BLUNT

Chapter 4

LILIAN'S POV

      Confused as ever, I walk over to the car where teddy is leaning on one of the doors like he's been waiting for me.
      "What took you so long?" He asks, irritated obviously, although unknown to me why. I fight the urge to get angry. There's no use arguing with teddy when he's in this state.
        "How come you were in there?" I ask instead hoping he'll at least have the decency to reply me.
         "What do you mean? I've been here the whole time." Teddy replies with all sincerity. I look at his face for something that may show that he's joking but there's none. Then I realize; that wasn't teddy who 'saved me'!! It was the escort guy, my disturbance. He was almost as tall as Teddy of course I would take one for the other.
           "Forget it" I scrunch up my face still in doubt. "What's up with you? Why aren't you in the car? You look really upset. What happened?"
            "It's Riele." He says and I look at him, patiently waiting for him to explain further. Apparently, he doesn't take the hint.
             "Umm can I know what happened with her?" I finally ask. "She sent a text" he waves his phone in my face. "She's not coming for the dinner party stuff anymore. She says we should go without her. Apparently, she has some family issue to attend to." He finishes off with a frown on his face.
         Trying not to sound too pushy, I ask;"I totally understand Teddy why that would upset you but what I don't get is why it got you out of the car." I spiritually high five myself for my lovely effort.
         He sighs as if he's been holding in his breath for a while. "Remember I told you I like Riele? Well I didn't tell you that I was still going to talk to her about it despite your advice." He looks at me as if expecting some kind of reaction but I give none. "I planned to tell her tomorrow during the dinner." I'm not sure what the expression on his face is at this moment but I'm sure what mine is.
          My face must have been giving away such strong emotion because Teddy raises his hands in the air as if he's defeated and in surrender. "Hey!! You can't blame a guy!" He defends. I just sigh and laugh a little.
          "So you're ready for whatever her reply may be?" I look into his eyes. He shrugs. "I don't know. But I'm doing it anyway." He says the last part bravely. Something ignites in me when I sense his bravery.
           "OK then Teddy. I'll be here whatever happens. Just don't cry too much okay?" I say with a smile.
            "I don't cry Lil and you just broke the love I had for you." He says with a smile as he stretches over the top of the car, ruffles my perfect bun and enters the car.
             "My bun!!" I scream and smack his arm once I get into the car.

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          Laying on my bed, I begin to think about the guy in the store. I had already taken a shower after Teddy dropped me off. It was now late in the evening. All I've come up with so far is he's annoying. Although he did save me all the trouble of going over to those obnoxious boys in the corner. And oh! He is beautiful. I never thought I'd be attracted to someone again. At least not until a very long time. The last time wasn't so pleasant and I've been able to keep myself somehow but then here comes this guy. I actually face palm myself and start to laugh at the confession I just made to myself.
             I pick up my phone when it vibrates signaling new messages. I have a few from my sister, Alicia and some from Teddy and Jane but none from Riele. Yes I was expecting her to at least leave a message about not coming to the dinner.
   "What's going on Lily?"
   "Why aren't you picking mom's calls?"
   "Are you really going to let this come between us?" My sister's messages read. I simply ignore them the same way I ignored my mom's calls. She had no right saying I was letting my mom's insolence come between 'us'!! Which 'us'? She was never even there to suffer what I suffered under our mother. She abandoned me with that crazy woman and now she's playing the good guy. I start to feel anger rise in the pit of my stomach when my phone starts ringing. It's Jane. I answer the call and try not to give away any sign of my anger.
           I probably did that very well because Jane replies my 'hello' rather hastily and jumps into her own stories. "Lilian?! Are you even listening to me at all?" She bawls into the phone and I'm brought back to the present. I really don't know where I was but I'm glad I didn't have to listen to Jane's most likely ugly complaints. Don't blame me! She's a drama queen sometimes. Jane sighs as if she knows I wasn't listening. "Just read my messages. Everything's there" she says before she ends the call and I'm sure she rolled her eyes which makes me chuckle. I opened my messages and I began reading the messages she left this morning by like 3:00am.
     "Liliy!? You're not picking my calls :-(!! Anyway, I need to leave this house. My parents are becoming unbearable!"
      "Of course I wouldn't pick up your calls Jane. Look at the time you sent these messages! Some of us humans like to sleep because we have work the next day:-\. What's so important anyway?"
      "Really I would roll my eyes here but this is not a face-to-face conversation and for some reason there's no rolling eye emoji here :-(. What's so important is that my mom's pressuring me about this whole suitor thing and I'm getting tired. Actually right now I'd do anything just to get a suitor. I don't even care if he's rich enough."
         "Honestly Jane I don't understand why your parents are forcing you to get married early. I mean it IS the 21st century right? No one actually does that anymore."
          "Lily honey, I think you should've known by now that my parents are from the 1700s. That situation is already established. But that's not the issue now. It's this whole marriage thing. I don't even know if I'm ready to be honest. Like I've literally never done anything for myself before and now I'm just supposed to know how to take care of a family of my own? How's that possible? I'm scared Lilly what do I do?"
           "Is that why you were awake by 3? Jane. I don't think there's anything you can do except look for someone you at least have an attraction to or better still love and then marry them before your parents choose for you. I know it's horrible but there's really nothing you can do."

    JANE'S POV
        I'm silent after Lillian's last message. I don't reply her and I guess she feels bad for me because she doesn't make a fuss about it. She said she 'knows' it's horrible. Well she has no idea. She doesn't know what it's like to have such a prude for a mother who doesn't even act like she cares for you. My mother acts like I'm a tool or equipment for wealth. Like my feelings or whatever I say doesn't matter. Sure, Lily has serious daddy family issues but at least her mom loves her even though she can't seem to notice. Hell her mother is a wreck but she cares for Lilly although she shows it in an absurd way. Lily's just oblivious. So she has no idea I'm feeling.