Rina
"Rea, no. Hey."
Almost in a literal sense my world crashed to a sudden halt, as I found out when I caught up with reality that I was now being held back by the hand by someone.
"I think she's better off alone." My gaze stayed on Liz for a moment's pulse before settling back on that figure - that fast-disappearing retreating back. "At least for now."
Was I actually going after her? I found myself asking that again and again in the minutes that followed. I was aware, in a way, of how Liz got me back in the car, did my seatbelt. I thought I even felt it when the engine started.
But what I was preoccupied with wasn't the current state of reality. It was what'd just happened, and what it meant to my life. With every passing moment, however, I was finding out that it was more than I could take.
A lot more.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Nik
"Here you go."
Her abrupt entrance surprised me more than it should've but I composed myself quickly, turning around to thank her before noticing what she was handing me.
"UGGs? Come on, seriously?"
"Well, somebody forgot to have their thankful juice this morning."
"Well, somebody wouldn't have if nurses wore actual footwear or even if a pair of socks happened to come along too, you kno--"
"You're an assholel. Anyone ever told you that?"
"No one has to." We both chuckled as I finally grabbed the boots from her and put them down by the foot of the bed. "How are you?"
"Say what?"
"I asked how are you."
"Wow," her knitted brows dissolved into a what-is-this grin. "Since when do you ask about my wellbeing?"
"Since when do we have a conversation this long?"
She giggled, and a look of seriousness crept into her eyes as we stared at each other for a moment. And if I wasn't already thankful to her for find me some much-needed footwear, then I was definitely grateful that she decided to stop herself from saying whatever she was gonna say with an involuntary shake of her head.
Somehow I knew though - whatever she was gonna say, it involved my father coming back.
"Thanks, Betty, for taking care of mom," I laid out my usual one-liner. "And I really wanted to know earlier. How are you? Is my grandfather on time with the checks?"
"He is," she said then looked down, embarrassed, "I've actually been getting advances the last couple months."
"Hey," I reached out to touch her hand so that she would look at me. "just because I don't talk much doesn't mean I'm not here for you, okay? You can ask me for anything. The only reason I'm not worried about mom is because I know you're here."
"I just wish I was doing this for Marilyn without any financial ties," her gaze fell onto mom's lying figure. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her."
"Regardless, I'm grateful." I chuckled at her rolling her eyes. "Still could've used a pair of socks, though."
"You know what you could use? A little sense. That hand I just bandaged would've healed ages ago if you kept it out of a knuckle scuffle for more than 30 minutes. And a litte suggestion. Stop running into doors, and wear shoes before you decide to marathon across town."
"No promises. I'm an adventurer."
"Right," she scoffed and waved off. "I gotta split. Got a date, which I'm supposed to be at like an hour ago."
My somewhat brightened mood dampening as I watched the door pulling slowly to a close, I turned around. This was a night to remember. Out of every single time I'd come here in the past two years, tonight would be the first time that I didn't find comfort in her presence.
But that was just the thing.
It wasn't comfort I'd come looking for in the first place. What I needed was answers, and I was painfully aware that I'd run away from the one person that could give them.
"It's not that I ...," I trailed off, unable to work out what I'd wanted to say, feeling the warmth of her hand in mine and imagining that she was for once not just lying there but actually hearing me. "... I'm not even sure how this happened. She's never really done anything for me. I just ... I just need her. I don't really know how to explain this but I just need her, Mom."
I let go of her hand, braced my elbows on the bed and face-palmed.
"Everyone would just laugh if I tell them that I can't live without her. But you wouldn't, right? You wouldn't 'cause you'd know that's what I'm feeling right now. Yes, whatever dad would never understand of me, you would" The pain in my shoulder reared its head again when I picked up the boots and my bad ankle made me wince when I stood up without care. "You would. ... ... I just wish you were here, 'cause I don't know what to do. I don't know, but mom, I'm gonna go home. Face them, and face her. it's the only way."
But those feelings of physical agnoy had nothing to do with the sighs that got breathed out of my mouth when I turned around to leave, and when I whispered the words - this promise - it wasn't as much to mom as it was to my own self.
