I turned 16 on Tuesday!
There still hasn't been any sign of her.
It was Wednesday and no one had heard from her.
I texted and called numerous times each day, making sure to leave her a voicemail that lasted until the robotic voice told me that I had met the maximum length allotted.
On another note, Brandon hadn't spoken to me either. I wasn't sure if he was giving me space to deal with the Lillia dilemma, or if he was still angry about this past weekend. Either way, I had been given the silent treatment.
At the same time, I hadn't exactly tried to contact him either. Maybe that was what he was doing: relying on me to text first. Hoping my accusation was correct, I sent him a quick text.
Tonight we--minus Lillia--were flying to New York City for a cocktail party with a few business people. If I was dreading it before, just imagine how I felt having to go without my best friend.
Part of me was half-convinced that she would show up at the party in New York. She had a super close relationship with her mom and, given how much this event meant to her mother, I didn't think Lillia would even dream about missing it.
Of all of Lillia's qualities and attributes, you would never be able to describe her as selfish--especially when it came to her family. If I knew my best friend, she would show up. If she didn't, then that would officially make this the maddest she has ever been.
Apparently I was overthinking so much that I didn't even hear the bell ring. Watching my classmates scurry out of the classroom and into the busy hallway, I slowly gathered up my belongings. When I was packed up, I walked through the doorway, nodding in the direction of my science teacher who, by the way, was still having cat issues.
While making a sharp turn into the hectic corridor, I ran square into a hard, sculpted chest. I began to apologize profusely when I was interrupted by a deep chuckle.
"Stop fussing; it's no big deal," he assured, sending a heart-warming smile in my direction.
"Okay, good," I awkwardly concluded, laughing to fill the awkward pause.
"I was actually just looking for you," Jared said, resting his hand on my elbow to keep me from running away.
"Oh?" I hummed, already knowing where this was going.
"So, I'm having this party tonight..."
He trailed off, not needing to say anything more. "Why are you inviting me? I didn't even know you knew who I was," I blurted, not realizing how lame that sounded until after I said it.
"We have Spanish together," he reminded me. "And lunch. Don't tell me you forgot about the time I spilled that pitcher of lemonade all over myself!"
"I remember," I said with a smile, reminiscing over the event. He was in a hurry to ask a girl to homecoming, and one of the lunch ladies crashed into him. One of the pitchers of lemonade was defeated by gravity, contributing to a pile of liquid, ice cubes, and glass. The other, as Jared mentioned, traveled down the length of his body.
Jared, sticky and soaking wet, apologized generously, promising to repair the damages. In the meantime, he proceeded to head over to that girl's table. Although the chocolates were now moist and the flowers drooped over the side, she still said yes.
I mean, if someone went through all of that public humiliation for you, how could you even think about saying no?
"That was so embarrassing," he admitted, shaking his head as he laughed. "But, all jokes aside, I hope you can make it. You seem really interesting."
"Interesting? That could be a good or bad thing," I reminded him, hoping he was going for the former.
"Well, obviously, in the good way," he responded, catching a freshman's notebook as it flew out of his arms. "Whoa. Careful there, buddy."
"How am I interesting?"
"I'm not sure," he responded, staring at me as if there was something different about me that he was missing. "You're super quiet, but when you're called on, you always seem to have a lot to say. And even right now, you're pretty talkative."
"That's called being shy," I informed him, unable to hold back a laugh.
He laughed with me before continuing. "I think you have a very contrasting personality in and out of school, and I'm making it my personal mission to find out what the other part of you is like."
"Well, I can assure you that I'm just as boring outside of school as I am inside of this prison trap," I joked, hoping to playfully turn him down. "Besides, I'm going out of town for Thanksgiving."
"Hmmm..." he spoke, drawing the word out as the gears twisted in his brain. "You owe me a rain check, then. Deal?"
