Adina asked,"Where is Aiden?" Hesitation was clear in her voice.
"He went to explain everything to mom and dad."
"Oh!.... Do you think they'll do something?"
"Well, my dad will surely be furious knowing that you spied on us and mom will try to calm him down and tell him that we are old enough to handle such situations."
She chuckled and said,"Of course they'll get worried afterall they care about you two so much and what I did was-"
"Naive? Stupid? Yeah yeah I know and you are sorry about it. I know that too",Ian cut her short exasperated to listen to the same words again and again.
"Meanie", she pouted and he laughed.
"You know my brother has got his temper from dad only and I got my charms from mum. But one thing that you should know is, Aiden surpasses dad. He is more grumpy and he got more temper than dad ever had, specially when it comes to the people whom he loves. He might show us that he's rude, cold, heartless and all but he loves us more than anything in the world and I am the only person who understands him the best. Even more than he knows himself. Believe me when I say, he won't ever hurt you and yesterday's event had a reason which Aiden either hasn't realised or is not accepting it. But as I said, I know him better than he knows himself.. so, can you please try to maybe move on from what happened yesterday? Try to forgive him?" He looked at her with so much expectations in his eyes and warmth in his pleading smile that one cannot say no to him.
"I- I'll try my best .. not to hold it onto him. Just give me some time, please",she replied giving him a small smile then looking outside the window to the almost sunset scene with the sky coloured in lilac colour. She was admiring the beautiful view when a question popped in her head. She looked back at Ian and asked,"How does your mother know French?"
"Because she was born in France",Aiden said coming inside the library.
At the sudden voice Adina jumped at her place in surprise. She didn't have the courage to look up at Aiden, all she could do was look at her feet and nervously rub her hands together and fidget with her fingers. She didn't dare look up. Aiden looked at her being all nervous and sighed. Ian looked at the two and thought of breaking the awkwardness. He said,"Yeah, that she is and that is also how Aiden can speak French too and well, I do understand 60% of what they speak but I'm not good at it. Anyways, what brings you here Aiden?"
"I talked with mom and dad and made them understand. Dad, obviously, was furious but mum handled him and well, everything is under control now. I thought I should just let you know",Aiden replied.
Ian nodded and smirked,"I knew this would happen" a moment later he continued, mischief laced in his voice,"and by the way how did dad react to your ... outburst yesterday?"
Aiden looked at him with narrowed eyes and gave a bitter smile saying,"I'll tell you that later." After that he left the library as Ian laughed and Adina just looked at his retreating figure.
"I think I'm gonna get some rest now", Adina said to which Ian nodded and they left the library. She went inside her room as Ian made his way to wherever his brother was. Entering her room she plopped on her bed and sighed looking at the ceiling. Sometimes everything becomes so overwhelming for her, like how her life has took a total 180° flip. What has become of her life was still a mystery to her. She often thought what her future will turn out to be. What actually will happen when their grandma arrives back? All she could say was her future was uncertain and she was slightly worried about it but she also knew that Ian and also Aiden won't let anyone hurt her. For now, she didn't wanna think about Aiden but the fact was fact. She trusted him with her life... both of them. She still had questions but decided to let her mind rest and consume all the information she had got today. There's only so much that one can take in a day. She was lost in her thoughts when her phone started ringing. Seeing the called id a smile appeared on her lips effortlessly.
"Hello krissie! How've you been?" She asked brightly.
A moment of silence later Krystal replied,"I'm good. How about you?"
Her voice seemed distant and cold so Adina asked,"Me too but why you sound like this? You don't seem good to me. Did something happen babe? Are your perhaps sick?" She was worried about her best friend. It had been a while since they talked so she wasn't updated on what was happening in Krystal's life.
She heard a sob on the other side of the line before Krystal said,"How can I be fine without my best friend huh? It's been so long since I've last seen you. Adina, I- I miss you. Come back home please. Don't you miss me? If I hadn't called you today I don't know for how long I would have to wait for you to contact me first."
Adina felt guilty and got emotional hearing her friend's broken voice. She couldn't stop the tears from flowing. Oh! only if she could tell her everything. She wiped the stray tears then said in a weak voice, "I- I miss you too... soo much but the circumstances are complicated. I wish I could hug you right now. I'm so sorry babe, I- I got too busy in work. I'm so sorry for not calling you. Please forgive me! and stop crying. I know you're a crying mess by now, don't you dare deny it. Just please don't cry... you look like an ugly duckling while crying." She chuckled a bit as she heard a bitter chuckling from the other side. "Krissie, please don't cry when I'm not there to hug you... to stop you from crying. You know I love you soo much. Please.."
A few sniffs later Krystal said,"O-ok... I- I'm not c-crying anymore." She took deep breaths to stop sniffling between her words. "I'm just glad that you are okay and I love you too."
Adina smiled imagining Krystal's cute pout and red nose after she stops crying everytime and said,"I so want to meet you..."
"Me too. Life is boring without my best friend but this doesn't look good on us. Sappy feelings and all. We are meant to be cool, sassy and loving, not cry babies, remember? So let's lighten up the mood."
Adina laughed at her words and replied,"Yeah, yeah, you are right. This surely doesn't suit us. So my gossip queen, any news for me?" And Krystal went on and on telling her everything that she has missed on. Adina was feeling lighter and happier after talking to Krystal. Every worry was just forgotten like that. She felt like everything was normal again. For a minute she felt like she was sitting right next to Krystal in her apartment and listening to her gossips like she used to.
"... and they ended up together which nobody was surprised about. That's all for now. Anyway, I wanted to ask if I could video call you tomorrow? This is the first time I have to ask you this. Can't believe!" She said exasperatedly.
Giggling she replied,"You don't need to ask me. You can, of course you can. Anytime you want to, love."
"No, I just thought ... you are so secretive about everything these days. So..." Adina didn't reply so Krystal continued, "Happy Birthday in advance. I'll video call you tomorrow, then."
"I- what!?"
"I guessed you wouldn't remember. It's your birthday tomorrow dumbhead. Keep track of dates at least."
"My birthday? Already?" She put the phone on speaker and opened the calender on her phone. "Oh my freaking lord! It really is!" She shrieked on the phone.
Krystal laughed, "Yes Dumbo, your birthday. Now accept your birthday wish and say Thank You."
"I- oh! Sorry. Thank you Krissie. I love you",she replied and turned off the speaker phone.
"Anyways, I gotta sleep now. I'll call you in the evening after work, okay?"
"Okay. I'll wait for your call."
"Good night! I love you."
"Love you too." Hanging up the call Adina smiled like a lunatic. She always used to be so excited about her birthday and this time she didn't even remember her birthday, just WoW. She stood up from the bed and stretched lazily.
The door opened, startling her and when she looked who it was, she froze on her spot. Yes, it was Aiden, the person she least wanted to face right now.