"Milk? Seriously?" I asked mockingly when I saw Atticus enjoying a cup of milk.

Ano siya, bata?

He frowned. "Mind your own business."

Ang sungit talaga ng taong ito. I wanted to antagonize him even more, but I had to behave myself since I was here in his territory.

He gestured me to take a seat in front of him. I did. And it took a lot of idling before I finally got back to my senses. Because to be honest, his unit is making me feel sick.

Magulo. Makalat. Ang sakit sa ulo. There were crumpled papers scattered on the floor, not to mention the mountain of papers on his desk. Nagkalat din ang mga libro sa paligid. Nakakapagtaka nga kung paano nagkaroon ng libro sa kitchen sink niya. Ganyan ba siya kasipag magbasa ng codes at hanggang sa kusina, nagbabasa siya?

God, this man is hopeless.

He must've seen the look on my face so he defended himself. "What? Lalaki ako. Don't expect me to be all neat, because guys like that are endangered species."

I shook my head in disapproval. Sabi nga nila, kung gusto may paraan at kung ayaw maraming dahilan.

Napabuntong hininga ako. "I got this. Maglilinis na lang ako mamaya."

"Suit yourself." he placed the cup of milk on the table and took a small notebook with a pen. "Okay, then. Magsimula na tayo. Let's jot down everything. Lahat. Walang labis, walang kulang."

I nodded in agreement.

"First of all, your name is Stellar." He cleared his throat. "You told me that you died a few days ago. Do you know the cause of your death?"

I sighed. "I don't remember anything at all."

"Shame." He pursed his lips. "That aside, you assume that Gaia has something to do with your death since you woke up in her body. How did you come up with that kind of speculation?"

He looked at me straight in the eye. More than his queries, I was intimidated by his countenance. Atticus seemed too serious to accept half-assed answers.

"It's not an assumption." I spoke bravely.

His eyes narrowed into slits. "Justify."

"He told me." I answered in a small voice, referring to Gabriel. "I have no idea who he really is, but I trust his words."

"He?" Tinaasan niya ako ng kilay. "Just who the hell is he, Stray Soul? Enlighten me."

"Gabriel. He's the man who brought me to Oblivion. You know, the place where souls spend eternity. Doon niya ipinaliwanag sa akin ang lahat."

Atticus nodded his head in understanding.

"Can you tell me anything about yourself, Stray Soul? Do you have any idea about your identity?" He inquired softly. "Anything will do. Your family background, your lifestyle, even your physical appearance will suffice. Try to recall."

My brows furrowed in an attempt to remember. "Pasensya ka na. Wala talaga akong maalala. Though I have this feeling that I'm really pretty and oozing with sex appeal-"

"Shut up." His face crumpled. "I need facts, not baseless and self-centered description."

I glared at him. Ang sama talaga ng ugali niya. I subconsciously hit him out of annoyance, but I was surprised when he laughed.

Did he just laugh for real?

Does that mean he's already okay with me?

"One more thing." I blurted out when I recalled something. "Gabriel told me this. 'Save him. Remember, your name is Stellar... and he is innocent.'  That's what he said before I woke up in this body."

Kumunot naman ang noo ni Atticus. For all I know, he was frustrated. We had little information, and the chances of finding Stellar with that little information was close to zero.

"Who needs saving?" He whispered.

For a moment, both of us were silent. Pinabayaan ko na lang muna siyang mag-isip. A few minutes passed when Atticus stood up and dialed something on his phone. The next thing I knew, he was talking to someone.

"Sandro." He glanced over my direction so I smiled to him. I pouted when he rolled his eyes. Ang sungit talaga! "I need you tomorrow. Come to my unit."

Lumapit ako sa kanya. Hinila ko iyong dulo ng damit niya at tsaka bumulong. "Sino 'yan?"

"Secretary." he mumbled.

Atticus rubbed his chin while thinking.

"Also, if it's not too much trouble, can you make a list for me?" malumanay niyang sabi sa kausap niya. "Please make a list of girls named Stellar within our area. The age bracket would be 16-24."

Binaba na niya ang tawag. Atticus frowned when he saw me throwing him weird looks. "What is it now?"

"Lalaki ang secretary mo?"

"Do you have a problem with that?"

I shrugged. "It's weird."

"It's not weird. You're just being stereotypical. Besides, love gets easily jealous so I have to make her feel that I don't give a shit about other women."

Wow. You're so lucky, Gaia Venice.

"Anyway," Kinuha ko ang tasa niya at tinikman ko ang gatas niya. Hindi naman umapela si Atticus. "Mind explaining the age bracket? What makes you think that I'm between 16 to 24?"

"I made that guess based on your way of speaking." Pinagsalop niya ang kanyang mga kamay. "You seem used to speaking in English, but your choice of words is not that impressive."

Napanganga naman ako. Hindi man lang niya ako pinagbigyan na magsalita at nagpatuloy lang si Atticus.

"Aside from that, your way of thinking is shallow. This is purely out of guess, but you're either a high school girl or a young college student. I don't think you're a career woman yet."

Tinakpan ko ang aking mga tenga. "Stop. I get it, okay? Huwag mo nang ipamukha sa akin."

Napailing naman siya. "Truth hurts, huh?"

After that brief discussion about myself, we decided to call it a day. Hindi ko naman naiwasang kabahan dahil tabi raw kaming matutulog ni Atticus ngayon.

Hindi ako nakatanggi. Sino ba naman ako para umarte? Grasya na ang lumalapit sa akin.

"Atticus," I nervously muttered when I tucked myself in our bed. "Do you plan to have sex with me tonight?"

"What? No." mabilis niyang sagot at tinabihan na ako sa kama. "I'm going to sleep, you idiot."

"Gano'n?" I said in disappointment.

He chuckled. "Good night, Stray Soul."

Sa totoo lang, naiirita ako tuwing tinatawag niya ako ng ganyan pero hinahayaan ko na lang. Sino bang matutuwa kapag tinawag kang ligaw na kaluluwa?

None of us dared to break the silence. Both of us were still awake, but no one made a move or said a thing until I did.

I swallowed hard. "Atticus?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry for messing up your life."

He didn't mutter a reply.

I closed my eyes and tried my best to sleep. But my system was alarmed when an arm rested on my body. Gosh, why was he hugging me?

I could feel his breath in my neck. I felt a weird sensation when his lips planted a gentle kiss on my neck.

"I miss you, love."

And it stung. A lot. Of course, what did I expect? He's in love with this woman. Why am I feeling like this? Why am I hurt? It's not as if I like him or what.

It's impossible to like someone that you just met, right? I barely know Atticus.

When I saw him blinking back some tears, I felt the need to comfort him. He's crying. It's all my fault. Why did I end up hurting someone? Why did I have to mess up with their lives?

I cupped his face and smiled. "I'm sure that she misses you too, Atticus." I softly remarked.

Because if I were to leave someone like you, I would miss you too.

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