Robyn woke up to a buzzing sound of her phone and realised she was not in her room. She quickly scanned her surroundings and saw that she was in Ella's room. She must have slept off while trying to comfort Ella.
She picked up the phone without even bothering to check the caller ID.
"Hello?'
" Good morning to you. Are you guys getting ready for the parade yet?" She heard Layla's chirpy voice on the other end.
"We'll be there...."
"You sound like I just woke you up."
"Of course you did. What time is it?"
"Well right now it's almost after nine. And the parade starts at a half past ten"
"I forgot this one was for the children. We'll meet you there."
"Is Beau going too?" She had forgotten about that part.
"Oh I don't know. I didn't ask him."
Why would Layla need Beau to be there anyway. She was not going to ask him considering they may have clicked after she had witnessed their closeness at the club last night. She hung up the phone right after that.
Ella was up by then and moving around the bedroom.
"Was that Layla?'
"Yes. Now let's make breakfast and go to the parade. Little Debbie will be sad if we don't go."
"Sure. Though you seem a little pissed at Lay for some reason."
"I'm not. Let's just get ready."
She went to her own bedroom to get ready. They were lucky to have bathrooms in each of their two rooms and another in the hall. It made living there better. She quickly bathed and went into the kitchen to make some breakfast. Ella was already there staring at her phone and nibbling on a piece of pancake.
Robyn crept behind her and peaked at the phone and saw that Ella had sent a good morning text to Brett.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?"
Ella shrieked and the phone went flying across the counter.
"Do not scare me like that Robyn.Goodness!"
"Do not try to change the subject, why did you send that jerk a good morning message? Was it all in my head or he just dumped last night?"
"He did not dump me, he's just confused and it's just a break."
Robyn looked at Ella with an unbelievable expression. She wanted to shove her best friend's head into the oven to try to unfreeze her brain.
"Don't look at me like that Robbie."
"Like how?"
"Like I'm so stupid."
"Maybe you are. Are you sure you were not dropped in the toilet as a baby?"
Ella began laughing at that.
"I wanna be mad at you for calling me stupid but that's just funny."
Ella was about to get up and get her phone back but Robyn shoved her back in the seat.
"You will sit and finish breakfast. Then we will see little Debbie in the parade and have a good time giving her candy."
"Or what?"
"Or I will break that phone into tiny pieces."
"I can just get another one."
"It will not have certain contacts."
"Fine. Besides you did not tell me how last night went."
"It was cool."
"Just cool?"
"Yes. Now can we go? "
As they got out of the apartment, Robyn received an email on her phone and found herself clenching her jaw.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Let's go. Beau said he will meet us there."
"Oh." Was all Ella said before they drove off to the juniors parade.
They got there just as it was about to start. The colorful costumes the children wore were so vibrant that they could lift anyone's mood.
Robyn saw Ella glance at her phone frequently. What was she even hoping would happen anyway?
"Are you still waiting for that sucker to text you back?"
"Robbie, he's my boyfriend. He will text."
Robyn scoffed. "You mean when he feels like it."
Ella turned to her putting one hand on Robyn's shoulder and the other that was holding the phone to her chest. She gave Robyn a meaningful look and said; "Who hurt you?"
"Nobody. And that's beside the point. Unlike you, I know that things like having a one true love or destined to be together do not exist. They are just fairytales. When are you going to realise that?'
" Brett and I love each other. And if we do not end up being together, it means it was not meant to be.."
"Yeah I was right you were dropped as a baby."
"Oh come on. I will be with whoever I was meant to be. You have to kiss some frogs before the prince shows up.'
Robyn laughed out loud. " So you admit, Brett is a frog."
"No! Just telling you that I will marry my one true love, and we shall live happily ever after."
"Do you wanna bet?"
"Bet what?"
"That there is no such thing as a one true love. If I can prove that to you, you will give up your ideas of this dumb shit and the key to the cabin."
"And if you fail, say in about three months, you will go on a date with a person of my choice."
"I hope you're not thinking of Daniel."
"Hell yes. And I will buy you those boots we saw online. So are you in or are you too chicken to try?"
"For those boots and this nonsense to stop, I'm so in."
"Shake on it?" Ella said extending her hand.
"You're so on!."
"She is so on what?" They both turned around to see Beau behind them.
"Beau!!" Ella squealed hugging him. "I missed you so much."
"Missed you too Ella." He hugged Robyn next.
