Blue Flower

Chapter 54

-Chester-

Naomi’s eyes fluttered open. My face was only inches from her, and upon seeing me, I planted a kiss on her lips.

“Good morning.” I greeted with a huge smile on my face.

“Good morning.” she said and pulled me beside her. “I’m sorry about last night. You worried so much about me.”

I pinched her cheek. “It’s okay. Now we have to get up and prepare for work.”

I did my usual work, but this time, not with Clarisse. A guy named Todd was beside me washing those dishes. We had an easy talk about anything and everything, but it was cut-off by a sudden silence in the restaurant. I rushed outside to see it, only to find Naomi squatting in front of a little girl and talking to her.

“Where’s your mother dear?” she calmly asked.

The little girl pouted. “I don’t know, and I don’t talk to strangers.”

This made Naomi even more persistent. “I’m Naomi, by the way.” Then she held out her hand for the girl to shake. When she didn’t, she put it down. “Now that you know me, can we be friends?”

The little girl still had that look of doubt in her eyes. She looked around for her mother, and when she didn’t find her, she exploded into a round of tears.

Naomi hushed her and gave her a hug. “Your mother is around here looking for you. Stop crying, sweetheart.”

People began staring at her when she pulled some magic tricks to entertain the girl. Naomi made a rose appear from the back of the girl’s ear, flipped a coin into the air and became two after catching it and opening her hand. She turned a black handkerchief into a colorful cloth of rainbows. She gained applauses and words of admiration from the customers, and most especially, to the child whose face became brighter.

“Do you like it?”

The girl nodded. “Yeah, very much. Thanks.”

“Mackenzie!” A worried voice of a woman in her thirties broke out of the view. So that was her name. Mackenzie turned to the origin of the voice and rushed to the woman. She must be her mother. Naomi stood up and looked at the two of them.

“God, I’ve been looking for you. Next time don’t ever do that again.” she said with a tone of relief. She noticed the handkerchief Naomi gave to the child.

“Who gave this to you?”

Mackenzie pointed at her. “That girl.”

“Hello, ma’am.” Naomi greeted her. The woman gave her a warm smile. 

“Hi. Thanks you for being with her. You made her smile.”

“It’s nothing, ma’am.” Then they bid goodbye to her.

“Bye, Naomi.” Mackenzie said, smiling at her with some kind of an invisible attachment.  

“Bye, Mackenzie. Take care.” She waved her goodbyes to her.

When she walked up to me, she fixed my mouth into a straight line. I didn’t know I was smiling while watching her. She had a knack of making people happy, and until now, I’m still dazed by it.

I blinked. “Nice one.” I said and raised my hand. She smacked it with a crunchy high-five then kissed my cheek. I was left there standing in delight while she made her way to the kitchen.

“I’ll be back soon. Can you manage her alone?” Naomi asked as she prepared to head off for grocery. I nodded while my eyes were fixated on TV. She left the room and shut the door.

After forty-five minutes, the doorbell rang consecutively. It must be Naomi, but when I opened the door and saw Clarisse grinning viciously at me.

“Come in.” I stammered. I couldn’t read her eyes at the moment. Instead of answering, she dashed to me and pinned both of my shoulders on the wall.

“So, tell me, is Naomi your girlfriend?” she said. I knew she had a plan at the back of her mind, but the question is what.

“N-No.” I tried to deny. The force upon my shoulders got stronger that I groaned in pain.

She grinned. “Really? I saw that kiss.” Then she ran her index finger on my cheek. “And it’s here. I wonder how her lips puckered up.”

“Clarisse, stop. You’re talking nonsense.” I said and tried to break from her hold, but she’s strong enough to break my shoulder blades.

She laughed forcibly then rolled her eyes. “How dare you lie to us! Nick’s a real gay, you know. And he likes you so much.”

For a while, I felt my whole world crumble down. My lies had been detected and exposed. There’s no way out of this but forward.

“Let me go.” I said, but my body was starting to weaken.

“What if I don’t?”

“Prepare for a war.”

“War? This is war.” Then she pressed her lips against mine and moved it in a torrid motion. I was taken aback by this. I didn’t even move a muscle to respond to it, and my lips were as frozen as ice. She’s the only one enjoying the kiss, moaning like she was being assaulted sexually. I tried to push her away but she was too strong, and her grip on me seemed to lay a big weight on my part.

Suddenly, loaded plastic bags made a thump on the ground. She stopped kissing me, and when we both turned our head to where the sound came from, we froze at the person watching us. 

Naomi.