Two Boys & a Pen
Adriana's P.O.V.
"I'm Cecile, this lovely man's girlfriend."
The exceptionally shocking and earth shattering words I never dreamt of ever hearing roared through my ear drums. My azure like irises captured my father's evergreen ones, and his were nothing but a blank page. My tongue was tied down by chains, having no ability to utter a single word. On the other hand, my thoughts were on the verge of insanity.
As our gazes kept on intensifying, Cecile whom was a duplicate of my mother, remained smiling at my figure. But I payed no attention to her, all I could think of was 'what changed?'
For seven years, he hadn't dared to look at a woman. He hadn't stopped thinking of my mother. He hadn't thought of anyone other than her. Seven years later, here he was with another.
"Adriana, come with me to the kitchen, please." Please. He managed to speak such a foreign word on his tongue. The ever so sudden serenity and calmness riddled to his tone was dreadful.
With the pasta sauce dripping from every corner of my physique, I warily and cautiously followed his trail. Once we entered the kitchen safely, I kept a great distance between us.
"Why are you covered in food?" he initiated the conversation that I hoped we wouldn't talk about.
"I. . . um, well—" before continuing, he thankfully interrupted.
"It doesn't matter, just go to your room." he said with a soft sigh.
I raised a brow at the fact that he wasn't going to explain what was occurring as we spoke. He had no intention of filling in the blank spaces and it somewhat aggravated me. A mental debate commenced within my brain, whether I should ask about Cecile or not. Whether I should interrogate on the fact that he out of nowhere found another woman. But why should I care? He never was a father to me and never will be.
"C-Can I ask you something?" I couldn't help myself. Deep down in the core of my heart, I knew well enough that I had to know everything.
He took a few steps closer, and I froze in fear. "What?"
With a gulp, I collected a bit of courage. "Who's she?" I started off simple, with no questions concerning my mother.
"She said it back in there, she clearly stated it." Till this hour, he had no facial expression whatsoever and he grasped a monotone.
"Right. I just thought there would be more to it."
"More to it? Like what?" the man's arm arose, his fingers stuck to one another, and within instinct, my head turned to the left and I flinched. But surprisingly, he ran his hand through his hair. Due to my reaction, his gaze intensively locked with mine. We stood there for awhile, and once I realized I would receive no information on that lady, I left.
The flaming hot droplets of water struck my delicate yet flawed skin, descending ever so gradually from the top of my head to the tip of my toes. I viewed the falling water and recalled how my life went from an amazing one and fell to what I'm living currently.
Crystal clear images of my mother flashed before my eyes; portraits of my father's lively smile and my mother's charming laugh played within my mind.
Cecile's resemblance to my mother was horrifying, I could easily pass as her daughter. Throughout the years, my father couldn't let go of my mother, but now he finally did. Whenever I would mention her, he would lose sanity. But now, he had found a replacement.
Another extremely peculiar thing was his exterior. His dirt consumed and tangled beard was no longer present. His hair had been trimmed, and styled backwards with the assistance of some gel. His blue button up shirt and dark jeans were clearly new. I couldn't help but ask, was that the first step to change?
• • • • • • •
With an attempt to push away all events that happened last night, I marched to the mall Anna and I planned to hang out in last night. I despised shopping, but she apparently needed my help to select a dress. Why of all people she chose me to pick out a dress was unknown.
As soon as I entered the mall, my phone buzzed with Anna's contact splashed onto the screen. Spotting her familiar tall figure from afar, I speedily walked over to her direction. Once she noticed me, her lively eyes lit up in joy.
"Adriana!" she stated in a higher than normal tone, embracing me in an ever so tight hug. At first, I stiffened at the proximity and the fact that I haven't been hugged in years. It was an odd feeling, one that I dearly missed.
"Anna, I might turn into a waffle because of you," she lightly laughed and released me from her grasp.
"God, I missed you! Where the hell have you been? Ever since you've gone M.I.A. I haven't had anyone to bitch to about your hot boyfriend's uptight mom." she showed off a puppy dog face, as if she were upset.
"I want to be an agent," I said.
"What?" she inquired in a confused manner.
"I want to legitimately go M.I.A. ,"
"Adriana Lancaster, focus." she demanded.
"Right, sorry."
"Let's go grab some food and you'll tell me all about your spy fantasies." And so we did; we ordered and chatted about the FBI, her job, school, her lover, my 'lover', and much more.
As I was about to stuff the large, juicy and tender burger into my mouth, Anna disturbed. "You seem distracted," she spoke in between bites. I was slightly distracted due to my father and his affairs. It was sudden and immensely odd.
"Thinking about that dashingly charming and extremely handsome boyfriend of hers, am I right?" Out of nowhere, my eardrums were engulfed with Morgan's ever so deep and husky voice, startling me.
In surprise, I spoke."Why are you everywhere, you piece of cra-" before continuing my sentence, I remembered Anna was present. Referring to your 'boyfriend' as a piece of crap was nowhere near normal in this big world.
"Cranberry. You piece of cranberry, how are you doing this fine afternoon?" A smirking, suite wearing and perfectly hair styled Morgan snatched a fry that I held.
"Well, raspberry, this French fry made me feel all better." me being wide eyed and furious, I screamed. "MORGAN!" I shouted in the vast area.
