Chapter 08

"Para kang tanga," Finley told me when he saw me hugging my baby tightly.

I looked at him and frowned. "This bag is my baby, okay?"

"It's just a bag."

"What if ibenta ko 'yung signed jersey mo ni Lebron?"

His forehead creased. "How did you know na meron ako non?"

I rolled my eyes. "Pinost mo sa IG."

He smirked. "You're stalking me."

I made a face at him. "Ew," sabi ko tapos inignore ko na siya at saka binalik iyong attention ko sa baby ko. I took a couple of selfies. Nakita ko si Finley sa rearview mirror na napapa-iling sa ginagawa ko. What? It's my baby! As if hindi weird kapag nagte-take ng selfie with basketball shoes and jersey iyong mga boys gaya niya.

"Finally," he uttered when I unlocked the door.

I looked at him and scowled again. He just rolled his eyes at me. Lumabas na ako at saka pumasok doon sa consignment store. I began talking to the lady and then I showed her my bag. I take great care of my babies, but I still use them, so there were minor scratches. It's fine. Ayoko lang din kasi bumili ng bag tapos idi-display ko lang. I used them pa rin.

"Thank you," I said when she told me the final price. It's more than what my dad paid for—which was expected since mabilis magprice increase iyong Chanel.

When the lady went to the backroom to do something, I looked around for Finley and nakita ko siya na nasa isang gilid. He was sitting down tapos ay naglalaro na naman sa phone niya. What was he playing? Parang lagi niyang nilalaro 'yon.

I walked towards him.

"You done?" he asked without even bothering to look at my beautiful face.

"Not yet."

He gave a small nod. "Okay."

Ugh. Boring.

Bumalik na lang ako doon sa may harap. I opened my IG and saw my friends shopping for clothes to bring sa NYC trip namin... I knew I shouldn't feel jealous. It wasn't like my parents asked for trouble. It's just life... but dang! I wanted to go on shopping trips! I wanted new OOTDs! I wanted new bags!

I just wanted my easy life back!

"What are you scowling about again?"

My heart almost jumped from my chest when I heard Finley talking behind me. He was almost peeking at my phone. Agad kong tinakpan 'yon.

"Ever heard of privacy?" I asked, my brow arched.

"Tumitingin ka rin sa phone ko."

"You were just playing games."

"Malay mo kung iba ginagawa ko?"

"What—" And then I made a face. "Ew!"

Kumunot iyong noo niya then made a disgusted face. "What the hell are you thinking?" sabi niya.

"I don't know! You started it!"

"You seriously think I'd just browse porn on my phone in public?"

"Stop saying the p-word!"

"P-word?" sabi niya na natawa. "Are you a child?"

"Yes! Hindi pa ako nagbi-birthday!"

He rolled his eyes at me. "Ikaw ata pinaka-maarteng babaeng kilala ko."

"Thanks for the compliment," I said, smiling sarcastically at him. Akala niya ata insult 'yon. So, what if maarte ako? It's not like I'm hurting anyone.

We were bickering like kids (Finley's fault! He's insufferable!) nung bumalik iyong lady attendant. She handed me cash. I thanked her.

"Hindi mo bibilangin?" Finley asked nung ilalagay ko na sa bag ko iyong money.

"Complete naman 'yan," I replied, showing him that the money's still bundled.

He rolled his eyes again. "Para sa taong laging nagrereklamo na walang pera, ang tamad mo," he said as he got the money from my hand.

Finley began to manually count each bill. Naka-tayo lang ako doon habang pinapa-nood siya. I was a bit embarrassed dahil baka akala nung staff dito na wala akong tiwala sa kanila. Finley, on the other hand, didn't really care about what other people think of him. Social anxiety's really scared of him!

Ilang minutes din kami na naka-tayo doon habang binibilang niya iyong bills. He counted them twice tapos ay binigay niya sa akin nung matapos siya. Then he applied alcohol on his hands.

"Where to?" he asked nung nasa loob na kami ng sasakyan.

Hindi agad ako naka-sagot. I was debating kung uuwi na ba ako or pupunta ako sa mall... Should I shop? Kahit konting clothes lang? It didn't have to be a huge splurge... I just need some new clothes. Hindi naman kailangan expensive. Maganda naman ako. Any clothes would fit me well.

