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MACKENNA

EVEN THOUGH THE DOCTOR TOLD me I was pregnant the first time I found out at the hospital, I still bought five pregnancy tests. Yes, that is right. I took five freaking pregnancy tests to really make sure that I'm pregnant.

And Freya discovered one of those pregnancy tests in the bathroom cabinet's bottom drawer. I hid one of the PT's that I used just... For myself. To remember and acknowledge that I am now a mother. And I kind of regret not keeping it from Freya well enough.

And now she's interrogating me...

"Mackenna Evans... please tell me how are you pregnant? L-like who—how—when did it happen?"

I sigh heavily. "You need to calm down, Frey."

"Mackenna, how can I relax?" She replied, her eyes wide. "You're pregnant! You're going to become a mother, and the baby will come out through your vagina!"

"I'm aware that the baby will come out from my vagina, but you need to keep quiet." Pinanlakihan ko ng mata si Freya at saka hinawakan 'yung kamay niya para pakalmahin siya. "Nobody knows I'm pregnant. So please be quiet. Ryder can't find out that I'm pregnant... yet."

Huminga ng malalim si Freya. She's staring at me in disbelief. Speechless and bewildered.

"Ryder is not the father of my baby." Panimula ko ng medyo kumalma na si Freya. Her gaze is on me while she is intently listening to me.

Ikinwento ko kay Freya kung papaano kami nagkakilala ni Scout. I told her how I met this strange guy who was wearing a pilot's uniform at the bar, how we both got drunk and woke up in his hotel bedroom the next day. I told Freya everything, well, maybe not everything, because I kept the details of what happened between Scout and I that night.

I also told her that Scout's girlfriend is Ryder's cousin. And we only found out about it afterwards.

"Is Scout Wilder Fernandez cute? What does he look like? Do you have a picture of him?" Sunod-sunod at excited na tanong ni Freya na parang bata. Mabuti nalang at hindi pa bumabalik si Ryder. Mukhang marami siyang niluto para sa'min ni Freya.

"I don't have any pictures of him."

"What? Why not?!" Gulat na tanong niya. "You didn't take any pictures when you were together here in Brooklyn?"

"We weren't together." Paglinaw ko.

"Oh, c'mon!" Freya rolled her eyes at me. "You just told me that you two hung out even after you guys had a one-night stand."

"We just met accidentally. Again." I reasoned out, but Freya obviously doesn't believe me. "And why would I take pictures with him? We just met and we were not going to see each other anyway."

"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, babe. But I guess you're going to see him. Again." Freya said in a matter-of-fact tone and then eyed my belly.

"I-I..." I stammered. "I don't even know where he is right now."

"Well, you never know. He might just be somewhere around here. Lurking." She said with a shrug. As if that's going to happen.

Alam ko namang malabong nandito si Scout, pero dahil sa sinabi ni Freya ay agad pa rin akong kinabahan. Pa'no nga kung magkita kami ulit ni Scout? Pa'no kung nandito nga siya ulit?

Anong gagawin ko?

Dahil sa sinabi ni Freya ay natahimik ako at hindi nakasagot. Mabuti nalang at lumabas na ulit si Ryder mula sa kusina, dala ang mga pagkaing niluto niya. Sandaling nawala sa isip ko ang pag-aalala kay Scout dahil sa bango ng pagkain na dala ni Ryder.

"Bon Appetit," Ryder said as he gently placed the delicious food on our table.

Freya excitedly clapped her hands. It's a good thing that the food was able to divert her mind away from my pregnancy and Scout's.

Despite the fact that I've been working here for months, every time I see Ryder's dish, I'm still struck by how appetizing it looks and smells. Ryder prepared Lobster stuffed Rigatoni, a worldwide Wagyu strip steak, and fresh Tagliolini with butter and white truffles for us.

These three dishes are the most expensive dishes on our menu. Sobrang dalang lang may um-order nito dahil sa mahal ng presyo at ingredients ng mga ito.

"Wow," Freya commented as she started digging in on our food. She stuffed her mouth with the Wagyu and a moan escaped her lips. Natawa kami ni Ryder dahil sa reaksyon ni Freya.

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed. "This is the best food I ever had in my entire life!" Ryder look so pleased with Freya's comment.

"Why don't you come and join us?" alok ko kay Ryder na nakatayo at nakangiting pinapanood si Freya na busy sa pagkain.

"I'm good. I had a bite while cooking. Perks of being the chef," he replied with a wink, and I softly chuckled.

"Thank you so much for preparing this for us. I owe you big time." I smiled at him.

"Anything for you, Mackenna." He said, smiling back, before excusing himself once more so Freya and I could enjoy our dinner.

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After we ate, Freya said she wanted to drink so we could catch up more. If I know, gusto lang akong kulitin nito tungkol kay Scout.

"But of course, you can't drink because, you know, you're pregnant." She said, whispering the last part to me as if I had forgotten that I am pregnant.

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me." I sarcastically replied while rolling my eyes at her, and she just giggled at me.

"Should we invite Ryder?"

I shrug. "Up to you if you want a drinking buddy."

"Alright. Might as well invite him. After all, he treated us to a good dinner."

At gaya nga ng sinabi ni Freya, niyaya niya si Ryder na sumama samin para uminom. Kaya lang bigla kong naisip na baka makahalata si Ryder kung bakit hindi ako umiinom. Pipigilan ko sana si Freya na ayain si Ryder, kaya lang nakita ko na silang nag-uusap na at base sa pag-thumbs up ni Ryder ay pumayag na itong sumama samin.

