Tatlong araw nang may sakit si Andy. So far, wala pa rin namang nararamdamang sintomas si Niki. Kaya tuloy siya sa pag-aalaga dito. Andy takes good care of people, especially when they are sick. He would also act like a baby to be taken good care of when he becomes sick.

He was probably bored out of his wits since Niki forbade him to work or even check his emails. She took his phones and the computer cables because she caught him working late the previous night.

Pagod nang matulog si Andy at sumasakit na rin daw ang likod nito kahihiga. Kaya heto sila ngayon, nakatunganga sa sala. Pawis na pawis na si Niki dahil ang init ng temperatura ni Andy pero ayaw naman siyang nitong lubayan. He was wrapped in his bulky blanket habang siya naman ay naghihingalo na sa init kahit nakatutok sa kanya ang electric fan. Syempre, hindi papahuli si Ponkan. He has squeezed himself in the middle.

Kakatapos lamang niyang magluto ng almusal. Tinanghali na nga siya. Muntik na niyang itali sa higaan si Andy kagabi dahil ayaw nitong matulog. He would knock incessantly on her door to get his phones so she was not able to sleep much.

He finally stopped at around 2AM. She woke up around 9AM the following morning only to find Andy sleeping on the floor. He had his blanket and there was a carpet in the living room so he didn't freeze to death, but he complained so much about his back and his sore muscles.

Niki pushed Andy's head away when she began perspiring again. Nakasiksik ang ulo nito sa leeg niya.

"Alam mo kung inaantok ka, sa kwarto ka matulog!" inis niyang sabi.

"I'm ti-red of s-sleepin'..." he slurred.

Niki moved her shoulder so he would take his head off of it. Isinandal niya ito sa sofa at saka muling sinipat ang temperatura nito. His fever was not going down. "Dalhin na kaya kita sa ospital?"

Andy grunted. "Don'tcha dar..."

"Wait." Niki picked up her phone and called Andy's mother for advice. When his mother answered, she put it on FaceTime. Bumungad sa kanila ang ina nito na inaayos ang lagay ng phone. It looked like she was cooking. Nasa kitchen ito.

"Hi, tita!" bati niya.

"Hello! How are you, guys?"

She pushed Andy's head away. Sumisiksik pa rin ito sa kanya. Para na rin siyang magkakasakit dahil sa init ng temperatura nito.

"May sakit ka pa rin, 'nak?"

"I think he wants me to suffer with him, Tita," sumbong niya. "Hindi pa rin po bumababa ang lagnat nya."

"Hey, ma..." Andy started coughing again. Nang sinaway niya ito ay mas lalo itong umubo at humarap pa sa kanya para mang-asar. His mother started laughing before finally scolding him.

"Andy!"

Andy finally moved away. "Sorry," sabi nito. His voice sounded more nasal than yesterday. Barado ang ilong at makati ang lalamunan.

"Bumili ba kayo ng salabat, Hija?" tanong ng Tita Andrea niya. Niki nodded before saying, "Kaso Tita hindi naman iniinom ni Andy. Ibinubuhos lang sa lababo."

"Andy..." Tita Andrea sighed. "You can't even taste the ginger at this point. Inumin mo na, Anak, ha? Para gumaling ka na. Paano ka makakabalik sa trabaho nyan kung hindi ka magpapagaling?"

"Narinig mo yun?" tanong ni Niki sa kaibigan.

Andy sniffed. "Yes, Ma..." he begrudgingly said.

"Niki, ikaw rin ha. You drink what he drinks and take some multivitamins. Hindi pwedeng parehas kayong may sakit. Walang mag-aalaga sa inyo."

"Yes po, Tita."

Tita Andrea turned her attention to Andy. "You better get well soon, Anak. Or else mapipilitan akong lumuwas ng Maynila para alagaan ka."

"Yes, Ma..."

"Kumain na ba kayo? Huwag kayong magpapalipas ng gutom, ha?"

Tumango si Andy. "Niki cooks," sabi nito sa ina. "Okay lang naman kasi wala akong malasahan."

Sinapak niya ito nang mahina. Tumawa ang ina nito.

"I'm sure Niki's food tastes good, Andy. But you have to get better to know for sure, okay? O sige na, mga anak, magluluto pa ako. Call me if you need anything, okay?"

"Sure po. Bye, Tita!" paalam niya. She gave the phone to Andy.

"Bye, Ma!" He puckered his lips and put it as close to the phone as possible. Niki smiled as he ended the call and returned the phone to her. Inggit na inggit talaga siya sa relationship ni Andy with his parents, especially with his mom. Sobrang lambing nito sa mommy nito and the old woman just let him. Madalas itong nakaakbay o nakayakap sa mommy nito kahit minsan napapagkamalang magkarelasyon ang dalawa (May-December love affair) because his mother looked younger than her actual age.

And that sweetness was caused by what he sees in his parents growing up. Malambing ang parents ni Andy sa isa't isa. Parang bagong kasal pa rin. They were never shy in showing their affection towards each other, kahit sa harap ng mga kaibigan ni Andy.

