Rhea happily strapped her seatbelt on, eager to spend the rest of the day with her wonderful suit-wearer. This was what she was looking forward to the most, being away in her hometown with the guy of her dreams. It was a wish come true and she couldn't ask for anything more. Now all she had to do was get the image of Christian Lu kissing Tegan out of her head. Her roommate's decision to get revenge by herself was another issue Rhea couldn't dismiss, but she was happy to know that Tegan wouldn't be sleeping with him anymore. There were better tricks up her sleeves, one that wouldn't involve torture and heartbreak. Was it strange that she was excited to see that piece of shit crumble? Rhea didn't like wishing bad karma on other people, but if anyone deserved it, it was Christian Fucken Lu.
Warren started his rented Audi, just as Rhea's phone beeped, and displayed an alarming message from Tegan. 'I think he's slowly breaking...'
Leaving her best friend to hitch a ride with the waste of space didn't sit well with Rhea, especially since Red was the in the dark about the troubles his manager was facing. In fact, if Sera was not around to take care of her Tegan then Rhea would have probably forced Warren to postpone their date.
'What happened?' Rhea replied to the message. 'Tell me everything!'
Tegan was quick with her response. 'Something about how I don't realize how much power I hold over him? And a baseball analogy that went over my head.'
Rhea scoffed as her boyfriend drove off the secluded property and entered the main road. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Is everything okay?"
"Fine," Rhea spat, furiously typing a reply to her friend. 'Don't let him confuse you? He's probably just trying to play a trick on you.'
'I know, but he looked so sad when he said he wanted to keep racing towards home-run,' Tegan answered. 'Whatever that means? I just wish he would stop giving me mixed signals. You know?'
'What a nightmare he is,' Rhea replied. She put her phone away and turned to look at her concerned boyfriend, who had the strange ability to read her emotions. Whenever Rhea tried lying to him about things, or pretending that she was fine, he kept her from spiralling down a rabbit hole.
"You may want to just tell me before I force it out of you?" Warren suggested.
Rhea exhaled. She didn't know how much Christian told the suit-wearer, but she assumed it was enough to deduct that shit was hitting the fan with Tegan. "Why is your boy such a piece of shit?" the question came out a lot more aggressive than she intended. "What is so messed up about him that he can't just take a minute to enjoy a steady relationship? Is his life so busy that he can't work things out with her?"
"You're referring to the whole Tegan thing?" he asked. "You want to know if Chris genuinely likes her or not? And why he is the way he is?"
"Yes!" Rhea sighed. "I saw him kissing her before brunch, I was ready to rage, but then I heard Tegan talking about their friends with benefit situation, so I stopped myself. Everything is out in the open now but I feel helpless. I wish I could help her, you know? I want to get her through this. If your stupid friend would just be honest about his feelings then things wouldn't have escalated this far."
Warren faked a smile. "Christian doesn't mean to be a piece of shit. He just has his reasons for keeping people at bay."
"What do you mean?" Rhea asked feeling more annoyed than ever. "Did he get his heart broken or something before and now he's scared of commitment?"
Warren laughed. "As long as I have known Christian, he has always been the one breaking hearts. When he wants something really badly, he usually goes for it."
Rhea pursed her lips. "So what you're saying is that he doesn't think Tegan is worth fighting for?" she asked. "After all the games he has been playing with her, after punching a guy in the face for her, and he doesn't know if he wants to date her?"
"He likes her enough," Warren informed keeping his eyes on the road. "Trust me. In his own way, he is fighting tooth and nail for Tegan."
Rhea made a face. "Don't even with that crap, okay? He's not doing shit."
"He is," Warren insisted.
"How?" I argued. "Tell me how he's exactly fighting tooth and nail for my friend! Make me understand his world."
Warren grabbed her hand and held it tightly. "If I tell you then it stays between," he said, merging onto a highway. "You can't go telling Tegan and Sera."
"I don't make promises I can't keep," Rhea retorted.
Warren shook his head. "You want to protect your friend so please understand that I also want to protect my friend," came the cool reply. "Chris is a lot of things, but he isn't afraid of commitment, it's actually the opposite."
Rhea decided to make a difficult call. "If you tell me his story then I won't share it with Tegan," she caved. "Happy?"
"Alright," Warren smiled. "Since you seem so determined."
Rhea shifted her body towards the suit-wearer and waited for him to tell her about Christian Lu.
"The first thing you need to know about him is that he never met his birth parents," Warren began. "They passed away in a car accident. He was adopted by his mother's best friend from college when he was only three weeks old. Chris's father, who was a brilliant accountant, wrote in his will that if he died then his fortune should be passed down to his child when he turned eighteen. That being said, Chris actually grew up in a poor family. A family that didn't share his blood, his appearance or his secret wealth."
