Adrian began collecting his belongings as soon as he entered his room. He was leaving this evening. It was sad and he really hoped he would get to stay with Jennifer some other time but Jennifer was missing her parents badly and unlike him, her parents also loved her.
Since her parents were coming tonight, he thought it was better to leave before they came. "I'm ready." He declared when he was fully done with his packing. Jennifer was waiting at Adrian's door, watching him pack his bags. She felt sad, to let him go. It had been so much fun when he was around. Sadly, he had to go.
"Do I get to drop you off?" She asked. Adrian shook his head, and laughed. Jennifer stepped forward and engulfed Adrian in a full hug. She embraced him like it was the last time she would get to meet him. Adrian was too shocked to hug her back. When, Jennifer noticed that Adrian hadn't returned the hug, she pulled away. "Sorry. If that feel awkward." Adrian chuckled and hugged her again. "No. It wasn't awkward. It was nice and warm. Thank you for taking care of me, all these days." Jennifer smiled.
"See you at school then." Jennifer waved at Adrian as she saw him go in his car. She turned around and went straight into the room that was once occupied by Adrian. Call it some feeling she couldn't understand right now. She ran her fingers over the bedside table. Then, something in her told her to open the second drawer.
She opened it out of instinct. She saw Adrian's textbook in it. "He must've forgotten it." She thought. "I should return it to him." With this thought in mind, Jennifer turned to glance at the clock. Her parents were returning in an hour so, she had enough time to visit Adrian and return. Jennifer hurriedly walked down the stairs and went to Adrian's mansion.
Doing a double check at the address she heaved out a deep breath. She rang the doorbell and the next second she heard footsteps coming near the door. Before she knew the door slang open revealing someone unfamiliar which she thought to be Adrian's father. She greeted him with respect.
"Hello. I am Jennifer, Adrian's-" before the could complete her sentence the man cut it off by smiling widely. "Oh. Come in. Come in, young lady. It's been so long since I saw a girl in this house." He decided to give her the excess to enter his house. She thanked him and walked inside, hesitantly. He closed the door and walked beside her before gesturing her to take a seat.
"Adrian, your girlfriend is here." Jennifer's eyes widened as she stood up in an instant, embarrassment creeping up to her cheeks. Adrian's father thought she was his girlfriend? "G- Girlfriend?" She shuddered as he nodded. She blinked processing what just happened, she shook her head regaining her consciousness. She opened her mouth to decline but someone entered the scene.
"Dad, what are you even-" Adrian walked down the stairs, wearing his grey sweat looking cute. He interrupted himself as his voice landed on the figure who was present and it took him a second to realize it was her. "Jennifer." He called out, causing Jennifer to divert her gaze from him to something else. Jennifer didn't even notice she was staring at him. She faked a cough.
"Hey Adrian"she greeted him awkwardly. Jennifer noticed that there were traces of annoyance on Adrian's face. She interpreted that the family drama was to blame. No wonder, he was so cold to everyone. At home, he received nothing but hate. That woman, what was her name? Crystal. Yes! She was going to die for making Adrian go through hell. Jennifer's blood was boiling. Her father was acting sweet but nobody ever told him that he was a terrible actor. It was clear, since the moment she stepped in that they were in the middle of some argument. How sad! Adrian had just reached home. Jennifer would be so heartbroken if she just entered the house and her parents gave her drama.
Jennifer wanted to ask if he was okay but it would be more awkward so she decided to hold back her curiosity. "What are you doing here?" Adrian asked coldly. It wasn't his intention to come out hoarse, he was just confused why she was here at this moment. A voice of slapping echoed in the house as she cupped her mouth with her hand catching Adrian's father hitting the back of his head as Adrian winced in pain. It was a playful hit.
"That's not how you talk to your girlfriend." His father spatted angrily.
"She's not my girlfriend."
"I'm not her girlfriend, sir."
They both reveled the truth at the same time and cleared the misunderstanding his dad had about their relationship. "Oops. I'm sorry. You must be feeling uncomfortable because of this." Mr. Rains chuckled nervously as Jennifer and Adrian giggled at him being a cute. "Ah. No. No. It's okay, sir. Please don't feel bad." Jennifer smiled. Adrian was staring at her face which was shining in the light that filled the room.
"Please call me uncle. Sir feels way too formal." Mr. Rains rolled his eyes as Jennifer nodded, accepting his indirect request. "Sure sir…" She trailed off earning a glare from Mr. Rains. "I mean uncle.." Jennifer chuckled, hiding her mouth with her fingertips. He patted her head in adoration. Suddenly, it clicked to her, the reason why she was here. She took out the book from her backpack.
"You forgot your textbook at home." She handed the book to Adrian. "Thank you." He whispered. "My work is done so I should get going-" "You came here to hand him the book so please at least have a cup of tea with us? Or coffee? Or juice? His mother would be here soon." Mr. Rains cut her off bombarding her with types of beverages. He said, referring to Crystal. Jennifer felt the anger again. How could he call her, his mother so casually. As if, the honor of being a mother meant nothing to him.