Lena was expecting to wake up alone the next morning. She was even expecting to be left there at the resort, habang nagsiuwi na ang buong pamilya ni Cyrus. She was expecting a lot of bad things to happen because of what she did last night, but she certainly wasn't expecting to find him there, still holding her, still sleeping.

Last night, she did something regrettable, but she knew it was the right thing to do. She cannot promise Cyrus something that she knew she still couldn't do. Hindi pa niya kayang totohanin kung anuman ang meron sa kanila. She's afraid to commit yet. Committing to someone means that you'll invest your heart into the relationship. Her heart wasn't ready for that.

She wondered how he could ask such a thing. Nagugustuhan na ba siya nito? The thought made her blush. It made her confused as well, and utterly guilty. Kung mahal na siya nito, hindi pa niya kayang ibalik ang pagmamahal na 'yon.

She held her breath when he moved. Humigpit ang yakap nito sa kanya. She could feel his soft breaths in her hair and his lips on her forehead. Ipinikit niya ang mga mata para matulog muli, pero saka naman ito gumising.

Bumangon siya nang bumangon ito. He rubbed his eyes with his left hand, the other quickly reached to hold hers.

"Morning," he greeted with a smile.

She wondered how he can look so good in the morning. Kahit magulo ang buhok nito at papikit-pikit pa ang mata, he's still a breathtaking sight. She wished that she could say the same thing about herself, but she knew that she's a morning mess.

But he didn't say anything about it, if he did see her as a mess.

--

Lumabas sila ng bahay at tinungo ang mga kamag-anak nito na nagkakape.

"Good morning!" Julie greeted. "Kain na kayo!"

She looked at the table filled with food. May isang tray na puro hotdog, bacon at itlog. Sa tabi noon ay may isang tupperware na puro tinapay. May mga 3 in 1 coffee at chocolate drink sachets din. Tapos ay may mga tira pang pagkain mula kagabi. But what made her stomach grumble was the tray of freshly-cooked sinangag. Umuusok pa iyon. Amoy na amoy niya ang bawang. The smell, mixed with the smell of coffee, was heaven.

Cadence gave her a plate, which Cyrus filled with sinangag, bacon and eggs. Tapos ay nagtimpla ito ng dalawang kape.

"How's your sleep?" Clem asked her.

"Shut up," Cyrus told his sister.

His mom threw them a probing look, but didn't ask for details.

"What time will we go home?" asked Cyrus to no one in particular.

"Hanggang 6PM pa ang rent natin dito," sagot ng mommy nito. "Hindi naman kayo nagmamadaling umalis, di ba?"

Cyrus shook his head and turned to her. "You?"

"No." Pero habang nandoon siya kasama ang pamilya nito ay parang lalo siyang nakukonsensya.

His family made her feel like she's already a part of it. And that's saying a lot, considering that she just met most of them last night.

They stayed until 4PM. Nagkwentuhan lang sila maghapon. She busied herself with taking pictures and listening to the stories of the old folks. They had some pretty interesting stories. She especially liked the one where it involved the 5 friends. Looking at them now, hindi mo aakalaing may ganoon silang pinagdaanan dati.

When it was time to leave, Cyrus's mom pulled her aside and gave her a hug. Tapos ay hinawakan nito ang pulso niya. The contact made her skin crawl, like she wasn't supposed to hold her there. Para siyang kriminal na nahuli. And because Ahn's a lot like her mom, pakiramdam niya'y nalaman din bigla ng mommy niya ang pinaggagagawa niya dati.

But her smile was warm and reassuring.

"I know, Lena. My mom had the same scars," she told her. "I'm not judging you or your family. But if you're sad or depressed and couldn't tell anyone, even your parents, rest assured that you can always talk to me. Promise me that you'll take good care of yourself, okay?"

She nodded.