"So what are you guys, betting on?"
"She does not believe in true love so.."
"No I will tell him. I will prove to our simple friend over here that there is no such thing as a one true love. And you my good sir are going to help me."
"Why do I have to get involved?"
"Yeah, why does he have to help you?"
"Because I say so and someone has to bear witness to it."
"What's in it for me?" Beau asked.
"I promise not to tell Leah where you are when she asks."
"You got a deal, for a front row to this madness, I'm in."
They soon saw Debbie coming in her little princess costume smiling brightly when she saw them. She approached them waving as they gave her a bouquet of flowers. She smiled biggie and pointed to the other side of the road at Layla who was waving at them.
A smile spread across Beau's face as Layla winked at him. Robyn wanted to thump him on the forehead but made a gagging sound instead.
"Oh come on love, don't be jealous."
"Jealous of what? It's your funeral not mine."
Ella and Beau seemed to find this hilarious and they laughed some more.
"You're right Beau, she is."
"Keep it up and I may just push you in front of a bus and make it seem like an accident." That shut them up real quick. Robyn was not capable of murdering anyone but she could do things to someone if they pissed her off that were never pleasant and lasted a while.
The rest of the gang decided to grab lunch at a nearby food court. As they were about to order Robyn's phone rang and it was her boss.
"Hello Sir?, sorry. Hie Uncle Peter, what's up? Yes I had them bound into a brown folder yesterday. Yes. Who? Sure. What time? Alright. Say hie to Auntie. No geez byee."
She went to sit down back at the table.
"Who was that?"
"Just Uncle Peter asking about some work stuff. Now where..."
"Don't worry, Beau ordered for you."
"Oh he did?"
She looked at Beau who was a little wrapped in a guessing game with Debbie. It was so adorable to look at she had to admit. Debbie was a sweet child who took a liking to Layla's friends a little too quick. She was soon telling him details about her costume.
They talked about random things till Ella's phone buzzed indicating she got a text. She opened it and her face lit up.
"Who texted?"
"Brett."
"I will break that phone Ella. For real."
"Why? What happened?" Layla asked.
"He told her they should take a break and she texted him this morning."
"Hey! He is the love of my life."
"He is and they are good together!"
"Et tu mon amie?"
"Yeah. Come on."
"Oh geez, Beau back me up here."
"I'm busy.."
Just then the waiter brought their orders. She was about to say something about the food when she saw that Beau had remembered her favorite meal correctly and that she liked little to no spices at all. She chuckled a little.
They were almost done with their lunch till someone familiar walked in. Ella gasped a little and Robyn turned to see Brett smiling big at some girl. Her blood boiled, she marched towards them.
"Robyn!" Ella was shouting at her but all she could see was Brett's stupid face smiling until he turned and saw her. She punched him straight in the face and he stumbled back.
Someone held her back and picked her up out of the place. They were outside and she was hyperventilating till she was enveloped into a hard warm chest. She breathed in a scent that was lavender and just familiar and she knew who it was.
Robyn was massaging her temple feeling a migraine creeping its way in as she sat on the stool in the kitchen. Ella was standing beside her, facing her as she drummed her fingers on the counter which just seemed to make the rising migraine worse. Beau, Layla and Debbie were in the living room giving the two best friends a little privacy."Will you stop that?""What the hell is wrong with you Robyn? Did you have to hit him? You probably broke his nose..""Are you seriously worried about Brett right now? When are you going to open your eyes?""Open my eyes to what?""That sucker does not love you Ella. He was with another girl for crying out loud. Was I hallucinating it?""They are just friends.""No they are not. Gosh Ella, what do I gotta do to make you see?""Well you do have three months to prove it to me.""Yeah. You got it."They sat there looking at each other and then burst
The rainbow lights swirling on the dancefloor at Neon were bouncing off perfectly on the cream colored dress Robyn was wearing. She was easily swaying to the music not far from the bar, keeping a safe distance from Tony and Ella. She had told him to just take it easy with her, no pressuring her. She told him not to bring up his hobby in collecting band T-shirts and plant seeds. Not that is was anything weird, some people collected teeth. From dead people! Creepy right?Tony was surprisingly doing fine carrying a conversation with Ella. She was giggling now and then and Robyn was a little proud of Tony for that. As they went on to the dancefloor, she was even more proud that he was not a terrible dancer. That would have been a disaster because Ella was a great dancer. They had both attended dance classes as adolescents at Ella's mother's studio."You're so proud of how this is going aren't you? The smile on your face is so obvious."