Freya and I helped Ryder close the restaurant so that we could leave right away. Ryder also volunteered to drive us to the bar, including Jai, but she's not coming with us at the bar. We're just going to drop her off at her house.

Nakarating kami sa bar ng mga bandang eleven o'clock. Mabuti nalang at hindi masyadong busy at matao ngayon, hindi kagaya noon... noong unang beses ako magpunta dito at makilala ko si Scout.

We occupied the booth at the far corner of the bar. Freya and Ryder ordered spiced rum and coke, while I ordered orange juice. Ryder asked why I didn't want to drink alcohol, and I just reasoned out that we will have to meet with Sav early tomorrow morning.

"So..." Freya muttered when Ryder excused himself for a minute to answer a phone call. Freya leaned forward against the table with her hand clasped together.

"What?" I asked.

"He likes you." She says, grinning at me.

"I know."

"Do you like him?"

I sigh. "Yeah but—"

"As a friend." Pagtapos ni Freya sa sasabihin ko. "Because you like Scout, am I right?"

Nanlaki 'yung mga mata ko dahil sa sinabi niya at nasamid ako sa sarili kong laway.

"I don't like him." Lie.

"Lie all you want, babe, but I know you like him. Every time I mention him, your cheeks turn red and your eyes glow like crazy." She chuckled before taking a sip of her drink.

She's right. Kahit na anong pagtanggi ko pa sa nararamdaman ko, alam ko naman kung ano ang totoo. Kagaya ngayon, mas lalo kong naaalala si Scout dahil nandito kami sa bar kung saan kami unang nagkakilala.

My eyes lingered on the exact spot where Scout and I sat. Where we talked and kissed.

Mabuti nalang at bumalik na si Ryder sa table namin kaya hindi na ulit nangulit si Freya sa'kin tungkol kay Scout. And I'm also glad that Freya and Ryder clicked. Para silang matagal nang magkakilala kung magkuwentuhan.

Before 1 A.M, nagyaya na rin si Freya umuwi. Nakaramdam na siguro siya ng pagod dahil sa biyahe niya kanina.

"I will just bring back your car tomorrow." I told Ryder. Dahil nakainom siya, ako na ang nag-drive samin pauwi.

"Don't worry about it. You can keep it for now. I walked to work anyway." He smiles at me. "Goodnight, ladies."

"Goodnight. Thanks again." I smile at him.

"Bye, Ryder!" Freya waved him goodbye, and I drove away.

Pagbalik namin sa apartment, pinauna ko nang maligo si Freya pagkatapos niya ay ako naman.

After taking a bath, I saw Freya sitting on the couch in the living room, busy scrolling through her phone. We're both now in our PJ's and ready to sleep anytime.

"Hey!" Freya called.

"What's up? I thought you were tired. "

"Well, the shower made me wide awake." She replied. Nakatutok pa rin ang buong atensyon niya sa cellphone niya.

"What are you doing?" pag-usisa ko. Naupo ako sa tabi niya.

"Just scrolling on TikTok. You know, this app can make you stay awake until 3 a.m. without you noticing."

"Yeah, right." I chuckled and fished my phone out. Facebook at Instagram lang ang mayroon ako.

"I'm not kidding, babe. This app has different types of videos that you can watch from all over the world. Prank videos. Social experiments. Booktok, babytok, foodtok, and many more."

"Really?" I curiously asked. Itinabi ko na 'yung cellphone ko at saka pinanood 'yung video na nagpe-play sa phone ni Freya.

Tama nga siya at iba't ibang video ang puwede mong mapanood sa TikTok. Hindi naman kasi ako mahilig gumamit ng social media at madalang ko rin gamitin ang Facebook at Instagram ko.

At tama nga siya at hindi mo mamalayan ang oras habang nasa TikTok ka dahil halos isang oras na pala kaming nanood ng kung ano-anong video ni Freya sa TikTok. Muntik pa akong maiyak kanina dahil ang cute noong mga baby videos na dumaan sa for you page ni Freya.

I've been influenced. I think I'm going to download TikTok now.

"We should probably go to bed." I said as I yawned and stretched my legs. Naalala ko bigla ang habilin ni Dr. Ravichander sa'kin na hindi magandang magpuyat.

"Wait, babe, watch this first." Sabi ni Freya. At ako naman ay na-curious bigla dahil akala ko baby video ulit 'yung ipapapanood niya sa'kin, pero agad kumunot ang noo ko dahil sa nakita ko.

"Oh, my God!" Freya exclaimed. "Isn't this your sister and her boyfriend?"

Based on the caption of the video, "When your boyfriend is a red flag." and how Foster yells at my sister. Sigurado akong may pinagtatalunan silang dalawa. Pero hindi nanlaki ang mata ko dahil doon, kung hindi dahil kay Scout na mabilis pumagitna sakanilang dalawa para tulungan si Sav. I watched how Scout shielded my sister away from Foster, who was ready to hit her any minute.

"Fucking jerk! Do you know about this?" galit na tanong ni Freya matapos ang video. Agad akong umiling.

"I don't want to be judgemental or anything, but your sister's boyfriend is nuts! He's about to hit her! It's a good thing that nice guy stood up for her, or else we don't know what he could've done to her."

"T-that guy..." I stuttered.

"What about him? Do you know him?"

Agad akong tumango. "That's the father of my baby. That's Scout Wilder Fernandez."

W H A T Y A S E Y