Together through it all

20. Chapter Twenty: Nightmare or Christmas Dream?

Chapter Twenty: Nightmare or Christmas Dream?
It was eight o'clock in the morning. Ria was still alone at home. She had been sleeping since Lucas had been there. A loud noise echoed throughout her room. They were notifications from her cell phone. She woke up thinking it was just Benji, Amelia or El. But the opposite was true, and she found it out when she saw a message from her mother. It read: "Ria, honey, I'm so sorry, but we probably won't make it until the evening." There is a lot of snow in the mountains and we got stuck, so our car is completely covered in snow. Looks like you'll have to go to one of your friends or stay home. I'm really sorry once again. I promise that we will come home as soon as possible. Love you, bye."
Her eyes burned from the light emanating from her cell phone. "What?!" she shouted in a choked voice. "Hi mom. I will try to write to my friends to see if they will accept someone. But I hope you get home as soon as possible. I like you too. Bye." She threw the cell phone on the quilt in front of her. "What am I supposed to do now?" she asked herself. Her cat Diana entered her room. "Meow!" she saw her ears. She was hungry again. "You wake up even a dead person in the stage of decomposition Diana," Ria snarled. She stood up from the bed. She picked up her cell phone and went to call Theo. One ring... Second... Third... He picked it up. "Sleeping?" Ria asked.
"Not anymore. How come you decided to call me after so many days of enjoying time with Lucas and friends?" Is it because I'm your best friend? But no, I have a huge problem..."
"Wait, wait, please give me ten seconds to catch my breath."
"Ten seconds have passed."
"You won't even let me breathe... I'm a free citizen of England! Ten seconds will pass when I say so!'
"Are you done yet?"
"Yes, you can get to the point. But if it's something with Lucas, I'm not going to help you with it."
"Okay... How to start... Fine, I'll be brief. I don't have anywhere or anyone to be with today, because my parents have to stay in the mountains..."
"What do you mean they have to?"

"Their car got covered in snow. COMPLETELY WHOLE..."
"Now I get it. But I don't understand one thing, how am I supposed to help you with that?"
"I can't talk to Benji, Amelia, or El because they saw Lucas' former hockey team taking me away yesterday. And besides, they don't know I'm dating Lucas..." Theo spilled his tea on his bed at her last few words.
"Did you just spill something or do I just have a bad signal?"
"The first Ria. The first one... How come you're dating him, you've only been seeing each other until recently, at least that's how it seemed when I saw you here and there around town... And until recently you were enemies, how in the heavenly hell is that possible, that the two od you are dating?!'
"Calm down Theo. It's because of you that we're not enemies anymore. You told us we should stop with this ridiculous childish stuff. So we stopped and look how far we've come."
"Well, I... You know what? I do not care! Do what you want, but if he breaks your heart I WILL BREAK HIM..." He hung it up. "He's an idiot... On the other hand, he's my idiot because he's still my best friend," she said to herself. She thought for a while as she fed her cat. She considered calling Lucas, but that would be weird. She thought that she would remain alone after all, but fate arranged it differently. Her cell phone rang. It was Lucas. It is said that a person brings into his life what he thinks about. Ria is clearly mixing Lucas and her cat's constant meowing in her life.
"Hello?" she picked up.
"Hi cariad."
"From now on you don't call me Ria, but cariad?"
"Actually, yes. Otherwise, I thought, how about we plan the surprise for New Year's Eve sometime?"
"That's a great idea, but I have to tell you something..."
"I hope it's not bad news."
"To me, a little yes..."
"If it is anything, you can tell me about it."
"My parents won't come home today because their car got stuck, that is, covered in snow. They told me to try to find somewhere to stay today..."
"Oh, that's too bad, but I think you could come to our place. My parents and my sister will surely enjoy a visit. And plus I'm finally going to introduce them to my amazing girlfriend!"
"You're a kid!" she laughed.
"Because spending Christmas with you sounds like a dream. But i know you still like me even if i'm sometimes acting like a child." She laughed.
"Yep, you're right and i'm also extremely happy about you being happy. And what time should I come?'
"I'll come pick you up at four in the car."
"Okay. I'm really excited."
"Me too. Otherwise, have I already told you that I like you?'
"Yes, because I love you too."
"I am glad. Byeee cariad.'
"Bye Lucas." They both hung up at the same time. Ria jumped from joy that she wouldn't have to to be alone. On the other hand, she will spend Christmas with Lucas' family. The worst thing about it all was that she couldn't tell anyone about it because Theo would get upset and her friends don't know about it yet. "Humans are indeed strange, annoying, but also interesting creatures," she sighed to herself, lost in her thoughts. As Kurt Cobain once said "Humans are stupid. I'm ashamed of being a human."
In her mother's words she was always different in something, extraordinary. She excelled in terms of talents, intelligence, but also a taste for almost everything. Ria never fit the standards of typical girls of her age. Maybe it's because she's not typical and it radiates from miles away. There is only one question that pops into her head every single day... How did she get Lucas, otherwise known as the most popular and handsome boy in school? After all, she is completely different from the other chickens without a brain" (girls who are popular at her school). That's exactly the magic. Not everyone aspires to primitive "beauty" who is only interested in money, fame, plastic surgery and similar matters... Unfortunately, some guys will experience this later or not at all. Only guys choose a woman by looks, real men find a woman by personality. Interestingly, Lucas was enlightened at the age of eighteen. Hats off to him. Not everyone is that mature...
Rihanna was pulled out of her thoughts by a notification on her cell phone. A ton of messages and missed calls from her friends. She opened the messages from Amelia, because she is the only one who will give her peace if she hears from her. "Ria? What was that supposed to mean yesterday?'
"Ria?" "???"
"RIHANNA HERNANDEZ????????????????"
"Helloooooooo???????" Ria found exactly such messages from Amelia. She decided to write this back: "Hi Amelia, I'm sorry, but I'll explain it to you on New Year's Eve. I'm having a pretty hectic week right now... I promise the wait for an explanation will be worth it. By the way, Merry Christmas. See you next on New Year's Eve. (Don't forget to pass this info on to Benji and El)..." She muted Instagram notifications from all of them. She looked at the clock. 9:43 am. "I should start mentally preparing, that is, choosing an outfit, singing my twelve-hour playlist and dancing with the cat all over the house," she said, looking at the cat, who was also looking at her. She took her in her arms and ran up the stairs with her. She entered her room and closed the door. She turned on the speaker and a playlist of Christmas songs and instead of doing something useful, she sang for three hours straight...