Scripted Relationship

Chapter 33

"Hi, Tito Roberto," I said as I took his hand for a handshake.

"Erik!" He gave me a hug instead. "I heard that you've been promoted. Congratulations, young man!"

I smiled to him. "Thank you po, Tito. It was needed."

"By the way, how are you and your girlfriend?" He asked while he fixed his bag on the back seat. I stopped a bit to find the right answer. But I gave him a smile instead.

"You should bring her here again," Tito Roberto added. "Anyway, I'll get going. There's a hearing in the Senate. You see, this airline has problems again with our riding public."

I nodded as he patted my shoulder to bid farewell. After he left, I went inside their house where I was greeted by Manang and mentioned to me that everyone was already in the garden waiting for me. So, I proceeded there directly.

"Hay salamat! Dumating na din ang 'Man of the Hour'," RX jokingly said to me as I approached. I hit his shoulder for that joke.

"Don't you dare not tell us anything, pre," Raymond said. "It's all over the news and the social media."

Ah! They already knew the news about Andrea and I meeting in New York. Of course, the internet was showing vibrantly the side-by-side pictures of me with two different girls: Andrea and Rose. The social media these days is really fast. It can spread a news or rumor like a forest fire with no possibility of being extinguished.

I sat beside Gary who looked at me sternly. I returned a look to him like saying what did I do? Good thing, Johnny broke the ice. Actually, his question only concreted the ice I thought he broke.

"So what's the truth about you and Andrea, Erik?"

"What you see is what you get," I answered a matter-of-factly as I put food on my plate.

"That's it?" Gary asked. "There must be a story behind it."

"No," I answered. "There isn't a story."

"There is, Erik. Don't deny it. Not with us." Gary said to me as if in a tone of an order. I looked at him again and he was looking at me as if I did all the wrong things in the world. I sighed instead.

"Okay," I said as I cleared my throat. "Rose and I broke up."

All of them let out a reaction of shock, curiousity and concern. All of them simultaneously asked questions as if I am in a press conference.

"Why, paps? What happened?" RX asked.

"Bakit ka nakipag-break kay Rose?" Johnny asked.

"There's a reason kung bakit." Raymond said.

"Andrea has got to do with this." Gary said finally.

Of all their simultaneous questions, it was Gary's question that really caught my attention.

"Keep calm, bros," I said to them. I looked at Gary. "Yes, the whole lot of it has got to do with Andrea."

"You still love her, don't you?" Gary asked me seriously. "Even though Rose already loves you. What happened to you in New York, bro?"

I drank a glass of water. I knew Gary would be asking this question because he wanted to be enlightened about my decision to break up with Rose. For sure, my other friends also wanted to know the story. So, I composed myself first before sharing the story. It took me around thirty to forty-five minutes to narrate the story to them. As usual, Johnny would butt in from time to time, but I would shut him out. After I finished telling them the whole story, they all had different looks from confusion to annoyance.