August 2, 2004
Boys know a lot more than they let on. I know, ‘cause my brother’s a blabbermouth.
“What?” Matt heard Grace shriek in a sudden burst of anger. “You know? You’re just about the most exasperatingly annoying person I’ve ever met!” She stood and began to pace, occasionally directing jabs at his character. “What’s wrong with you? Are you some kind of—of psychotically sadistic madman who—who gets his fix toying around on unsuspecting people? You’re everywhere I go, you interfere with my life, and you either intimidate me or manhandle me! God! Between the two of us, you’re the one I should be calling a stalker!” He saw her took a gulp of air then immediately continued, “And now, here you are, lying to me and twisting around the stories in my head and I have no idea which one to believe!”
What’s with this girl and her red shoes?
He frowned at the red straps of her gladiator flats, hoping to tune her tirade out of his mind. It wouldn’t do him well to force her to listen to him when she was still steaming with fury.
When he kept silent after she finished her rant, she glared at him then angrily asked, “What? You’re not going to say anything?”
Matt waited for three more seconds before replying, his expression innocent. “Are you sure it’s not annoyingly exasperating? ‘Cause I think you find my exasperating attitude annoying instead of the—”
Her eyes had turned into cold, icy orbs before white-hot fire suddenly burst in them making her stomp her foot and raise her hand in an attempt to hit him.
“Ugh! I hate you!” she roared instead, successfully stopping herself from getting violent.
She turned away from him in a desperate attempt to keep calm. When he saw that most of the fight had gone from her, he decided to get serious.
“I just thought you don’t want anyone lying to you anymore.”
He saw her wince at his indirect reminder of Grace’s recent dilemma.
“What did you just say?”
“After what happened to Rachelle, I just don’t think I can handle keeping any secrets right now.” He shrugged. “I want what happened between us off my shoulders.”
“Go on,” Grace demanded stiffly.
He nodded once. “You were drunk and heartbroken so obviously, you didn’t know what you were doing.” He observed her reaction and was rewarded with another glare. “I had no idea what was going on in your head but you suddenly asked me to kiss you. I started to refuse but you pulled me down and planted your lips on mine. End of story.”
No need to tell her about the feelings she evoked during their kiss.
Her glare slowly turned into an expression of pure shock as her face paled, her mouth hung open and her eyes wide like mini saucers. He would have laughed his head off had he not been the one who caused her distress.
He wasn’t quite as rude as that.
“I can’t believe it,” Grace whispered as she sat back on the bench. “What’s wrong with me?”
“Perhaps you should stop asking that question,” Matt answered casually, hoping that treating it lightly would make her feel less upset. He gave her a few more seconds to digest what she just heard then, “I think it’s best that we forget about it,” he surmised.
He saw her nod. “Yeah, we should.” Then she nodded again.
Matt didn’t really have anything more to say so he took his guitar and gave a sigh of relief.
“I better go.” He stood up and went to the door. Before he was completely out of her sight, however, he decided he needed to take her mind off the kiss before she went completely paranoid. “You should let more people listen to your music,” he told her with a wave.
He felt her watching him until the door was firmly shut.
*****
The song ended with the last few notes from Lance’s bass guitar. After a second, the boys began to discuss which parts they needed to rearrange, what tone would suit which part and so on and so forth. After a few more tries they had come up with a new song which they plan to add for their next gig’s lineup.
They were having a break in the studio when Matt brought the discussion to Rachelle.
“It seems people are more sympathetic to her ever since they found out that Milton planned everything out.” Then with gritted teeth, “Nobody’s hating on him though.”
Kane nodded. “I think it had something to do with those bloggers who feasted on the story and practically made it look like a tragic love story…of some sort,” he informed them with a shrug.
“Tragic love story?” Lance repeated with a smirk. “These people sure know how to be melodramatic.”
“At least they’re helping Rachelle’s reputation.” Matt said casually. “Would’ve been better if they made Milton a bit more antagonistic.”
Kane brought out his phone and searched over the blogs of those who wrote about Rachelle and Liam and began showing the articles to his band mates.
“I swear this would make my overemotional sister cry,” Kane finally said after reading.
“Who wouldn’t?” came Lance’s sarcastic question. “It ended with,” he took the phone from Kane then read in a dramatic voice: “If it wasn’t for the past that forced them to break apart, would fate have found a way for them to share a love that’s meant for eternity?” He made a gagging sound then slammed the phone to Kane’s chest. “Even Rachelle would hate it.”
Imagining Rachelle’s reaction brought the three boys into laughter.
“Don’t use your phone when you make her read that,” Matt said when his laughs had begun to fade.
“She’ll throw that to a wall and wouldn’t care a fig that it isn’t hers,” Lance added.
“I know. Best to use a computer.”
