Aileen
After that, even on the ferry wheel, I couldn’t see the smile on my mom’s face anymore. Even though she was forcing herself to look cheerful, it was easy to see through her actions.
For the rest of the night, she was absent-minded and paid less attention to what I said.
I guess no matter how much someone tries to cheer you up from the outside, nothing will change unless you heal the wound within you.
Mom is experiencing the same thing.
We were on our way home after eating, and she fell asleep in the car. My phone suddenly started ringing.
I picked it out from my purse to see the name on the screen. It was Dave.
He must be calling to check up on us.
I answered it right away, “Hello, what’s up?”
“Where are you two now? It’s almost 8 p. m.”
“Uh…on the way in the car. Will take half an hour to reach home.”
“I see. Did you two have fun today? And is her phone dead? When I called her, it said switched off. That’s why I called you.”
“Um…yeah…a lot. Her phone is out of battery. That’s why you couldn’t get through her,” Should I tell him about our meeting with Dad? But, talking over the phone doesn’t sound that good.
I’ll tell him after reaching home.
“I see, good to hear that. But, why does it sound like you are forcing yourself to say those things? Is everything alright?” he inquired.
What? Am I busted? Did he realize something was wrong with me?
“Uh…. no, why do you think that?”
“Hm…I don’t know. I just had a hunch. Why did anything happen that you are hiding from me?”
“What? No, no. It’s…. I’ll tell you later. It’s nothing serious.”
“And what is it about again?”
“I’ll tell you later, don’t ask too many questions.”
“Okay….. Did you have dinner?”
“Uh, hm. What about you?”
“Will eat in a few minutes. Just feeling a bit lonely cause, I have to eat all by myself.”
“I see….”
“I’m missing you a lot. Wish you were here with me,” he added in a sad tone.
“It’s only one day, bear with it please!” I pleaded. “I’ll see you at home.”
“Fine! Come home soon. I love you.”
“I do”
I glanced at Mom who was asleep right beside me. What if she hears me?
I’ll be in trouble then, won’t I?
“What’s wrong? Say it like I did,” He insisted. “I won’t hang up the call otherwise.”
“Aren’t you being a bit childish? Hang up already! She’s right beside me.” I retorted.
“Yeah, I know. But, she must be asleep. That’s why you can talk next to her so carelessly,” he mused.
Huh? How did he know that?
“Are you…. spying on me? Who told you that?” I spluttered.
He bursts into laughter.
“What’s so funny?”
“You are. I don’t need to spy on you to know what’s happening around you. I could guess easily. Knowing how much of a coward you are, it’s easy to say you only become bold when no one is listening to you or is around you.”
He knows me astonishingly too well! But, how’s that possible?
“I’m saying it right, I hope?”
“Yes, absolutely. It’s scary to see how well you know me. Anyway, it’s late to eat up. I’ll see you at home.”
“And?”
“I love you!” I whispered low before hanging up on him.
Seriously….. he’s so demanding.
“And you love that about him, don’t you?” Kiki, my wolf teased.
Well…. I won’t deny that, he’s too cute when he does that.
“You’ve learned to tame boys in such a short time. That’s admirable.”
I’m not taming him. It’s just
“Aileen, who were you talking to?” Mom’s voice brought me back to reality.
She’s awake!
“Uh…. my friend from college.”
“Your friend? But then…. why did I feel like I heard you saying I love you or something? Did I hear it wrong?”
“Mom! Why would I say I love you to my friend? You’ve obviously heard it wrong!” my voice was shaking as I spoke.
“Hm…. yeah, you are right. Maybe I’m half asleep. Wake me up when we reach home.”
“Uh, yeah. I’ll wake you up. Don’t worry.”
“Thank you.”
She went back to sleep like she was doing earlier. And I heaved a deep sigh in relief.
I’m not caught yet! I need to be a bit more careful around her even when she’s asleep.
We reached home, and Mom went to bed saying goodnight cause she was too tired to move.
I also headed towards my room, except to my surprise Dave stood right outside my room, facing against the door.
It seems he was waiting for me after all.
I approached him with steady steps. “What are you doing here?” I asked, standing right in front of him.
