Lost Love

22: Shopping

Angelo's POV:

"You're so lame," I rolled my eyes dramatically but secretly smirked at the same time.

"I'm not lame; you just have way too much energy," Lia said as she walked through the store.

"I thought we were going to do something fun," I moaned like a child.

"This is fun," she said as she walked through the aisle. She stops and smiles, slowly taking a clothing item off the railing. "I think this is perfect for you," she smirked while holding a Spiderman onesie.

"Li, I'm not five anymore," I made sure to sound annoyed, even though I'm kind of enjoying spending time with her.

She takes a sip of her coffee, placing the onesie back onto the railing.

"I'd rather wear something like this," I said proudly. It was a hoodie that said 'Graduated from Rizz University.'

Lia immediately spits out her coffee, trying to contain her laughter. "More like Fizz University with all the soda you're drinking," she said as she wiped her mouth.

"Hey, I don't drink that much soda anymore," I said, trying to defend myself.

"Oh yeah, sorry. It's energy drinks now," she said sarcastically.

"Protein shakes, actually. To build up these bad boys," I said as I lifted my arm up and flexed my muscle.

"Pfft, okay big guy."

"What? I've made a lot of progress. Mum says she can see a difference."

"Mum will say anything to make you happy."

"That's not true," I said annoyed.

"A, you're the youngest; of course, she's going to baby you and tell you things you want to hear," Lia said, concentrating on looking for nice clothes.

"Yeah, well, you're the favorite," I rolled my eyes. She gasped as I said that.

"That is not true," she said with a squeaky voice.

"Of course, it is. She always spends most of her time with you, and you're the one that inherited her talent. Plus, you're a girl."

"Angelo, that doesn't mean that I'm the favorite. Also, she doesn't spend any more time with me than she does with you. You have to remember that I left home for over a year. Of course, she's going to try and spend all her time with me. And she's also helping me to set up my career, so it's not because I'm the favorite; it's because she cares," she finished her little rant.

"Yeah, whatever you say."

"Do you feel like Mum is neglecting you?" Lia asked, suddenly not concentrating on finding clothes, but rather entirely focusing on me.

"No, well, yeah, but I don't care," I tried my best to not sound like it bothered me.

"A, if you feel like that, then you should talk to Mum."

"Li, I don't care," I was really hoping she was going to drop this subject.

"I don't care if you don't care."

"Please just drop it; it really doesn't matter."

"No. During my teenage years, I wished I had someone that stabilised me. That guided me into my adulthood. Even though I did have Alison as my Mum, she neglected me a lot because she had three jobs at the same time, so it wasn't her fault, but I felt like I was being ignored, which caused a lot of mental issues."

"Li..." I tried to interrupt her, but she just continued.

"I am so thankful that Mum came into my life the way she did. If I didn't have her during those important teenage years, then I would be a different person today. So don't stay quiet if you feel neglected, A. Mum loves you with her whole heart, and I'm sure the only reason she's not spending so much time with you is that she's so busy, but don't ever feel like you're bothering her. She's our Mum. It's her job to look after us and to love us. Same for Dad."

Even though I wanted to seem tough and act like I didn't care, I kind of did. And what Li just told me made me open my eyes. I'm actually privileged to have two parents who both love me the way they do. I just need to grow up and drop this teenage attitude.

"I know you're starting to go into the phase of being a teenager, and you're gonna be like, 'I hate you, Mum' and 'Leave my room!,' but don't forget who you are and don't ever forget that you're actually loved. Like a lot," Lia added again.

"Damn, you're really good at this," I said sounding amazed with how wise my sister actually is. "Thanks for the advice; I really needed it," I said shyly.

"You're welcome," she says with a smile, but her face quickly turns serious. "And if I ever catch you saying that you hate Mum or Dad, I'm going to beat your a*s."

"Yes, Ma'am," I said as I raised my hands in surrender.

Suddenly, her phone starts to ring. "Speak of the devil."

"Hey Mum," she said as she answered the phone. Her eyebrows scrunched up as she listened intently. "Why?" She sounded disappointed and annoyed.

"Okay, we'll be there in 10 minutes." She lets out a sigh as she hung up the phone and looked at me.

"Mum said she wanted us to go back home."

"Did she say why?" I said kind of annoyed. I was really looking forward to hanging out with Li the whole afternoon.

"Nope, she just said she wanted to talk to us."

I groan in irritation. "Don't worry A, we can do this soon again." She messed up my hair as we walked out of the store.

"Lia!" We heard someone shout her name, and we both turned to look at who it was.