Love and Chaos

LaC 004

Chloe's POV:

Aaron?

Bago ko pa man ito mapagmasdang mabuti ay nawala na siya sa paningin ko. I wasn;t sure if it was Aaron since likod lang ang nakita ko. Pero yung posture, yung height, yung style ng damit, parang si Aaron talaga eh.

Pero may kasamang babae…

No Chloe don’t jump into conclusions. Baka naman kamukha lang. I mean there’s billions of peoples in the world, imposibleng wala siyang maging kamukha.

Maybe I’ll ask him later nalang where was he. If I got lucky and he answers the phone.

Matapos namin mag-order sa Starbucks ay nag-gala pa kami ng kaunti bago napagpasyahang umuwi na. Tinawagan ni mommy si kuya Obet. Habang wala pa siya ay tumambay nalang ulit kami sa Starbucks.

“Wait, is that Aaron?” Tanong ni mom at may tiningnan sa likod ko. Mabilis akong lumingon, but only the faces of the people who I don’t know greeted me.

“Where?” I asked.

“Andun sila kanina eh, nakatayo. May kasama siya. Oh well baka namamalikmata lang ako. Sign of aging haha.” She said unbothered. Ngumiti nalang ako at muling tumingin sa pwestong tinutukoy ni mom. Wala nang nakatayo doon.

I really need to talk to Aaron.

Pagkauwing-pagkauwi namin ay naligo agad ako at nahiga sa kama. Muli kong kinuha ang telepono ko at sinubukang i-dial ulit ang number ni Aaron.

“Babe! Oh my God how are you? I missed you so much! Why weren’t you picking up earlier? I tried to contact you, but your phone is only ringing. Are you busy?” Sunod-sunod na tanong ko pagkasagot na pagkasagot niya ng linya.

“Who is this?” Nagtaka ako nang makarinig ng boses ng babae. Medyo maingay din yung background.

“Uh, this is Chloe. Aaron’s boyfriend. Where is he? And uhm, who are you?” I asked. I heard a shuffled sound before I heard a man’s voice.

“Hello? Chloe?”

“Oh, there you are. Who was that?” I asked.

“That’s my colleague Freya. Sorry I was busy all day.” He said.

“Ah, oo nga. Narinig kong ikaw na ang nagha-handle ng business nyo? How was it?” I asked.

“It was stressful, but overall, it’s fine. Exciting naman siya.” Ani Aaron. I smiled at the thought of he’s enjoying his work.

“Really? Can’t wait to visit you there. I missed you. Kelan ka free? Babawi ako sa mga dates that we missed.” I said.

“Aww I can’t. Hindi ko alam kung kailan ako free since madaming gawain dito. But I’ll let you know.” Sagot niya. Parang lumungkot ang puso ko doon, pero inintindi ko nalang. Pare-pareho naman kaming may responsibilidad sa kani-kaniyang buhay.

“Okay. Enjoy ka diyan ah. I miss you.” Sabi ko.

“Yeah, I gotta go. Sleep early. Goodnight.” He said.

“I love you.” I said and smiled.

“Yeah, bye!” He said and hung up.

That’s weird. I think…something changed. He didn’t call be by our callsign, when I said I missed him and I love him, he didn’t respond to that. Could it be…nanlalamig na talaga siya?

He changed. That’s all I can say. Netong nagdaang mga araw ay wala akong naririnig tungkol sakaniya. Maski text ay wala. Alam kong busy siya, pero hindi naman kami ganito noon. Kahit busy kami ay nagagawa parin naming mag-text sa isa’t-isa.

Mukhang nagsisimula nang mangyari ang pinakakinatatakutan kong mangyari sa relasyon namin.

Changes.

Nang dahil doon ay sunod-sunod na gabing hindi ako nakakatulog ng maayos dahil sa kakaisip tungkol sa mga nangyari, nangyayari at mangyayari sa relasyon namin ni Aaron.

“Hi this is Aaron, but I’m kinda busy right now so, please leave a message.”

Bumuntong hininga ako at ibinaba ang telepono. Maka-ilang beses na akong sumusubok na i-contact siya pero wala talaga. Hindi na niya sinasagot ang telepono niya.

“Anak! Chloe?! Can you come down here for a sec?!” Rinig kong sigaw ni mom mula sa salas.

“Okay! Just give me a minute!” I shouted back and stood up from my bed. I arranged the things in my study table. I just realized na ang gulo na pala ng kwarto ko. Nilibang ko kasi ang sarili ko kagabi sa pamamagitan ng pagre-review ng ibang subjects ko.