"Keep it PG, kitten," he winked and Anna swooned. I stood up in anger.
"Give me back my fry. Now." I glared at his built physique, and stuck my hand out, waiting for my French fry's return.
"It's in my stomach," he stated in an obvious manner.
"Cut it."
"You guys are A to the D to the O to the R to the A to the B to the-" she halted her talking, thinking. "What comes after B in adorable? Wait, never mind. L to the-"
"I don't believe we've met," Morgan addressed Anna.
"Annabella Marin, that's Morgan. Morgan, that's Annabella Marin."
"Hello—" before allowing Anna to continue, I jumped in.
"And goodbye!" I waved my hands to his face, indicating he should leave.
With a glare from Morgan, he walked away not before stating his final words."Goodbye Annabella. And Adriana, you'll never see your damn fry ever again." I gasped as he strolled away.
As I mourned my French fry's death, Anna and I browsed the mall for suitable dresses. "How about this one?" Anna asked, tugging on a dress that contained one centimeter worth of cloth.
"It screams 'call me at 2 am for a quickie'. " I responded honestly.
"Well, it is for Cooper, after all."
Cooper. The boy Anna adoringly talked about once or twice tonight. Whenever she would utter his name, her eyes would blaze with happiness and joy, and her smile would be as wide as a plain.
"Well, in that case, search for your size." I joked as she laughed with a red hue stained on the apple's of her cheeks. As she browsed for more dresses, I thought of inquiring on the love of her life.
"So Anna, tell me all about your oh so beloved, darling lover."
"Well, he's Cooper Frayer. He's my age, he's super nice and incredibly hot—"
"Nothing is as hot as hot Cheetos. But continue,"
With a playful eye roll, she resumed. "He's hotter than hot Cheetos, believe me. He's nice and. . ." And she went on and on about Cooper, with a goofy smile on her face. As she rambled about him, I spotted a stunning dress from the corner of my eye. Every single detail about it was alluring. From the heart shaped neckline to the intricately designed lace. The pure black color that acquainted the dress was pleasing to the eye.
My hand released the lacy material and traveled to the price tag. Wide eyed, I released the tag with a sigh. Dresses weren't my thing anyway, and my money could be spent on something more valuable and meaningful.
• • • • • • •
The irking school bell rang indicating the last and very final period would initiate. After that, I'd be heading to Anna's house. Although I haven't been to a friend's house in ages, I had to find any excuse to stay away from father. On the brighter side, it felt great to refer to someone as my friend.
Heading to the chemistry lab, I managed to drop my pen. The blue ink consumed pen rolled until it went inside the bottom opening of a door. I groaned and stood right in front of the door that was labeled as the janitor's closet. I placed my hand around the handle and opened the door, to only be welcomed by two males lip locking. They immediately pulled away from each other and gasped for air.
What's with me and walking into people doing the deed?
Three of us stared at each other silently, no one attempting to break the silence. "Oh, you want me to speak first?" I paused. "I didn't mean to interrupt your canoodling session, but my pen was being a pain in the ass." I picked up my pen and scanned their faces. Although it was dark, but I managed to decipher that one was blonde and the other was brunette, and a bit of their facial features.
I ran out of the closet and to the laboratory. As my bottom welcomed the seat, the teacher began the lecture. I commenced jotting down some notes until I heard the teacher scolding a student. "Cooper Frayer. Late again, aren't we?" I dropped the pen once more, and gawked at the brunette whom I saw in the closet.
Cooper Frayer. The Cooper, Anna spoke so fondly about, was that him?
A train of questions bombarded my thoughts. Maybe it was another Cooper, he couldn't be the only Cooper Frayer on this vast planet. But, long ago, she had mentioned that he attended my school.
Anna's boyfriend cheated on her with another man.
The fact that she spoke so happily about him made the situation more devastating. She loved him with all her heart, it was evident in her glimmering eyes and wide smile. I began panicking, thinking whether I should inform her or not. She was a friend of mine, what friend would I be if I didn't tell her? But, imagining how shattered and broken she would be if I told her made me feel uneasy.
A tiresome mental battle initiated, draining all my energy. To tell her or not to tell her; I was indecisive.
During the entire period, I shot daggers at Cooper's back, despising him more and more as the time passed. Also during my walk to her house, the battle remained gruesome. But, I have decided to not say a word to Anna about it all, and to discuss things with Cooper. He had to tell her himself. It wasn't my place to step into their business, but I had to do something.
When I would arrive to Anna's house, I would pretend as if nothing was occurring and everything was perfect. I was a fantastic actress, I played the role of a famous heir's girlfriend after all.
Halting and facing a two story house that aquatinted a very homey and cosy aura, I rang the golden door bell. Sooner rather than later, Anna swung the door open and greeted me with her vigorous grin.
"Adriana!" she beamed and I gulped in guilt. She was a very happy person, there was no way I could tell her.
Before speaking, a voice beat me to it. "Babe, where's the remote?" the chocolate haired male joined Anna at the door, and wrapped an arm around her waist. Once our eyes locked, they immensely grew in size.
"Babe, meet Adriana. Adriana, that's my boyfriend Cooper."
• • • • • • •
Hello there my lovely readers! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. If you did, vote and comment to make my day maybe?
Adios señoritas/señors
Until Next time,
Danah