"And whatever happens next, it's not gonna be me who gets left behind with a hole in her chest. Not this time around."
Suddenly, the door burst open.
Actually, it didn't burst open. Betty took enough care to not even make so much as squeak, but it startled me all the same.
"Forgot my purse. Sorry."
"Hey, Betty." I called out as something crucial popped into my mind just before she turned around to leave. "Can I ask you a favor?"
"No worries. You're not the only one who talks to Marilyn like this, okay? I'm not telling anyone."
"No, no." I chuckled and went on to ask the real favor. "You wouldn't happen to have some extra money in that fanny pack, would you?"
---
"Hey, you got the time?"
I handed the money over and shuffled out of the cab, all the while beating myself up for not finding some socks. These boots felt like I was walking around in an ant farm, and that's putting it mildly. I leaned over by the front window to ask the time again when I saw him reach his hand out.
"No, keep it."
"Thanks, it's-uhh, five past eight."
"Cool. Have a good night."
I stood up and blew out a deep breath to prepare myself for the sight that awaited me - the sight of home: unlit, empty. Unwelcoming.
I shook my head, and started walking. Betty'd insisted that I had my hand bandaged and forced it to happen but it was unnecessary, to be honest. The pain in my shoulder also felt like I could sleep it off, but as I limped across the lawn, I started to get worried I could still make the first team against the McClymonds with this ankle, which was the only thing I should've had looked at.
I did make it to the front door alive, though, reaching for the downlight, and frowning when I couldn't find the keys in the holder. But it was when a strange idea - improbable but still possible - struck me that the frown grew, but I decided it was worth a shot, and turned the knob.
And, presto, the door came open without so much as a nudge.
For two days, the place had been unlocked, unguarded and free-for-all to anyone with half a mind to try their luck with a supposedly locked door. And I let this happen, all because my mind was going out of whack screaming at me to ... ... go see a girl sing.
Sighing and banging my head on the door, I closed it. I didn't even know what I was doing coming home. I should've just gone to Elizabeth's and waited for her. Maybe if I'd done that, one mess in my life would've cleared up, and I wouldn't have found another waiting for me here.
But then,I heard the sound of a car engine from some distance behind me. Looking over my shoulder , I saw a cab now parked at the end of the driveway. I almost groaned when Steve got out the front passenger seat, but then a man got out of the backseat, and then a woman followed him out.
And not a moment earlier, I was actually convinced that the mere obligation of stepping inside the house to find out if I'd been robbed blind was the last thing I needed right now.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Rina
I woke with a small groan mostly from the pain in my neck, which signaled that I'd been out of some time. I was in the process of sighing and pulling myself up in the seat when someone came to stand in the window and startled me.
"How was wonderland?"
"Hey," I heard her putting stuff what sounded like plastic bags in the backseat, but didn't feel like turning around. "What's going on?"
"Dinner," she announced, "Come on, get out, limber up and get some jerk chicken."
She opened the door for me but I let her get away with it. I still watched as she reached in and did what I found out was setting my seat back up which had been laid back, something she'd apparently done in my sleep. But my patience expired when she took my hand to lead me out of the car.
"I'm not a child! I don't-I just need time to deal with this. By myself!"
Naturally, that was the end of my rant, 'cause no mater how hard I tried to look away, to run out and be alone, the truth was still there. I did n't wanna be alone. I wanted someone who cared for me just because ... they cared.
"I'm sorry."
"I'm starting to hate those words. Come on. Let's eat while they're hot."
Giving her a small nod, I got out and closed the door, all without her help, and then noticed that she was empty-handed.
"Maybe we should lock the car if we're gonna eat at a place."
"There," she nodded where we were walking towards, and there on a bench in one corner of the parking lot was sitting a pile of poly bags. "Come on."
And twenty minutes,one large order of chicken wings, half a box of turkey rolls and two glasses of chocolate milk later, I made a mental confession to myself that I'd been really hungry.
"Here," she uncapped the water bottle and helped wash my hand. I returned the favor, and took a sip of the water before giving it back to her. "So how was dinner?"
