The phone rang once more. Ivy approached the bathroom door, opening it just a crack. "Someone named Elise is video calling you—it's been ringing several times. Maybe it's urgent?"
"Could you answer it for me?" came the reply from inside.
Without hesitation, Ivy closed the bathroom door and hurried to the table to take the call.
"Kate asked me to answer; it's not like I'm meddling," she muttered to herself.
She pressed the green answer button. On the main screen appeared a beautiful woman, her eyes as clear and cool as Kate Stone's. She looked to be in her thirties.
"Hello," Ivy greeted politely, lifting her chin slightly. She and Kate were evidently close enough for her to handle calls.
"Hello," the woman replied. "Are you Ivy?"
"Yes, I am." Ivy was surprised that the caller recognized her, momentarily forgetting the vague sense of unease she'd felt two minutes earlier. Why was someone calling Kate so late? Her curiosity piqued.
"And you are?"
"I'm Kate's mother," the woman answered.
Ivy froze.
Had she heard correctly?
Kate's mother?
"Is Kate busy?" The voice on the phone was pleasant, giving no hint of having a daughter as old as Kate. Ivy visibly flustered, her breath shallow, hands trembling. She stammered, "Ma—hello, ma'am! I'm Ivy Green, Kate's roommate. She's... she's showering and asked me to take the call."
"I didn't realize it was you. You look so young!"
"Thank you." Kate's mother smiled gracefully, accepting the compliment from the younger woman. She took good care of herself and was often mistaken for Kate's sister; she was used to it by now.
Glancing toward the bathroom, Ivy said, "When Kate comes out, I'll have her call you back."
"No need," Kate's mother replied. "She hasn't responded in a while, and I was a bit worried. Seems she's busy today."
Ivy felt a pang of guilt. "Today's schedule was quite packed; perhaps she didn't have time to reply."
As she said this, she felt slightly guilty, realizing it was likely during their date and movie time.
"Alright," Kate's mother said.
Just when Ivy thought the conversation was over, Kate's mother added, "I heard about you from Kate's grandmother today. You're quite an interesting young lady."
"Really?" Ivy scratched her head sheepishly. "I took one of her flowers, and Kate said her grandmother would notice even if a single petal was missing. It scared me to death."
"Don't let Kate frighten you," her mother chuckled. "Her grandmother isn't that petty." At least, she wouldn't scold a young girl on their first meeting.
Ivy breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. I was worried she wouldn't like me. Kate does enjoy teasing me."
Amused by Ivy's timid demeanor, Kate's mother said, "Perhaps you can visit our home sometime. Kate can invite you over."
Ivy nodded earnestly. "I'd love to, given the chance!"
"You're working hard; get some rest," Kate's mother said warmly. "Thank you for looking after Kate."
"You're too kind, ma'am! Kate takes care of me more." Ivy obediently waved at the screen. "You should rest early too."
After hanging up, Kate emerged wearing a bathrobe, her hair wrapped in a towel. Her skin, glistening from the steam, looked even fairer than usual—like flawless ivory, impossible to look away from.
Ivy stared for a few seconds before blurting out, breaking the moment's ambiance, "Why don't you have your mom saved under her name? I thought..." She trailed off, quickly closing her mouth. She didn't want Kate to think she'd been snooping through her phone; she had only glanced accidentally and wasn't merely curious about who would call so late.
"To avoid scammers," Kate replied succinctly, sitting at the vanity to dry her hair.
Ivy mumbled softly, "Kate can be quite adorable."
"What did you say?" Kate asked, the hairdryer humming in her ears. She could only see Ivy's lips moving in the mirror but couldn't hear her words.
"Nothing," Ivy shook her head.
Though Kate didn't hear, the camera closest to Ivy was blinking with a red light. Undoubtedly, the audience would catch it.
Time seemed to fly while filming the show. Unknowingly, Ivy had shared a bed with Kate for several days. No matter what, she'd wake up each morning hugging Kate, so she decided to stop resisting.
She tossed her pillow and blanket onto the unused futon, making the bed larger and more spacious.
Kate raised an eyebrow at Ivy using her pillow and blanket.
Ivy winked at her. "Maybe my pillow and blanket have dust mites, which is why I kick them off at night. Look, I've even got a little rash here." She pointed to a small red spot on her chin, speaking as if it were true.
"I didn't ask why you're in my bed," Kate replied.
"..." Ivy was speechless. That expression Kate had just made clearly suggested otherwise, yet she wouldn't admit it.
Glancing at the still-active camera, Ivy said, "No worries, the editors will help me out. They'll definitely add some big words here, maybe..." She couldn't think of a suitable phrase.
"Denial to the end? Saying one thing but meaning another? Cunning? Acting innocent?" The more Ivy thought, the more absurd it became, starting a mental word chain game.
It was evident from her eyes that her attention had drifted away from Kate. Though others couldn't see her thoughts, they might have unconsciously joined her game if they could.
Kate extended a finger, pointing above her own head. With a calm expression and a cool voice, she said, "Please add a caption: 'Don't mind her.'"
With that, she turned off the last camera and lay down beside Ivy.
Ivy began lying flat, but as her mind wandered, she grew drowsy and soon fell asleep.
Once asleep, her body acted on its own, sprawling out with an arm and a leg sticking out from under the blanket. Perhaps feeling cold, she soon retracted them, cuddling up to a warm object.
That object was Kate.
Kate tucked the blanket around Ivy before closing her eyes.
Perhaps due to the day's exhaustion, Ivy dreamed a lot. Memories of being bullied by three girls as a child resurfaced, trapping her in the dream.
As soon as she entered the gym storage room, the iron door slammed shut behind her. No matter how much she shouted, no one came to open it.
None of the lights worked; darkness enveloped her. What if there were ghosts?
She shrank into a corner, closing her eyes, unable to suppress silent tears.
After what felt like an eternity, the three girls finally appeared.
The leader sneered mockingly, "Still standing up for others? Your family doesn't even have money anymore. Who knows if you can keep attending this school? If I were you, I'd keep my head down and behave."
A mere twelve or thirteen-year-old, coldly crossing her arms, speaking with the sharpness of a jaded adult.
Ivy hugged her knees, saying nothing. In the past, she was always surrounded by friendly smiles—perhaps those were fake too; who knew?
She had no experience dealing with such bullying.
"Why don't you say something? Cat got your tongue?" One girl kicked her.
Ivy scooted back, silently telling herself, "If a big rat bites you, you can't bite back. It's nasty and dirty—you'd get infected."
After being in the dark for so long, her nerves were stretched thin. Now surrounded by the three girls, she felt breathless and dizzy but didn't want them to see her weakness. She bit her lip, burying half her face in her knees to hide her pale complexion.
"When someone talks to you, you should look at them. Didn't your family teach you basic manners?" The girl who had hit her grabbed a lock of Ivy's hair, forcing her to look up.
Ivy grabbed the girl's hand and bit down hard, drawing blood.
"You dare bite me!" The girl's voice turned shrill, her expression twisted.
Ivy glared up at her. "Don't insult my family!"
"Looks like you need a lesson!" The girl raised her hand to slap Ivy, but before she could, a stronger hand grabbed her wrist. Judging by the uniform, it was an upperclassman from the high school.
"What do you think you're doing?" A cool voice demanded, commanding respect without anger.
"I..."
What happened next, Ivy didn't know. Her world turned pure white, and when she opened her eyes again, she was back home.
As the dream ended, Ivy woke up with tears streaming down her face. Half-awake, she burrowed into Kate's embrace, her voice tinged with sobs, "Big sister, why did you take so long to come?"