Nick is trying very hard not to go ballistic. He knows na sa tindi ng galit niya magkakagulo talaga. Umasim naman ang mukha ni Heather. She has to admit na hot din ang kasama ni Stacey and she didn't know na may boyfriend pala ang half-sister. Ang alam nitong formal na umaakyat ng ligaw sa nuch hate na kapatid nito ay si Tyler.
Hey! Is he your boyfriend?" she asked.
"NO!" Stacey said.
"YES!" sagot ni Blake.
Sabay silang nagsalita. Stacey looked at Blake with her mouth open while he looks so cool. Lalong naningkit ang mata ni Nick and Heather frowned.
"Who's telling the truth?" nakapamewang na tanong nito.
"We don't need to explain anything to you. "sabi ni Blake sabay hawak sa kamay ni Stacey para lumabas na.
Nick stopped him by grabbing his shoulder. Nagulat ang dalawang babae. Kinwelyuhan nito si Blake.
"NICK!"gulat na tawag ni Heather.
Parang natauhan si Nick ng marinig ang boses nito.
"What the fuck...??" galit na anas ni Blake sabay hawak sa kamay ni Nick para alisin sa kwelyo nito.
Nick just let him go. DAMMIT ALCANTARA! Are you fucking crazy??! he asked himself.
"Ano bang problema mo?!" Blake asked angrily.
Gumitna na si Stacey. "Blake please..."
Hinawakan naman ni Heather ang braso ni Nick.
Nagtitinginan na ang ibang tao sa bar. Lumapit na din sila Billy.
"Mate! What's wrong?!" tanong nito.
Sinamaan ng tingin ni Nick si Blake. "Watch your mouth with women! Bastos kang makipag-usap!" gigil na sabi niya.
Deep inside hindi yun ang ikinagagalit nito sa lalake. He is jealous of him. But he needed to make up a reason kung bakit ito galit dito. He almost lost control again.
"The fuck?? Ano bang sinabi ko? " kunot noong tanong ni Blake.
"Blake tama na..halika na." awat ni Stacey.S he touched his chest with her hands para umatras na ito.
FUCKING HELL! mura ni Nick sa isip. Naikuyom nito ang palad. "You were talking to Stacey's sister! Is that how you treat her family?" gigil na tanong nito.
He knows that they might think he's making a mountain out of a molehill pero wala siyang pakialam. At this point kahit ano gagawin niyang dahilan mabasag lang nito ang mukha ni Blake.
Parang kinilig naman si Heather. Pinagtatanggol siya ni Nick! She touched his arm. "Nick it's okay.Hayaan na natin. Let's go." she suggested .
Blake looked at Stacey. Nagtatanong ang mga mata nito.
She moistened her lips. "Half sister ko siya." sabi niya sa mahinang boses.
Blake combed his hair with his hand.
His face dark, he said to Heather. "You were very rude to Stacey. How would I know na magkapatid kayo?” he sighed he said sorry.
Nick gritted his teeth. How can he smack his face if he already apologized?Mas gugustuhin pa nitong lumaban ito sa kanya. Maybe ayaw nitong ma-turn off si Stacey kaya nag-sorry ito kay Heather.
Fucking bastard!! He thought.
"Apology accepted. Sige na umalis na kayo." sabi ni Heather.
Stacey pouted as she looks at Heather .Iniiwasan niyang tignan si Nick. Ngayon, napatunayan na niya na mahalaga ang kapatid dito. Natakot siya sa galit na nakita niya sa mga mata nito. Heather is lucky to have him kahit hindi deserving ang maldita niyang kapatid.
Tumango na lang siya. Nilingon niya si Blake."Let's go." And he took hold of her hand.
"Hahayaan mo bang sumama ang kapatid mo sa lalaking yan? Mukhang hindi siya kilala ng pamilya mo! Can you trust him?" Nick asked Heather icily.
Napanganga ang magkapatid when they heard what Nick said. They didn't expect to say something like that. Kumunot naman ang noo ni Billy at Jim while Blake's face darkened.
"It's easy to say sorry." malamig na sabi pa ni Nick habang nakikipagtitigan kay Blake.
"Nick, Stacey's an adult. She can take care of herself." sabi ni Heather.
"Look, I have known Blake for a long time and I think you have no right to say such things. Besides , we don't even know you para sabihin mo yan!" inis na sabi ni Stacey.
Nababad-trip siya sa Nick na ito. Masyadong high-handed. Hindi porke boyfriend ito ni Heather may karapatan na itong makialam sa kanya.