There was this whole line about how Jen'd always trained my system to reject meals that came without rice and how much I'd really enjoyed it somehow. There was even an lame attempt at joking her somewhere in there - like the reason it turned out delicious was because I wasn't really expecting it to do so.
But all I managed was just a nod, and the silence that followed afterwards made me turn to her, to find her staring.
"You know, I kind of see where Nik is coming from."A small sigh escaped me when she mentioned Nicole. Not like I wasn't expecting it anyways, "And I think I know where she's going with this."
"Where?"
"All the way. ... ... ... Look, Rea, I know you probably won't want to talk about it, but ... but we have to."
I sagged back ont the bench. There was a built-in urge in me to try and control my breathing 'cause I was expecting it to turn violent any moment. Turned out, my breathing was just fine. Probably because my conscience had gotten used to the fact that whatever happiness I'd somehow run into was bound to have some misery in two.
"I-I don't even know how I got here, Liz. Tuesday, just three days ago, , I was having dinner with my ... sister. It was a pleasant surprise, how she turned out nice just a day after swearing me off. I went to sl--"
"She did what?!"
"Sleep with a smile. Suddenly, there's me. With grandparents, Accepted by my step-sister. I was on the swimming squad, was going to audition for a prestigeous singing concert, and there was a guy who likes me. Why ... why did that day have to end, Liz?"
"Rea, everything's gonna turn out okay. I promise."
"Then she tried to kiss me," I muttered with my heart in my throat, thinking back on that moment - something I'd never done. "And wh-what did I do? I just buried it in the back of my head, and went on the day like it never happened!"
"It's not your fault," she muttered, taking my hand. "That would've happened to any sane person."
"Mom then decides she'd make a visit, 'cause why not, right? I'm ... I just ... ... I know I'm rambling on. Not making sense but I-I just want her to accept me. Not ... not like this, ... but aceept me. ... I'm a f*cking joke."
This deep heavy breath I hadn't even realized I'd been holding sighed its way out of me, and then realized that I'd been staring at Liz without ever really seeing her. I broke the gaze and looked away, but all that I saw weren't the cars parked in the lot of the park, nor was it the joggers passing by.
No, I saw a girl, happy with her father who hadn't yet had a car accident and a mother who hadn't run away.
"So," She took my hand and didn't continue till I shook that image out of my head and looked up. "shitty question, but how are you feeling?"
"As good as I look."
"Aheh, you--" she couldn't continue 'cause she couldn't help herself from a chuckle. It made me laugh also. "I know you look like hell right now, but there's something you should also know."
"What?"
"No sexy beats the vulnerable. That's what I meant when I said I understand where Nik's coming from."
"So you think that ..." I blew out a sigh, deliberately audible, before confirming her opinion, "that Nicole likes me because I'm vulnerable?"
"Please, Rea. You're not vulnerable. You just look that. I'm not famous for my excessive social circle but I've never known anyone with more emotional endurance than you."
"Yeah, well, I'd be needing a lot more than that, just to get through the night."
"You know, you don't have to if you don't wanna."
"Huh? What do you mean? To do what?"
"You know, go back. I can put you guys up, for like a few days ... weeks, till you figure this--"
"No," was my automatic reply. I waited to see if she was just joking. She wasn't. "No, of course not! I'm not avoiding this! I can't help it if Nicole likes me that way. I have to try and fix this."
"What are you gonna do? Take a snowball's chance and talk her out of it?! She doesn't like you, Rea. Don't you see? Didn't-- ... did you not hear what she said?"
"How could I not?" The feeling of constriction in my chest rose again as I relived that moment. "It was all I heard before everything went blur. Next thing I know, we were on the road and she was standing in front of the car. ... But I can't run away from this, Liz."
"She's not in this for a roll in the hay, Rea. She doesn't like you. She loves you. She thinks she does, at least. In fact, that's worse,. That's what separates us. I meant it when I said you deserve only the best, Rea. And this? This ain't it."
"I can't run away from this. I just have to fix this. I don't know how but I just have to."
