She Will Be Loved (GirlxGirl)

11. Macy III

"How have you been?" I tried my best to keep my voice steady. I did not want Ellen to know, that for some reason, her mere presence made me anxious.

"Good. I've been good." Her reply was urgent, rushing too fast through the sentence. Why was she so nervous? Did I scare her or something?

Lowering the screen of my laptop, I asked, "Are you ok? You sound a little scared." Her face turned bright red. My heartbeat fastened.

"It's nothing." Fixing her chocolate gaze on my face, she continued. "Trust me." It was my time to blush now.

"Why did you call me to your table?"

"Just wanted to talk." I shrugged. Ellen looked unsatisfied with the answer.

"Your food's getting cold." Ellen said, pointing to my plate.

"Oh. I forgot." I cut a piece and put it in my mouth. The hot pancake melted as soon as it touched my tongue. I cut a second piece and handed it to Ellen. "Have this. It tastes beautiful."

Ellen was flustered by my action and began protesting at once. I gave her a stern look and she stopped speaking just as fast. A shiver ran down my spine as her cold fingers touched my warm ones while she took the fork from my hand. She put the pancake piece in her mouth and flashed a smile at me.

"So, how was your birthday party?"

I froze, hearing the sudden question. My left thumb rubbed the mark left by the engagement ring on my ring finger. My finger felt empty but my soul felt free. There was nothing holding me back now. I was not anybody's to claim. I was myself. Yet something was wrong.

There was a pit forming in my stomach and I could feel my soul being sucked into it. I swallowed hard. I should not be lying to Ellen. She didn't deserve it. But I did not want her to know about Jordan. Not right now, at least.

Why, though?

That was a question for another time.

"Macy?" Hearing her say my name made the hairs on the back of my neck stand. "I hope I didn't intrude by asking that question."

"No, no. The party was nice." I said, hurriedly.

"Just nice?"

"Just nice."

Handing Ellen another piece from my pancake, I asked, "But how did you know that I had a party?"

"Not that hard to figure out. You were dressed up for some occasion and that had to be it." There was an expression of pride on Ellen's face. It made me smile.

None of us spoke for the next few minutes. We focussed on finishing our food, each eating a piece of pancake alternatively. We had also ordered two cups of steaming hot coffee. It felt nice sharing my plate of food with her. I had never done this with Jordan and now, I wanted to do this every day.

As soon as we were done with our food, the waitress from before came to the table. She handed me the bill and took away the plates. All the while, she shot inquisitive glances towards Ellen which made her squirm in her seat.

Clearing my throat, I forced myself to say the words that I had been dreading since I walked into the diner, "So, I guess I have to go now." Ellen's face fell and her eyes lost their sparkle. How could brown look so melancholic?

"You do?" Her voice was filled with hurt. Why was she so sad? Did she want me to stay as much as I did?

"Well, I could sit here and work on my blog." Ellen looked hopeful. "But you'd be working and I don't want to disturb you."

"So, that's what you were doing on your laptop. What is the blog about?"

"I manage many blogs but the one that I was currently working on is a lifestyle blog. Home décor, gardening, working out, all those things. By the way, do you know a good shop where I can buy plants for the house? I need to click some pictures for the current article."

Ellen's face lighted up. With an excited voice, she replied, "I do know a place! It's near the diner, actually. I can take you there if you want."

"Wow! That'd be great!" I was smiling from ear to ear.

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I lowered the window of the car to breathe in the fresh air. The day was really beautiful today. The sky was as clear as a crystal. The sun shone brightly, reigning the sky alone. The weather resonated with my feelings.

My phone buzzed in my purse. I took it out and took a look at the screen. A smile spread across my lips.

The new text from the recently saved contact read, "We could go tomorrow morning?"

I typed a reply, a bit too fast. "It's a date, then😊"

The reply came back just as fast. "It's a date💐 "

When I left the diner, Ellen had come running after me. She asked me for my phone and after I had handed it to her, she quickly typed a number and gave it a ring. "Now, I have your number." Her words had made me smile so hard. We had forgot to exchange our numbers since we were arguing whether Ellen should pay for half the bill or not. It was she who won the argument and I had to split my bill with her.

After a while, the silence in the car was broken with another buzz from my phone. But it wasn't Ellen this time. I accepted the incoming call and greeted my sister with a polite hello.

"Hello, Macy." Her voice sounded cold.

"What's the matter, Lilly?"

"I need to talk to you. In person."

"Why? What happened?"

"Can't tell you on the phone. Can we meet tonight at my place?"

"Yeah. Okay."

"Bye, Macy. Take care."

That was strange. I couldn't help but wonder what could have happened. Lilly sounded worried. I hope it isn't something too bad.

"Ma'am, we've arrived at your house." Victor's words brought me back from my thoughts.

"Thank you, Victor." I smiled.

As I was getting out of the car, Victor spoke again. This time, his tone was grave.

"Don't forget to put on your engagement ring, Ma'am."

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Author's Note

Thanks for all the love ❤