"Really! So you won't shout at me?"
"Not at all, dear."
"Well, that's nice. I am happy that someone has finally realized how much I care for her and it's authenticity. Always remember this, that I love and cherish you more than anything in the world." Says Victoria as she stole dekkos from her friend.
She brought out her phone to make a call. She wants to tell her mom that she would be late for dinner since she's taking Annabel home.
She dialed her mother's number and it rang twice but no one picked up. She thought her mother must have dropped her phone somewhere and got herself intertwined in her birthday plans.
She looked at Annabel and shook her head. "Mom isn't answering, maybe she's busy."
"Leave it, she will call back when she sees your missed calls," Annabel said.
Victoria mounted her phone in the car; by keeping her mobile phone on the dashboard without it affecting the windshield view.
After the call, she forgot to remove her cell phone from 'auto-dial'. And Annabel didn't notice. The phone rang several times until she picked without them knowing.
Seeing that her best friend couldn't put a call across to her mother, she advised her not to persist right now but to call back later. She harrumphed and returned to their unfinished conversation.
"Some minutes ago, you acted as if I don't care for you." She asked.
"Do you care for me? If that's the truth, why do you enjoy picking fights with me?" Victoria asked.
"You can keep feigning innocent as if you are oblivious to my feelings. But God knows how excited I am to have you."
"I am very thankful to have someone like you in this lifetime. Thank you for coming into my life. You're a blessing to my bestie." Says Annabel.
She clung her left arm around Victoria's neck and placed her right hand on her right shoulder as the latter drives the car. She leaned and kissed her on the cheek.
Victoria was startled by the abrupt kiss. "Hey! What are you doing? You know I'm driving and people are watching. Let them not have the wrong impression of us. I don't want to tarnish my reputation just yet if you are willing to do so."
"Calm down, it's just a little way to express my love for you dear Vicky."
"But you have always complained about me as if I'm not good enough for you. Sometimes it seems you are managing me like the rest of the people I have come across before." Victoria teased.
"Why would you say that? I agree you can be unbearable sometimes and argues a lot with me but to me, that's what made you special. It's one of the reasons I love you, Vicky. You are unique and different from the rest of them out there. You are brave, courageous, kind, daring, and outspoken."
"As for those people that mistreated you and took advantage of these tremendous features of yours doesn't deserve you. You are way too special for them. They don't know what they've lost. You are a gem and that's what they lost the day they chose to hurt your feelings."
"But somehow I am grateful to them because without them I wouldn't have met you. You would have had someone else as your best friend and that would make me jealous, very jealous honey." Says Annabel.
Victoria suddenly pulled over and stops the car by the roadside. Her eyes were glistening, they were filled with tears and were on Annabel, who's sitting next to her in the passenger's seat.
She tugged and embraced her friend so tightly that she grasps for air. It was a five minutes hug.
Annabel signed in relief when she finally loosened her hold on her and she continued.
"You know I wouldn't have been here, in this car, talking to you if it weren't for their attitude towards you. As for your arguments, I always crave for them. In all honesty, I love and enjoy it when we argue over some petty issues. It always made me feel special because those arguments and your stubbornness to concur shows your affection for me."
"I know you hate my stepmother a lot but I also know the reason behind your hatred for her; you don't hate her because she's Mrs. Olivia Fazer, my stepmother but because she maltreats me, your best friend."
"But for my sake, you are willing to compromise your feelings for her. It's only a true friend would do that."
"Now, you have heard it all, and have seen the reason behind my disagreements. Vicky dear, I have so much respect for you, you hold a special place in my heart. My parents were taken from me but I was given something in return as compensation which I am grateful for and that was your dear best friend."
"Thank you Vicky for coming into my life. I love you bestie."
Victoria could not see again, her red cheeks are so wet and her eyes filled with tears that her vision has been blurred by them. She sat quietly and listened attentively to her friend, she kept wiping away streams of tears that flow down her cheeks.
"You have so much love for me for so long and you kept it from me. I don't know what to say right now."
"But one thing is sure, I am the lucky one; to be gifted with a friend like you. I can't even control my tears anymore. They kept flowing incessantly, let me know next time so that I will be prepared." She joked.
"Don't make me too emotional next time, it's so shameful that I am crying like a toddler which is inappropriate for a girl at my age." She says while she giggles as she wipes her tears before she continued.
"You're so secretive, you harbored so much love for me all this time but chose to keep it from me." She complains while raising a finger in the air.