Chapter Eighteen: I love you cariad
Benji and Amelia still couldn't understand what the Rihanna thing was supposed to mean. Right now they had been calling together for four hours trying to get all five of them together. "Hmm…" Benji began after a moment of silence, "what if it was some secret boyfriend of hers that she didn't tell us about?"
"Oh my God! I thought so too. Imagine it was Lucas."
"Well, I would happily open champagne and shoot confetti..."
"For real."
"Or it could be Theo!"
"But no, she would have told us that a long time ago..."
"And maybe it's someone we don't know."
"That makes more sense... By the way, has that Rihanna texted you back yet?"
"Not yet. I wonder what she's doing. Wait, it's only five in the morning. She's probably still sleeping..."
Ria was at home. She was lying in bed and sleeping. Today is Christmas. A wonderful and peaceful holiday season. At ten in the morning, her parents are due to return home from a two-day stay at the wellness center. Her peaceful sleep slowly ceased to be peaceful. A bad dream crept into her mind. It was about Theo beating up Lucas because of some incident at the bar where Lucas kissed another chick. The dream continued. She saw the police taking Theo away in handcuffs. She woke up from that dream. Three tears ran down her face. One from the right eye, the rest from the left. She wiped them on the sleeve of her sweatshirt. She looked at her cell phone. The battery is dead. "Great," she whispered. Her eyes fell on the digital clock. It read 5:59 in the morning. She got out of bed to go downstairs to the kitchen. She was thirsty as if she hadn't had a drink in days. She had a very strange feeling that something or someone was watching her from afar. She came down quickly turned around
and looked at the very top of them. Her cat Diana sat there staring right into her soul. Not in the eyes, but in the soul. It was as if she wanted to hypnotize her. She headed to the kitchen. It was almost dark there. Except for the moon shining directly into the window and the blue light from the children's night lamp. She wanted to take a glass to drink. She couldn't reach for it. "Seriously. Right now, when no one's home," she sputtered. She absolutely didn't want to climb on the kitchen counter to get it. A hand appeared to her right, just above her head. Her heart rate quickened. She was startled. Slowly she turned. Lucas was standing right behind her with a smile on his face. "I almost swear to god I had a heart attack and a stroke in one even though it's medically impossible," she said. He laughed. He looked at her with loving eyes. One could say that he admired her or absorbed - for him - her beauty. "You stayed here even though I fell asleep?" she broke the silence. She looked straight into his eyes. He had something like tiny sparkles in them. "Yes. I wanted to stay with you even though that you didn't know about it." He smiled, not breaking eye contact.
"I've got an idea."
"What kind?"
"Why don't we vo out on the balcony to watch the sunrise. It's supposed to get warmer today."
"We can, I'll just get some water." Rihanna took a drink. She and Lucas ran upstairs. On the way, he took three blankets with him. One for himself, one for Ria, and the third will be shared. They went out to the balcony. They sat on a bench in blankets , which was there by the door. Lucas looked at his cell phone. "Time 6:19. Date 24/12/2024," he quoted his home screen. Ria stared at the sky. Her eyes slowly closed. She tried to overcome the fatigue, but it overcame her. Gradually she fell asleep like last night. From tíme to time she could sense what was happening around her. Lucas watched her. When she was awake, she didn't even realize he had put his arm around her shoulders. He looked at the sun. It came out from behind the mountains, houses of shops and streets. He took some photos for Ria because he knows she likes to take pictures of the sky. Theo told him that two years ago.
,,I don't understand why is he jealous of me... I understand that he likes you for the time you've known each other, but you've always seemed more like siblings to me. You were such a chaotic duo, going across the world without shame or trouble... But then I showed up. I started getting on your nerves the first time you saw me at Theo's house," he trailed off for a moment looking directly into the morning sun, "And now... We're dating now and I still can't believe I'm with you right now. .." His speech was interrupted by something. Rihanna rested her head on his shoulder. At first he was startled that she was listening, but then he realized that she was asleep. He smiled. "At first I didn't like you either, but I didn't know you because now I see your real SELF." You are really different from others, but only in a good way..."
"Thank you for those words. I didn't think you could say so much good about your former enemy," she said in a sleepy voice. A clear hint of red appeared on Lucas' face.
“I think you thought you were a girlfriend because you are now. My girlfriend... I'm looking forward to telling my sister about this." Ria laughed. Her head was still on his shoulder. "I remember half a year ago when I told myself I didn't like you and my mind is just confused, because I thought I liked you. And finally a few months later I went out for a drink with you and you got drunk in my presence... And now I'm sitting next to you, even at your house watching the sunset..." He huffed as he realized she had fallen asleep again. He checked the time. 7:01 am. He stood carefully. He picked up Ria as a bride and carried her to bed so she wouldn't freeze or get sick. He covered her with a quilt. He put her cell phone on the charger because she forgot it and he noticed. He walked over to her desk. He picked up a pen and paper.
He began to write:
"Dear Ria, I had to leave, so my sister wouldn't worry abou me. I promise I'll come back and we'll plan the surprise for your friends together.
PS: I love you cariad ;)"