"Don't worry, you will be seeing me a lot and you will get to know me better.." Nick said. Sinadya nitong sabihin yun. For him, may double meaning ito. Titig na titig ito kay Stacey.
Stacey frowned slightly. Malumanay ang pagkakasabi nito but parang may lakip na pagbabanta. Ewan niya if siya lang ang nakapansin. And the way he looks at her gives her goosebumps.
Heather frowned too. "Nick?'" litong tanong nito. Ano ang ibig sabihin nito? She asked herself.
"She is your sister Heather. So if we go out, it's inevitable for your sister and me to see each other pag hinatid or sinundo kita sa bahay niyo." he said matter-of-factly , his eyes are never leaving Stacey's.
Heather gaped and smiled widely.
"Tara na." aya ni Blake. Hinila nito si Stacey.
"Blake! What was that all about?" inis na tanong niya.
They are in his car. Pabalik sila sa unit nito dahil dun na lang daw tutuloy sila Eve. Actually the cousins live in the same building but Blake's unit is bigger. The couple decided to just bring food and drinks para at least daw they can drink and eat all you can. Magkita-kita na lang daw sila dun. Napagusapan na sa unit na lang ni Eve matutulog si Stacey. She will just call her mother later para magpaalam.
Blake let out a sigh. "Ms. Hotness, I was just protecting you." sabi nito as he drives.
"Protecting me from what?" she asked while looking puzzled.
Nilingon siya nito. "Not a what! It's a who! I am protecting you from your sister's boyfriend."
She pouted. "Why?"
Bumalik ang tingin nito sa kalsada. "Didn't you notice the way he was looking at you?" tanong ni Blake. As a man, he knows na iba ang mga titig ng kasama ni Heather kay Stacey. Mukhang gusto pa nitong tuhugin ang mag-kapatid.
Stacey frowned. Of course napansin niya. Mukhang galit ito palagi sa kanya. Inis na din siya dito .Magsama sila ng kapatid niya.
"Forget it Blake. Anyway, thanks for the concern. But I am a big girl now. Kaya ko ang sarili ko." naiiling na sabi niya .Kinuha niya ang telepono niya to call her mom.
Blake just glanced at her and shook his head too.
Medyo bad trip si Heater. Pag-aalis nila Stacey ayaw na ding umalis ni Nick. Nawalan na daw ito ng gana. Paano niya masosolo ito? Pero naisip niya na sabi naman nito they will be seeing each other, so okay na din siya dun. Nabawasan na ang mga tao. Since it's a weekday, hindi ganun kadami ang nagpapa-umaga sa bar. Dapat na din siyang matuwa dahil at least solo nila ni Nick ang lamesa. Yun nga lang, he sat on the opposite side.
"Heather, tell me about your family." Nick asked suddenly.
Sumilay ang ngiti sa labi ng dalaga. At least Nick seems really interested with her so she told him about her dad. Nagdrama pa ito na namimiss na nito ng sobra ang daddy nito.
"Are you and your sister close?" he asked while he looks at her.
Muntik ng umasim ang mukha ni Heather when Nick mentioned her half sister. But sa ayaw at sa gusto niya, magkadugo sila so naturally intresado si Nick. Well, time for her para sirain ang chubi (bitch) na kapatid niya.
She sighed. "I tried to get along with her..but ewan ko .Siguro magkaiba lang talaga kami." she said sadly.
Nick nodded. His older brother and him have differences too.
"Kagaya mo din bang student ang kapatid mo?" kunway tanong pa nito.
Umiling ito. "She used to work for an ad company but nag-resign siya recently. Baka nalaman na sa opisina nila na may relasyon sila ng boss niya. Maybe people were gossiping about them already."
Napatuwid ng upo si Nick.
"Now I guess she's doing a part-time job .Gabing-gabi ng umuuwi eh. Tapos malamang kung sino-sinong lalaki ang kasama. Like yung kasama niya kanina. I haven't seen him before." she sighed and even shook her head. "She has gotten wild lately. I am not even sure kung alam ni Tyler ang ginagawa niya."
Nick's face became grim. Naalala nito ang pangalan na yun. Stacey thought he was Tyler nung may nangyari sa kanila.
"Tyler?" he asked almost gritting his teeth.
"Yep! Yung dating boss niya na malamang boyfriend na din niya.
Naikuyom ni Nick ang palad na nasa lamesa.