Silent : Unveiling the Turmoil of a Teenage Heart

CHAPTER 6

LILY / NOAH

LILY

The waiter arrives with our drink and places them on the table. "Thank you!" We say in sync.

"So, Soo..." Sam starts. "Oh, God." Soori mumbles to herself. "How are you and Elijah?" He asks with a smirk on his face. "We're just talking." She says with a smile on her face. "You're blushing, Soo." Noah says. "Yeah, you are." I say, leaning back.

Elijah is a guy from our school. Not long ago, he told Soori that he's into her. Soori gave him her number, and they've been 'talking' since then. And she's secretly into him, but she won't admit it. Elijah's not my type of guy. I think he's a little weird, but it's whatever.

"No really, we've just been talking." Soori says, getting her hair out of her face. We just stare at her, and start laughing. "What?" She asks, laughing with us. "You like him, Ri." Noah says. "Okay, maybe a little. But we're not...like...dating, I swear." Soori says. "All right. Whatever you say." Sam says.

We talk for a little longer, and it's suddenly 10:45 PM. Soori unlocks her phone and sees the time. "Oh, it's this late already?" She says, putting her phone in her back pocket. "Yeah, apparently." I say. "Can you still take me home, Noah?" Soori asks as she puts on her jacket. "Of course." "Okay, we'll just pay for these drinks and then we can leave." I say, standing up from my chair. "Don't worry about it, I'll pay." Sam insists. "Are you sure? I can pay another half." Noah suggests as he also puts his jacket on. "No, no. Don't worry about it."

"Thank you." Soori says as she smiles. Sam smiles back. "Okay, then I'm gonna go. It's not raining, so I have a chance of getting home dry." I say. I give everyone a hug and leave the cafe. My bike is completely wet. I try to dry it with my hand, but it doesn't really work. I unlock my bike and get on. I feel my entire butt getting wet, and let me tell you, it does not feel nice. I wave at my friends who are still inside, and they wave back. I put my hair behind my ears and cycle away.

NOAH

Soori gets in the passenger seat of my car, and I close the door for her. I walk over to the other side of the car and also step in. "How's dad doing?" I ask as I start the car. "He's doing fine. How about mom?" She asks, getting comfortable. "She's pretty overworked, but she's resting now." I say, smiling at Soori. "Oh, she should take some days off." She says with a worried look on her face. "I'm trying to convince her."

Ever since my parents divorced, my mom has been working her ass off just to pay the bills. I tried to convince her to work less hours and we can split the bills. I work in a fancy restaurant that pays really well, and I have no problem by giving my mom some money to help her out financially. But she won't let me. As soon as I get home, I'll tell her to take some days off. She probably won't react well to that. Mom's very stubborn, and won't listen to anyone's opinion but her own. Sometimes I like that she stands her ground, but it's very hard to deal with her.

"I think she'll be okay." Soori says as she smiles at me. That smile. Soori's smile is my favorite smile. Cause when she smiles, you can see it's real. She really smiles.

"She will. I just want her to realize she needs to take better care of herself." I say as I run one hand through my hair, the other hand still on the steering wheel. "You should talk to her about it." "I have, but she won't really listen."

My mom doesn't really listen to any advice I give her. Soori stays silent. I can see her fidgeting with her ring in the corner of my eye. She always tells me how much she loves that ring. Her mother gave it to her. It's a beautiful ring. It's a silver ring with a diamond. The ring fits beautifully around her slim fingers.

Soori's phone lights up. She smiles at her phone and opens the notification. By her reaction, I'm guessing it's Elijah. I don't know how I feel about it. It's not like I like Soori in a romantic way, but I know Elijah's tricks, and I also know how sensitive Soori is. Soori overthinks a lot, she gets attached easily and trusts people fast. Soori wouldn't hurt a fly. She wouldn't even dare to hit her annoying brothers, even when she should. And I do not think that Elijah will do her any good, but I can't take this happiness away from her.

"Elijah?" I ask. Soori nods as she types something on her phone. "What'd he say?" "He's just wondering what I'm doing." Soori continues staring at her phone. I take a quick look at her, only to see an annoyed Soori. "What's up?" I ask. "He's just a little annoyed, I think." She says as she locks her phone and puts it in her lap. "Why?" I turn the steering wheel to the right, quickly look at Soori again. "He's just doesn't really like me being with you and Sam." She says as she tucks a piece of hair behind her ear.

I'm sorry? Who does this guy thinks he is? Telling Soori which of her friends he does and doesn't like her being around. We are her friends. Not his. "Ri, that's so stupid." "Maybe he just doesn't like me being around so many guys.." "Soori, two guys." I say. She's trying to side with him, but I know she knows he's being stupid. "It's not like I'm gonna stop being with you guys, but I don't want to make him upset either.." "Why should he be upset? We're you're friends. We were there before Elijah was, he doesn't have a say in this." I say. "I agree, but I can't tell him that." She says as she looks down. "Why not?" "He'll be upset, and I'm really not in the mood for fighting with him right now." She says.

When Soori's mother passed, she had lots of arguments with her father and her brothers. Everyone was stressed out, angry, sad and confused. She told me about those fights, and she slept over at my house a lot in that period of time. Ever since then, Soori has been avoiding discussions and fights, which I understand.

We arrive at Soori's house. I stop the car in front of her house. I turn to Soori and look into her eyes. "I get that you don't want to fight with him. But hey, if he does get angry over stupid things, call me. Or Sam, or Lily, it doesn't matter. We'll be with you, okay?" I try to reassure her. She nods and goes in for a hug. I wrap my arms around her and rub her back. Soori pulls away from me and smiles. "I'll see you tomorrow." She says as she zips down her jacket. "Yes. Good night, Ri." "Good night." She smiles. Soori opens the car door and closes it when she's fully out of the car. I wait until she's inside. Soori twists her keys inside of the lock, but stops for a second. She turns around and waves at me. I wave back with a smile on my face. She turns back around and opens her door. I wait until she closes her door, then I'll drive away.

Soori has closed her door, and I start the car again. Elijah's stupid words are still stuck in my head. Who does he think he is, talking to my friend like that?