They still couldn't thank Brad enough for the beautiful sequinned dresses, he got them. The morning of the day they were supposed to go pinched them alot. They couldn't wait for evening to put the dress on and showcase it in public.
When it was evening, they went.
The ceremony held at night, a beautiful one. It took place in the banquet hall of the faculty where Brad's mom was inaugurated. The hall was submerged in cool classical music, with men and women of class holding wine tumblers, interacting.
Theresa and Kylie stood at the banquet hall, looking around to see if they could sight Brad and his parents. After a few minutes of eye-searches, Kylie saw Brad and his father coming.
"Mommy, here they are," she called on Theresa, while they quickly approched.
Theresa turned fully to view them when they had finally approached, smiling at them. Theresa gasped and had her mouth hanging while staring up at Brad's father, even while Brad tried to draw her attention. She fixed her eyes on the man while he kept wondering why. Slowly, her Iris climbed up and she slumped to the floor.
Everywhere was thrown into disarray, everyone standing confused as to what had happened.
"Mother, mother!" Kylie knelt before her, trembling.
"What's wrong with her?" Brad said, as well as his father.
"She has to go home now, please," Kylie said.
"Okay, okay," Brad said.
"Allow me," his father said, hoisting her to his shoulder, and they went out of the hall.
Brad drove them home in his father's car, and after he took her inside and laid her on the sofa, he sympathized with Kylie before waving her good bye.
The next day, Kylie took permission from Mr. Yamato, saying she wouldn't be able to come for the day, that her mother wasn't okay, and she had to stay with her. He agreed with it and kept Clarissa in the store instead. That morning, Theresa still laid in bed, but she was recovering, after a few home therapies from Kylie.
Later in the afternoon, when she could talk, Kylie decided to ask her some questions.
"What happened back there mom?"
"How far have you gone in your relationship with Brad?" Theresa asked.
"Though that's not the answer to my question, but we've known for just a few days."
"Any intimate moments?"
Kylie rolled her eyes over the weird question. "No...why all these questions?"
"I don't know how you'd take it, but I don't want a relationship between you and Brad."
Kylie got up in shock. "What has come over you mom, why the sudden change?"
"Seeing his father there my mind never accepted the family anymore, and I don't want you to be amongst them."
Kylie sat down back. "Do you mean this or you're just making a joke. Please tell me, what's wrong, what did you see?"
"It's unexplainable Kylie, I just don't want you with Brad anymore."
"But I love Brad! Why doing this to me?" Kylie cried.
"I don't want you with him...I thought I just gave you a reason."
"That's no reason mom. I really don't know what has come over you!" She yelled and left the living room, sobbing.
In the evening, Kylie sneaked out of the house, while Theresa still laid on the sofa, to go visit Brad in his house. Brad's parents weren't still at home when she got there, and for a moment she wondered why they were hardly at home. Brad was playing a video game when she entered. He first offered her one of the game pads, but when he saw her face he dropped it on the sofa and ran to her.
"Kylie! What's up with you?"
She walked and landed on the sofa, burying her face in her palm.
"Did something bad happen to your mother?" He asked.
She raised her face. "She's okay now."
"Then why the sad face?"
"She woke up to me with heartbreaking words in her mouth," Kylie said.
"Heartbreaking words? What do you mean by that?"
"She said we shouldn't be together anymore."
"You know you can't agree to that, you know," Brad said.
"I'm just so heavy right now, I can't leave you," she said.
"I think she's not fully recovered," he said.
"She said it with all seriousness and consciousness. I can't leave you, I just can't," she began to sob, and he embraced her, rubbing her shoulder and kissing it.
At night, to cheer her up, they went on a walk along the neighborhood. They discussed passionately, holding hands while walking, and they didn't feel the amount of distance they had covered. At the middle of their discussion, Brad suggested they got ice-creams from a popular ice-cream shop, which was directly after an alley adjacent Jimmy Drive.
They held hands while they walked along the alley, laughing and chatting, until the moment was cut short by a whistle from an unidentified place. They stopped to look around, but saw nothing, then they continued. The whistle came again, and suddenly, a group of four boys, looking rough and dangerous came from both ends of the alley, cracking their hands and smiling maliciously.
"Hey love birds, going to get some ice-creams eh?" One of them said. "Let me see how much you've got there."
They drew close to them to search them.
"Don't, come close!" Brad uttered, breathing hard.
Kylie gasped, sensing trouble.
Another snorted. "Oh dear brave Romeo. Doing anything to protect your girl."
"People do anything for love, even if it means loosing a tooth," another boy said and punched Brad on the face. Brad fell to the floor, holding his nose, which had blood coming out of it.
"Brad!" Kylie ran and knelt before him.
"Get out of there!" One of them held Kylie and tossed her away.
"Don't touch her again!" Brad said angrily.
"Oh, what are you gonna do lover boy?" One of them said running his palm along Kylie's face and hair. She kept quivering and looking at Brad, seeing the helplessness in his eyes.
"I told you, don't touch her!" Brad said and got up.