Rhea couldn't believe how much she had just learned from a single monologue. "What was his last name before he changed it?" she asked. "Why did he change it? Wouldn't he want to be connected to his birth parents?"
"No," Warren answered. "Chris never wanted his birth parents' surname because it put more distance between him and his godparents. They were the ones who mattered to him, they took him in even though they were about to lose their home, and even though they were having financial troubles. Chris grew up asking if he could change his name but Karen and David refused to oblige. They thought it was a disrespectful request and they wanted Chris to have access to his wealth when the time came. So he was called Christian Whitaker until he was about twenty one years old."
"Wait, why did he wait three years after he got rich to change his name?" Rhea asked, invested in the story. "It would have been the first thing on my to-do list."
Warren smiled. "He worked like three jobs and used his own money to change it," he explained. "Sometimes Karen thinks he is too emotionally separated from his parent's death, like it didn't affect him enough because he was so young. She gets worried about his priorities not being aligned. Only problem with that assumption is that she can't see his dedication to her and David. Chris wants them to have a good life and he works his ass off to make that happen. He bought them a house, helped his father pay off the mortgage, his debt, and sends them money every month."
"He's really family oriented," Rhea acknowledged.
"Not only with his family," Warren corrected. "When he agreed to manage Red, that become another huge commitment for him. That was another person he had to look after and Chris never takes that job lightly. He believes that to be a sign of true love, when you commit a hundred and ten percent to somebody, like his godparents committed to him. He is always trying to find different ways to become a better provider. It was the same when he discovered the Pen Pals. Chris didn't have to take them on but he saw potential. He jumped the gun and decided this was something he wanted to do. He is a hundred percent committed to his responsibilities but I feel like that is where it ends for him. Chris can't handle more than he already does. He told me once that he dreads becoming a boyfriend who can't be present and attentive. He doesn't believe in half-assing relationships, so he just sticks to fooling around and flirting."
Rhea was speechless.
"Although between you and me I think he is at his limit with Tegan," Warren added. "Chris is struggling to make room for her because he can't deny how much she means to him."
"You think he might actually love her?" Rhea couldn't believe it.
"I think he is fighting to resist the hold she has on him," Warren supplied.
Rhea felt like everything she knew about the waste of space was a lie she had conjured up in her head. Listening to Warren talk about his friend made her realize Christian's strengths. He cared about his family more than anything else in the world and he would go to impossible lengths to make sure his friends were taken care of. It explained why he was so invested in Warren's relationship with Rhea, and why he couldn't get Misha to stop following him around. He was worried about how it would affect Red, knowing the girl he liked was into one of his best friends. It also explained why Red told Rhea not to bring up Nanaleech in front of Christian. He must have hated her more than anyone. That leech kept Warren from pursuing his dreams and she was standing in the way of his happiness. It must have hit a big nerve.
"So, what are we going to do to fix this?" Rhea asked, considering her options. She could either let Tegan rip his fucking heart out, or she could help Christian see that he didn't have to carry everyone's problems on his shoulders.
"I don't know if there is anything we can do," Warren said, looking for parking in Little Italy. "I think this is something they have to figure out by themselves. You can't change people, especially not Chris."
Rhea couldn't hold back her anger. "So you're going to let your friend pass by someone who could be the love of his life?" she blurted. "Don't get me wrong, I still hate him for what he put Tegan through, but knowing his past is so crucial to understanding his present. If he can't bring himself to say all these things to her then we have to!"
"No, sorry." Warren refused. "We are not getting involved. Chris wouldn't like that. He prefers to handle things himself. Ironically, he likes taking care of people but feels guilty when other people try to take care of him."
"Fine," Rhea argued. "If you want to sit around and watch your friend make the biggest mistake of his life then so be it. Me? I'm not letting them go another day without figuring shit out. Seriously, it's starting to affect the entire group. If we can't expose his feelings then we need to trick him into telling Tegan."
"How do you suppose we do that?" Warren asked, ready to parallel park on the street. "If he finds out we are plotting against him then he will have my head."
"Baby, come on!" Rhea sulked.
Warren exhaled. "If you can come up with a plan to bring them together then I am all ears, but remember you made a promise. You cannot tell Tegan or Sera what I told you, and please do me a favour and make sure Red stays oblivious. He is more productive when he's in the dark. Alright?"
"Alright, alright!" Rhea huffed. "I'll keep my mouth shut but this is not how their story ends. You hear me? Their stars will align!"