He folded his arms in reply, “Waiting for you. You took too long to come. So, I came here instead.”
“That’s…cool. But, Mom went to the room already. Don’t you have to go see her and wait for her to fall asleep?”
He looked away hearing that question as if to avoid being asked.
“Hey, you are acting a bit childish here, you know? Don’t make it look suspicious than it is already!” I replied. “You don’t want to blow our cover, do you?”
“That’s….. but I was waiting for you.”
“Yes, I see it and understand it very well. But, not right now. I’ll see you in the living room one hour later. Meet me there,” I said, patting him on his shoulder.
He thought over it for a minute before finally giving in. “Fine! But let me take this as my reward,” he came close and forced a sudden kiss on the lips before pulling away with a smirk.
“Don’t be late!” he added, before walking out of there slowly.
I stood there unfazed, trying to recall the scene that folded before me a second ago.
He….. he’s becoming bolder day by day and that sounds so hot! I’m falling for him even more!
I need to write this down in my diary. Yeah, right now.
I went to my room changed into some comfy clothes and sat down to write in my secret diary which I keep in my study table drawer.
After writing down my thoughts I went downstairs to see Dave.
But, unfortunately, when I arrived there wasn’t anyone. I was a bit disappointed so I just waited around for him to arrive.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a pair of hands wrapped around my stomach from behind.
“Guess, who it is?”
“Did you really have to surprise me like this?” I asked, glancing beside me to see his face.
“Why? You didn’t like it?” he snuggled onto my neck.
“That’s…. that doesn’t matter!”
“So, you did like it. I know,” he chuckled.
“Yeah, right. So, why did you want to see me? Any special reason?”
“Hm…. yeah. Didn’t you say you had something to say to me? Is it something that happened when you two were out?”
I nodded. “Yeah. You figured it out so quickly.”
“Of course, I would. Your Mom looked so down when she came into the room. Something must’ve happened to cause this change in her. So, without waiting further, spill the beans. Don’t make me worry by hiding it from me.”
I removed his hands from my stomach and turned around to face him while holding him by the hands.
“Actually…. we met Dad today. That’s why she’s depressed like this, because of the mean things he said to her. Do you think we can do something about it and make her feel better?”
His brows raised in surprise. “You met whom?”
“My dad and his new wife, Lola. We bumped into them in the theme park and…..”
I explained everything that happened there and after hearing it, he became angry and just sat down on the couch to calm down himself.
After a minute of silence, he finally spoke, “Why did you allow him to run his mouth? You should’ve left that spot without entertaining himself any longer.”
“At first I was trying to ignore him, but he’s the one who tried to gain my sympathy. And then he showed his true colors like this. I didn’t expect this at all!”
“Well, you should’ve known this! This is the only thing you can expect from a guy like him. He never cared for your well-being and happiness nor will he ever. He only exists to bring you misery, nothing else!”
“Yeah, I can see that as well. I was wrong for believing he had changed a little bit which obviously isn’t happening very soon.”
“The word change doesn’t ring a bell to him. He’s not very happy or eager to change himself,” Dave explained. “And that wife of his, she doesn’t want to help in here either. Or rather, she’s making it worse by boosting his ego and self-confidence.”
“Yes, she’s not a good person as well. She’s pretentious and a show-off. She’s the reason, why he could go as far as to compare the two of them when their age range is so different. I was so angry back then I could hardly contain my anger.”
He glanced at me, examining my face. “Yes, I can see it in your eyes. They look fiery. You don’t get that mad easily without any valid reasons.”
“Of course, I won’t. He’s a bastard, he made my Mom sad even though she was cheerful all morning. He needs to pay for it.”
“And how are you going to make him do that?” he asked with an amused face. “Don’t say, beat him up, I guess?”
“Nah, just using violence won’t bring him to his senses. He needs a good active example right before his eyes.”
“And how will you do that?”
“Hm….. wait, do I have to figure it out all on my own? Won’t you help me out?”
“Of course, I would help. I want to teach that dad of yours a lesson for making my wife and daughter sad. We’ll join forces to defeat the evil!” he said, fisting his hands.