THALIA
When a woman dressed in a black suit approached me on a train track, whilst I was holding a bottle of blue spray paint in my left hand and a face covered with paint, I didn't hesitate to say no to her proposition:
BE HER BRIDESMAID AT HER WE...
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Mr Ford sits at his desk, tapping on the hardwood.
I sit in the seat opposite him, tapping my foot against the floor.
He waits for me to speak, staring at me, I swear he can see my soul right now.
"I was wondering why Esmerelda was here yesterday ... Not that it's any of my business! At. all. But, I don't know. I was wondering if she was here because of me. And I know that sounds obnoxious - oh my god - it really does sound obnoxious - not what I meant."
"Thalia, it's okay, stop panicking. I'm not going to bite." He says soothingly, like a father would talk to their child. I would have killed to have a Dad like him.
I nod my head repeatedly, "Thankyou, I really appreciate it." I take a deep breath and try start again, with a bit more composure this time round. "Basically, when Esmerelda was here yesterday, was it because of me?"
"Yes."
"And I know I'm only 16, and probably seem super untrustworthy. But.. why? What did she say?"
"She said that she was really worried and that you had just left. Said she called you a brat or something and that you just left. Then called you a drama queen." He replies, no sugar coating.
"Oh. She seemed shaken up?"
"To a 3 year old, yes. To me, she just looked like a blatant liar."
Okay then...
"Sounds like her." I mumble.
He scoffs at that, "definitely."
A moment of silence and comfort passes between us. Peaceful.
"Thalia, I know that this might sound imposing. Or just blatantly is imposing. But Esmerelda, does she treat you... respectfully?"
I want to scream No! at the top of my lungs but something scares me. Like, what exactly would Mr Ford do with this information.
I just shake my head repeatedly, if I use my words I might break down into sobs.
He looks at me with such compassion and sympathy it makes me long for a parent even more. He sighs, "you sure?" But we both know I'm not sure.
I nod my head this time, trying to smile to help keep composure. "Yeah," I say, but it comes out as a mere whisper.
"Just know that, my doors always open, sweetheart. You can stay here for as long as you want. I won't force you back into her arms. However, I won't force you to stay either. But I am pretty biased towards you staying here. You don't need to tell me what's happened, but... are you safe in that house?"
My heart warms at his kindness. As much as there's a huge part of me that wants to lie and pretend I'm 100% safe, something overtakes me and makes me unconsciously shake my head, I don't even realise I'm crying until Mr Ford is up off of his chair and has sat himself down on the chair that's besides mine. He leans forward slightly. "Come on, don't cry. Your safe, I promise." He tells me whole-heartedly. And that's the final straw. I break down in front of this extremely composed man. I cry because of how much I'm hurting. He engulfs me in a warm, fatherly, bear hug.
When I've finally cried all tears until there are no more tears left to cry, I stand up off of the seat. I smile at the man in front of me, "Thankyou. Your boys are lucky to have you."
He smiles at that. "No need to thank me."
As we walk out his spacious office room, I ask him not to tell Gio. He just says, "of course" ,with a warm smile.
_________________________________
"You're so fucking dumb, bro!" A frustrated Dom yells at his twin brother, Matteo.
We did actually end up going bowling. And Mr Ford rented the whole alley out. I should've guessed it, with their house being humongous and the floor being literal marble.
"How can you be dumb at bowling?" Matteo asks, dumbfounded.
"I don't know, you tell me!"
"I can't! Because I am good at bowling!"
"No you're not, you fucking suck!"
"Shut up, Dom. Who the fuck asked."
Dom rolls his eyes and slumps in his seat, crossing his arms.
"They're fucking idiots." I hear Nikolai say under his breath whilst typing on his phone.
His Dad snatches the phone out of his hand, "I'm sure you can leave it alone for one minute, Nikolai."
"Dad, I'm nineteen. I don't need babying."
"I'm not babying you, I'm making sure you don't get too caught up in that phone. You have to find a balance."
"But I was texting Stella."
"You see Stella every day, I'm sure she'll survive."
Nikolai throws his head back in annoyance.
His dad seems unfazed.
Gio leans in and whispers, "Stella is his best friend. Slash crush."
I love that Gio keeps feeding me little bits of information about his family. I don't feel as out of the loop.
"When are you gonna man up and ask her out, bro?" Dom asks his older brother who looks half asleep and half bored.
"Shut up, Dom." He warns cooly.
"Where are your balls? You're a fucking pussy."
Before Dom can go on further annoying his brother, I decide to butt in. "What do you mean by man up?"
Dominique rolls his eyes, "it's not that deep."
"And how come you told him to grow balls but then you call him a pussy negatively."