It brought on another round of laughter and only when Matt noticed Nick sitting quietly by the keyboards did they stop with the jokes.
Matt came over then dropped his arm heavily on Nick’s shoulders. It made the keyboardist jump in his seat.
“Thanks to you, my sister’s walking around in a daze since last Sunday,” he said in a shrewd voice.
Nick just glanced at him then asked, “What are you talking about?”
“She didn’t look like someone who just found out she was betrayed.” Matt stood up then placed his hands on his hips. “Rather, she looked confused and stunned. As if she just realized something she thought she should have recognized years ago.”
The tone he used gave every indication that he knew that Nick had told his sister about his feelings.
Finally.
At last.
Thank heavens.
He saw Nick’s gaze searching the faces of all three of his closest friends then sighed in resignation. Matt beamed. What else could they do when Nick wouldn’t really tell them anything? They would obviously be talking about him behind his back.
“Not that we’re gossiping. Gossip is for women. We, men, are simply analyzing gathered information,” Matt told Nick with a grin.
“We were worried for both of you,” Lance said. “Being the youngest as you are.”
“Whatever,” Nick muttered under his breath.
They heard him though and Kane groaned. “Oh, come on! You’re not going to keep us guessing are you? What did she say?”
It took Nick a few seconds before saying, “She needs time…to think.”
“Whoa! And I thought my sister doesn’t really think before jumping into relationships.” When that earned him a glare from his band mates, he raised his hands as if in surrender. “She doesn’t. So this is a first. That should be a good sign.”
Lance and Kane just shook their heads while Nick gave him a grunt of dismissal. He sneered in response.
“So,” Matt suddenly burst out after two seconds. “Let’s get this damned song finished.” He took his position by the microphone. “And don’t forget to bring your asses to my house tomorrow evening. It’s Rachelle’s birthday.”
*****
Liam Milton left Heartlake City on her birthday. It was the first piece of news she heard when she woke up and logged on to her Twitter account. A lot of people had her name mentioned in connection to the news, some of whom she had no idea who.
First, she was surprised, and then she got angry at his cowardice. Then before she even lifted her head from her pillow, her emotions quickly burned down to numb indifference.
When Vivian found out about everything, she thought that her mother would go on a rage like a lioness protecting her cub. She didn’t like breaking her mother’s heart nor does she want to make her angry the way she did before. She feared that things would turn out the way Vivian first found out about what happened years ago.
Rachelle couldn’t be more wrong.
When she got home that Sunday night, Vivian was on the sofa waiting for her. Her mother stood up very slowly, her caring eyes locking on Rachelle’s and she slowly opened her arms, willing her daughter to come. It was all the encouragement that Rachelle needed and so she ran, right into her mother’s protective arms.
It was astounding how fast she got over Liam’s betrayal after that evening. Some nights, she had stared at her bedroom ceiling wondering why she couldn’t shed any more tears for what Liam had done to her. It was like she had been set free of the past that had put her in a dark cage for years. But it also made her doubt her identity and worry about her future. She had been scarred by so many battles and she questioned her ability to live her life as the Rachelle she thought she knew. Somewhere at the back of her mind, she felt like she needed to make a huge change.
She got up and walked over to her bedroom window. A sigh escaped from her lips.
Days after that momentous Sunday, she caught herself staring into space thinking about Nick. He told her he was in love with her and she was literally hitting her head several times, wondering why she hadn’t realized that a long time ago. It made her confused yet flattered all the same. He was close to ideal and had she not been thinking of him as a brother, she would have dated him at the drop of a hat.
She hadn’t talked to him for more than a week. He agreed to give her time to think but there were moments when she longed to have him by her side. It wouldn’t be fair to him though—to want him beside her yet not be able to recognize whether she shared the same feelings or not.
It made her want to weep.
Later that evening, she found herself surrounded by her closest friends and her family. Quarter-To-Five was here, Lia and Haley, Bettina, and her model friends from the agency. She was greeted with smiles and love that she almost lost the fight to keep her emotions at bay. If there was one birthday that meant a lot more than just her date of birth, it was her nineteenth.
Today, she felt reborn. And she couldn’t be more thankful.
Vivian ushered everyone to the dining table where her birthday cake lay. The visitors gathered around and began to sing the birthday song for Rachelle.
“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Racheeelle! Happy birthday to youuuu!”
Applause erupted from their small group while her mother urged her to hurry and make her wish. She did as she was told, closing her eyes as she wished for wisdom when making decisions and health for her family. She opened her eyes and blew the candles delicately placed on the Oreo cheesecake. Everybody cheered and she smiled, genuinely grateful that she had every one of her loved ones with her. She looked at each of them with eyes that hoped to send her message of thanks and almost died when she couldn’t find that one person she wanted to see.
It was the first time she didn’t see Nick on her birthday.