ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀᴄᴏʟᴏʀꜱ | ✓

ɢʀᴇᴇɴ

Alana | Jared

"Welcome to Karen's—wait. This is my phone. I'm not at the shop. What the hell is wrong with me?"

"Routine, apparently."

"You tricked me!"

"Yeah right, cause I don't have a life besides calling you."

"I know right?"

"Besides, freelancing, I help out dad at promotional stuff."

"Nice. It's good to be independent."

"It is. I'm learning stuff and being responsible, haha."

"That's good, Lana."

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah?"

"I've told you stuff about my family. Can you tell me about yours? It's okay if you're not ready. I'm just wondering since you never talk about them,"

"No, it's okay. It's only fair I do. My childhood was pretty nice with mom and dad. They were the best parents I could ask for."

"That must've been nice."

"It was. We were pretty close to Aunt Karen, Uncle Greg, and Jess. Jess was pretty much my only friend, haha. I didn't like talking to other people."

"Aww."

"Anyway, a couple of years ago, our dads were business partners. The business started to take off but my dad's health was declining at that point. I don't know the exact details of what happened but I know your dad betrayed mine and took over the entire business. My dad was soft-hearted. He couldn't take the betrayal. On top of that, he was already sick. It caught up with him. Mom passed away a few years later. She overdosed."

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea all of this happened."

"Don't be sorry. It's not something your dad would broadcast."

"I can't believe he was like that. He wasn't the best dad, but he was there for me, at least for most of the part. But this is a whole new side of him that I was shielded from. I don't think I can look at him the same way again."

"For what it's worth, I'm trying not to hate him."

"Why?"

"Aunt Karen says we can't change what happened. But we can control how we let it affect us. I guess I've been angry for so long because I lost both my parents, I don't want to ruin this life I'm living. I certainly don't want to make a mistake with you again."

"You're allowed to feel angry, Jared. But yes, don't let it take over your life."

"Hmm."

"I can't believe we're actually having a heart to heart. Looks like I'm growing on you."

"Maybe."

"The fact that you didn't even deny it, tells me that it's more than just maybe."

"Maybe."

"I can feel you smiling,"

"Maybe."

"Maybe, you're starting to annoy me now."

"Maybe."

"..."

"Okay, I'm stopping that—"

Click.

"—now."