Heading into work the next day, Robyn found Drew's smiling face by the entrance and instantly smiled too. It was unnerving how her cousin who liked being called her big brother and her real big brother brought different reactions to her.Whenever she saw August she wanted to run away and hug him at the same time. When it came to Drew she just wanted to be around him. She did not blame August in any way. He was a good son and a good brother too.When he found out his parents had kicked Robyn out of the house, he played the mediator. He tried to get their parents to reconsider but it fell on deaf years."She just disgraced this family and ruined her future and you want her to go unpunished?" Their father had said."I can't believe she was sleeping around." Their mother chimed in."Ro is not careless. She must have an explanation. And who is the father anyway?"
After house hunting at lunch with Drew, Robyn sat in the coffee room of the office with Tony. She was telling him more of what Ella liked or disliked. She was really going for the win."So Ella does not like classical music?""No. She does not.""Why not? She seems like she could.""She just does not okay.""Alright. Calm down." Tony said sighing. "By the way what I'm I wearing on the date tomorrow?""Clothes would be good.""Don't be sarcastic. Last time you helped me and your boy toy arranged most things.""Did you just say boytoy?" Robyn laughed out loud. "We are just friends."Tony looked at her with disbelief tainting his face. "Are you sure? You looked pretty cozy the other...""Shut your cake hole Tony. We're friends nothing more and if you want to get Ella, you will stay in my good books and to do that you need to stop talking about such nonsense." She said huffing.
Riding up the elevator at Planar industries office building with Peter, Robyn had a feeling she was about to have a really awkward meeting. For one thing her uncle disliked James and the feeling was mutual.They were directed to the conference room and as they walked in they saw three more people already in and one of them was Beau."Robyn? What are you doing here?""Could ask you the same thing.""He called me here." Beau said making horns with his fingers.Robyn knew for sure this was going to be more than awkward. James was Beau's stepfather and they did not get along very well. That was why Beau lived with his father and not his mother. He partially blamed James for his parents' divorce. His relationship with his mother Lea, had only gotten a little better when he turned twenty.As they asked each other why they were all here James walked in with a smug look flanked by his other son Colin&
Staring at the cream and gold wallpaper in the kitchen as the kettle was being filled with tap water, Robyn wondered why she had chosen these colors in the first place. She had made a good choice because it all looked really good in the kitchen.Her tummy had started hurting again and she thought if she drank warm milk it would be better. She did not particularly like powdered milk, but that was all they had left since Ella had forgotten to buy fresh milk again.She switched it on and waited. She could not help think back to Beau. He seemed a little troubled with the breakup from Liz the girlfriend. Is that what loving someone meant? Being sad when it goes wrong? She thought he should be relieved since there was no one holding him back.She had experienced that before, a long time back before she almost lost her own life. Before she believed that certain people were meant to be together. Before she grew and woke up. Maybe she was a
The man sitting across from her oozed confidence and a high temperature of arrogance that she had only seen in her father. She wanted to rip that balloon of ego into tiny pieces and let them fly into the wind to be whisked away. Never to be found."Please don't do that Robyn.""Do what?""Look at me like that.""Sure. Tell me why you wanted to have this time with me.""You don't like me at all do you?""I don't dislike you. I just wish you and your father would stop messing with Beau.""I don't mess with my little brother.""Yeah right." Robyn scoffed.Colin clenched his jaw a different emotion clouding his eyes. "I will only tell you this once, I'm not my father.""If you say so.""If anything I envy Beau, even when we were little. You always had his back. You always worried about him. Never me. I was always the bad guy. He always had you."
As they drove up the concrete road, Robyn stared out at the trees, still very green mighty and tall. This used to be a gravel road only they must have added the concrete recently. She saw the swing tree house she and August had played in with Drew and other friends.She became a little more nervous with every moment they got close to the house. She started shaking more as they got closer. Drew held her closer and rubbed her back slowly. Peter and Vivian turned around to look at her, worry evident on their faces. She smiled reassuringly at them."We can turn around if you're not up for this my angel. Right Pete?" Her aunt said."In a heartbeat love.""No. It's okay. We're already here.""We're so proud of you Robyn."As they approached the house, she saw her parents outside holding hands while her mother seemed to shift nervously. August had a smile etched on his face.