Getting together with Lynn lasted longer than expected; neither the three of us realized until the skies had begun to darken. Catching up with her never felt... this good.
Loosening ourselves in the gazebo, we were all smiles and laughter as we reminisced moments where ignorance was truly a bliss, even to the moronic—as per Aly's words—things we had done as kids. On top of that, I grasped more information of the current Edward; the man my younger self would never believe had I told her that this would be the boy she would soon encounter.
Guiding Aly back home, an image of Edward's vacant expression found its way to show up, staring down at me with a frown that seemed to only twitch if I managed to find a needle lost in a haystack. He would then turn around and walk away, disappearing into the confines of my mind. With a high fever like that, he's probably sleeping right now.
Hopefully he gets better soon.
Pushing on my brakes to the red lights and making way for people to cross, I rummaged from my phone. It had been constantly vibrating inside my uniform pocket; that explained the cannonade of new messages filling up my screen. Aside from my best friend telling me she entered the proper bus this time, of course most of these texts came from Mom.
Mom: Rena, where are you? It's getting late
Mom: Jordan wants you to pick him up
Mom: Also also, I got something for you back home rn
Mom: Hope I'm using that right :p
Mom: Rena are you okay?
Mom: Where have you been?
Mom: Renaaaaaa
Mom, seriously? I let out a long breath at such a huge batch of messages. Heck, all of the missed calls both from my lovely brother and her made me shake my head. Immediately I dragged my bike over to the side and started punching my responses.
Rena: Sorry I just saw your texts. I was with my friends, but I'm omw
Mom: There you are
Mom: Gee I'm getting worried
Mom: Thought you lost your phone or something
Mom: But pick up Jordan first before you get back, okay? He's waiting in Sydney Avenue I think
My nostrils flared and my shoulders slumped. As much as I wanted to jump straight to my bed and let him slip out of my mind, there was not much of a choice. What was worse, my brother had been sending me a series of demanding texts I neither replied nor read. The least I wanted was being forced to listen to his endless strings of complaints.
I hastily stowed my phone away and propelled back to the street, my body tagging along with the breeze. Thankfully, when I arrived, my cranky brother was still present, standing by the sidewalk—twice he had gone home when I was about to pick this grumpy boy up. This time, a girl was accompanying him, and they were so engrossed in their conversation, they did not notice me heading towards them.
If I remember correctly, Jordan mentioned his new friend awfully a lot with Mom. Maybe she was the one?
"Jo!" Only at my call, both of their heads jerked simultaneously. And needless to say, he scoffed, furrowing his brows and pressing his lips to form a thin line. Folding his arms, he passed me his darkening look and I sighed once again. And here we go.
I was prepared to put in my ear plugs as soon as he opened his lips. "Do you even check your phone?" He grumbled. "Mom and I called you so many times and you never picked up. I've been waiting you for almost half an hour, I should have left earlier and—"
"Oh hello, you must be his sister!" The girl cut off Jordan's little tirade as she shoved him aside—and I could not be anymore grateful. Firing me with a cheeky smile, she tucked a strand of her fiery red hair behind her ear and inclined her head, her uneven bangs falling over her chocolate brown eyes. "I'm Lucianna," she introduced, pointing with her thumb. "His classmate."
"Ah um, it's Serena..." I nodded and smiled in return. While I hardly interacted—never paid much attention either way—with Jordan's friends when they came for a visit, this girl... I was really sure I had met and seen her elsewhere. Where was it?
"Sheesh, I feel bad for you. Sounds like your brother here can be a pain in the ass." She playfully smacked Jordan in the back, to which he grunted and diverted his glare at her. She didn't seem to mind; she continued chuckling to no end. "At least you're still willing to pick him up."
I might not know her much, but she was practically speaking out all of my thoughts. Bless her soul.
He curled his lips but remarked nothing; he ditched his backpack into my basket, crushing onto mine without remorse. He plopped and made himself comfortable on the back seat, my bike's wheels creaking and bouncing at his rough actions. However, he had his back on his friend, refusing to spare a glance at her for no reason.
