Gabie's POV
For a while, I forgot about my problems because the place is relaxing and then almost everyone can see you smiling often except for the ugly one that you rarely see smiling. I don't know how many hours I slept, as long as I woke up. It was a bit dark, but I didn't go down because I had fun watching the color of the sky while the whole area was getting dark.
"I didn't think that because of his handsomeness, his girlfriend even left him. It was also a pity that after six years, he ended up with nothing. Now I understand why he is rude. Apparently, he hasn't moved on from his ex. I know curiosity kills the cat, but I couldn't imagine why their relationship ended that way. I mean, he has the looks, he's stable, comes from a good family, he's sweet, caring and responsible. It's almost perfect for a boyfriend, or even for a husband. Perhaps he's head over heels with his ex because he was still single until now. It's good that he's already had a long-term relationship. As for me, my first boyfriend would have been disappointed. Maybe I'm just an old girl who will never have a boyfriend again. My bad luck in love! Mama, on the other hand, for all that she can pass on to me the misfortune of love life! " I was just blown away by the thought as I sat down by the window.
"Hey! Are you okay? I'm sorry I wasn't able to… "I didn't let him finish what he was going to say.
"It's okay, don't worry, I'll wake up too and then I meant not to go down because I enjoy watching the sunset here," I explained.
He was sure.
"Of course. Then you know why I don't want to mix with you, don't you? "
"Yeah," he seemed to answer lazily as he sat on the side of the bed.
"Are you drunk?"
"Nope, I didn't drink too much, just a few glasses," he replied as he slowly laid down on the bed.
"Hala! Why are you lying there? Will you sleep I want to take you to your room? " I was worried.
"No, I'm fine. Just let me for five minutes, "he raised his hand and showed five fingers while closing his eyes.
Before he accused me of'staring is rude,' I went back to where I was before looking out the window. I didn't carve him hard first so that he might have a different level of ugliness because he drank a little.
I distracted myself first by thinking about what I would do next, because I couldn't just stay in their house. I want to take care of my school documents so I can apply for a job. But I don't know how I'm going to do that without scattering where I am? Then how can I do this if almost everyone in the world knows me because of the pictures posted by Jhay and mama? I was in such a state of contemplation when suddenly I heard someone snoring.
"Takte! I thought it was only five minutes? How? Aargh! Annoyingly, what am I going to do now? Where will I sleep later? Obviously, I can't lift him so big! Why didn't he just go to his room to sleep there?" I sulked.
I thought of just going down first because I felt hungry. Maybe later when I went up again, he had moved to his room, so let me go first.
"It's good that you came down, hija. I'll call you to the maid so we can eat dinner together," said grandma.
"Where's Eight?" Si Lolo.
"Yes?"
"Ah, I mean August hija. He is called eight because isn't the month of August the eighth on the calendar? " He laughed at the story.
"Ah, yes. I'm sorry I can't get it right away, hehehe… I guess I fell asleep? "
"Ah, let's just let him rest first. Because he drank a little, he will wake up later and then go down and eat, "explained grandpa.
We talked a lot more and then they also talked about the siblings.
I went upstairs immediately after we ate because my grandmother said let me just let the helpers do the cleaning. I should just rest. Because August said goodbye to them, we will leave tomorrow to take a bath in the waterfall we went to earlier.
I was surprised when I entered the room I was coming from earlier because August was already lying down so well that he should have moved to his room. I took a shower first and got dressed because then I would wake him up when I was done.
August, wake up! Move to your room! Hey! August! "I almost froze when he pulled my hand, so I sank into his hard chest. It's a good thing I covered my mouth so that the two adults wouldn't be able to do anything when they were surprised by my scream.
I'll be released in August!Takte! You're going to drink and then you can't! Wake up so you can move to your room because I'm going to sleep! Hey! It's August! " I was even more troubled because he leaned over and then he hugged half of my body that was on the bed, while the other half from waist to toe was hanging on the bed. It's as if I don't know where the difficulty is.
The weight of his hand, I don't know if he was really asleep or just asleep. It will really upset me to do this when I find out that he is just fooling me!
"August! You're really going to hurt me now when I find out you're just kidding me! Awake! " I tried to remove his hand that was hugging me, because it was hard for me to hold one of my hands and then the grip was tight because I put his hand that was hugging me first so that I could stand up properly.
Even the cold air coming in the window because he tortured me kept me sweating. It was just as if I couldn't take a bath. Really annoying! Fortunately, in a few minutes, I struggled to remove his hand that was hugging me. I finally removed it.
So I couldn't help myself. I hit him hard in his chest. But even though I didn't stop hitting him, my hand still hurt and turned red. Putakteng gala oo kapag minalas ka naman!I was immediately confused in my senses because this mokong really hurt my head.
