chasing girl wonder

turn & burn

RRRRRIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!!!!!

Flashed on the screen was the name of the caller and Lisa controlled herself from releasing an irritable grunt. The emotions that formed in her chest after mentioning Amara's death were like a block of solid ice, suddenly diced into small pieces when the phone call interrupted, giving her some time to collect herself and stop talking about it altogether. Or just stop talking to Roseanne at all. So, maybe it was a good save?

Meanwhile, Roseanne could not be more grateful for that perfect timing as well. It was a timed commercial break because she needed a minute to process the information Lisa just shared. Words were difficult to unfurl when someone talked about wanting to vanish or defy nature on the day of her sister's death. "Hey, hon."

"Did you get an Uber?" Suzy said over the other line, her voice filling the entire car. "I can help book if you can't get any drivers, or if you can wait a bit, I can send Giorgi back there after he drops Sangmoon off."

"Uhm, actually, Lisa offered—"

"Lisa? You're with her?!" Suzy reacted exasperatedly.

Roseanne detected so much displeasure in that shrilling tone and she quickly rephrased what she was going to say. "I kind of forced her to take me to the hospital. And that's because Mr. Kim—"

"You're not making nice with that problem child, Rosie."

"Making nice?! Problem child?!" Out of shock, Roseanne was unable to follow the reaction with something polite when Lisa could hear their entire conversation. She absently played with her gold wrap necklace, shifting her gaze outside the window. "Hon, you're on sp—"

Suzy continued, "Seriously, you have to stop picking up rag dolls, hon. I know you're the sweetest person on earth who would get out of the car to help an old man who would fall on the street—give a homeless family a nice place to live in, but hon, Lisa's different. She doesn't need any of that."

Rag dolls. Lisa pondered over the word. That just perfectly described her, she was tempted to speak and thank Suzy, actually.

"How so?" Roseanne confronted, her eyebrows creasing as she stared at Suzy's name on the screen.

"She's bad news," Suzy grumbled. "I don't like you being friendly with that one. I don't get a good vibe. I think she—"

"You shouldn't believe whatever Nick's telling you," Roseanne said, shooting a glimpse at Lisa who appeared unbothered about everything Suzy was saying. "Don't judge her based on one side of the story."

"And do you know her side of the story?" Suzy challenged.

Roseanne released an impatient huff. Feeling conscious of Lisa being there, her voice was barely above a whisper when she spoke, though she was certain it was still audible for Lisa. "I thought between us, you'll be the one who's going to understand her better because like you, she lost a family."

"Yes, but do you have any idea what she did after?"

After releasing a little, impatient sigh, Roseanne said, "Ugh. Can we—I'm with her right now and—"

"She selfishly chose to be on her own instead of staying with her mom, helping dad, or fixing things with Nick.... Does she even have any idea about dad being sick—hon, Nick told me she never cried after Amara died!" Suzy's words came out as a breathy explosion. "I hate people like her who'd just disappear or—what, walk out on her family when things are hard! Maybe she was indeed guilty of—"

Abruptly, Lisa disconnected the Bluetooth, and the rest of Suzy's words sounded muffled from Roseanne's phone. Her jaw tightened and she checked the NAVER map if she was still heading in the right direction.