Habang malalim iyong iniisip ko ay sinabi ni Finley na babalik lang siya dahil may naiwan daw siya sa loob. I absentmindedly nodded while I was doing an internal debate sa kung ano ang gagawin ko.

"To the mall," I told him nung maka-balik siya.

"May bibilin ka?" he asked.

"Clothes."

"Kulang pa damit mo?"

"I need new outfits for New York," I told him. "I need to look cute."

"Kanino ka magpapa-cute?" he asked as he wore his seatbelt.

I shrugged. "Who knows? I might meet the love of my life there," I told him. Ang dami kayang cute guys sa New York! Maybe I can meet him while walking around, bump into him, and that'll be the beginning of our love story! Anything is possible!

I was so busy daydreaming na buti napansin ko na instead na sa mall kami pumunta ay pauwi na pala kami. I made Finley turn around para sa mall kami pumunta.

"You sold your 'baby' para lang bumili ng damit?" he asked habang nasa loob kami ng store. I so badly wanted to go inside my favorite shops, but I knew that my money would be gone so quickly kapag doon kami pumunta.

"Ayaw mong gastusin ko 'yung pera ko?" I asked and then nilahad ko iyong kamay ko. "Be charitable now. Akin na 'yung credit card mo."

He scoffed. "Asa ka pa."

"See? So, respectfully, shup up. I need to concentrate."

Ilang beses ko sinabihan si Finley na umalis muna. Ang dami namang pwedeng gawin dito sa mall. I told him that I'd just contact him kapag patapos na ako, but he's such a pest that he just kept on following me around. At dahil sinusundan niya lang din naman ako, pina-hawak ko sa kanya iyong mga damit na susukatin ko. At least may silbi na siya kahit papaano.

Because I was on a budget, I tried different outfits. I needed to make sure na magagamit ko ng ilang beses iyong mga clothes na bibilhin ko—and, of course, na cute ako sa mga 'yon.

"Is this giving?" I asked as I got out of the fitting room.

"Giving what?" he asked, looking perpetually bored.

"Giving cute."

"It's giving hypothermia," he replied. "You'll wear mini skirt?"

"Of course I'll be layering," sabi ko sa kanya.

"Kahit na."

"Fashion is sacrifice," I told him as I got back inside the fitting room. Ilang outfit pa iyong sinukat ko, pero lahat 'yon ay may comment si Finley. Seriously! Bakit hindi niya na lang ako iwanan? May arcade naman dito sa mall. Doon siya maglabas ng aggression niya sa buhay.

We'll be in New York City for five days, so I settled with 10 outfits. I'll mix and match iyong mga bagong bili ko and my existing clothes.

"Yan ang bibilhin mo?" Finley asked when I grabbed a coat.

I nodded. "Yup."

"Really?"

"I'll layer," sagot ko na lang sa kanya. I knew that this coat won't really help with the cold, but what could I do? Ang mahal nung mga coat na wool talaga. Ang dami ko sanang coats sa house, but I really should think of them as gone. Mafu-frustrate lang ako kung constantly iisipin ko iyong mga gamit ko na hostage ng bahay namin.

After paying for my things, pina-buhat ko kay Finley lahat. Surprisingly, he wasn't complaining. Like for once in his life!

"What do you want?" I asked.

"What?"

"Lunch," I told him. "I'll make libre."

"Wag na."

"Ang arte," I said. "Do you want Italian? Japanese? Chinese?"

"Ramen," he finally replied.

"Oh, okay!" I excitedly said. "It's been a while since I had ramen."

I ordered a small bowl lang dahil hindi naman ako malakas kumain. Finley got a big bowl of ramen with additional pork belly and egg and dumplings. It wasn't surprising na malakas siyang kumain with all the sports he's doing.

I saw his phone buzzing. Someone texted him. Tumingin lang siya doon, binasa, tapos ay hindi na ulit pinansin. He's such a snob sometimes.

"Won't you reply?" I asked. Umiling siya. "Rude," I told him.

"That's just Ri," he said.

"See? Worse. Bakit hindi ka magrereply?"

"Ri won't die kung hindi ako magreply."

"Hindi ka rin mamamatay if magre-reply ka."

"Wala kang kapatid, noh?"