Samantalang siya, lumaking hirap magsabi ng "I love you" o "I'm sorry" sa mga magulang. Salat sa yakap. Salat sa affirmation.

"Ayan ha. Kay tita na mismo nanggaling. Uminom ka ng salabat. I'll make one for you right now."

She attempted to stand but he pulled her right back.

"Andy!"

Dinaganan siya nito. Niki shrieked.

"Andy, ano ba! Ang bigat-bigat mo!"

Balot na balot pa ito ng weighted blanket. Mas lalo tuloy itong bumigat. When he didn't move, she shimmied until he lost his balance and fell on the carpeted floor with a thud.

Andy yelped in pain, but then he started laughing. At sa katatawa nito, bigla na naman itong inubo. Sinipa niya ito. "Don't do that again! Kapag ako nabalian ng buto!"

"Meooow-eoowwwww!!!"

Napatingin silang dalawa kay Ponkan. The poor cat was sitting on the floor earlier. Nakalimutan na nila. Nabagsakan pala ito ni Andy. Niki immediately pushed Andy off of Ponkan. Agad niyang binuhat ang pusa at inalo-alo. She repeatedly checked him to see if he was okay. She would have to take him to the vet if not. The thought alone stresses her. Imagine taking care of two beings!

"Nashh-a paa-nan ko nam-mann shya," sabi sa kanya ni Andy. "Yung blan-ket lang yung nalag-lag."

She lifted Ponkan up. Nakipagtitigan siya sa pusa. "May masakit ba sa 'yo, Pon?"

"Meow," sagot nito.

"O nagdadrama ka lang, hm?"

"Meoooow..."

Niki saw Andy roll his eyes. He let out a laugh. "J'sh orange, Niki.... of course he's being draaa-matic."

–

A few hours later, Niki was woken a few times because of Andy's coughing. Noong una niyang bangon, natisod siya dahil nakahiga ito sa sahig, balot na balot pa rin ng kumot nito. Andy sweat slightly so she had to help him change his shirt bago niya ito halos ipagtulakan pabalik ng kwarto nito.

The next time she woke up, she heard something clank from the common space. Napasigaw siya nang makitang may bulto na nakatayo sa harap ng nakabukas na ref.

"Andy! You're gonna give me a heart attack!"

Andy slowly turned his head towards her. Suminghot ito kaya medyo napanatag siya. She had been seeing videos of skinwalkers before she went to sleep, so this gave her quite a scare.

"Sorry..."

"Bakit nandyan ka?"

"Ang init kasi."

Bumuntong-hininga si Niki. Nilapitan niya ito at sinubukang tanggalin ang kumot dito. Andy was gripping the blanket so she was not able to take it off of him.

"Kung naiinitan ka, wag ka nang magkumot. God–you're already sweating!"

She tugged at the blanket once more and after a few more tries, Andy finally let go. He was in his pajama set. Basang-basa ng pawis ang likod nito. Mukhang effective ang maghapon niyang pilit na pagpapainom ng salabat at gamot dito. She even forced him to rest.

Andy started coughing so minabuti ni Niki na isarado na ang ref. Hinila niya ito pabalik ng kwarto, dragging the blanket with them. Inilagay niya iyon sa hamper at tinakpan para hindi mag-attempt si Ponkan na doon matulog. She made Andy sit on the bed while she rummaged through his closet for a change of clothes.

Isinalo niya ang napiling damit kay Andy. "Magbihis ka. Bubuksan ko yung aircon."

She walked towards the air conditioning unit to turn it on. Nang bumaling siya ay nakahubad na si Andy.

"Hoy!" Pinandilatan niya ito ng mata. "Pwedeng antayin mo munang makalabas ako bago ka maghubad?!"

"Arte. It's not like you haven't seen me naked before..." He casually put the shirt on his head after saying that. Saka nito ikinumpas ang kamay para patalikurin siya. When she turned back around, he was already kicking the discarded clothes towards the laundry basket. Niki let out a sigh and picked up his clothes to properly dispose of them.

Pinakiramdaman niyang muli ang noo nito pagkatapos. She even took a hand towel from his drawer to wipe the sweat from his face. Nakatayo lamang ito na parang tuod as she did so.

"Kumusta pakiramdam mo?" tanong niya.

"Better."

"You still have to rest all day tomorrow, okay? Kapag mas umokay ka bukas, papayagan kitang mag-work sa isang araw. But don't strain yourself, 'Dy. Nakakapagod kang alagaan. Ang demanding mo."

He just sniffed and blinked in response. Pinaupo niya itong muli sa gilid ng kama. "Okay ka na? Matutulog na uli ako."

"Yep."

She threw the hand towel into the laundry basket and took a clean blanket from the top of his closet. Iniabot niya ito doon.

"Need anything else? Tubig?"

Andy shook his head.

"Okay. Don't wake up before eight." She pointed at his face. "I mean it. Let me rest."

Andy nodded.

Palabas na siya ng kwarto nito nang hawakan siya nito sa braso.

"What?"

"I love you."

Niki let out a laugh. "Love you too. Matulog ka na." She removed his grip on her arm and tousled his hair. "Good night, Andy."