Three months, and still no contact with Luke.
"I'm sorry Ma'am, but I have plans." Janet argued into the phone. "Yes, I know his case is severe, but-" Janet walked into the kitchen and spotted me sitting at the table. "-there's nothing I can do now." She sighed.
Janet made her way to the table, holding her phone slightly away from her ear as the person on the other end of line squawked through the phone.
"I understand." Janet nodded and held a gaze with me. "No, no. Its fine. I'll have to make a rain check with my fiancé." She smiled sadly at me.
I stared at her with a blank expression. Part of me wondered why I despised her, she cared for her clients so much.
"That's fine Ma'am... Perfect... That would be even better... Have a good day, Ma'am." She smiled and hung up.
"Who was that?" I leaned closer and folded my arms on the table.
Janet took a seat across me and sighed. "One of my client's mother. She requested for an urgent meet-up."
"Oh." I breathed out.
I stared at my now chipped nail polish. I looked across the table where Janet placed her hands on the table. Her nails were freshly painted, a light shade of blue.
I stared at Janet. The way we dressed was so different.
She would wear dresses and pearls.
I wore ripped jeans and cheap necklaces.
She was bright.
I was dark.
Mom was a mixture of both. She'd wear dark makeup but also wore colored blouses. She would wear heels paired with jeans.
Janet was expensive and on the top shelf where people scan over first at stores.
I was cheap and spilled across an aisle because some kid was misbehaving and disobeyed his mother's orders and knocked me off my bottom shelf.
I was feeling a bit sick. Dad loved Janet because she was worth more than me and Mom.
"You okay, kid?" Janet giggled.
I shook my thoughts away and focused on Janet. "Yeah." I nodded.
"You looked like you were about to throw up." She said seriously.
"I think I'm about to." I said quietly.
"Should I get you the bin?" She asked already getting up.
"No." I gulped and shook my head.
Janet sat back down, we fell into an awkward silence.
"What ever happened to that boy you loved?" Janet asked.
She was referring to Dallas.
Because nobody knew about Luke except Calum, Michael and Ashton. Everybody else didn't even know I've met someone else.
That's why Dad and Janet were growing concerned with my attitude and behavior.
Mostly because they had no idea why I was acting like this.
I closed my eyes tight and replied, "He cheated on me."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Janet said quietly.
"Its fine." I murmured, it didn't matter to me anymore.
Moments of silence.
"Are you going to see that client you were talking about a few weeks ago?"
Janet nodded.
"He's been having a lot of therapies lately." I noted.
"He's getting... bad." She said like it was the best way to put his situation.
I sort of understood this kid's case.
He's young. A bit too young to feel how he does. He's broken. Nobody knew how to fix him.
Kind of like me.
"I have to go now and see him." She said, checking her expensive wristwatch. She pushed herself off her chair and made her way to her room.
She came down shortly with a coat and her purse.
"Maia!" She called at the front door.
I walked to the front door. "Yeah?"
"I need you to lock the door. Your father took my keys to the key-smith to make a copy." She fished around her purse and pulled out her car keys.
I nodded. She walked out the door, "Bye, Maia." She waved and I closed the door behind her. Locking it.
I went into the living and sat on the couch. I stared at the lifeless TV. Imagining my own TV show coming on.
I didn't want to be alone. I hated this. I want someone to be beside me.
Even if it was Janet.
There was a soft knock on the front door. I got up and tramped towards the door.
And there stood Janet with a sad smile.
"Your, um, father told me to bring you along." She held her phone up to show me a text from my dad :
Don't leave Maia home alone.
I scrunched my eyebrows together.
He didn't trust me to be alone anymore?
Wow.
I nodded and pulled my shoes on.
-
Janet and I were now in her office. She sat at her desk while I took a look around.
The room was dull. The floor was like those in hospitals, tiled and gray. The walls were painted olive green. Janet had no photos on her desk, except the one of her and Dad at their holiday, it was framed.
I've never seen Dad smile that big around Mom.
Her wall was plastered with certificates and awards.