"Yeah. My parents saw me and thought 'she's already perfect.'"

Napa-awang iyong labi niya sa sinabi ko. "Wow..."

I shrugged. "That's just how it is."

Napa-iling na lang siya sa akin. "You always say that I'm conceited, but wow..." he said, and I just scowled at him.

"What did Riley say ba kasi? Bakit ayaw mong magreply?" I asked, now genuinely curious kung bakit ayaw niyang magreply.

"He's just asking kung anong oras ako uuwi," he replied.

"Tell him na pauwi ka na," I told him. Uuwi naman na kami after ng lunch.

"Wala ka ng pupuntahan?" he asked, looking at me with his forehead slightly creased. What? Magre-reklamo ba siya na ginagawa ko siyang personal driver ko?

Umiling ako. I needed to organize my things na for the trip. I needed to make sure na dala ko lahat ng kailangan ko dahil ayokong doon pa ako bibili. It's expensive out there!

Finally, dumating na iyong food. I took a picture of our food nung mapa-tingin ako sa kanya kasi bahagyang naka-smile siya.

"Why are you smiling?" I asked, confused kasi iyong food lang naman iyong kukuhanan ko ng picture. Quickly, the smile was replaced with a scowl.

"Naka-ngiti ako?" he asked sarcastically.

Ugh. Hindi matatapos ang isang araw na hindi siya nagiging pilosopo.

After kong makuhanan ng picture iyong food, kumain na ako. Mas maraming food si Finley, but he devoured his food! San napupunta iyong kinain niya?!

"What?" he asked when he saw the slight judgment and worry on my face. Instead of saying anything, I just shook my head. He just rolled his eyes at me—like the usual.

We walked back to the parking. He put all my stuff in the backseat habang dumiretso na ako doon sa may passenger princess seat ko. I told myself na ipipikit ko lang sandali iyong eyes ko, but I just found Finley gently tapping my shoulder and telling me na nasa condo na kami.

"I fell asleep pala," I said as I was still yawning. Ang dami na palang nangyari sa araw ko. Nakapag-exercise na ako, nagbenta ng baby ko, shopping, and lunch outside. Quite a productive day!

I unbuckled my seatbelt. Nakita ko na lalabas din dapat si Finley, but I stopped him.

"I'll get them," I told him kasi tutulungan yata niya ako magbuhat nung mga binili ko. Hinahanap na siya ni Riley kaya kailangan niya ng umuwi. "Thanks for today. Bye," I continued nung makuha ko na iyong mga paper bags. Pumasok na agad ako sa may elevator.

I took a quick shower and then took a quick nap. Nung magising ako ay nag-ayos na ako ng mga gamit ko. Sinukat ko lahat nung damit ko and decided on which outfits I'd bring. When I finally decided on which clothes I'd bring, I took a quick photo of the mess and posted it on IG Stories.

'Ready for NYC!!'

And because I was obsessed with myself, I checked kung sino na iyong nakaka-kita ng story ko. Some of my friends replied saying that they chose their OOTD na rin. I was super excited na! I promise myself na kakalimutan ko muna iyong problems ko and will enjoy our field trip to the fullest.

And then I saw finley viewing my story.

Seriously?

I checked and hindi naman siya nagfa-follow sa 'kin. Did he seriously search my account up para tignan iyong story ko? It's giving stalker!

I wanted to see if he's really stalking me, so I posted a photo na kinuha ko kaninang umaga. It was a mirror shot na suot ko 'yung workout fit ko. I looked super cute, if I may say so myself!

"Stalker!" I uttered when I saw na a few seconds after posting, na-view niya na agad iyong story ko!

I sent him a DM.

maiaceline: might as well follow me atp

My jaw fell when he just left me on seen?!

This jerk! I quickly blocked him on IG.

Then I received an iMessage from him.

'Unblock me.'

I blocked him din sa iMessage.

Good thing may fieldtrip kami and hindi naman sumasama si Finley sa mga ganon. I'd have a few days of peace to myself—a much needed peace, if I may say so myself! Because these past few weeks, Finley has been confusing me! He's sometimes mean, but then he'd do all these things like seriously?!

I seriously thought I have a few days to myself... but then I saw the jerk at the airport, holding his passport while looking at me and smirking like he's so pleased with himself. 

**

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