Worth the Wait epilogue

"Al..." I felt someone nudge me by the shoulder. "Dun ka na sa kwarto. Wag ka dyan matulog"

"Hey..." I opened my eyes and recognized that it was Emma.

I looked at the clock on the wall to check the time. It was around 1:30 am. I must've dozed off.

"Narinig kong bukas yung TV," she told me.

Emma looked different now from how she looked back at the party. No hair accessories, no jewelry, no ruffled red top, no black uneven skirt, no perfume, no make up and no red lipstick. She was wearing a light blue sando and loose white pants that brushed the floor when she walks. Hes hair was down, brushed and devoid on any clips and pins. She has washed up and she's ready to sleep. She was her plain self, and even then she was very pleasing to look at. The light scent of her soap wafted the air as the fan swung our way.

"Akala ko matutulog ka na?" I asked her. I blinked at few times so that she wont notice that I was staring at her. I was a bit depressed at that time because the frustration of not being able to to talk to her about the party had sunk in.

"Yung cell phone mo kasi," she explained as she handed me my cell phone. "Nakalimutan kong bigay sayo".

I forgot that she had my cell phone all night. I took the phone and thanked her. If she had read my inbox and my sent folder, then she would've found out everything. I was not too worried however, we both know how to respect each other's privacy.

"Tara akyat na tayo," she suggested and I agreed. I guess there was no point in trying to strike up a conversation right now. We are both tired and sleepy. She waited for me at the livingroom while I checked the locks of the first floor and the kitchen gas.

"Sige akyat na tayo," I said as closed the living room lights. The only light that remained was the one above the stairs. We reached the corridor on top of the stairs. "This is where we part," I thought to myself. Her room is on the left, and mine is on the right. I turned to say my goodnight but Emma suddenly held my shirt from the back.

"Totoo ba yung sinabi ni Ate Erika?" she asked.

"Ha?" I tried to turn but the way she held my shirt suggested that she didnt want me to look at her.

"Sabi nya kasi wala ka raw balak pumunta"

"Ha?" I began to worry. Ano ba sinabi ni Erika? I began to doubt if it was right that I told her everything.

"Sabi nya nakiusap ka pa raw kay Kuya Richard."

"Na ano naman daw?"

"Kasi ayaw mo raw maiwan lang ako dito sa bahay."

I was speechless. I suddenly remembered the time when Richard wrote our names at the invitation envelope. I recalled him saying "Sige, ako bahala sa inyo".

"Totoo ba?" she asked again.

I was hesitant when I nodded my head. I was worried that she may think that she wasn't really invited to the party, and that she was just a tag a long. I wanted to tell her that I too, was a tag along since I barely know the celebrant- but I knew that it wont change anything if she really felt bad.

I wanted to break the silence, but I didn't know what to say. I thought of the conversation we had all day and the advice people sent me and the blog entries i've written so far. Should I tell her everythign now?

"I really needed you to come," I said. My voice sounded hoarse, and I didn't know if she understood me. "If you didn't come, I would've never known that you would look great with that red lipstick". I tried to laugh a little but I hesitated halfway because I felt it was inappropriate.

I reached for her hand from behind my back. She loosened her grip on my shirt and I was able to turn and look at her. Her head was down so I cant see her eyes.

"Hey... are you ok?" I asked and I gently pressed her hand that I was still holding. "Did I say something wrong?"

She raised her head and she looked directly at me for a few seconds before turning away. "Huy..." I tried coaxing her to talk.

"I'm ok. Sige goodnight," she finally said. She looked at me with an expression that I can't read. I cant tell if she's sad or happy, or mad or sleepy. She bit her lip and smiled, but it didn't feel real. I knew she wanted to say something but I didnt want to force it out of her.

"Good night," I said when she was walking towards her room. She disappeared behind her door and soon after, the light from her room disappeared. What remained was the dim yellow glow from the lamp that she keeps beside the bed when she reads.

I entered my own room thinking if I did anything to upset her. "What just happened?" I asked myself. Did everything just went flying off the window? I changed my clothes while thinking of how I am going to deal with the situation if this exploded out of proprotion. Should I stop everything now?

I was startled when my phone rang to signal that I recieved a text message. I picked it up to see who could be texting me at this hour. It was Emma.

"Thnx al. Pls dnt wory. I rly hd a wonderful time. I wanted to thank u personally pro nahihiya me & i didnt knw wat 2 say. Gunyt and thnx agen üüü".

I laid on my bed thinking about of that facial expression and the words in the text message. I ereally have no idew what they meant. its as if her emotions began talking in a language that I can't understand.

I texted her my reply: "Pls dont be upset. Yknow I should be the one thanking you ü Lets sleep na. goodnight ü"

My watched beeped twice. Its already 2am and I decided to sleep. As I looked up, I realized that hours ago, I was thinking that I was hesitant to go because I didnt like waiting for her to dress up.

Is she worth waiting for?

With great uncertainty of her feelings and of things to come, I told myself "Yes, She's worth waiting for and so much more".