I KNOW IT HAS BEEN AGES. I'M SO BUSY WITH COLLEGE BUT I SQUEEZED THIS IN. TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK AND PLEASE VOTE.
Blinking rapidly, I fiddled nervously with my hands. What do I say in this scenario? I mean, I haven’t seen Justin, I can’t tell her where he is for he hasn’t answered my text messages, and I’m not Justin’s girlfriend either so it’s not like it’s my place to tell her our relationship, whatever our relationship even is. This is just…This is difficult.
“So are you just going to continue to stand there or are you going to assist me in finding my brother?” Justin’s sister raised an eyebrow at me, her eyes laced with irritation.
“Erm, yeah well I can give him a call for you. What’s your name?”
“Milly. My name is Milly. And what is calling him going to do? He didn’t answer any of my calls and I called about fifty times.” She snorted.
Well, Justin tends to answer my calls but I’m not going to say anything because she could be some overly obsessive sibling or something and I don’t want to die. I pulled out my phone and dialed him up. He answered on the third ring. “Hey, Justin, I’m here with—”
“Hey, Kasey. I was just thinking about you, actually. I was going to buy us some wine and strawberries and then remembered you don’t drink which kind of sucks because I think you’d be a really cute drunk. But I swapped out the wine with sparkling cider and it’s just as cute. I’m on my way though, I got your texts, I’ve just been busy. Don’t worry. I’ll try not to worry you so much.”
I smiled. Aw, he has been truly concerned that I would worry over him not answering my texts, and he swapped out alcohol for sparkling cider for me. “You’re so sweet.” I melted, biting my lower lip.
“Ah, I’ll do anything to hear you sigh your words like that. I’ll be there in a few. See you, bae.” He hung up and I clutched my phone to my chest in adoration. Justin is so perfect.
“Um, hello? Did you tell him I’m here waiting for him?” Milly asked, snapping me out of my trance.
“Oh, fiddlebob! I forgot! Well he said he’ll be here in a few so it doesn’t really matter if he knows you’re here or not he won’t come back any faster.” I put my phone back into my pocket. “I have to change out of my work clothes, he’ll be here soon.”
“Wait, wait, wait!” Milly charged after me, slapping my hand off of the doorknob to my room.
“What?” I sighed.
“Did you just use the word fiddlebob instead of fuck? Are you a puritan?”
“Milly, I have things to do—”
“And why did he answer your call? Why did you get all gushy? What is going on?” She stomped her foot. Oh my goodness.
The door swung open and in the doorway stood Jace with an annoying Nicolette by her side. “What are you arguing about? Who is this?” She pointed to Milly.
“I’m Milly, who are you?” She straightened her posture into a more dominating stance. Body language is very important.
“Jace, Kasey’s roommate.” She eyed Milly up and down.
“Whatever. Kasey, answer my questions.”
“I just want to change, oh my gosh!” I groaned.
“Answer my questions and then you can go change! Come on, please!” she whined.
I frowned. “No.”
“Kasey, get in here, we need to talk,” Jace demanded in a voice so stern not only did I turn to gawk at her but so did Milly.
“Who are you, her mother?” Milly narrowed her eyes.
“Excuse me, ma’am, but I’d appreciate it if you’d stay in your lane.” Jace rolled her eyes and Nicolette smiled.
Laughing, Milly stood up even straighter. “I’m sorry that you have to boss around potential world leaders in order to receive some lifetime fulfillment and satisfaction. And you back there.” She pointed to Nicolette. “You look like a fucking skank who made about a billion mistakes and was never held accountable for them. Don’t play with me or I will spend an entire week trying to figure them out.” Nicolette paled and Jace took in a sharp gasp. “Now if you’d excuse me, I’d like to let Kasey change her clothes so that I can have a few more moments of her time.” She ran her hands through her glorious hair and then moved to let me pass through.
Clearing my throat, I brushed past Nicolette and Jace, taking a second glance at Milly who just nodded at me in encouragement. Wow, I should aspire to be as confident and dominant as Milly someday. I’ve never seen anyone put Jace in her place before. I didn’t think it could be done, but obviously I was wrong.