Yumakap itong muli sa kanya at hinalikan siya sa pisngi. "You're part of our family now. Your problems are our problems. Huwag kang mahihiyang maglabas ng sama ng loob sa amin, lalo na sa akin."

"Thank you po."

"No. Thank you... for making my son feel whole again."

--

The car ride to her granparent's house was pretty normal. It was so normal that she immediately sensed that something's wrong. Ganoon na siguro kapag hindi ka sanay na normal ang buhay mo. Palagi mong naiisip na may mali kung saan. Wrong things make everything normal for real.

She decided to start a conversation, just to see how this normal thing would go.

"Cy..."

"Hmm?"

"Do we need to talk?"

"About?"

"Uhm... last night. What you said--"

"Oh. That." He glanced at her and smiled. "Can you just forget what I said? Medyo nakakahiya kasi."

"Pero... okay ka lang ba?"

"Yeah. It's not the first time that I've been rejected, Lena."

He was smiling when he said that, like it's no big deal, but something told her that he was really bummed out about it. Still, she accepted his answer and said okay. And that ended the conversation.

--

When they arrived at the house, she saw Bailey at the porch. He was waiting there, with his tongue lolling out. Agad itong tumakbo papunta sa kanila nang pumarada si Cyrus. Bailey jumped at her and licked her face. He did the same to Cyrus.

Tuwang-tuwa naman ang lola niya nang makita sila. They were quickly led to the kitchen.

"Busog pa kami, Lola," sabi niya rito nang hainan sila nito ng lasagna.

"Nonsense!" Her grandma gave her a slice. Cyrus was already digging in. She knew he wasn't hungry. Marami itong kinain kanina bago sila umalis. Pero siguro bilang paggalang na rin sa lola niya, pinipilit nitong kumain.

Naglabas din ang lola niya ng cookies na mukhang kagagawa lang nito kanina. Pati 'yong fudge brownies nito na mabentang-mabenta sa store nito, inihain din.

Her mother took over the business. She learned the recipes from her grandma. At mukhang si Kenna ang napipisil na maging tagapagmana noon. Thank god she can't bake. Baking cookies isn't as fun as eating them.

When her grandma went upstairs to call her grandpa, she told Cyrus not to eat too much.

"Huwag mong pilitin kung hindi mo na kaya, ha."

But he seems to have no problem at all. In fact, kumuha pa ulit ito.

"My dad would love this!" he told her.

"Mag-uwi ka," sabi ng lola niya na noon ay kabababa lang. "I made two trays. One's for Lena to take home, pero mukhang ayaw nya."

Naiiling siyang lumapit sa lolo at saka humalik sa pisngi nito. "She's using the guilt card again, Lolo," sumbong niya.

Her grandfather just laughed and went to Cyrus to shake his hand.

"So you're the infamous guy who swept my granddaughter off of her feet."

"Indeed I am, Sir. It's nice to meet you po."

Her grandpa grunted and took a seat. Ikinuha niya ito ng lasagna habang ang lola naman niya ay tumabi kay Cyrus at nakipagkwentuhan.

In no time at all, the two were jumping from one topic to another. They mainly talk about food and her. Her grandma seemed to warm up to Cyrus instantly because he makes her eat healthy and on time, which is a big deal. Napapalakpak pa nga ito nang sabihin ni Cyrus na napapakain siya nito ng gulay. Sa kanila kasing magkakapatid, siya ang pinakapihikan sa pagkain.

Pagkatapos nilang kumain, kinausap naman ng lolo niya si Cyrus. Siya naman ay tinulungan ang lola sa pagliligpit ng mga kinainan nila.

"I like him," her grandma told her. "He's a very nice young man."

"He is," she agreed.

Ngumiti ito sa kanya. "Don't let him go, Apo. Mahirap nang makahanap ng ganyang klase ng lalaki."

"Lola..."

"I'm just saying that if you already found the best, then don't try to look for someone better. You'll just go around in circles and might end up losing him."