"Well then... I gotta get going." Lucianna l rolled her shoulders and waved her hand. "My brother's fallen ill so I had to run errands in his place. Dude's been looking for me too, so don't wanna worry him too much."
"Yeah sure. See you tomorrow," Jordan murmured under his breath, slightly raising his hand and scratching his hair, but his gaze continued to bore at the ground below. She kept her smile as she slightly bowed her head—and I reciprocated—at me, before she whirled on her heels and walked off.
That's it. Immediately realization dawned upon me, and I instinctively placed my hand on my mouth. No wonder she was no foreigner to me—heck even her name sounded way too familiar: she's Edward's sister! However, before I could say and ask anything else, she was in the distance.
"You like her?" I found myself blurting it out of nowhere while I was adjusting my bike to head home at last.
"Just a friend!" Jordan almost instantly snapped and I could feel him shifting in his seat. "Why is it that everyone always thinks I like her? Can't guys and girls be friends?"
Look at this guy being so snappy. Sorry for asking such an innocuous question.
I wished I could say all of this straight at his face, but I was more concerned with countless turns, bumpy roads ahead and congested traffic lights. I lost count on how many times I have to sigh thanks to this brother of mine, but fortunately we quietly did make it home without further problems.
Without warning, Jordan hopped off and snatched his backpack, nearly knocking out the momentum off my bike. To add more salt to the wound, he did not once give a damn; he casually walked off like nothing happened. Another hot breath through my lips while I hauled it towards my garage. He's getting on my nerves at this point...
"Wait up Jo, I have the keys," I said with my voice firm, holding the jiggling object.
"Yeah well, open the door then," he murmured. Was he intentionally testing my patience? Because for sure he was making all of it go down the drain in one go.
I rubbed my nose. "I'm just about to do—"
Before I inserted the key, the door swung wide open, inevitably making the both of us wince at the same time. Mom was behind all of it, holding a ladle and wearing her usual apron, and honestly, it looked as though she was about to pursue us with her utensil up in the air. However, she merely peered at both of us with raised brows, before she stepped aside and let us in.
She probably heard all of that.
I could only glower at my stupid, annoying brother who thought everything revolved around him, when he strode past her and flopped on the couch.
"God, you two are always bickering here and there. Better get along, you know," Mom reminded, "You aren't kids anymore."
"In a hundred years, probs." I heard him scowling.
"Jordan!" Mom yelled.
Well, if not for her presence, I would have grabbed her ladle and smacked the heck out of him. However, not only was it a waste of energy but we would be stuck in endless cycles of retaliation, so I simply dumped my bag on the couch and ignored him.
Following Mom into the kitchen, she took out onions from the freezer—an effective trick so that we would not end up shedding so much tears.
Turning to the dining room, my attention promptly gravitated towards a piece of red velvet cake sitting on the table, boasting its flamboyant colors. Distinct scarlet hues decorated most of its layers, its surface covered with thick cream frosting. I could already imagine myself slicing the cake and savoring its soft crumbs.
"Isn't it pretty?" Mom asked as she approached me.
"Wow... do you make it?" I swallowed the drool that was about to spill out my lips.
"Huh? Me?" Mom snickered as she pointed to herself. "You know how much your dad complains about my cakes, Rena. Oh, how much I love screwing them up!"
I laughed sheepishly. Why would I ask such a self-explanatory question? I mean, she burned a cake last Christmas and Dad had to clean most of the mess.
"Do you buy it then?"
"Nope, it's Nautica," Mom answered, "She came a few hours ago and gave it to us."
"N-Nautica?"
"What, you don't know her? Edward's mom!" She revealed, chuckling softly when I instantly lowered my head, hiding the fact that my cheeks were heating up. What was wrong with me today? I kept on forgetting stuff that I should have been remembering. "I've heard from her; you and Edward are finally talking again?"
I hummed in response. His mother had always been like this—leaving unexpected gifts for us as a form of gratitude... perhaps a little bit too much, as Edward would have pointed out as well.