"Hey! It's August!Awake! " I raised my voice a little and then shook him to make sure he would wake up. Because I still can't remove his hand holding my right hand, his grip tightens even more as I try to remove it. Fortunately, when I shook her again, her eyes opened.
"Thank you and you're awake! I'm tired of waking you up. Get up and move to your room because I will go to sleep too, "I said. But he didn't move. He just stared at me.
"Hey! What? I told you to get up there and move to your room because I'm going to sleep! "
"No," he replied coldly.
"What? Why don't you? "
The tone of his words was still, "This is where I want to sleep."
"Hala! Eh, how is it that I can't sleep? Then you want to be here too? "
He didn't answer but gently tapped the space next to him.
"Spell Asa!"
"I do not want to! Do you think that I can just do what you want because I am indebted to you? " You take care of your life! " It's better to ventilate the chin, because it's exhausting to talk to this person. So I suddenly grabbed my hand to hold him then walked towards the door but before I could touch the door knob-he immediately grabbed my hand then…
"Don't!" his voice seemed to be pleading.
"Huh? What is your problem? Why are you acting like that? "
"I... I have a problem sleeping," he said softly.
"Huh? Or maybe you're just franking me ah? Why didn't I notice that in Manila? " I frowned at him, because I was surprised by his sudden confession.
"C-Coz, I tried to be extra careful with my actions just to be sure I wouldn't wake you up, and I swear I'm serious," I saw sadness in his eyes. Suddenly, the heavy emotion appeared. I knew he had been hiding it for a long time.
"Come on, do you want to talk?" He did not speak, then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as if he was preparing well.
"It's okay, don't force yourself if you're not ready. Then tell the story when you can and you're ready, "I calmed him down, because I felt he was having a hard time.
"All right, you can sleep here and then I'll be in your room so I won't disturb you,"
"No, can you just please stay here?"
"Huh? Are you kidding me? "
"No! Of course not! Why would I? I won't make fun out of it just so you know, "he said seriously.
"So, what do you want to release now?"
"Honestly, it wasn't my intention earlier to sleep here. I just want to relax a bit coz I was planning to ask you to come with me downstairs and then we'll eat together. But I was astonished when I heard you had woken me up. Normally, it wasn't that easy for me to fall asleep. It was the first time in forever when I fell asleep without trying really, really hard. I didn't even have a nightmare, and I felt like I'm very contented with that deep sleep I had earlier, "he explained.
"So, what have I got to do with you sleeping so soundly earlier?" I'm scratching because I don't really understand what he means.
Maybe, just maybe, because of your presence, I didn't have a problem with my sleep? I wanna try if you only let me? " He pleaded.
"So, what do you want me to do to watch you sleep like that?" I was stunned by the question.
"No! You don't have to; you can sleep anywhere, but beside me. I promise… I promise I won't even touch you. I just want to find out, "he said, confused. Obviously, he couldn't be bothered because he couldn't look directly at me.
"Are you sure what you're saying?"
"Yeah, I just really want to know by comparing myself sleeping in two different situations. First, me having difficulty sleeping when I'm alone; second, me sleeping beside you. And then I'll decide after that if I need to go back and see my therapist and ask her to interpret for me the two different scenarios, "he explained.
"Therapist? You're seeing a therapist when else? "
"I guess it's more than a year."
"Ah, do you know Psychology is the degree I finished? But I didn't just attend graduation because of what happened, I want to help you just because I'm not a licensed therapist yet. I haven't even processed my school documents yet because I can't appear in public, right? I'm not ready to face them all yet, because I don't seem to know who I really am. I find it hard to accept what happened to me, because I only recently found out that I grew up wrapped in lies. So I don't know which one to believe anymore, "I told her sadly.
"Don't worry, I'll see what I can do to help you with your situation."
"Promise me that when I become a licensed therapist, I'll be your official therapist, and of course, it'll be free for you," I said as I smiled at him.
"Good," he said, and then he smiled at me.
"That's right, you should always be smiling because it's ugly because you always look frowning or always seem angry," I changed the subject.
"Will you let me sleep with you now?" he asks like a child.
"All right, as long as you promise, right? No touching! All right, go to bed, there you are, "as if he was really a child hurrying up on the bed and then sitting on the left side and then smiled big and then he went to bed.
I lay down on the right side and left a little space between us so that he could move, because of the size of his body.
"Thank you and goodnight," he said almost in a whisper, then he closed his eyes.
"Good night," I watched him for a moment before I stared at the ceiling, waiting for my drowsiness to swallow me. But in less than thirty minutes, I heard him kiss again like before. I, on the other hand, couldn't sleep for the first time as I slept next to my roommate. So I had trouble sleeping.
I don't know how many minutes or hours I waited before I finally fell asleep. I was just surprised when I woke up that my pillow became hard and then I got hot. So I woke up suddenly.