I was torn: if I submitted to his request, he would expect me to hang out with him, which would make me more well-known around school. However, if I disagreed, I knew that he would be persistent, pestering me until I finally caved. "Deal," I finally answered.
"Perfect," he grinned. "See you around!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"If she's not here, I'm leaving," I promised. Jake rolled his eyes at my overly dramatic behavior and continued to drag me into the venue.
Meanwhile, Joey was checking his phone with a worried expression. As much as I wanted to ask him about it, I knew it was about Lillia. And if it made him seem that perplexed, I didn't think I could handle knowing what it was.
"She will," Jake answered a few minutes later, entwining his fingers with mine in a comforting, friendly manner. Before I got involved with Joey, this particular gesture would have my heart tingling, sending a stroke of searing heat through my body. But now, it felt disappointingly casual, all romantic aspects to it lost.
Jake's ringtone went off loud, so he dropped my hand and answered in the cheeriest voice I've ever heard him use. "Hey baby, how's Oregon?"
While Jake was upset that Brandon and Marietta had to go to Oregon with their parents, I was pretty grateful for the news. Brandon decided to ignore the lousy text I had sent him earlier, which made me even more vexed than anything else. If he wanted to ignore me, did that mean he wanted to break up? And if so, why hadn't he done so already?
Joey had finally put his phone in his pocket and jogged up next to me, resting his hand on the base of my back. Contrasting to Jake, Joey never failed to have an effect on me.
"You look beautiful, by the way," Joey whispered, his lips grazing my ear.
I looked down at my strapless gown--it was one of my favorites. I was wearing a white mermaid style dress that had gold glitter cascading down the length of it in a gradient. As weird as it was to admit, I had always thought the dress made me feel so pretty.
As we reached the doors of the banquet hall, Jake ended his phone call while the three of us entered together.
As soon as we entered, Jake began to scavenge the room for Lillia. I tried to direct my nerves elsewhere, forcing myself to take in the details of the ballroom. At least the view from the glass walls was breathtaking, with the bright lights of New York City shining below, crawling with ant-sized people.
"She's here," Joey muttered, his eyes fixed on Lillia's flawless figure. Her naturally straight, auburn hair was falling down her back, and the slits in the sides of her deep amethyst gown exposed her thin legs and elevated, ebony high-heeled shoes.
Even from here, I could see the sway in her step as she made her way to the bar, grabbing another glass of what looked to be champagne.
After Joey gave my side a reassuring squeeze, I slipped past his grip and walked towards my highly inebriated best friend.
"Lillia?" I asked as I stepped around her, staring into her dull, chartreuse eyes.
"Emily," she greeted blankly, not even a hint of emotion present.
"How have you been?" I asked, feeling like an adult who was catching up with her childhood best friend.
"Marvelous," she spat, bitterness laced with her words. "And you?"
"Lillia, I've been worried sick," I truthfully answered. "Where were you?"
"Oh! Wouldn't you like to know?" she sarcastically asked.
"I've learned my lesson," I swore. "I promise I'll call you next time I don't come home."
She took a slow, drawn out sip of her bubbly champagne before flashing her lily-white teeth at me. "Em, it doesn't work like that, babe."
"Then tell me how it works."
Like a switch, her mood immediately converted to anger. "You've left me alone like this numerous times for longer periods of time," she hissed, flailing her arms in disbelief.
"I'm sorry! I never knew you cared about my disappearances so much. Please, for--"
"Forgive you? It's not that simple," she scoffed, successfully cutting me off.
"But--"
"No. I'm done."
"You're done?" I repeated in a quiet, defeated tone.
"So done. You can't keep disappearing like that!" she exclaimed, waving her hands around as if she were swatting at a fly. "Do you realize how scared I was on Saturday?"
"I--"
"No. You don't. How am I supposed to know if something happened to you or not? If you want to be alone--or alone with Joey--then go ahead! But ignoring my texts so that I'm head over heels in worry is not fair to me. At all."