"I was so disappointed when you told me you guys weren't hanging out anymore, but..." Mom ambled away, the footsteps produced by her slippers filling in the brief pause. "I'm so glad you're friends again... especially when he had changed so much after that accident."
She wiped her hands with her apron and went on, "You know, he used to ditch school and lock himself in his room for weeks. Nautica told me it took lots of time and reasoning for him to gradually come out, but he..." she breathed. "...really suffered a lot."
My heart felt heavier than ever, especially when I knew more of him through Adelynn's side of the story. While curiosity crept in and demanded to keep digging for more information, I forced myself to seal my lips and simply nodded at what I received. If Edward trusts me enough, maybe he'll share.
"Anyways! Before I forget," Mom clapped her hands before she pulled a plastic bag from one of the chairs and handed it to me. "Nautica also got something for you... well, not from her, but from Edward specifically."
"Huh?"
I perked up from the cake and blinked repeatedly—I counted exactly four times while gawking at the bag as I hesitantly received it. Wait, what, Edward gave me something?
Peeking inside, a huge strawberry plush winked at me with its beady eyes, but the rattling noises of a bracelet stole my attention in a heartbeat. I opened and closed my jaw, observing every detail of the accessory; the word gorgeous was a total understatement. The gems were blood crimson and glimmering underneath the lights, almost blinding. Heck, if they could glow in the dark, surely it could illuminate an entire room during the night.
I gingerly picked it up and swallowed the lump in my throat. This was something that could happen only in my wildest dreams; there was no way Edward would go so far to give me these souvenirs. Why would he, after all?
"Aren't they pretty and cute?" Mom abruptly announced, reminding me that this was real and not something out of the make-believe realm. "Nautica said Edward got the plushie and the bracelet from the arcade... like those claw machines? It seems like he had been wanting to give them to you but hasn't had the chance." She nudged me, while answering my most pressing questions. "Gotta keep them safe and sound, Rena."
Edward had always wanted to give them to me?
And the next thing I knew, the other questions did not matter anymore.
As she returned to the kitchen and was chopping up some vegetables, everything felt so weightless that I could probably float up to the skies and hop all over the clouds. My hands might be trembling with might as I gripped on the bracelet and the soft texture of the strawberry plush, but I could barely contain the urge to jump up and down while letting out silent squeals. I then held them close to my chest as my lips were stretching as broad as possible, as I performed some sort of a small dance.
However, one fact that got my heart melting into a puddle and my stomach fluttering with butterflies, was that he went to great lengths to get me such an adorable strawberry plush. It was because it could only mean one thing.
"Oh Rena, do you like strawberries?" Edward turned his whole body to me, sitting on his chair backwards, while the others were still buying some mini parfaits for our dessert. Everyone's tummies might be filled with mac and cheese, but as Aly always said, there was always an extra stomach for sweets.
"Um yeah, i-it's my favorite..." I murmured, hoping that my hat was hiding my heating face.
"Ah, makes sense! Whenever we get desserts or something, you always get the ones with strawberries," he said and grinned. "I'll keep that in mind!"
And he indeed kept it in his mind.
Giving him that bracelet was truly the best move, balancing all the shameful stuff I have done.
***
Rena: Hey Edward! Thank you so much for the strawberry plush and the bracelet, I really loved them! :D Hope you get well soon! I'll already get some assignments and other lecture notes for you to grab once you've returned :)
After so much time was spent on constantly typing and deleting words to form a single text for Edward, I could finally smash on that send button without nursing too much second thoughts. I mean, I was definitely not at all impressed with the message. So many things I could have said and rephrased better, but with all the second guessing I have been doing, I would never send any text by the end of the day. At least this one's better than the rest.
"Rena! Jo! Dinner's ready!" I was about to collapse on my bed, when Mom's voice calling from downstairs had me on my feet.
"Coming!" I yelled back.
Since my stomach had been persistently rumbling while I pondered over what to say to Edward, I skittered out of my room, leaving my phone on with his message board still active. And when it beeped, I hovered over the screen and his response, albeit brief... was enough to enrapture me.
Edward: Thank you, Serena.