Dressed in something more comfortable, I walked past a still stunned Jace and Nicolette. With a shake of my head, I exited the apartment and bumped right into Milly who is pacing the lobby.
“It’s about time. I was starting to think you’d never come back out of the room. I thought Jace killed you or something,” she said, her voice breathy and panicked. Whoa, she needs to take a chill pill.
“I checked my email while I was at it. First, before you ask me a million questions, let me ask a couple myself.”
Stopped short, Milly crossed her arms over her chest. “Alright, fair enough. What do you want to know?”
“For one, why did you stand up for me when you don’t even know me?”
“Ah, I see.” She chuckled, relaxing her pose into a less defensive one. “I was bullied growing up when I used to live with my father for my parents split up at an early age. I was a loser or whatever and people prey on the weak if they sense even a little inkling of weakness in you. Then my mother took me in after I told my father I didn’t want to do it anymore, live. So my mother slapped me after I was bullied at my new school too and she told me, ‘You are not weak. I did not raise you to be weak. You are strong. You are beautiful. Fuck what they say. They can’t touch you.’ And that inspired me. If you met my mother you’d understand how it could. She’s very…ferocious. Ha. Ever since then, I came walking into buildings like I owned the place and no one ever bothered me again.
“My point to this story of course is that when I saw Jace picking on you, preying on you like you were one of the weak, it pissed me off and I stand up for those that need it. I’ll tell you what my mother told me.” She grabbed me by the shoulders, her hands digging into my collarbones and looked me dead in the eyes with her light brown ones. “You are strong. You are beautiful. You cannot and will not be weak. Fuck. What. They. Say. They can’t touch you.”
I released a shuddery breath and nodded my head like a soldier. “Okay.”
“Good.” She let me go and I rolled my shoulders back, biting my lower lip. “So, why does my brother answer your calls and not mine?”
I laughed. “Well, it could be because he likes me.”
“Did you guys sleep together? Because if you slept together he doesn’t like you. I’m warning you right now, just go while you can.” She snickered.
“I’m a virgin,” I whispered.
“WHAT?” she screeched and then she yanked me by the front of my shirt so that I am directly in her face. “So what do you two do when you hang out?”
“Uh, cook things, exercise, talk about our jobs?”
“He told you about his job?”
“Yeah, he’s an architect.” I narrowed my eyes at the funny shade of pink she’s turning. “Hey, Milly, um are you okay?”
“He hasn’t slept with you and he told you about his job?” she processed, her voice quiet. She abruptly let me go and I stumbled back. “O-kay, so you’re just friends?”
“I don’t think friends stick their tongues in each other’s mouths…”
“Ah!” she screamed. “Is this even real? Okay, uh, what did he say on the phone?”
“He said he was picking up strawberries and sparkling cider for us since he knows I don’t drink.”
“Since he knows you don’t drink,” she repeated, her voice so quiet I rested a hand on her shoulder to see if she were okay.
“Are you alright?”
“Shh!” She slapped my hand away. “It’s not every day I find out that my brother has actual feelings for someone, alright?”
“Okay…”
“This is big. This is really big. This could mean…” Her eyes lit up and then her arms were around me. Unable to breathe for she is squishing me so hard, I struggled to get free. “This could mean you are the key element in giving my brother hope for love!” she squealed.
“Erm, what?”
She let me go and began her manic pacing again. “All his life ever since my parents split up and wouldn’t get back together, he’s had this warped up vision of love. And honestly, so have I but his is way more extreme. And you could be something good for him. This is great! Oh my gosh, we can be like sisters! What are you doing tomorrow? Do you want to go shopping? I can show you some really cute lingerie and shoes and stuff. Oh my God, say yes!”
“I don’t really like lingerie,” I mumbled.
“Oh, right, you’re a virgin. Well we can still go shopping. What do you say?”
“Sure.”
“Yeah! You can tell me all about Justin and you. I’m super excited. You’re really pretty, do you know that?”
“Thanks.” I blushed.
She beamed at me. “So, what do you do—”
The elevator door pinged open and outstepped a very shocked Justin. “Oh my God,” he gasped at the sight of Milly and me standing so close together.
“Justin!” I called out.
“Justin!” Milly squealed.