"Carter!"

Lumingon ang babaeng nakaupo sa swing nang marinig ang pangalan niya. Ibinaba niya ang cellphone at pinatay, ignoring the next vibrations. Her mind was still over her latest conversation with this stranger, who had the same thoughts about cheating.

What a coincidence, huh. She was cheated and so was he.

Humihingal na huminto sa harap niya si Natalie. May hawak-hawak din itong ice cream. Upon noticing Carter's stare, she grinned.

"Natakam ako sa text mo. Buti na lang wala si Ate do'n ngayon kaya 'di niya ko mapipigilan sa ice cream!"

"Mm."

"So... ano na? Bakit nandito ka sa labas?"

Carter glared at her friend. "Sinabi ko na sa'yo kanina, 'di ba? Kainis na kuya. Why would he even bring that up?"

"Talaga bang sasama siya kay Kuya mo pauwi sa inyo?"

Carter heavily sighed before giving a slow nod. It was an upcoming nightmare for her. Hindi siya makapaniwalang ang lalaking kung murahin nila na parang serial killer noon ay matutulog ng isang linggo sa bahay nila.

"Ano bang iniisip ng Mallory na 'yan?!" singhal niya't kinuha ang cellphone ko. "Gago siya. Isi-screenshot ko mga messages niya sa'yo noon na gago daw si Claude tapos ngayon best buddies na- Sino 'to?"

Napakamot na lang sa ulo si Carter nang biglang nawala ang galit ni Natalie at napalitan ng pagtataka. Binalingan siya nito at itinuro ang nasa taas ng messages niya. The corner of her lips lifted when she read his recent message, asking what she meant by her reply.

"Hoy, babae! Sino 'to? May bago kang katext?! Ba't 'di mo sinabi?!"

Inagaw ni Carter ang phone at ibinulsa. "It's nothing. He accidentally sent me a message and he just... stuck around, I guess."

"You don't reply to strangers."

"Not when they sent me a wrong message. Kailangan kong ipaalam sa kanila 'yon."

"But you don't talk for this long." umayos siya ng upo. "Remember that boy who messaged you? Binlock mo siya 'di ba?"

"He was very forceful. And he's too flirty, it's annoying. Dagdag mo pa na lagi siyang nagtatanong kung gusto naming mag-meet up."

"And..." she pointed at the phone. "That guy doesn't?"

"No. He's clingy and noisy but he's good. Actually," Carter paused. "He has the same situation as me."

"Iuuwi din ng kuya niya ang ex na manloloko?"

"Not the kuya part, maybe, but he did have a cheating ex." nagdalawang-isip muna si Carter bago kinuha ang phone. "Look, that's what he said."

Imbes na basahin ng mabuti ang itinuro ng kaibigan ay nagscroll-up si Natalie. She stopped at the picture that the boy sent, making a silent squeal and lightly slapping Carter in the arm.

"Omg! Carter! Gwapo!"

"Kapag nakakakita ka ng gwapo, talagang bumababa ang alam mong words, 'no?"

"But he's very handsome! Look!"

Carter pushed Natalie's attempt at pushing her face further into the phone. Sumimangot siya.

"I can see. At paano mo namang malalaman na gwapo when the whole face is not exposed."

"I just know! Alam kong gwapo siya!" depensa nito.

With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, Carter took her phone back. "Alright, alright. Anyway, that's it. It's just something that I continued because it was unexpected. I was thinking that a change of routine would freshen my mind."

Natahimik si Natalie. Naiintindihan niya naman ang kaibigan. Kahit na anong pagpapakita ni Carter na maayos siya, Natalie knows she feels stuck. Dropping out of college wasn't her best decision, but it was preferable to continuing a degree she wouldn't use. After two years of being stuck in their garage, Carter thinks it's time for a new start.

That's when her phone rang with an unexpected message notification.

"Well," Natalie relaxed in the swing. "There's no problem with that. Sabi nga nila, it's easy to share things with strangers. Because they do not personally know you and can't judge deeply."

"Hmm..."

"As long as you don't share everything about your life then... I think it'll be fine."