Part XIV
*click*
“Hello! Hello?” Jessica opened her eyes, irritated that the caller hung up. Taeyeon stirred in her arms, their clothes rustling loudly in the quiet wee hours of the morning.
“Hey. Miss I-love-your-butt. How are you?” Jessica said jokingly, very much like long-term couples.
“Hey.” Taeyeon replied with sleep still in her voice, strained from all the crying just a few hours ago.
“Who were you saying hello to?”
“Oh. Your phone rang. I didn’t want to wake you up, so I answered it.” Jessica stated nonchalantly.
“Who was it?”
“I don’t know. The caller hung up.” Jessica replied while Taeyeon got off her and they sat up, Taeyeon with an arm draped over the blonde girl, hand on her shoulder. The posture screaming,
this girl is mine!
While the other hand deftly took the phone from Jessica.
Tiffany?
A lump of discomfort settled at the back of Taeyeon’s throat.
Jessica answered Tiffany’s call?! Oh no. I’m in for some trouble.
Taeyeon self consciously withdrew her hand from Jessica’s shoulder and her right leg couldn’t stop shaking as she nervously thought about Tiffany.
Jessica saw the distressed look on Taeyeon’s face and knew immediately that it had to do with that girl, Tiffany. She continued to stare at Taeyeon, whom suddenly didn’t seem to remember her presence. Resigned, Jessica got off the sofa, deciding to make them coffee, hoping it will ease those frowns wrinkling Taeyeon’s forehead.
“How do you like your coff-“
Taeyeon cut her off before she had a chance to finish. “I got to go. I think Tiffany needs me.”
Taeyeon was washed over by a sudden seizure of dread and panic as she hurled herself out of Jessica’s apartment with a slam of the door. Call it telepathy, call it a premonition, call it a sixth sense, call it whatever you like. But something tells Taeyeon that she has to be there for Tiffany, right at that moment. Taeyeon’s old sneakers squeaked as she worked those short legs of hers against the concrete pavement of the sidewalk, waving frantically at the cabs zooming past her. After a few precious seconds and what seems like a zillion cabs passing her, Taeyeon was fed up. Sighting the next available cab coming from a distance, she hopped in front of it and off the sidewalk; with her arms spread wide and her eyes squeezed shut. The cab screeched to a halt barely an inch from Taeyeon. She opened her eyes and let out the breath she held and threw herself haphazardly in the cab, ignoring the profanities the cab driver threw at her. She screamed Tiffany’s address, making the whole cab shake with the sheer force of her volume.
“Would you just shut up and drive? I’ll pay double!” Taeyeon huffed. The cab driver immediately zipped his trap and zoomed off, rattling the whole car like a flimsy tin can being kicked around.
The sense of déjà vu that Taeyeon felt when Tiffany got into an accident found its way around Taeyeon again, wrapping her tightly in dread, suffocating her, giving her goosebumps all over.
Why do I care? No. You can’t do this to me. It isn’t fair! I want to let you go! Why are you doing this? I feel so used. But I can’t stop running back to you. Loving you makes me so confused. Just when I thought I’ve escaped from your manipulative clutches, you pull me in again just like poison coursing through my veins breaking down all of my defenses, pulling my guard down. Like latent poison dormant in my blood, undetectable, my very own heart pumping your malicious intents to my mind, messing with my head, clouding my senses, giving you the perfect chance to break me down.
