Chapter 13

A soft knock on the door woke me up. Kahit pupungas-pungas ay bumangon ako mula sa aking kama at nagtungo sa sala. I glanced at the clock. It's still quarter to six. Bakit ang aga naman ata ngayon ni Sage?

Wearing a frown on my face, I throw the door open. "Sag—" napatigil ako nang makitang hindi si Sage ang nasa pintuan kundi si Leon. A tired-looking Leon with two suitcases behind him. I blinked. "Leon?"

"Hey," he said in a hoarse voice. "I'm sorry to wake you up, I've been calling you non-stop since I landed from my flight."

"Flight?" itinagilid ko ang aking ulo. I stepped backwards and let him inside the house, my eyes unconsciously traveling to the woods in front of our house. Sage is just a few yards away. And Leon is here with me.

"I booked a flight as soon as possible. Hindi mo sinabi sa akin ang rason kagabi kung bakit ka umiiyak. God, Mallory, I got so worried."

Hindi ako nakapagsalita sa kaniyang tinuran. Nakatitig lamang ako habang kaniyang hinuhubad ang suot na mamahaling jacket at itinapon ito sa sofa. He sat down and started removing his shoes as well.

"Y-You shouldn't have come." I said quietly after a lengthy moment of silence.

"Shouldn't have come?" itinaas ni Leon ang kaniyang isang kilay. "Mallory, you are alone and you are crying. How can I let you stay here without anyone? Kung sinama mo pa sana si Gideon ay mapapanatag ako. Ngunit mag-isa ka lamang at ayaw kong may mangyaring masama sa iyo."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. I don't know how to feel, knowing that Leon booked a flight and fled here just because I'm crying. Sobrang kinakain ako ng aking konsensiya.

"Gusto mo ba ng kape?" I mumbled. "Ipagtitimpla kita."

"Yes, please." he groaned out lout and closed his eyes. Pinagmasdan ko muna saglit ang kaniyang pagod na mukha bago ako nagpunta sa kusina. Matamlay akong nagtimpla ng kape at nagsimula na ding magluto ng agahan. By the time I was done, Leon is fast asleep on the sofa.

"Leon . . ." marahan kong tinapik ang kaniyang balikat. He fluttered his eyes open. I smiled at him. "Kumain ka muna bago ka matulog muli."

"Oh, okay, yeah, I'll do that." He grumbled and yawned. Leon pulled himself up and followed me inside the kitchen. "This house looks so old." Komento niya habang umuupo. The wooden chair groaned at his weight. "Are you sure you don't want to sell this?"

Umiling ako. I gave him a polite smile. "Panatag ako dito, Leon. At isa pa, isa ito sa mga naiwang alaala ni Mama sa akin. Ipapaayos ko din ang bahay na ito."

Napailing na lamang si Leon sa aking sinabi sabay kuha ng pandesal. Habang kumakain kaming dalawa ay hindi ko mapigilan ang pagsulyap-sulyap sa bintana. Sage may appear any moment, in his rugged pants and black horse. Ayaw kong magka-abot pa silang dalawa ni Leon.

"By the way, we're going to have dinner at our house tonight. My parents are excited to meet you again, as well as my grandfather." Pagbasag ni Leon sa katahimikan. "Makikilala mo rin ang iba kong pinsan doon."

"Oh, okay . . ." labas sa ilong kong sagot. Hindi ako mapalagay sa kinauupuan ko kaya mabilis kong tinapos ang aking agahan. "I'm sorry, I forgot to send the restoration project to my client." I lied. "Doon na muna ako sa loob ng kwarto. If you need anything, just knock at my door. You can go back to sleep. Don't bother doing the dishes. Ako na ang bahala diyan mamaya."

"Okay." He nodded.

Iniligpit ko ang aking pinagkainan at dali-daling pumasok sa aking kwarto. Ini-lock ko pa ang pintuan at mabilis na hinanap ang aking phone.

Pacing back and forth, I pressed the phone against my ears as I dialed Sage's number. It rang four times before he finally picked it up.

"Hello?"

His voice is deep and hoarse. Para bang kakagising niya pa lamang.

I cleared my throat. "S-Sage . . . Si Mallory ito."