"Shit!" I moved slowly so that I could get away from August's chest. I'd better wake up first because if it wasn't too embarrassing because I was the one who said no touch, then I was now hugging him while I was lying on his chest. Fortunately, I was able to leave for a while, unlike yesterday.
I quickly ran into the bathroom before he woke up and then took a shower, and I immediately prepared for what he said. We will go back to the waterfall today to take a shower. When I came out of the bathroom, he was just gone, so I took a deep breath and then went downstairs so I could eat breakfast first. I don't think I'm ready to eat together now. I'll just worry about what happens when we get to the waterfall later.
"The two adults started eating when I met them at the dining table.
"Good morning, dear," I said.
"Good morning hija, come and come with us, maybe my grandson will come down soon," said grandma.
I sat across from grandma and quietly ate with them. I was praying that I would finish eating before he could come down.
"Why are you confused that he will see you? You really have no choice because you two will go to the waterfall together later to take a bath. Then you also live in the same house, because don't you just live in his house! You don't have to worry because he was still asleep when you woke up, so he didn't know what happened, okay? Relax yourself! So that you don't get noticed, "I rebuke myself.
I was just finishing up when he came down, so it wasn't too awkward for me. I have already helped the helpers who have prepared for the lunch we will take, disturb myself.
Two elderly people took us to the waterfall because the basket full of food was too heavy to carry. They ordered two helpers to take us and then said they would just pick us up this afternoon.
Fortunately, I suddenly lost contact with him when we reached the waterfall. We both enjoyed bathing in the waterfall. I wanted to ask how he was sleeping, but I didn't because I was afraid he might catch me for what I did. So I just waited for him to tell the story so that there would be no hanging. He took me to the chin of the waterfall then preceded us to swim back next to where our belongings were.
Then we also had time to talk again after we ate lunch. We decided to rest first because we both ate a lot, so it was still hard on our bodies to swim again.
"Ah, I just want to thank you for letting me sleep beside you last night, though I know that you're not used to it but still you allowed me," he said first. I didn't speak. I just made him feel as if he had spoken again. I just kept playing with my feet in the water. We both sat on a large rock side by side while facing the waterfall.
I see the difference; I'll go and visit my therapist as soon as we get back to Manila so she'll be able to explain to me why. I wanna end this agony coz I've been suffering this for a long time now. And I hate it, I really hate it! " He continued, then he sighed after he spoke. I thought he would never speak again, but I was surprised when...
"It started when the night I went to my ex-girlfriend's condo almost two years ago. I didn't inform her that I'd be coming because I wanted to surprise her. I came from Quezon province where I got my first assignment. only to find out that I was the one who was caught by surprise when I saw her with my best friend having sex. I couldn't believe and understand why, of all people, she and my best friend betrayed me. I can't imagine that while we were having sex in that same bed, she was also fucking my best friend behind me. What's worse was it wasn't just plain sex when I saw them for the second time; they were doing sixty-nine, which I didn't imagine her doing in my very own bed room. She was acting like a whore at the time, and she was thirsty as she sucked the last drop of my best friend's fluid. I really thought she was different from other girls out there. I thought I could trust her that much, but I was wrong. I was so wrong for giving my full trust to her. I was even planning on how I was going to propose to her, but I thank the heavens above that it didn't reach that point. That was the reason why I had difficulty sleeping, because I'm afraid to close my eyes because every time I close my eyes I see both of them clearly in my mind, enjoying each other's lustful desires. More so, sleeping in my bed in my own room where they made it into their sex den when I was on duty. She has previously had access to my home because I gave her a duplicate set of keys. You know, I even tried to buy a new bed, but still the painful and betrayal memories are already carved into that room, not only on that fucking bed that I already threw in the garbage. You are the second person that I was able to share this fucking curse that I had in my life, and the first one was my therapist." He wiped his face with his hands to hide the tears in his eyes. I thought I was the only one who went through a heavy weight, but I didn't think that the person who helped me had a strange weight with the pain he was carrying.
I didn't expect that he was able to open up to me at that moment, but I was grateful that he trusted me enough with that very complicated and painful part of his life. I could say that was such a mind-blowing truth, ridiculous! I never thought that would happen in real life. I thought it was just in the movies, but then that was it.
Since then, we have become closer to each other. He even asked me if I missed Miggy and how I felt about him at the moment. I told him honestly that I don't know? Because really, I don't know what I'm going to say about how I feel about him after what happened. I could not picture myself now having an intimate relationship with him. It's disgusting to know that he's my half-brother on my father's side. Maybe that is why I don't have the nerve to face him, because once in my life I liked him as a guy, and the fact that we had a less than twenty-four-hour boyfriend/girlfriend thing. It wasn't our fault in the first place, because we didn't have an idea at all, but still it was so embarrassing. I just wish it didn't happen at all, if only I could turn back the time.