kinabahan. What am I supposed to tell her? Alam naman niyang ayoko ng phone conversations, ito na naman siya.

But, of course, just for the sake of not being rude, I still answer the call.

“Yes?”

“So you’re excited to see me.”

At sa lahat, ito pa ang napili niyang pansinin. If I tell her more about this, I might need to lie a bit more at hindi ko kayang panindigan ang kasinungalingan nang matagal. So instead, I take over the drive of our conversation.

“What did you want to talk about?”

Natahimik siya bigla. Now that I just asked, napaisip tuloy ako kung ano nga ba ang sasabihin niya that it couldn’t wait until tomorrow bago niya bigyan ng gano’ng intro. Is it really that urgent or sinabi lang niya ‘yon para hindi niya makalimutang may kailangan siyang sabihin?

“Siguro, bukas na lang natin pag-usapan.”

Ako naman ang natahimik. Sasabihin ko na sana na she should not have started saying it in the first place kung sasabihin lang din niyang bukas na lang. Then again, sinagot ko ‘yung phone para hindi masabihan na ‘rude’. Kung sa phone call lang din ako mismo magiging rude, edi sana hindi ko na lang talaga sinagot.

At isa pa, she sounds uncomfortable and sad, but like what I said, I hate giving comfort because it makes people rely on me. I wouldn’t want to give people the wrong impression. Kaya nga ‘di ko malaman ang sasabihin ko. Bukod sa hindi ako sanay sa phone conversations, lalong hindi sanay ang awkward self ko sa awkward questions.

Naiwan ako sa pagitan ng desisyon na pilitin siyang sabihin kung anuman ‘yung sasabihin niya o hayaan na lang. In the end, I decide to stay neutral.

“Ikaw ang bahala,” I say.

I hear her letting out a sigh. Siguro, ine-expect niyang pilitin ko siyang sabihin kung ano ‘yon. “Good night, doc. See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah. See you,” I reply shortly, ending the call.

Kahit papaano, napaisip din ako kung bakit gano’n ‘yung tono ng boses niya. But instead of mulling over it, I decide to let it pass.

After doing all my pre-bedtime routine, nag-ring na naman ‘yung phone ko. I stare at my screen for several seconds, trying to figure out who’s calling again at this hour.

Private number calling...

Hinayaan ko lang mag-ring hanggang matapos ang tawag niya. Afterwards, nilapag ko na sa side table at nahiga na rin ako after turning all the lights off. Maya maya, nag-ring na naman. If only I can turn off my phone, kanina ko pa ginawa. Kaso dahil sa commitment ko sa ospital at sa mga pasyente ko, hindi ko ginagawa ‘yon. So I pick up my phone and check on my screen, only to see the same thing.

Private number calling...

Hinayaan ko lang ulit. Pero tawag talaga nang tawag. Sa pang-apat na tawag niya, at saka ko lang sinagot dahil mukhang hindi siya titigil hangga’t ‘di ako nakakausap.

“Hello?”

“I’m sorry for calling you this late but there’s a favor I need to ask of you.”

Judging by the accent alone, I can already tell that this might be one of my old schoolmates from St. Dominique dahil umuulan ng Australians do’n. Ang tanong lang, who is this and how did she get my personal number?

“I’m sorry, but, who are you?”

“Sunny.”

Sunny? “Can you be more specific?”

“Summer Sun Larqueza.”

I take a look at my screen for the nth time, making sure that I’m not just imagining things. But, heck, this call is really happening. What is it with these Larquezas and their awful timing?

“Since I guess you finally remembered, let me be blunt,” she goes on. “My sister, who happens to be your friend, has been talking about you everytime I get the chance to ask how she’s been.”

For some odd reasons, pagkasabi niyang ‘sister’, mas nauna kong naisip si Autumn Leaf. Parang ang layo kasi sa kanila ni Bree lalo na sa ugali kaya siguro si Bree lang ang kaya kong pagtiisan sa kanila. Autumn Leaf and Summer Sun are no doubt similar. Kaya medyo hindi ko rin gusto ang isang ‘to, ewan ko kung bakit. Well, it’s not like she feels otherwise but still, ayoko talaga sa mga Larqueza na ‘to. Maliban kay Bree, of course. But sometimes, she also possesses the equal traits though that is something I can tolerate dahil mabait naman siya sa ‘kin unlike her sisters.

“Maybe, you have that big of an influence to her so I’d take my shot,” she pauses, probably to give me a chance to absorb everything she just said.

I sigh. “And?”

“Can you convince her to go to my best friend’s opening night at a club tomorrow? Later, I mean. Since it’s technically one AM of Saturday now.”

Talk about being straightforward. Kung paanong hirap na hirap si Bree na maging diretso sa mga sinasabi niya kanina, ganito naman kadali para sa kapatid niya na sabihin agad kung ano lang ang kailangan niya. Bumangon ako para umupo at sumandal sa headboard ng kama.

“Why can’t you just convince her yourself?”

“You think I haven’t tried my best, yet?”

At dahil hindi ko gusto ang tono ng pagiging sarcastic niya, I just let out a scornful laugh. “Have a good night, Sunny. I’m sorry but I don’t take orders from people I’m not even acquainted with.”

“If you care about her even just one bit, I swear my life that this is going to be one of the most important things you’d do for her. Not for me. Good night. You still have time to convince yourself and my sister to agree.”

Afterwards, binaba na niya ‘yung tawag. Bastos talaga ‘tong magkakapatid na ‘to. Iistorbohin ang kahit sino na lang na gusto nilang istorbohin without even bothering to apologize for it sincerely.

Tapos hindi rin siya nag-iwan ng contact number. Parang nai-imagine na niyang papayag ako kahit ang totoo, hindi ko naman makita ang sarili kong gumagawa ng isang bagay para sa ibang tao just to satisfy their personal intentions. Naasar lang ako lalo.

My day has been filled with these Larquezas and it’s too much to handle. What makes her think na gagawin ko kung anong favor man ang hinihingi niya? If I didn’t know any better, baka ikapahamak ko pa ‘yang pangingialam sa mga personal na usapan nila.

So, no. I will never, ever, get myself involved with any of these girls. Sapat na ‘yung light friendship ko kay Bree. And I never wished for anything beyond that.