Rainbows after Hurricane

11. |p a s t|

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Song of the chapter/ Covering your tracks by Amy Stroup

When Dianna left five years ago to pursue her dreams, never for once did she think she will come back home to watch everything that she held dear to her crumble into pieces. Nothing is same as before. With Ashley gone and Zach and Asher's friendship hitting the rock bottom, Dianna can't think of one single plausible reason to why it happened to what has happened.

After Asher dropped Dianna home three nights ago, she hadn't spoken with him and Zach. Both of them seemed to be avoiding her, knowing all too well that, once she is face-to-face with either one of them, she will bombard them with questions and won't drop it without getting the answers to it.

Dianna can't seem to concentrate on anything, not even the annual festive seemed to distract her. The annual festive is just a month away and so far the preparation has been going on in full swing. One of the reasons, she can't see her mother as much as she was hoping. She wanted to ask her to what happened between Zach and Asher but with all the hustle and bustle of the infamous annual festive, her mother has been way too busy to even have a five minute break let alone have time to speak with her.

She longed to talk with someone—anyone—to pour out what she was feeling, the frustration, the irritation, the desperation to know the truth was gnawing on her insides like the insects crawling all over her body, pinching and poking her skin for the access.

There should be some way to know about the truth?

               "Dianna, you're doing it wrong." A light shake on her arm brings her out of her thoughts. Tilting her head to the side, she blinks, once, twice before clearing her throat.

               "Um, what?" She says unsure to what Ms. Lindale is talking about.

Ms. Lindale looks at her for a moment longer than necessary before pointing at the ribbons she is twisting and turning in her hand. Dianna glances to where Ms. Lindale is pointing, her face instantly heating up with embarrassment. "Oh, I am so sorry, Ms. Lindale. I will do it again."

Ms. Lindale gives a knowing look before gently prying the ribbons, she mercilessly twisted, out of her hands and holds her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

           Dianna blinks. "Uh, yeah. Why?"

Ms. Lindale shakes her head like she is dealing with a small child, giving her a reprimanding look. "I know when someone's lying and you're lying right now. Something is bothering you. You can talk to me, you know." She smiles.

Dianna stands, shocked, for a minute. Is she that transparent that even Ms. Lindale with whom she isn't even very close can pinpoint that something is wrong with her? Does that mean everyone else here too can see it?

             "Am I that transparent?" Dianna asks, hiding the slight irritation from her voice. She hates it when people gives her pity look like something major is wrong with her. At the moment, as she looks at Ms. Lindale's slightly wrinkled face, the slight twitch in her jaw and the unmistakable concern showing in her eyes, she can't decide whether it's pitying or genuine affection.

Ms. Lindale shakes her head with a laugh. "No, you're not. In fact you're very good at hiding your emotions." She says with a look that was screaming she knows something which Dianna don't. "But, right now I can tell that something is bothering you because it's showing on your work." She points to the pile of ribbons which she was working on earlier.