My Pretend Niece

CHAPTER ONE CLARIZ NASSANDRA ‘NASS’ NASSY The day has finally come for me to meet him again. Ang laki ng ngisi ko. Daig ko pa ang clown sa pagkalaki nito. Wala pa man lang ay para na akong sumasayaw sa ibabaw ng ulap. habang nakatingin ako sa labas ng bintana ay mukha ng kaisa-isang lalaki ang nakikita ko sa asul na langit. Para akong nanginig sa kilig. Hindi ko alam kung kailan ako nag-umpisa na makaramdam ng ganito para sa kanya. Excited ako rito habang nakatingin sa plane ticket ko, na nakaipit pa talaga sa aking paboritong libro. This is my plane ticket, going to the most desirable place in the World. Ang tagal ko itong hinintay at inisip nang maayos. Who am I going to see anyway, at bakit ganito ba ang nararamdaman ko? My mother's adopted brother, not by papers but verbally adopted since they were kids. I haven’t seen him in a while, and that while means five years. I wanted to literally jump and yell when Daddy finally said yes, granting my request to study in Washington. DC. Hindi naging madali ang pinagdaan ko. I had a very hard time convincing him to grant my 18th birthday wish and Mom almost blew him in front of me when he started to show his dominant de Lorenzo attitude over her. But knowing how much he loves Mommy, of course, he’d knock himself down on his knees when Mom started to raise her brows like she was ready to turn him into smithereens. I giggle at the thought. Kawawa naman si Daddy. But knowing my Mom, kakambal ko siya sa kalokohan, at mapapanot na si Daddy sa kunsumisyon sa aming dalawa kapag pinagtutulungan namin siyang asarin. And what do we get as punishments? Gosh, walang kamatayang halik at yakap. But Mom is the best Mom ever. She’s loving and caring though she’s still so young. She’s my best friend, other than Rechel who flew to Walla-Walla three days ago for her late enrollment. Mommy’s taking care of Daddy Bryan. He is also not Mommy’s real brother but sure she loves him like one, just like Caine. Daddy Caine? Oh no, I don’t look at him as my Daddy for he was my greatest crush. Mom knows while Dad doesn’t. I could still recall how I begged Daddy Caine to come after me for a rescue. I know I’ll always have his back when it comes to asking for favors from my Dad because my father is so strict! Unlike my cousin Brooke, ipinagtutulakan na siya ni Daddy Adam na mag-asawa sa edad na 21. Medyo pihikan kasi si Ate, mana kay Mommy Yza. But we have one thing in common – NBSB only that, boyish type si Ate. She had an expertise in taekwondo and has good hands in handling guns. While me, may expertise ako sa katarayan, kaya madalas galit si Daddy. “You’re f*****g beautiful so I must keep an eye on you, just like what I did to your Mom,” Daddy’s words of course. Exactly that night of my 18th birthday, I received a call from Caine. I thought he wouldn’t greet me anymore but before midnight, he still made it. I almost jumped in excitement when he did and I heard his husky baritone voice over the phone. Only that, I’ve heard a woman’s voice over the line. I may be just eighteen but I’m aware of those things. I knew what those woman’s moans meant and I knew exactly right what ‘f**k me from behind means’. He’s bloody hell having s*x and I hate him for that! Nasaktan ako na sobra sa narinig ko na iyon. I maybe still a virgin but I certainly know many things about s*x, blow jobs, hand jobs, etc. And those words I’ve heard over the phone broke my heart. Hindi naman ako malandi. Open minded lang ako sa mga ganung bagay. Hindi ko pa naman iyon nasusubukan na gawin at ayokong gawin. Umiyak pa ako pero tama si Mommy. Dahil sa sinabi ni Mommy na pigilan ko ang sarili ko sa nararamdaman ko na paghanga sa lalaking para ko na rin daw na ama, ganun ang ginagawa ko. Nasasaktan ako pero ayokong magmukmok dito na parang katapusan na ng buhay. I love myself. I like my supposed to be second Daddy. Para na siyang kapatid ni Mommy pero ewan ko kung bakit lumaki ako na humahanga sa kanya. I’ve missed him during those times when he wasn’t home, and I worried too much when I heard that he was sent to Afghanistan. Akala ko hindi ko na siya makikita. That of all the most dangerous places in the world was the deadliest. It was a piece of living hell on Earth’s crust. Pardon and no offense meant. Gladly, Daddy Caine made it. He visited us before he joined the war and that was the last time we saw each other. After that, he became so – aloof, forgetting that little girl who always wished for him to come home. May pakiramdam ako na sinasadya niya iyon. Hindi ko alam kung mali ako, kaya kahit paano ay gumawa ako ng paraan para makita siya ulit. Nasa tamang edad na ako. Ayokong tumanda na hindi ko siya nakakasama. Makasama ko lang siya roon ay sapat na. Wala akong intensyon na ano man. Doon pa rin ako sa sabi ni Mommy na pigilan ko ang sarili ko. Hindi ako makukuntento kung wala akong gagawin para magkita kami. Isa pa, pag-aaral pa rin ang numero uno kong sadya roon. I had to try it for nobody caught my attention, since him, only him. None of my classmates ever captured my interest. Lahat ng proms ay hindi ko sinalihan dahil ayoko ng iba. I wanted Caine to be my escort but he had been such a very cold and hard guy. Baka baliw na siya pagkatapos ng pakikipag-bombahan sa gyera. Now I’m going to see him and he can do nothing about it. I’ll live in his place whether he likes it or not, and Mom thought that it was a decent idea. She said it was a good idea because there was the bravest man on earth who would look after me. May tiwala sa akin si Mommy. Igalang ko raw ang pagiging magkapamilya namin, iyon ang sinabi niya sa akin. That’s what I’m trying to do but all I wanted was to live with him. Nangangako ako na wala akong gagawin. It’s painful to fall in love with the wrong person but I will try my best not to push myself to the verge of hell. I’ll try to push him to some other women around if that’s what I have to do. Masasaktan ako alam ko pero at least ay magkasama kami kahit ito na ang huli.