Engaged

Chapter 5: Phone Calls

About five minute later, my phone rang.

Checking my caller ID, I rolled my eyes, silently dreading how this phone call would go.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Tayla? How are you honey?"

"I'm hanging in there Mrs. Graham," I responded formally.

She tsked. "So I'm Mrs. Graham now? You've been calling me mom since you first met me," she ranted.

Yeah, well that was when I thought we were going to be one big happy family.

"Not to be rude Mrs. Graham, but is there a reason you called me?" I don't usually talk to her like this, but I couldn't help but wonder if she knew this already. I mean, Eli told his parents everything. I kind of felt betrayed by her, because in reality, I'm not her child. This moment made me realize that she has no reason to be loyal to me. The only people she has to be loyal to are her husband and her son. I've always felt like they had my back. I thought she'd tell me something as crushing as this, so I can be prepared for this.

Obviously, I was wrong.

"Yes, there is a reason I called you," she said in her snarky voice, telling me she was displeased with my last statement. Honestly, I can't bring myself to give a hoot.

"I wanted to let you know, that I knew nothing about this," she told me. "Adrian and are just as surprised as everyone else. Your parents called us going crazy about how we didn't tell you. Honey, Eli never told us."

I'm shocked. Seriously shocked. He didn't tell his parents? What kind of man is he? What kind of woman doesn't want to be known about to his parents? Was he planning this elaborate form of leaving me before he told them? I feel like I don't know that man at all.

After a few seconds of silence, she continued. "Tay, I'm going to call my son, and talk to him. If they're paired, there's nothing I can really do about it, but I want you to know, that I'll always look at you as if you're my daughter." Yeah right. "Adrian and I love you, no matter what."

"Thank you Zoya, it's very comforting of you to say that," I responded.

"We really do love you," Eli's father Adrian said from somewhere in the background."

"I love you guys too," I told them. And it's the truth. Even though, they'll eventually forget about me and move on with their son, I'll always hold them in my hearts. They were wonderful people.

After a short conversations, more apologies on their son's behalf, we eventually hung up.

After a few minutes, the silence started to slowly kill me. I'm in need of music therapy. I picked up my phone and turned on the music. I went to my 'Heartbreak' playlist, which consisted of three whole songs, Trey Songz, Made to be Together, Melanie Fiona, Gone and Never Coming Back, and Joe, All The Things. The Joe song isn't really sad, but that's the song we've sang together together our entire lives, loving the song since the moment we heard it. We swore we'd play this at our wedding. That's our song.

The playlist stayed on replay, simultaneously putting me through agony and comfort at the same time. The best kind of torture.

I was singing along with Trey, when he was talking about he couldn't let the girl go when my phone interrupted.

"One thing that I know is baby you were made for me," I sang with a broken voice, when Joe decided cut me off singing, "I'll love you from the bottom to the top! Nothing is forbidden, when we touch!"

I didn't mean to pick up. I picked up on instinct. Force of habit. I immediately regretted it.

"Hello?" I tried to sound energetic.

"Tayla, I just got in the hotel and settled down," he informed me, sounding slightly irritated.

"Okay." I didn't really know what to say next.

"I want to know about what you've been saying to our parents," he told me. However, before I said anything, he continued. "Paired Tay? Really? We all know you're the one I'm supposed to be paired with. You're turning twenty one tomorrow. Is this a way of getting back at me for not being able to celebrate with you?" What?

"I know it's important, but these are serious accusations. Even if I were paired to someone else, I'd tell you. Tayla, you are my life! Why would you do that? You broke all of that stuff I made you. All of it, for what? Do you know how much that hurt me? Like I told you before, I'm so sorry, I won't be able to be with you for your most important birthday. I wish this weren't important business, because if this didn't affect the rest of our lives, I'd be right by your side. Just don't torture me like this," he finished.

By then, I was laughing.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"You must think I'm a fool," I told him. "Torture you? I'm the one that told you to go! Be honest here. Are you seriously mad that I broke your stuff? Or are you mad that I found out you tried to keep me as your dirty little secret? Damn Eli! We took a fucking class in courtesy and you couldn't even use it?"

I half laughed, half sobbed.

"You must've forgotten that my family is kind of important in Applonia. I have connections in the courthouse. You signing engagement papers a week after you got paired would get to me. You could've told me. I have no choice but to understand."

The line stayed silent for a while. I bet he was thinking of a lie.

"Tay," he said slowly, talking to me as if I were a lunatic. "what enga-"

"I don't have time for you lying to me," I cut him off and hung up the phone. Then I turned it off. I can't deal with this right now. There's just so much I could take. after the tortuous day I went through, I won't be accused of being delusional too. I got the call. Uncle James told me.

This is literally my entire world crumbling down, and I won't be accused of imagining it. This is something I wouldn't even want to imagine. This pain is very real. I can't sleep. I'm not hungry, so I might as well start packing.

I began on my closet...

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Many hours and five rooms later, I'm exhausted and my house is packed into countless boxes. Thankfully, my new home will be furnished, so I won't have to call movers. This is the first step to getting over him. With that thought. I go to sleep.