She'd scoffed out her resentment. But the sidelong glare she was giving me and those knitted brows - they were carrying not just her disapproval but also her concern: especially her concern. I didn't remember to break the gaze with her, but didn't remember to answer her either. Her features softened a little as she breathed out a sigh.
"I'm just worried that that moron is gonna go off and do something ... moronic."
I was scared: there's no denying the fact. I dreaded the moment I'd have to be standing face to face with her. but I was also painfully aware of the sudden urge I'd just had to fire back at Liz for her remark of the girl.
"We still gotta prepare some dinner before we go out for Jennifer again. Let's head home." she blew out a breath as she got up. "Now, where's that little brat?"
I also got up, wondering who she meant by that, but not knowing didn't stop me from throwing a searching glance around the area for whoever she was looking for.
"Oh, right on time."
Just as she voiced her approval, I noticed two little kids walking towards us hand in hand.
"Okay, you know what?" I started, meeting eyes with Liz, and held my hands up in a posture of surrender, "I'm not gonna start self-loathing again for this, but I totally forgot about Kevin. I'm sorry."
"Hey, chin up. You get free passes this weekend."
I chuckled as we reached the car and met with the kids, as in Kevin and a little girl his age.
"Lizzie, can we take Lulu home with us? Please?!"
---
"Are you gonna make him sit there?" I asked, leaning in the front passenger door, "He looks pretty upset already, without having to sit in a pile of bags."
"I'm not making him do anything. He wanna throw tantrums 'cause he can't bring his ladylove with him, let him. I don't care."
"I'm not throwing tantrums! I'm mad!" The boy shouted, adding a kick to the back of his sister's seat for effect. "I'm gonna tell Momma all about you."
"Go on, save me the trouble. Hey, you coming?"
I gave her a late nod, chancing a glance at the kid-hulk in the backseat before I got in.
"You are so dead when she comes back."
"Hey, zip it, Kev! I'm not in the mood for your bullshit."
That did silence him, and to be fair, it would've done the same to me. The coldness in her demenour stayed put even as she steered the car out of the parking lot.
"You didn't have to be so hard on him, you know," I started, after a couple of minutes of silence. "It's no big deal."
"It's not, but like I said, I'm not in the mood to take his crap now."
A small frown knitted my eyebrows, as I glanced at her, and there she was, gazing hard onto the road ahead like it was nobody's business. I was thinking up new ways to make her apologize to her brother when something on the dashboard caught my eye.
"Can I?" I asked as I reached for the phone. For a second there, I wondered whatever happened to the one I owned, but brushed the thought off and turned to Liz. "Did Jen call?"
"No, but Steve did. That is his, not mine."
"Oh. ... He called his own number?"
"He was looking for it at the house. Probably called it so he'd know where it is when it rings. He didn't know we had it."
"Right," I suddenly remembered talking to Jen on this cell. "I must've had it with me when we left."
"Yeah," it was bugging me - the way she was being weird, and I was about to call her on it when she suddenly said, "You know, you should check the messages. It's fun."
"What? No. I just wanted to call Jen."
"No, seriously." Then for the first time since we'd left the park, she looked at me. "Check them out."
Giving her a tentative nod, I undid the lock-screen, which wasn't passworded.
"Look under the thread - Ashley."
So I did, but I didn't really make it to opening it when a message came in from that same contact, and to say it pushed my heart all all the way into my mouth would be a not-so-light understatement.
"Steve, reply now," it read, "or I'll put it on my blog that Nik is banging her sister."
"Is that a new message? Let me see."
I didn't give her the phone. Went ahead to open the thread, and saw how it developed. And it started halfway, it appeared. Steve had apparently deleted the earlier messages. I just wish he'd blocked him.
"What did she say?"
"She?"
"Yeah, considering your sister, it can't very well be a guy, right? Probably her girlfriend. An obsessed one, obviously."
I frowned, more at the content of those messages which just sprung to mind again than at her cherry tone.
"Just because Steve doesn't reply doesn't give her the right to assume things."
"Well, hate to break it to you. That's probably what half the school will think of you in a few days, so you better get used to it."
