"Hello, who is this?" she said from across the phone.
"M-mama? It's Abel," she said with a wistful smile.
There was a commotion on the other side of the call, apparently, the woman she called mom was busy. She even neglected a few moments of her greeting.
Until Abel decided to end the call, though the point had not yet been made. Mama doesn't care about her right now. Wait, wait... isn't that an ordinary thing?
Lia. In such circumstances, her best friend is the one who is most offended. She heard the commotion across the phone herself because maybe her phone volume was set quite loud. Wanted to ask, but worried that it might hurt Abel more if she didn't say anything -- maybe Abel felt that no one cared about her anymore.
She almost pulled out her hair to let out the distress in her chest. A feel she had always wanted to lose, one that would make her relent to anyone.
"Maybe dad wants to hear my bad news," Abel spoke to herself.
Clearwater had welled up in the girl's eye. She dozed at the cell phone in her hand, memorizing her dad's phone number. Even if she knew, there's no way he'd care. But Abel is still in desperate need of a hand from her father.
***
Knowing that her father would not respond, Abel chose to return the phone to Lia. To hide the disappointment in the indifference of her parents, the girl tried to find a topic of conversation. But even so, Lia still felt the sadness of her friend. She was, after all, in Abel's position, when her parents were on the verge of a breakup.
"Bell, Dirga looks handsome with that appearance tho. Don't you agree?" said Lia to defecate Abel's grief.
"That was not bad, come make him your crush," she said, and then she laughed.
"You should be sensitive, Bel, Dirga has always been in love with you." Lia chimed in.
Lia finally looked up at Abel's brownish eyeballs, a million cuts she felt when talking about Dirga. The feelings that have long been suppressed, seem to be forever. Lia valued the friendship between herself and Abel so much that she ignored her love for Dirga.
After all, Abel is the girl Dirga wanted so much, not her. It seems that merging Abel and Dirga would be Lia's personal pride, by that way she could see Dirga happy--and so Abel's grief was partly healed because Dirga can comfort her.
"Let's just hope, pretty soon I can have you both in a relationship," whined Lia in her heart. Her smile spreads when she sees Abel's eyes twinkle.
"But my love is only for Dhani. What if we don't find my phone? Dhani can't call me," she said without enthusiasm at all.
Lia took a deep breath, then pulled slowly. "Just forget about him, Dhani will get married after all," said Lia after that looked away.
"Li, what did you say?" said Abel of intimidation.
"Dhani will get married," Lia repeated.
Abel chuckled softly, taking Lia's words as nothing but a joke. Besides, Lia never agreed all this time that she had relations with Dani. Abel was upset that her best friend had gone too far this time.
"You're not going to believe anything I say, but after this, you can try to call Dhani and he definitely is not going to give you any response anymore," Lia continued again.
"I know you don't like Dhani because he disappointed me, and I know you don't like me when I'm with a guy who's supposed to be my uncle... but you can't do this. You can't slander Dhani to make me hate him, I---."
"I just want you to know that when we had the accident, Dhani was the one who helped us. He drove a car with a woman, and that woman said they were going to the hotel to meet a photographer to set up a pre wedding photo. That time you fainted, so you couldn't look at and didn't listen to how lovey-dovey they were, calling each other 'honey'. Whether you believe it or not, I just don't want you to be disappointed again for the millionth time, Bel," explained Lia. Blood seemed to surge faster, she dissolved in emotions, but quickly put ego aside by lowering her voice.
Hearing Lia's confession about her boyfriend, Abel laughed instead. But the wound in her heart she could not hide because the eyes now filled with tears. As if didn't want to believe her friend, Abel laughed at the girl who had been her grief-stricken friend.
"I'm thirsty, Li. Would you help me get a drink?" said Abel. She tried to change the subject which hurt her so obviously.
"Okay." Without a second thought, Lia nodded in agreement. "I'll just buy it online, Bel, because my feet still hurt to walk." Lia seems to open a food tracking app from the flat bottom-shaped smart device.
The girl nodded a small, Lia's words kept ringing in her memory. Could any of that be true? Abel trying to toss a bad shadow over her relationship with that guy, everything gonna be okay.
***
The seconds on Lia's cell phone watch kept changing, she looked up and worried about Dirga constantly. For almost an hour the boy left, even food Lia had ordered to Dirga already cold and unspoiled.
Lia turned to gaze at the long gurney that only one person could sleep with, her best friend slumped after filling her stomach with a box of 'nasi Padang. Not to mention the nurse also delivered medicine for her a few minutes ago so that Abel would be able to sleep well after consuming the medicine.
Click.
The door located on Lia's side sat, opened.
The boy she was waiting for finally came. He grabbed a black bag decorated with silver, little, adorable stars.
"Li," Dirga called after seeing a girl he liked in the dream realm. Lia greeted him with a little smile as she followed that tall boy in movement.
He stepped slowly toward the empty seat on the other side Lia sat on, then put Abel's bag up on the nightstand.
"What took you so long, Ga?" asked Lia.
"I met my sibling in the hotel's basement. I blurted out a little chat because I hadn't seen her for a long time, and she said she was gonna get married," he answered with a small chuckle.
"Is your sibling female?" Lia threw up another question. She felt so happy even if it was just an ordinary conversation.
To be continued ...