"Oh, hey. Good morning, Mal . . ." I could hear the smile on his tone that made my heart clench inside of my chest. Kinagat ko ang aking pang-ibabang labi.

"You see, you can't go here today." Diretso kong wika.

"What? Why?" now I could hear the sudden disappointment and frustration in his voice.

"Leon is here." I whispered to the phone. "He can't see you. He can't see the two of us together. Ayaw ko ng gulo, Sage."

"But Mal—"

"Please, just listen to me. Leon is going to get mad once he knows that we've been . . ." I trailed off and blushed furiously. "seeing each other." Nasabi ko na lamang.

Sage cursed silently on the other line.

"Just try to understand the situation, Sage." Malungkot kong wika.

"Why do I feel like I'm some kind of a cheating bastard?" he asked in a silent voice.

My lips trembled. "You're not." Wika ko. "It's me. I'm the cheating bitch."

And with that, I ended the phone call. Napaupo ako sa aking kama at pinagmasdan ang aking lumang bookshelf. Isang tulak lang ay siguradong matutumba na ito. Last night I changed the sheets but for some unknown reason, the scent reminded me so much of Sage. Mas lalo akong nahirapang matulog kagabi.

"Mallory?"

A knock on my door snapped me out of my thoughts. Itinago ko ang aking telepono at tumayo upang pagbuksan si Leon. He smiled down at me when he saw me.

"Why don't we head to town first? We could buy some fresh flowers for my grandmother later on."

I wanted to say no and just stay in the house but Sage might come in my house so I decided to go with him. I can't risk the two of them throwing punches against each other.

I don't wanna hurt Sage anymore.

---

The Armendanez mansion is indeed huge. Ngayon ko pa lamang ito nakita sa personal. We've had dinner dates with his parents but 'twas in Japan and twice in Manila. Ngayon pa lamang ako dinala ni Leon sa bahay ng mayor.

Clutching the bouquet of sunflowers in my hand, we headed inside their mansion. Rinig ko kaagad ang tawanan ng mga lalaki't babae sa kanilang malaking sala. Their heads snapped to our direction when we both stepped inside. Most of them are still teenagers, sharing the same olive skin and chinky eyes. Ang isang babae sa kanila'y maputi at matangkad. She cocked an eyebrow when she saw me.

"Hey guys," bati ni Leon sa kanila. He received a chorus of response from the group. "Where's Lolo and Lola?"

"Ayun, abala silang dalawa sa kusina . . ." sagot ng isa niyang pinsan. Hindi maalis sa aking kanilang tingin. Out of consciousness, I tugged the red wool dress Suki gave me last Christmas and looked away.

"Let's go in . . ." ani Leon.

Nang nasa lamesa na kami'y isa-isang pinakilala ni Leon ang kaniyang mga pinsan. I can't remember them all, but I managed to smile at each one of them.

His parents are cheerful as usual. They are all enthusiastic. Leon's grandfather smiled approvingly at his grandsons and granddaughters as they exchanged political opinions at the table.

"Mallory," binalingan ako ng nanay ni Leon, si Tita Margaret, na nanatili pa ring maganda kahit na mga nakalipas na panahon. "I heard you recently entered the world of modelling, hija?"

"Ah, opo . . ." tugon ko. "But it's not really my thing. I just tried it for some extra income."

"She's a good model." Wika ng isa sa kaniyang mga pinsan. "I saw some of your photos online. For someone who have good skin, slim body, and appealing height, all managers will be after you."

Tumawa ang ama ni Leon. "I think you should be more wary, hijo. Mallory is really beautiful. Baka mamaya ay maagaw pa." humalakhak ito bago sumimsim sa basong may lamang alak.

"I know, Dad." Answered Leon. "That's why I made up a plan already."

I perked up on my seat. Something about the sudden silence on the table and Leon's affectionate glance at me made my skin crawl. Tumayo siya mula sa kaniyang kinauupuan. Now all eyes were on him. His bickering cousins stopped fighting with each other especially when Leon pulled out a velvet box from his pocket and kneeled in front of me.

Nanlaki ang aking mga mata sa gulat.

"Mallory . . ." he started. "I've been wanting to ask you this for a long time." Kinuha niya ang aking kamay at hinagkan. I froze on my seat. "Mallory, magpakasal na tayo . . ."