Janet was writing notes her in notebook and I stood there in front of her.
Janet looked up and smiled weakly. "This is, um, nice?" She said more questioningly.
I nodded slowly. I guess we were sort of bonding. I looked back down a the framed picture and picked it up, smiling at it.
"I've thought it over, Maia." She said suddenly, my head perked up and my smile dropped.
What has she been thinking over about?
"Maybe... Bran could stay a little longer." She said like she would regret it later.
"Really?" I croaked out.
She nodded and smiled.
I stared at her in disbelief.
"Don't look at me like that." She chuckled. "I have a heart, Maia." Her smile grew.
I held a gaze with her. And for once, her pale blue eyes weren't so cold. They felt... normal.
I allowed a smile to take its place on my lips, I stared back at the picture in my hands, trying to bite back the smile that was growing uncontrollably.
I heard Janet chuckle and scribble something into her notebook.
The client should've been here half an hour ago.
Janet grew impatient and dialed a number on her office phone.
"Yes, hello Ma'am-" Janet was cut off. "Oh. He won't?" She said sadly. "No, no. Its fine. I just hope he's okay-" She was cut off again. Janet twirled the wire of the telephone as she listened to the person on the other side. "Oh. Well, have a goodni-" She held the phone away and stared at the now closed line. "She closed the call right on my face." Janet glared at the phone and placed it back on its base.
Janet folded her arms on her desk and sighed.
"He won't show up, will he?" I placed the picture back on the desk.
"No." Janet groaned and placed her head in her arms. "Martin was upset that I cancelled our plans for tonight. What do I do now?" She mumbled.
"We can spend the day together?" I suggested.
-
"Maia." Janet whined as I rejected another dress.
"Janet." I mocked her.
We went to the mall to do some useless shopping and Janet begged to buy me a new dress.
"Its gorgeous." She commented as she examined the dress in her hands.
"Its hideous." I scrunched my nose up.
She stared at me like she was revolted by my remark. "You'd look beautiful in red." She stated.
"I don't like red." I said quietly.
"You wear red nail polish." She said.
"It's different. That's nail polish, this is a dress." I held the fabric in between my fingers, it was really soft and silky.
"If you won't take this dress then I will." She said in attempts to make me take it.
"Okay." I giggled and walked down the rest of the store.
"Maia." She groaned.
"Yes?" I turned around to face her.
"You're so difficult." She put the dress back where she found it and folded her arms across her chest, making her way to me.
"I know." I whispered to myself.
"We should head home now." Janet said as she stared at her wristwatch. "Martin is probably waiting for us."
-
We got home. We ordered Chinese takeout. My favorite.
We actually sat in the living room for once. We all slumped around the couch in our pjs.
I liked this. We weren't like those snotty families who have fancy dinners. We were a casual one.
I actually laughed at how Dad talked to Janet.
They would cuddle like girlfriend and boyfriend.
They would tease each other like little kids.
They would argue like an old married couple.
It was the first time I realized how happy Dad was.
The TV was still blank, but we didn't need it right now.
The rest of the night was... nice.
Janet spilled her noodles on Dad.
Dad made a slightly rude comment about Janet's ass when she bent over to pick up a chopstick.
He told me not to use bad language like ass.
Janet told me not to make comments about asses at all.
I sat on the floor while Janet braided my hair into a fishtail.
Dad and Janet kissed every once in a while.
I made comment every time they did. Like : ew, gross, or get a room.
Earning a pillow being thrown at my face, not by Janet but Dad.
This night was... great.
-
I'M SORRY FOR ANOTHER ONE OF THESE CHAPTERS.
But i just hated having Maia upset. i wanted to stop the conflict between most characters. she now made up with Martin and Janet.
i tried to make this chapter a bit more meaningful, so if you think it gets too cheesy... tell me.
this chapter was short so i'm double updating :)
I LOVE YOU LIKE SUGAR IN TEA.
AND I LOVE SUGAR IN TEA.
- MACKENZIE FALLS
(soz. i've been watching a lot of 'sonny with a chance' lately)