redamancy || georgenotfound

seven

Ria had been craving pasta, so we ordered it for dinner.

She was more of a rigatoni type, while I was a strong advocate for fettuccine. The meal came within a span of thirty minutes, and Ria kindly paid and thanked the delivery man before shutting the door on him quite harshly. I could feel her stress sizzling on top of her skin, so I constantly avoided getting too close to her during the dinner. I didn't want to spark a fire that couldn't be put out.

"Mom texted me last night again," she spoke through a forkful of noodles. My brows subconsciously raised a hint, but I quickly brought them down as I nodded, taking in another bite of the noodles enveloped in creamy Alfredo sauce. The chicken was under seasoned, which made me reluctantly toss it around the sauce with my fork.

"She texted me sometime this week too," I noted. "Did she ask how you were doing?"

Ria chuckled, and nodded. "Yeah, that's all Mom knows how to make conversation about." I scoffed at the accuracy of that statement. "Her and Dad seem to be in a good place now."

"Clearly," My voice came out softer than I intended, but even the slightest thought of Mom and Dad together certainly did overwhelm me. Their rocky relationship had always been something Ria would interject herself in, in an attempt to note what to look for and what not to look for in a partner. I had called her crazy over a million times whenever I saw her sitting on the stairs listening to their bickering, but now I could understand her justification to an extent. "You know, Mom even requested that I update her about my new friends I told her about."

Ria laughed and shoved a swirled noodle in her mouth, breaking the thick mood. "You told her about them?"

"She asked. And I knew she wouldn't accept the same answer five times in a row."

"Did you tell her about how you met them?"

I nodded, a smile forming on my lips. "Mom called George a poor embarrassed boy."

"Do you like him?" The question prompted me to stop mid-chew, diminishing the chances of choking on the dry chicken. Ria took my silence as another incomprehension on my end, and she scoffed. "George, or whatever, do you like him?"

"I heard you," I narrowed my eyes in her direction. "Ria, we've been speaking for barely two weeks, that's ridiculous."

"You're the one who falls too quickly," she pointed out. The metallic taste of blood quickly flooded into my mouth, from my subconscious chewing on my inner cheek. Ria's eyes never left my face, as if she felt a sense of glory in hitting a weak spot. I could almost hear the gears in her brain turning aimlessly, waiting for me to admit my defeat.

I scoffed as I forced my fork to my mouth. "And?"

"I'm guessing George isn't an exception to that. He's pretty cute, I've seen photos of him on the internet. Just your type."

My two options were that I could either go on a full-blown bluster, or calmly collect myself and answer Ria in a way that wouldn't have her screaming back at me.

"I don't fall in love with every single person I meet, Ria" was the best answer I could muster up after my 30-second-spiral.

"Alex Turner though."

"Shut up. He's hot."

"Look, I'm not saying it's a bad thing," she clarified, as if it would enlighten the entire situation. She raised her glass half-full of red wine to her lips, but paused. "I just want you to be wary of the... what could happen." It couldn't be any more obvious that she was targeting Colin with that phrase. She resumed her sip of wine, and set the glass down gently with her eyes glued on me.