"Elizabeth," I finally burst out, unable to take this new attitude of hers anymore. "I think I can fix this situation. So I've decided to do that. If you're not gonna help me, don't. But you'd better stop throwing tantrums just because I don't follow your orders, underst--"
My venting crashed to a stop, though, as did the car.
"I'm ordering you?"
"Don't ta--"
"I'm ordering you? Your sister loves you. Your mother--"
"And you don't love me!"
"You shut the f*ck up," she told off the kid who'd burst in, without ever taking her eyes off me, "Your mother who f*cking ran out on you lives in this town, and yet you think you can make it here, and, no less, through f*cking peace talks!"
She wiped her face and swung around to take the wheel again, and I was still speechless. I'd had no clue she was this sure I couldn't make it work. And I had no clue we were in my neighborhood. Yes, mine. Not hers.
"Where are we going? ... ... Liz, are we going back to my place?"
"Yes."
"Why?" I was halfway to grabbing her arm and get her attention which I'd just had full on seconds ago, when she pulled over, then didn't waste a second before getting out. "Elizabeth!"
I stumbled out and grabbed her hand from behind.
"Jennifer's back. Steve told me when he called. She wanted to surprise you," her straight face broke into a lifeless chuckle, "She's got no idea the surprise is all hers."
"No. ... NO!" I spun her around when she tried to turn back. "You're not thinking straight!"
"I just wish we could be ... ... normal best friends, who do things. I want you to have a normal life, and you can't have that here where everything's so f*cking serious. I'm going to tell Jennifer everything that's happening, Rea. She can always find a new husband, and there's always a family somewhere that you can make whole. ... ... ... And you can always make new best friends."
She slipped her hand out of mine and took a step backwards, but I couldn't seem to move. Couldn't find the emotional strength to stop her as she stared at me with that look in her eyes.
"You will leave, and you will never come back. Like I said, you desreve the best, Rea. You're just not gonna find it here."
Then before I knew it, she'd turned around and was walking towards the front door. And I stood rooted to the spot, staring at her back and asking myself the one question over and over again.
Should I stop her?
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Nik
I was aware that I may be being over-optimistic when I walked into my room, saw the bed and thought I could get some shuteye for a couple minutes. But I hadn't made two steps after closing the door when I heard knocks falling on it.
I opened it just a crack, and needed no looking up to know it was Dad, still in his suit.
"Yeah."
"Hey, so ... about what happened earlier. About what's going on here."
"Earlier?" I met his eyes, and couldn't keep this frown off even if I was willing to try. "You mean, me going in first instead of waiting for you?"
"No. About you being here."
I actually had a shot ready to be fired - to ask if he was really expecting for me to welcome his wife with tears of joy and open arms - but his answer made me rethink.
"About me being here?"
"I wasn't expecting you to be here, is what I'm tyring to say."
"Wait, hold on a second here." It wasn't even an act. I actually had to shake my head a little to get the grasp of it. "You didn't think I'd be home? You didn't actually ... hope that I wasn't here, did you?"
"Listen. I'm not gonna sugarcoat this."
"oh, please, don't."
I was fuming inside, so ready to explode. But that didn't make me miss the obvious fact.
The man who I'd last talked to - who begged me for a second chance. It wasn't that man gazing at me through the half-opened door now. There was no longer that look of weakness in his eyes.
"I wasn't expecting to see you here, Nikki." Instead, I only saw determination, and hope. "That's not to say I haven't been praying to, but you being here, ... it means a lot to what I'm trying to make."
I kept mute. Kept the gaze. He went on.
"This is important to me," he said, still looking away. "I'm trying to make a new family, and no, before you say anything about someone else taking your mother's place," he met my eyes again, "there's no replacing Marilyn Goodwin. Not for me. Not in this life."
"I wasn't really sure when we had this kind of conversation last time, but I really am convinced now," he sighed 'cause he knew what was coming next. "You certainly have learnt how to sweet-talk, haven't you, now?"
"Jennifer is ... her own person. She's part of something I wanna call home. That's what I'm trying to create here. A family."
