Waiting For Us [COMPLETED]

chapter 16 - the surprise

Talia:

I stare at the clothes on the end of my bed with two questions in my mind. One: how the hell did Jess manage to bring these to me while I was asleep? And two: why did I let her pick out the outfit in the first place?

I lean up completely in my bed, my head still feeling groggy after a perfect night's rest. In front of me sits a pair of high-wasted blue jeans, which are loose on my legs. Beside the pants is a satin spaghetti strapped top. I find the color more difficult to describe. It's like a dusty brown that has been hued pink; either way I love it. Nothing can top green, though.

Leaning over to my right, I snatch my phone from my nightstand and am momentarily blinded by its bright light in my shaded room. When my eyes read the time, I panic. Shit.

My feet land on the ground with a large thud before they rush me into the bathroom to make the impossible, possible. I have ten minutes to make myself look presentable until Grayson arrives.

After amazing myself at how quickly I managed to maneuver through my bathroom routine, I get dressed in Jess's prepared outfit. The mirror in front of me reflects the image of a well put together girl. I'm not one to boast, but I look pretty darn good. I add a few pieces of accessories at the end: pearl earrings, tiny gold hoops for my second ear hole, a gold necklace with stars, and exactly three rings to grace my fingers. Perfect.

Snatching my tote bag and phone, I finally leave my room. Just as my foot lands on the first step to head downstairs, the doorbell rings. I have impeccable timing; but it seems my mother has even better.

As she opens the front door, I silently curse myself for not telling Grayson to just stay in the car. I rush down the stairs to try and stop the inevitable interaction from occurring. I'm too late.

"Who are you?" My mother asks as a way of greeting. Most people would say hello, or something, but not her.

Grayson stands on the front steps, tense as ever, clearly surprised by the wrong Chase female opening the door. "Hi, uhm—"

"Mom," I interrupt before Grayson possibly says the wrong thing. It's not that I have no hope in him, it's just the fact that you have to be extremely careful about what you say around my mother. I've become an expert. "He's here for a project, and we were just leaving."

My mother refuses to remove her position from the front door, continuing to block my escape. She turns her head to look at me. "Who is he?"

"I'm Grayson, Mrs. Chase," Grayson shares, extending his hand for her to shake. A bold move, in my opinion.

She looks at his hand skeptically and then does the impossible: shakes it with her own. "Interesting," she breathes out before releasing his hand and looking towards me. "What subject is this project for?"