Nang masigurong naayos ko na ang study table ko at ang mga librong nakakakalat sa carpet ay tsaka ako lumabas ng kwarto ko. Nagmamadali akong bumaba ng hagdanan at patakbong nagtungo sa kinaroroonan ni mom and dad.

“What’s up mom? Hey, dad.” I greeted them. They both smiled at me and motioned for me to sit down. Biglang kumabog ang puso ko sa hindi malamang dahilan. Oh no, am I in trouble?

“You’re making me nervous.” I whispered.

“Wait, are we? Sabi ko naman sayo hon huwag ganito eh. Baka mag-overthink nanaman itong baby natin eh.” Ani mom at mahinang hinampas si dad sa balikat.

“Hindi ko naman idea na tawagin siya dito.” Sagot ni dad pero agad din tumahimik nang taasan siya ng kilay ni mom. Bahagya akong natawa sakanilang dalawa, dahilan upang mawala ng kaunti ang kabang nararamdaman ko.

“So, bakit niyo po pala ako tinawag?” Tanong ko.

“Okay uhm ganito kasi iyon. Diba sabi namin, after you turn 18, which is next week na, you will start your training how to handle our company.” Panimula ni mom. Tahimik alng akong nakikinig at tumango-tango.

“Do you have any plans tonight?” Biglang tanong ni dad. Automatic na umiling ang ulo ko. “Good. We’re thinking about giving you a heads up.” He said.

“So, if you don’t have any plans tonight, me and your dad are going to meet our business partners tonight. Dinner date something. And we want you to come with us if it’s okay with you?” Mom asked. Mabilis akong tumango.

“Of course! If it’s about business, then I’m willing to do what you want me to do.” I said. But there’s something inside me telling me don’t go. It’s like as if it knew something is going to be wrong tonight. I shook that thought off and focused on what mom is saying.

“Great! Get ready at 7:00 p.m. Thank you baby!” She said and hugged me.

“Mom, I’m not a baby anymore.” I said and smiled. I hugged her back before bidding them goodbye.

I went back in my room and started cleaning it since it’s been a month since the last time I cleaned it.

Matapos kong mag-vacuum ay nagtungo naman ako sa closet ko at nagsimulang maghalungkat. Tinanggal ko na ang mga damit na hindi na kasya saakin at inilagay sa isang box. Habang inaayos ko ang mga damit ay may nakapa akong matigas at malaking bagay na nasakaloob-looban ng closet ko. Hinila ko ito at awtomatikong napangiti nang makitang iyong malaking box pala na puno ng memories namin ni Aaron iyon. Inilagay ko muna iyon sa isang gilid at tsaka ipinagpatuloy ang pag-aayos.

Naghanap din ako ng damit na pwede kong gamitin para mamayang gabi.

“Mom! Casual or formal?!” I shouted. I just continued looking for clothes I can use that will give me a casual, yet formal look.

“Casual lang anak!” She shouted back. I shouted thanks and picked the beige Kaila Wrap Style Jersey Dress. Ibinalik ko na sa closet ang mga damit na inilabas ko. Isinabit ko naman sa likuran ng pintuan ko ang damit na gagamitin ko mamaya tsaka naghanap ng maipa-partner na sapatos. I ended up choosing the knee-high black boots my mom bought me last year. Ngayon ko palang ito magagamit since I never use shoes na may heels. Una, uncomfortable, pangalawa, hindi ako sanay maglakad sa sapatos na may heels kaya madalas ay natatapilok ako dito.

Kumuha din ako ng car coat dahil for sure malamig mamayang gabi.

Nang masigurong naiayos ko na ang lahat ng kailangan kong ayusin ay tsaka ako naupo sa lapag at hinila palapit saakin yung malaking box. Dahan-dahan kong binuksan iyon at ngumiti. CD’s, stuffed toys, souvenirs, and mostly albums of our pictures.

Una kong binuksan iyong pinaka-unang photo album namin. This contains our pictures as a new couple. Napakadaming dates ang pinuntahan namin noon. We even traveled to another country on our 1st anniversary. With our parents of course.

Matapos kong tingnan lahat ng photo albums namin ay tsaka ko naman tiningnan ang mga stuffed toys. Napangiti ako nang makita ang heart-shaped ceramic painting na iniregalo niya saakin noong unang linggo namin bilang couple. Grabe ang pangii-spoil niya saakin noon, pero agad kong pinigilan iyon. Sabi ko kapag kami na ang bumubuhay sa sarili namin ay tsaka na siya mag-abalang bilhan ako ng mga rega-regalo, oero sa ngayon ay ipunin nalang niya ang allowance niya for future purposes or for emergency purposes.

“Shoot!”