"And you're absolutely right. I promise to call or text you next time," I assured her, my worry beginning to pass.
"Except there won't be a next time," she continued, ignoring my apology.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I questioned, panic clear in my voice.
"It means I'm sick of dealing with all of this," she breathed, calming herself down. "Goodbye, Emily."
"Lillia, wait," I pleaded, grabbing her tan elbow. If she was tan, did that mean she stayed in Myrtle Beach?
"Let go of me," she hissed, shaking her arm free of my grip. Her dull eyes met mine once, and then she walked away, never looking back.
Before I could fully process the scene that just took place before my eyes, Jake ran up to me, a look of despair etched onto his face. "I know where Lillia was."
"Where?"
"Um, you might want to ask your boyfriend..." Jake slowly suggested.
"No," I declared. "There's no way he knew. She wouldn't tell him and not me."
Jake nodded gloomily, patting me on the back before leaving me to myself. Not wanting to draw any more attention to myself, I secluded myself in the coat room. I pulled my phone out, shaking with anger as I dialed Brandon's cell number.
On the fourth ring, I heard a "hello" grunted on the other end as a greeting.
"Hey there," I cheerfully chirped through gritted teeth.
"What's up?" he asked in a bored tone.
"Not much, how about you?" I asked, venom entwined with each syllable. I was beyond furious.
"I've been better," he replied.
"I'm just gonna get straight to it: where was Lillia? Was she in Myrtle Beach the entire time?"
"How should I know?"
"I'm not sure why you don't realize this, but your sister's a snitch. She told Jake," I informed him, rolling my eyes.
"Oh," he muttered with a sigh. After a few moments, he answered me. "Alabama."
"Alabama?" I repeated, making sure I heard him correctly.
"Tuscaloosa, Alabama," he clarified.
"What's in Tuscaloosa?"
"Not you," he murmured.
"Why would you help her? You knew how scared I was," I complained, feeling betrayed.
"I agreed with her reasoning."
"What is this?" I asked, ignoring his statement. "Are we breaking up? Is that what this is?"
"I never said that."
"Well you sure are acting like it," I scoffed, running my fingers along a furry jacket on a nearby rack.
"Is that what you want?" he curiously questioned.
"It's clearly what you want."
"So...we're done?"
"I guess so," I concluded, sucking in a deep breath. Before I could speak again, I heard him mumble something as he hung up on me.
I was too livid to re-enter the party, so I paced around the coat room until I felt calm enough to face people. When I walked in again, the first person I encountered was Jake.
"How'd it go?" He nosily prodded.
"We broke up," I shrugged, acting as if it was no big deal.
"You...what?"
"He's been ignoring me for the past week, so it's not that big of a surprise," I disclosed, feeling a twinge of ire ignite inside of me.
"I'm sorry," Jake apologized, pulling me into a side hug.
"Don't be," I muttered, shrugging. "I'll be right back."
Jake nodded as I walked to Joey, grabbing another glass of wine along the way. I went right up to Joey and gave him a small hug. I didn't even look at him; I just hugged him, desiring to be in his presence.
Just because Brandon and I broke up didn't mean I was going to go running back to Joey. That wouldn't be fair to him; he's not my fallback. In fact, Joey's too special to be anyone's second choice. And besides, my breakup couldn't undo any of our actions and words to each other.
"What's wrong?" Joey asked, dismissing the lady he was previously talking to.
"I really just needed a Joey-hug," I truthfully admitted.
"What happened?"
"So much," I murmured. Reluctantly peeling myself off of him, I excused myself. "I'm going to find my parents and greet some of their friends."
"Remember, I'll be right here. Always."
I smiled. "I know."
———————————
Soooo...I NEED to hear your thoughts on...
1. Brandon... Calling it quits?
2. Lillia...Where was she? They're not friends anymore?!
3. How about the new popular boy, Jared?
4. What about Joey taking care of her?
Do you think they'll get back together now?