"Of course, that would--"
"You don't have to hurt me. I know where you stand, and I appreciate you not pushing me away when you have every right to. That's what I'm saying."
"Well, I don't really have any other choice, do I?"
I watched a ghost of a satisfied smile flash across his features, and somehow I didn't absolutely hate it. The silence lasted for a couple awkward seconds before he thought he' try small talk.
"You haven't had anything, have you? We got some takeaway coming."
"Takeaway?" The surprise got to me first, and I couldn't help but ask with a little intimate scoff. "You?"
"Well, I do make exceptions when it's special delivery. ... Jennifer's really looking forward to it."
"Of course she is." I interrupted. I couldn't understand his need to include his wife's name in every sentence he produced, but that wasn't the main reason why I decided to cut the talk. "Can we do this later? I gotta change, and wash up."
"Just one more thing."
"Yes, what is it?" If my frustration was obvious in my reply, it was because I didn't hide it.
"I'd really appreciate it if you could ... not be too hard on her. Jennifer, I mean." The thought crossed my mind to slam the door in his face. I didn't, though. That would be too soft a blow. "She's been quite emotional since she found out about Rina's accident."
"Umm ...,"
To be so pissed at someone just to get your mind shoved onto an entirely different thought, I couldn't find anything to say for a while. I won't lie. I'd come back determined to face the girl, but in all honesty, I still wanted more time to prepare myself. Then again, there's no denying the fact that I was dying to see her face.
"Maybe I worded it wrong. I'm not telling you," he explained, making me look up at him. Maybe it was my own guilt towards Rina playing tricks on me, but I kinda felt bad for him. "I'm asking a favor."
"No, of course. I'll-uhh ... I understand."
"Thank you."
I'd broken the gaze when I gave him a nod but stepped back to shut the door, but just before I pushed it close, I heard myself say the strangest thing.
"See you at dinner."
---
The clank and clatter coming from inside made me stop halfway down the stairs, and I imagined a woman making busy in her new home. But the possitility that it could also be Steve encouraged me to take a glance, and yes, it was in fact Steve playing wifey in there.
He was standing with his back towards me and I walked past him to the fridge. I felt his eyes on me when I opened the door and grabbed a bottle.
"Nik, can I ask you a favor?"
I held up a hand while gulping down half the bottle, then sat it down on the table and sat down myself.
"I don't really wanna talk to anyone right now, to be totally honest, so we'll have to save this for a later time."
"Listen," he grabbed the chair beside me and dropped down with an urgent air, "I just need to ask you to--"
"Hi, Nicole."
I let out a sigh, and looked up at the owner of the only other female voice under this roof at the moment. There was a dilemma. On one hand, she's my father's new wife. On the other, the girl I love calls her mother.
"How are you?"
The truth however remains - I still didn't like her.
"Fit as a f*ckboy."
I rolled my eyes and groaned internally when I noticed she was twiddling her thumbs.
"I won't be standing here, ... ... ... able to wait for Rina to come back only because of you." Why, for f*ck's sake, did these newlyweds keep using Rina to upset the frustration I had with them? But in all fairness, she seemed genuinely devastated, and had a sound reason to be. "She's all that matters to me, and if it wasn't for you, I would've lost everything. ... I just don't know how to thank you."
"It's okay. I ... ... ... we did what we could. We all care for Rina."
I felt like I had to say something else - something nice. Besides, the bastard glued together with a chair beside me didn't seem like he'd bother to add anything.
"So you dig takeaway," she was surprsied by the new topic, and obviously clueless so I clarified, "'cause dad said you're really looking forward to dinner."
"Oh, that!" she chuckled, and I had a slight idea of where Rina might've learn to pull off the most adorable smiles. "No, it's-uhh, ... it's Rina. She's bringing it, and she doesn't know that I'm here. I want to surprise her."
The way she stammeded, I could easily see something was eating at her, but that wasn't what I suddenly found myself worrying about. What should I be doing so I'd be ready when Rina got here? And what would qualify as ready?
