Aileen
The door to his room was wide open, and Mom stood outside with a horrified expression. Her bag, which she brought to work, was on the floor.
My head went blank. I didn’t understand how I was supposed to react or what I was supposed to do at that moment.
The only question played in my head; Did Mom see us? Or heard what we were saying? If she did how are we going to get by from this situation?
We are caught, aren’t we? Will she believe my words?
Why on earth all the bad things are happening to me only? What have I done to you, Goddess?
Dave backed away from me, turning to her, “Emilia, believe me, this isn’t what you are thinking. I can explain”
But, she didn’t listen to a word he said and ran out of there without looking back.
“It’s over,” I said aloud, turning to Dave. “Everything is over now. What should we do?”
What we’ve been trying to hide for so long is now in open light.
“Aileen, calm down,” Dave said, coming over to my side, “I’ll try to talk to her. You stay here. Okay?”
“But, Mom”
“Don’t panic. Everything will be alright. I’ll handle it,” he assured me, patting my head.
I nodded and saw him rushing out after her.
I leaned against the door, waiting for him to come back.
Will he really be able to convince her?
“Do you believe in him?” Kiki asked.
I do. But, things aren’t looking that great. Everything is just, running out of my hands without my will.
Marshall’s sudden confession, Skylar’s deal and now Mom seeing us together. Why is my luck so bad?
“Maybe this is the sign of a change,” she added, “Everything in this world happens for a reason, good or bad. So, leave it up to faith and just hope for a good ending.”
Leave it up to faith? How can I do that when I can clearly see my family falling apart?
———————————————————–
Meanwhile, Dave ran after Emilia. She went to the guest room at the end of the hallway and locked the door from inside.
Dave banged on the door yelling in panic, “Please open the door. I need to talk to you. Don’t assume anything from what you saw. Things aren’t as you are thinking.”
“Forgive me but, I’m not in the mood to speak with anyone at this moment. Please leave me alone,” she answered from the other end of the door. Her voice sounded as if it would break any minute.
“But”
“Dave! Just because I’m living in your house doesn’t mean you can force me to listen to you all the time!” she retorted, sternly, “I’m a bit disturbed, so please for god’s sake, leave me alone.”
Hearing her response, his face became a bit sad. He lowered his gaze and retreated his fists.
“Uh…okay. I’ll leave you alone then. But, you can’t avoid me forever. So, we need to talk someday either way. I hope you keep that in mind. And promise me you won’t do anything extreme. Or else, I’m staying here all night.”
She took a minute to reply, “I won’t now go.”
He glanced back at the door for one final time before walking away. He went back to the room and saw Aileen sitting on the floor with her knees close to her chest.
He sighed and walked over to her side.
Dave knelt on the floor beside her and kept his hand on her shoulder, “Aileen, are you alright?”
She immediately turned to look at me. “Dave, you are back. How did everything go? Did she talk to you?”
He shook his head in dismissal. “No, but I think it’s best to leave her alone at this moment. Cause she doesn’t want to talk. And it’s hard for her to accept everything right away. So, give her time. Maybe she’ll be ready to listen to us next morning, I think.”
“You think so? But if she refused to talk…..” Her face suddenly became sad.
He could tell how upset she was at this moment.
“Get up from the floor. It’s cold,” he said taking her by the hand and helping her to stand up.
“Leave me alone. I’m fine here,” she grunted looking away.
“No, I can’t bear to see you sitting like this. It’s pathetic,” he reasoned. “And it’s not like we’ve done anything wrong. She was bound to find everything out sooner or later. Today was the day, unfortunately. So, there’s no point in thinking about it.”
“She was betrayed by her own daughter and husband whom she loved the most, the only family she had. She’ll never forgive us. Trust me.” She said, clenching her palms.
“If you’ve known your Mom for so long, you know she’ll never hold a grudge against her family for too long, will she?” Dave said, patting her head. “I know Emilia. She’s the sweetest person I’ve ever known. If we explain everything to her calmly, she’s bound to understand us. Most importantly, because it’s related to you. She only wants the best for you.”
She raised her face to look at him, “You know, she loves you right? Do you think despite the unconditional love she has for her daughter, she’ll let go of her partner who’s equally as important as I am?”
Her question left him astonished. He couldn’t find any arguments to counter that.
“That’s….”
“You don’t have to answer me, instead think about how today’s incident is going to affect all of our lives from now on, That’ll be the best,” She replied, getting up on her feet. “Go to bed, it’s too late. Goodnight.”
She closed the door behind her as she left the room.
“I couldn’t even tell him about Skylar’s threat. But, what does anything matter anyway, when the most important person in our life is aware of the truth? It doesn’t matter if the whole world knows about it, does it?”
“Nothing should matter anymore.”
Before heading back to her room she passed by the guest room where her mom was staying.
She was about to knock on the door but stopped herself.
The unwavering feeling in her chest and the pain she felt imagining her mom’s face, made it hard for her to talk.
She raised her fist and bumped against the door gently.
“Mom, do you hate me now?”