"I'd be in my room." I nodded, and got up. Looking between the two of them, then my gaze settled on Steve. "Have you seen my phone? I can't find it anywhere."
"Yeah, that," he got up and approached me, then dragged me back far inside of the kitchen. "Ash's been harrassing me all day. Calls. Messages."
He stole a thief-ish glance at Jennifer having a glass of water from the fridge.
"She brought up Rina!"
"What?!" I half-shouted, shocked. "How does she--"
A somewhat loud bang sounded from outside. Our kitchen/dining room was open-plan. It was backed onto dad's study and one of the house's sidewalls cornered it, but it also gave us obstructed but substantial view of the living room and the short hallway leading to the frontdoor, which was where we all had our eyes on.
Like we thought, it was the frontdoor, then as we watched, striding in the house came Elizabeth.
"Excuse me? Who are you?"
Jennifer took charge immediately with a demanding tone but the redhead came and stood in her face just as she got up from the chair. Hair-dishevelled, puffy-eyed, sweaty and nervous, Elizabeth looked like she was caught between the devil and and the f*cking Pacific, but I suddenly stopped wondering about her when someone else walked in. No, ran in.
"What now?!" I heard Steve grumble, but I didn't stay to discuss his distaste. I was already behind Jennifer when Rina grabbed her friend's hand and spun her around.
Out of the blue, but not surprisingly, Jennifer pulled her daughter in a tight embrace.
Thing is, Rina didn't hug back. Her eyes stayed fixed on the redhead, the pleading look in her eyes so pronounced that I was caught up in staring at it and didn't realize at first she'd now turned to look at me.
"I've missed you so much, baby!" her mother exclaimed as she pulled away, the excitement and joy palpable in her voice, both of which Rina wasn't sharing. "You look exhausted. What's going on? Who's this?"
"I'm Elizabeth. Jennifer, there's something I have to tell you."
"No, she doesn't! You don't, Liz," she pleaded on her feet, but she might as well have been on her knees. I started to get aggravated at this redhead torturing my girl, when she begged again. "You don't."
"Okay, I think she needs some rest." The desperation on her face was nothing any of us could miss, least of all her mother. "Ellie, we'll talk to you tomorrow, okay? Come on, honey."
But Rina stood like a statue, looking to her friend. I took a step forward, and so did Jennifer.
"Hey, baby, what's going on? Are you okay?"
"No, I-I'm fine."
"She's not fine, Jennifer. She's ... ... "
She trailed off, then finally glanced at me. I couldn't explain but I somehow got enraged. And not just over this, but everything. If Rina didn't like her so much - and I still had no idea why she did in the first place - I would've hurt that chick in one way or another by now. She's such a little pest, bossing Rina around and stirring up trouble.
"Rina, honey, what's going on? Should I be worried? Ellie, what's happening?" Jennifer turned back to us suddenly, "Do you know anything about this?"
And that was when Rina nudged through her mother and Elizabeth, and towards me.
"We're okay." She insisted, but all I could do was stand and watch as she stood by my side, held my hand and confronted her bitch of a friend who obviously was blackmailing her over something. "We didn't get along at first, but we're okay now. Nicole and I."
"I'm convinced," said her mother in a less worried tone, smiling. "You should be too, Ellie. Were you worried Nicole wouldn't like Rina?"
Elizabeth didn't reply, though. She just stared at her friend, in awe. Or in defeat, I didn't know. I was there squeezing the hand that was in mine, and stealing glances at her face in profile.
"No, I ...," the redhead finally said, exhaling a deep breath, "Rina's ... ... You know, Jen? Rina's really strong."
"I know," Jennifer agreed, gazing at her daughter with pride and love, even though it was obvious she, like me, had no clue whatever was going on between those two. "I always have."
"She's so strong it scares me."
Elizabeth muttered almost to herself, then her eyes met mine.
"I just hope she's strong enough."
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
A/N - I was actually hoping to get to another point in the story, but this somehow got too damn long. I got exams coming up but I hope to update soon. Thank you to everyone who's still reading. <3
This chapter is dedicated to celine_tam. Thanks for the support. :)